Short Story Contest

The Write Michigan Contest is a short-story competition for Michigan residents.
Stories up to 3,000 words/10 pages must be submitted electronically via PDF by November 30th.
There is a $10 entry fee for those over 18. (No entry fee for younger writers.)
For more details, go to http://writemichigan.org/

January Novel/Script Deadlines

2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

Needed: A novel (50-150k words), a pitch (up to 300 words), an excerpt (3-5k words), and an application filled out by mid-January. Note: there are no entry fees, and several different genres are eligible for prizes (YA, General fiction, Romance, Mystery/Thriller, and Horror/Scifi/Fantasy.)

Prize: Publishing contract - $50k advanced royalties (grand prize), or $15k advanced royalties (finalist)

Go to http://www.amazon.com/b?node=332264011 for more information and to see past winners.

2013 ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship

Up to 4 screenwriters (TV and/or film) will receive a $1000 stipend and round trip travel to LA “to be mentored one-on-one by industry professionals” including Jen Grisanti (Story consultant), Don Handfield (Screen writer/producer), Michael Colleary (Screenwriter), Literary Agents, and Film development executives/industry representatives.  You will also receive a year subscription to a Celtx online workspace, script apps, and a Celtx consultation. Finally, Screencraft will help develop your project for an entire year.
Applications are being accepted now through January 15^th, 2014. 

Go to http://www.screencraft.org/fellowship/ to learn more and apply.

(Enter CELTX when you check out to receive 10% off the $55 application fee.)

Literary Lectures

Free literary related events taking place in Concordia University’s Earhart Ballroom (4090 Geddes Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105).

 -Thursday, October 24^th at 7:30 pm, John Rybicki (a poet)

-Tuesday, November 5^th at 7pm, Lynne Rae Perkins (Children’s author/illustrator)

You can find out more here: http://cuaa.reachlocal.net/KnowConcordia/arts/lectures.html

Writer's Conference

November 16th, there is a conference in Lansing about "How to Build Your Best selling book." It's $60 ($75 at the door.) Jonathan Rand will be one of four speakers, and the conference is from 10-4pm.
See the link: http://www.michiganpresswomen.org./documents/MPW-Workshop.pdf if you want to know more.

Open Mic - for poets/song writers

Every third Thursday "A Gathering of Writers" has a meeting at Plymouth's Coffee Shop (7:30pm).  This is for poets, and every month they feature a new artist.  They also have time for "open mic" where anyone can present their poem and get some audience reactions to their work. 
In addition, they also have open mics on Mondays (sign ups at 7, shows begin at 7:30pm) for poems and songs.  More details can be found at: http://plymouthcoffeebean.com/open-mic-at-the-bean

Write Michigan short story contest

Write Michigan is a statewide writing contest featuring $250 cash prizes for Judges’ and Readers’ Choice winners in each age category. Judges’ Choice runners-up receive $100. The top five stories in each category will be published in the 2014 Write Michigan Anthology.

The Write Michigan Short Story Contest allows entries from Michigan residents in three age categories:

Youth, up to 11 -no fees
Teen, 12-17- no fees
Adult, 18+, $10 fee

Short story submissions will be accepted online at WriteMichigan.org until November 30, 2013. Stories will be reviewed by librarians and booksellers to determine the semifinalists. The top ten semifinalists’ stories will be available for judges and public review via the website in January 2014. Winners will be announced on February 3. The Awards Ceremony will be Saturday, March 22, 2014 at the Kentwood (Richard L. Root) branch of KDL where copies of the 2014 anthology will be sold.
For details on how to submit a story, please review the Contest Guidelines. For complete information on the contest, visit www.writemichigan.org.

 

Chicken Soup

Current Chicken Soup Submission categories. 

They want short stories/poems up to 1200 words, and they pay $200 upon publication plus 10 free copies. Find out more here: http://www.chickensoup.com/form.asp?cid=submit_story

Current Chicken Soup Topics include..

Home Sweet Home
The deadline date for story and poem submissions is November 30, 2013.

My Guardian Angel
(Note: They want REAL angel stories.) The deadline for story and poem submissions is December 31, 2013.

Living with Alzheimer's & Other Dementias
The deadline for submissions is October 15, 2013.

Overcoming Challenges
The deadline for story and poem submissions is October 31, 2013.

Reboot Your Life

The deadline for story and poem submissions is November 30, 2013.

Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries
The deadline for story and poem submission is November 30, 2013.

The Cat Did WHAT?
The deadline for story and poem submissions is January 5, 2014.

The Dog Did WHAT?
The deadline for story and poem submissions is January 5, 2014.