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.

Marketing Webinar

For those thinking about the future marketing of their books, there is a free, live webcast on Tuesday, September 10th with Steve Harrison and the media tasked with deciding what authors/experts to interview for such media outlets as The New York Times, Inc. Magazine, Oprah, and CNBC .

Steve will be interviewing several of his media friends who know what it’s like to make decisions every day about which guests or experts to interview for their story or segment.

The question he’ll pose to all of them is a simple one: “If you had a brother or sister who wanted to get a lot of publicity and they asked you for your advice, what would you say?”

Website:   http://bit.ly/perrypublicitysecrets

Women's e-magazine

SISTAH e-magazine, provides christian, bible-supported advice for women on several topics. It is "committed to the content being biblically sound and practical, and an avenue for readers to apply the Word to their lives, how to grow in the Word and stimulate their intellect."
They are curently looking for submissions in the following categories: Lifestyle (Life Coaching Principles), Living the Victorious and Blessed Life (Spirituality), Word on the Street (Relationship and Dating principles), SISTAH's Closet (Fashion), Domestic Violence and Abuse Issues, Virtuosity (Marriage and Divorce.)
1. Submissions must be original (unless you hold the copyright)
2. No more than two typed, single-spaced pages
3. Include name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address with submissions
4. e-mail submissions to TheSISTAHSMinistry@yahoo.com
Note: the Deadline is Friday, August 30th, for submissions appearing in September's issue.  You will be notified when/where your article will appear if it's accepted.

E-books awards.

Entries for the The fourth annual eLit Awards are being accepted now. 

“Publishers and authors worldwide creating electronic books written in English and created for the global marketplace are eligible for entry in 59 different e-Lit categories."  Titles must be published with a 2012 or 2013 copyright or be released between January 1, 2012 and January 31, 2014.

Entry fees are $60-$80/title.  The contest closes January 31^st, 2014.

Go to http://www.elitawards.com/ for more details.

Upcoming Conference/Webinar

Ann Arbor’s Book Festival  Held at UofM's campus on Saturday, June 22nd.  Check out their website, www.aabookfestival.org, for more details. 

They will feature some poets and fiction-oriented programs.  I can’t go, but if someone does go, then take good notes and pass them on.

CreateSpace Webinar: How to use Social Media to Sell More Books.

Tuesday, June 18, 1om, Eastern time and Thursday, June 20^th at 6pm eastern time.  To sign up, go to

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/593952270.

“In this webinar, you will learn about social media from the author who has more than 6 million followers! Join tech entrepreneur and marketing expert Guy Kawasaki as he explains how authors can use social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest to reach their target audiences and sell more books.”

New Page

We've updated our blog, so we have some new pages for you to glance through and use as reference in the future.  If you have something you want to add, then comment and let the rest of us know. 

Upcoming Literary Events

The Westland Public Library is hosting a skill building conference for local writers, Saturday, May 11th, from 9:30-3pm.  You can check out the details at: http://www.westland.lib.mi.us/node/4877.

Also, our local library is hosting its Local Author Event.  Our own Stephanie Neilan will be there with some of her books as well as other local authors.  It will take place Thursday, May 30th, from 7-8:30.  You can find out more details at: http://catalog.cantonpl.org/search~S10?/Xlocal+authors&SORT=D/Xlocal+authors&SORT=D&SUBKEY=local+authors/1%2C37%2C37%2CB/frameset&FF=Xlocal+authors&SORT=D&2%2C2%2C.

Georgetown Academy Contest

Step 1.  Read Book one (they provide a free electronic version.) 
Step 2.  Write a story (1,000 words or less) using two of the characters at a DC Monument.  
Step 3.  Enter it through figment to win by May 8th.

Note: All the entries (not just the top rated ones) will be read for possible publication in Georgetown Academy: Book 4.  If you win, then you will also get to submit a different story for possible publication with the publishing company. 

 Details can be found at http://dailyfig.figment.com/2013/04/10/the-georgetown-academy-contest/?utm_source=Contest+Newsletter+4%2F18%2F2013&utm_campaign=Contest+Newsletter+4%2F18%2F2013&utm_medium=email

Book Fairs

There is a publishing group that is promoting Bookfair book placements (as in they will include a copy of your book -cover to the front- and its contact information in their booth that they will set up at various book fairs across the country.) For more details about where they plan to go, and the corresponding cost per title, you can go to http://www.globalbookshows.com/bookfairs.html.

Note: Even if you don't use them, it is still a good list of bookfairs you can attend yourself when you get to the marketing stage.

Some good Sites

A site that looks like it might be a good one for critiques is critters.org. (It was originally created for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers-primarily short story-ists, but they have since branched out.) You join a forum that specializes in your genre (Fantasy/romance/etc.), upload your piece, or section you want reviewed (there is a special process for whole novel reviews) and put a special tag on it if it is *adult* (innapropriate for 12 year olds).  Then you choose pieces to critique from each week's (or two weeks') batch, to earn critiquing points.  You have to stay active (give 1-2 critiques/week) to keep your submission moving up the line.  They estimate that it will take about a month until its sent out, but house-published authors get to cut in line.  On average, you would get 10-12 responses/work/ (longer pieces get fewer responses)

Another good site about potential scams and things to look out for is called, Writers Beware (www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/).  It acts as part of the SFWA's site, but the information can be applied to all authors.  It talks about contests, publishing houses, agents, copyrights, writer's services, etc. 

Writers Conferences

Writing and Illustrating For Young Readers  has a weeklong conference in June.  One of their classes was a "Full Novel Class" that will actually critique your entire (YA/Middle Grade) novel during that week.  Unfortunately, it costs $1000 and it's in Sandy, UT.  Boo. 
The event closer to home lets you bring an entire pictutre book or the first ten pages of your work in for a critique.  Details for the tri-state mid west conference (May 3-5) in Fort Worth Indiana can be found at: http://www.kidsbooklink.org/PDFFiles/2013WWMBroch.pdf (It's $235/ members, and $255 for non-members. - Early bird pricing ends April 1st).  Professional critiques are an additional $45, and they try to pair you up within your sub-genre.
Additional Events in our area can be found at: http://www.kidsbooklink.org/id4.html

"I Can Make History"

For those in 4th-12th Grade, Kroger's 6^th Annual “I Can Make History” contest will award more than $67,000 in scholarships/prizes to the best art, essay, poems, and music selections that show/talk about how they can “make their own communities better and relate their thoughts to Black History Month.”

All entries must be submitted by 5pm, Thursday, Feb 28^thto I Can Make History, c/o CBS Radio, 26495 American Drive, Southfield, MI, 48034. Contest details and forms are available at Kroger stores and www.icanmakehistory.com.

"Short on Words"

Northville's Arts and Acts Festival's "Short on Words" contest
Write a short story or poem based on one of the pictures in the appropriate youth (0-17) or adult (18+) category (found at preservationdental.com). No more than 1500 words. Entries must be typed with a title, page numbers, double-spaced, and single-sided only. Include a cover page with the title, your name, the name of your "inspiration" photo, an e-mail and/or phone number, and optional Biography.
Send your submission form, 3 copies of your piece, and a $10 entry fee (checks made out to Northville Art House), to Preservation Dental, Attention: Denise Jenkins, 371 E Main St, Northville, MI 48167 no later than April 12th.
1st place ($100) 2nd ($50) 3rd ($25). A reception to honor all authors will be Friday, June 28th, the first day of the Arts and Acts Festival.

NaNoWriWee

If anyone was filling left out of the Nano month, then there is another contest that hones in on just 30 hours of writing.  It’s called NaNoWriWee (National  Novel Writing Weekend), and is taking place January 26/27.  There’s no set word limit, but you have to start from scratch and write more than one word.  They will also post your final entries online for people to review. 

At the end, they will award prizes in the following categories:

• Best novel 
• Best science fiction or technology-related novel 
• Best humorous or satirical novel 
• Best sex scene

The overall winner will receive a “publishing deal with HarperCollins, with an ebook to be published as soon as possible after the announcement.”

Details on the contest and how to enter can be found at:  http://www.kernelmag.com/scene/3669/the-30-hour-novel/

Note: I’m not going to do it, but I did note that it is going to be based in England, so some words of wisdom for those daring enough to attempt it include….

*The British allow more sex/nudity than we do on TV, but a lot less violence. 

*There are some word changes you might want to be aware of.  For example, Pants mean underwear, Raunchy means loud and energetic, and Randy means Raunchy. 

*They typically use the single quote mark where we use double ones to begin a dialogue, and I believe they also use the double quote mark where we would typically put a single mark. (But don’t “quote” me on it-ha ha.)

*As for spelling…See if you can put your spell check to British - English so it will help you fix words like honor to honour and armor to armour.

Writing 101 Workshop

Offered at the Belleville library between 10-4:30, this Saturday.  It promises to cover the whole spectrum from generating ideas to getting published.  Space is limited to 50 participants.  The cost is $25 and hosted by a house-published romance author (Beverly Jenkins) and the head of the Motown writers network (Sylvia Hubbard), a self-published author.  You can sign up and find more details at http://www.belleville.lib.mi.us/.

Book Making Class

Learn how to bind a copy of your stories into a book.  Thursday, January 31^st, at Canton High School, from 6-9 pm.  You can register online at http://communityeducation.pccs.k12.mi.us.  It is Self Improvement class #730, Make a Book.

“One Act” Sneak Peak

7pm, Thursday January 10^th, Canton’s Jake Zinke and Brion Scheidel will come to the Canton Library to share their one act plays for the “One Acts festival,” talk about plays, and sign scripts.  The festival is being held at Village Theater, January 18-20^th at 2 and 8pm ($12/“R” rating)