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Monday, November 29, 2010

Counting down til start of WVW 2011 Writing Contest

There's just barely over one month until the gates open for WV Writers' 2011 Writing Contest. You can find the entry forms at our contest page. We will also soon be issuing a special podcast about it to talk about the new categories and what they might mean to you. Give `em a look and see what stories and poems you might have on hand that will fit, or, better yet, write something new to submit.

January 2, 2011 will be the date we begin accepting submissions.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Rich Bottles Jr. signing in Fairmont

West Virginia Writers Inc. author Rich Bottles Jr. will join fellow WV horror writer Gary Lee Vincent at a book signing hosted by Kerri's Korner Bookstore in Fairmont, WV, on Saturday, December 18, 2010.

Rich Bottles Jr. will be signing copies of his book "Lumberjacked" and Gary Lee Vincent will be signing copies of "Darkened Hills." For more information about either novel, visit www.burningbulbpublishing.com.
Kerri's Korner Bookstore is located on 1011 Speedway Avenue, Fairmont, WV 26554 (304-363-2665).

The book signing on Saturday, December 18th, will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Come join us for this fun event and show your support for local writers!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Poetry of the sacred contest: Merton Prize (REMINDER)

(This news courtesy Rhonda Browning White)

Contest Guidelines
http://www.mertoninstitute.org/

Deadline for submissions: Received by December 31, 2010.

First Prize, $500; Three Honorable Mention Prizes, $100 each.

Winning Poems will be published in The Merton Seasonal, a publication of scholarly articles about noted spiritual leader Thomas Merton and will be posted on the Merton Institute web site:
www.mertoninstitute.org.

Only ONE unpublished poem type written in English may be submitted.

Please limit the poem to no more than 100 lines.

Type your name, address, phone number, FAX number, email address, and the title of your poem on a cover page. Attach (1) one copy of your titled poem to the cover page.

Submit your poem on a page with no identifying information. All identifying information should be on your cover page. Include a submission fee of $15.00 with the poem.

If you are submitting your poem via email, the poem must be sent as an attachment saved in Word 2003 or earlier version. Any other formatwill not be accepted.

Submit poem to: Merton Institute, 2117 Payne Street, Louisville, KY 40206 or email to: <vhurst(at)mertoninstitute.org> (replace (at) with @) as a Word 2003 document attachment. If mailing, please include a $15 check made payable to The Merton Institute. No Faxed entries willbe accepted.

No poems will be returned.

Poems will be judged on literary excellence, spiritual tenor, and human authenticity.

Winners will be announced by April 1, 2011. Please visit the Institute website for contest results.

All contestants will be notified via email of the contest results.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Literary events in Lewisburg on November 16

(News courtesy of me, Eric Fritzius)

Just a reminder that I'll be reading three short stories for Carnegie's Brown Bag Tuesday tomorrow, Nov 16, from noon to 12:50 at Carnegie Hall. These will be stories I've not read publicly in Lewisburg before, (though one of them was once read in Caldwell). Feel free to bring your lunch.

Another literary event occurring later the same day will be the community poetry reading at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre, MCed by Tim Armentrout. Members of the community are invited to bring their own poetry to read, or simply poems by others that they enjoy. A special guest poet for the event will be Joseph Cooper, a published poet from Buffalo, New York. Tea, coffee and tasty goodies will be served.


That’s November 16 at 7 p.m. at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre.



Friday, November 12, 2010

Poetry Reading in Princeton

(News courtesy of Raymond Neely)

On
November 30 at 6 pm at the Princeton Public Library, located in Mercer County, West Virginia Writers Susanna Holstein, Raymond Neely, and Salvatorre Butacci, will give live poetry readings.

They shall be joined by local poet Rob Meritt who teaches English at Bluefield College and who is the editor of The Bluestone Review. All are invited to attend this special event. Don't miss it.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

National Novel Writing Month article from io9

For those of you participating in National Novel Writing Month you might be looking for a few tips on writing yourself out of a corner at this point. Website io9.com has just what you need to learn how to do so. Check out their article at the link below...

How to write yourself out of a dead end

Friday, November 05, 2010

Morgantown authors Holiday Literary Event

Morgantown authors Diane Tarantini and Ted Webb have teamed up for a special pre-holiday literary event at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5, at Zenclay.

The event is free and open to the public. It will be in the upstairs gallery at Zenclay, located at 2862 University Avenue, Morgantown.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, the authors will share their unique ways of looking at the world, with stories, anecdotes and poems. Get ready for a dynamic, thought-provoking journey into the mind and heart. A book signing will immediately follow the literary performances.

Tarantini won four awards at the 2010 West Virginia Writer’s conference in Ripley. Her writing placed in humor, inspirational, book-length prose, and People’s Choice. The manuscript for her debut novel, “Confessions of a Life Half Lived,” is currently with an editor. The author’s blog is at http://www.caughtbutterflies.blogspot.com/.

“Diane has an approach that is so congenial and unassuming that before you know it she’s woven one of her vignettes around you. It’s really kind of rare and magical,” said West Virginia Writers, Inc. president emeritus Terry McNemar.

“The freshness of Diane's narrative voice, its whimsical tone, belies the grittiness of her subject matter. She crafts layered and often secret worlds with a light, deft touch,” said West Virginia author/editor Geoffrey Cameron Fuller.

Tarantini, a native of Huntington, graduated from West Virginia University’s Perry Isaac Reed School of Journalism. She has been a food panelist with The Dominion Post and currently writes for West Virginia Writers, Inc.

Webb is a co-founding member of Morgantown Poets, a monthly event serving the literary arts community in north-central West Virginia. His poem, “Star Bus,” was featured in Mountain Line’s “Poetry on the Move” program. His writing has been published in Appalachian Sand & Gravel, West Virginia Words, Outstretch, Appalachian Crier and Trillium, among other places. Webb helps organize writing workshops and literary events in the community and is involved in local literary groups. He’s written two books of poetry, “Vision” and “If Peace Were a Promise.”

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Brittney Cassity book signing schedule for "Clyde the Undead Dustbunny"

Monroe County writer Brittney Cassity has now released her second children's book Clyde the Undead Dust Bunny. Clyde... is a 60 page chapter book for ages 8-12. The book is currently only available on her website ( www.brittneycassity.com ) and a few local retail stores. Brittney has partnered with the Pajama Program (www.pajamaprogram.org) helping support them with a donation button at her website allowing readers to donate to help them continue to provide good books and warm pj's to children in need. Brittney has also partnered with Eco-Libris (www.ecolibris.net) a group that will plant a tree for each copy of Clyde the Undead Dust Bunny sold in order to replace trees used in the production of physical books.
Brittney will be signing copies of Clyde the Undead Dust Bunny at the Lewisburg Craft Show at Greenbrier Valley Mall in Lewisburg, WV on November 12, 13, and 14. She will also be at Kitten's Korner in White Sulpher Springs, WV for a book signing (where she will also have copies of her first book Fiddlebug) on November 17, 2010 from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.

November's schedule (so far) ends with a book signing at Silver Birch in Union, WV on November 20th at noon.

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

io9's Environmental Writing Contest

(THIS CONTEST COURTESY OF IO9.com)

We can't prevent environmental disasters without preparing for them. That's why io9 is going to pay $2000 each to two people who write the best stories about environmental disaster. It's io9's Environmental Writing Contest - for science fiction and non-fiction.

io9 is looking for stories that deal with environmental disaster, whether caused by random asteroid impacts or oil drilling accidents. We believe that the first step to solving planet-scale problems is to assess, honestly and critically, what it would mean to experience such a disaster. We need mental models that can help policy-makers, researchers, and individuals prepare for the kinds of cataclysmic events that have occurred regularly throughout Earth's history.

We're holding this contest to reward people for coming up with ideas that could help avert the next Deepwater spill and Pacific garbage gyre - or help people prepare better for the next Indian Ocean tsunami and Haiti earthquake. Storytelling is a powerful tool. We want you to use it well.

Our awesome team of judges includes Paolo Bacigalupi (author of Ship Breaker andWindup Girl) and Jonathan Strahan (editor of the Eclipse anthologies), as well as others to be announced.

Contest Guidelines
Your story should be between 3,000-5,000 words. It must be an original story that has not been published elsewhere.

The contest has two categories: Science Fiction and Non-Fiction. We will pick a winner from each.

Guidelines for Science Fiction Entries:
Your story should deal meaningfully and plausibly with some aspect of environmental disaster. There are no limits on the kind of disaster you explore. It could be an exploding star, a plague, tachyon pollution, nanotech diseases, climate change, or something else. What's important is that your story deal with causes and consequences. How did the disaster happen, who will benefit from it, how will people (or other creatures) respond to it? We don't want morality tales or after school specials here - just good stories that deal realistically with the subject matter.

Guidelines for Non-Fiction Entries:
Your story can be a piece of investigative journalism, a well-researched history, biographical/autobiographical narrative, or science/technology writing for a lay audience. You can write a profile of people or groups dealing with environmental disaster, analyze the science behind environmental problems, or cover the story of a disaster that has already happened. We prefer stories that involve reporting and research. Though the story must be original, you may base it on research you have already done for another project or piece of reporting.

Here's what you'll win:
Winning stories will be published on io9, and we will give $2000 each to the winners in each category.

Deadline for all stories is midnight PST, December 11.

How to submit your entry:
You may submit only ONE story. Please mail your submission as a .doc or .rtf attachment. In your cover letter, be sure to include your name and a reliable way to contact you. Also, please specify whether you are entering the science fiction or non-fiction category. Mail submissions to environmentalwriting@io9.com.

Send an email to Annalee Newitz, the author of this post, at annalee@io9.com.

Monday, November 01, 2010

Short fiction contest for emerging writers: Boulevard (DECEMBER DEADLINE)

(Information courtesy of R.S. White)


Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers
http://www.boulevardmagazine.org/partners.html

$1,500 and publication in Boulevard awarded to the winning story by a writer who has not yet published a book of fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction with a nationally distributed press.

RULES
All entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2010. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but previously accepted or published work is ineligible. Entries will be judged by the editors of Boulevard magazine. Send typed, double-spaced manuscript(s) and SAS post card for acknowledgement of receipt to: Boulevard Emerging Writers Contest, PMB 325, 6614 Clayton Road, Richmond Heights, MO 63117. No manuscripts will be returned.

Entry fee is $15 for each individual story, with no limit per author. Entry fee includes a one-year subscription to Boulevard (one per author). Make check payable to Boulevard.

We accept fiction works up to 8,000 words. Author's name, address, and telephone number, in addition to the story's title and "Boulevard Emerging Writers Contest," should appear on page one. Cover sheets are not necessary.

The winning story will be published in the Spring or Fall 2010 issue of Boulevard.

These are the complete guidelines.