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Thursday, July 29, 2010

REMINDER: Morgantown Poets Workshop Pre-Registration Ends Tomorrow

Tamara Woods will be appearing on this Friday's WV Writers Podcast to speak about this workshop. Check it out at Podcast.WVWriters.org.

Quick Reminder: Be sure to get your poetry workshop registration form in the mail, postmarked by this Friday (July 30), and receive a $5 discount off the "Day Of" registration. The workshop will take place the following week, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7 at the Monongalia Arts Center (see all info. below).

Don't forget, we're also now offering a STUDENT DISCOUNT and BRING A FRIEND (OR FRIENDS). ALL STUDENTS FROM ANY SCHOOL, EITHER COLLEGE (UNDERGRAD OR GRAD) OR HIGH SCHOOL, MAY REGISTER AT A REDUCED AMOUNT ALL THE WAY UP TO THE DAY-OF REGISTRATION. ALL STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE THE $10 DISCOUNT OFF THE REGULAR DAY-OF REGISTRATION.

ALSO, IF YOU BRING A FRIEND (OR FRIENDS), WE WILL LET YOUR FRIEND REGISTER UNDER THE SAME REGISTRATION TERMS YOU REGISTERED UNDER (YOUR FRIENDS CAN GET THE SAME DISCOUNT YOU RECEIVED), ALL THE WAY UP TO DAY-OF REGISTRATION (THOUGH WE PREFER THEY MAIL IN THEIR REGISTRATION BY THE FINAL MAIL-IN DATE FRIDAY, JULY 30 SO WE KNOW WHO'S ATTENDING AND CAN MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A SEAT.) JUST HAVE YOUR FRIEND LET US KNOW YOU RECOMMENDED THEY COME OR THEY'RE ATTENDING THE WORKSHOP WITH YOU.

We're extending these offers to encourage carpooling and help out students and the folks who register before the final mail-in deadline who want to bring friends. This is a perfect opportunity to gain new skills, meet new people, and feel inspired/motivated to keep writing your best work!


WORKSHOP DETAILS
Authors Tamara Woods and Ted Webb will guide you through strengthening your poetry with powerful, vivid metaphor and show you how to share your writing with the world via cutting-edge social media marketing techniques.

The workshop is a "Poet's Guide to Metaphor & Marketing."

They'll first teach you how to make your poetry sing and then they'll show you how to sell it. There will be small group exercises for writing and for pitching ideas.

The workshop will be Saturday, August 7 from 1-3 p.m. at the Monongalia Arts Center (MAC).

The workshop registration form is LINKED HERE. Download it today, fill it out and mail it in. The final mail-in registration date is Friday, July 30. At the door registration will be taken if there are seats still available.

Seats will fill up fast, and the workshop is limited to the first 40 people registered.

"While being involved in the poetry scene in town, we've had people ask us about poetry workshops and if there is one available," said Woods. "The idea is for the workshop to be compact, but filled with useful knowledge to help the poets to take their work to the next level."

The MAC is located at 107 High Street beside Hotel Morgan.

Following the workshop, the Second Annual Brew Ha-Ha will be held in downtown Morgantown. This one-of-a-kind event brings together comedians, food and beer.

About the authors:

Ted 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 recently selected for Mountain Line "Poetry on the Move" program. Webb's writing has been published in Appalachian Sand & Gravel, West Virginia Words, Outstretch, Appalachian Crier and Trillium, among other places.

Tamara Woods is also a co-founding member of Morgantown Poets. She has hosted Tha.Speakeasy, a poetry slam open to the community since 2005. She has written for a number of West Virginia newspapers including the Dominion Post and The Wheeling News-Register. She currently blogs for Indyposted.

For registration information or to find out more about the workshop contact Ted Webb at: tedwebb@care2.com or call: 304-285-8784

(REMINDER) Past Loves Day Story Contest

To foster awareness of PAST LOVES DAY, SEPTEMBER 17, Spruce Mountain Press sponsors an annual Story Contest. The Contest, and the Day, offer an opportunity to acknowledge a truth that lingers in your heart.

First Prize: $100 Second Prize: $75 Third Prize: $50 Honorable Mention(s)

Winning stories will be posted (anonymously, if requested by author) on this website.

Some stories may also be selected for inclusion in an upcoming anthology, to be published by Spruce Mountain Press. Please specify if you would prefer that your story NOT be included in this selection process for the anthology OR for posting on this website. This in no way affects your eligibility to win.

CLOSING DATE:

Entries must be sent by midnight, August 17. Winning stories will be posted on this website within one month after Past Loves Day, September 17. Individuals who have won prizes will be informed when the selection process has been completed.

Learn all the details at their website http://ourpastloves.com/contest

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

"The I in Me" launches August 1, 2010

West Virginia native Cynthia Cox has written her first novel entitled The I in Me, which will be released in .pdf format on her website on August 1, 2010. The novel is based upon her personal story as a survivor of ritual child abuse.

Cynthia is offering the novel for free online, hoping that her story can help others. She is currently working to create an Adult Survivors of Child Abuse support group in southern West Virginia.

Read it for yourself, August 1 at http://www.authorcynthiacox.com/

Saturday, July 17, 2010

State of the Re:Union’s requests “Dear City” Letters from West Virginia

National Public Radio's show State of the Re:Union devotes part of each program to what they call "Dear City" letters. With Dear City Letters, people who are making a difference where they live are asked if they'd be willing to write a letter TO their city. These can be written from a place of love, anger, humor and beyond, addressing the likes and dislikes or breaking misconceptions. State of the Re:Union would like to read your Dear City letter and have invited the members of West Virginia Writers, as well as any other resident of West Virginia, to submit such letters.

The producers of the program will be visiting our state in mid July to record stories by those writers whose letters are chosen. Some of those recordings will be broadcast as part of the program and will also be posted to their website. (Similarly, WV Writers will also be producing a podcast of telephone readings of such letters.)

If you have a letter you'd like to write to your town, here are the submission guidelines for State of the Re:Union.

  • People can feel free to be as creative as they'd like... the only constraint is to keep it under 400 words.
  • all the letters should start the same way with "Dear _____ [your town name here],” i.e. if you live in Parkersburg, you should start “Dear Parkersburg.”
  • Also, remember to refer to your home in the second person (You). We want these to sound like you're speaking directly to your home.
  • Letters can be sent to the show's producer, Tina Antolini, by email at: Tina@stateofthereunion.com.
Deadline for Dear City Letter submissions will be July 20.

Semi-separate from the above: If you would like to record your letter for use in a special WV Writers Dear City Letter podcast, you can do so via our voicemail hotline. To record your voicemail, just phone 304-661-9745. You will have 2:45 sec to record your dear city letter. If your letter runs longer, feel free to call back and record the rest. And if you mess up, just say 3…2… 1 and start where you left off; we can edit out the errors.

Again, the podcast recording is separate from the State of the Re:Union submission process, so be sure to submit your letter to them at Tina@stateofthereunion.com first. We do plan to allow the producer of the show to listen our voicemail recordings as well, but ours is not the official submission outlet.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Short story contest: Gival Press

(News courtesy of R. S. White)

Gival Press Short Story Contest
http://www.givalpress.com/

Deadline:
August 8, 2010 (postmarked)
Our dates never change, if the date falls on a Sunday, then Monday
becomes the default postmarked date.

Guidelines:
Submissions of a previously unpublished original (not a translation)
short story in English must be approximately 5,000 to 15,000 words of
high literary quality, typed, double-spaced on one side of the paper
only, with word count in the upper left hand side of the first page,
along with the title. The author's name should not appear on the
numbered pages of the ms which should be clipped together. Author
should keep a copy of the submission as it will not be returned.

Author Identification:
Submit name, address, telephone number, email address on a separate
page, along with the title of the short story submitted.

A short bio should also be included.

If the short story wins, the author must make the manuscript available
to Gival Press on an IBM-compatible disk or CD in Rich Text Format
(RTF)—this refers to how one saves the document on one's computer
disk.

Reading fee:
$25.00 (USD) by check or money order drawn on an American bank for
each short story submitted. Payable to: Gival Press, LLC.

International entrants must send a check drawn on a USA bank routed
through a USA address, such as Bank of America; no international money
orders are acceptable.

Please note that Gival Press can also accept the entry free by major
credit card; however, we only take credit card information by phone
(703.351.0079).

Mail to:
Robert L. Giron, Editor
Gival Press Short Story Award
Gival Press, LLC
PO Box 3812
Arlington, VA 22203.

Notification of the Winner:
Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) for notification of
the winner or visit our website (http://www.givalpress.com), where the
winner and finalists will be announced.

We try our best to announce the winner in the fall of the same year.
Unfortunately it takes time to read and judge the entries and to
contact the individuals involved.

Prize:
Author will receive $1,000.00 and the winning story will be published
on the Gival Press website and in a future anthology of short stories.

Judging:
Short stories will be judged anonymously and the decision of the judge
will be final. The winner for the previous award will be the judge for
the following year.

Discount Offered to Entrants:
Anyone who has entered a Gival Press contest may purchase any books
published or distributed by Gival Press at a 20% discount off the
retail price, with free shipment. Credit cards are preferred. Kindly
either call us (703.351.0079 - leave a message if we can't answer when
you call and we will call you back) or send us an email with your
phone number and we will call you, as we only accept the credit card
information by phone.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

StoFest 2010 Submission Opportunity

(From Jeremy Richter of Wheeling's Independent Theatre Collective)

Submissions are now being accepted for this year's StoFest: A New One-Act Play Festival, produced by the Independent Theatre Collective in Wheeling, WV. In its first year, StoFest produced fifteen plays by ten different WV-based writers and featured well over twenty local
performers. This year, they are opening the submission in-box to playwrights within the state of West Virginia and all bordering states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland & Virginia. Also
different from last year, they plan on running the selected plays for multiple performances. Depending on what is accepted, ITC's goal is to have two to three different line-ups of new shows to run in rep this October.

As was the case with last year, ITC's plan is to anchor each evening of shows with a play from Wheeling playwright Tom Stobart's catalog.

This submission has only a restriction on time: ITC will only consider one-act plays 10 to 30 minutes in length. Plays will be selected by members of the ITC Collaborative Council. Submissions will close Friday, August 20, 2010. All submissions should be sent to plays@itcgreenroom.org.

Should you have any questions, though, please do not hesitate to drop them a line. A broad release regarding submissions will be sent to various outlets later this weekend. Please feel free to spread the word amongst your networks.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Call for submissions: shaking like a mountain

(News courtesy of R.S. White)


Shaking like a Mountain (www.shakinglikeamountain.com), THE journal of literature about music continues to seek poetry, fiction, nonfiction and critical analysis for our weekly journal and blog. To facilitate that process, they've paired with a great gang of writers, editors, and software designers at Submishmash, who've created a submission manager for journals like theirs. Just click on the submit link on the shaking homepage and sail through the rest.

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Stephen King's 3 Steps to Create Suspense

(This news courtesy of R.S. White)

From Writer's Digest Online: Stephen King's 3 Steps to Create Suspense.


Sunday, July 04, 2010

Glimmer Train - Bulletin 42



July 1, 2010

Upcoming deadline:
The July Very Short Fiction closes July 31. This category is open to original, unpublished stories of all subjects and themes. We welcome yours!
See guidelines.
Entries should not exceed 3,000 words. (Any shorter lengths are welcome.) First place wins $1,200 and publication in Issue 81 of Glimmer Train Stories. Second- and third-place winners receive $500/$300 (or, if chosen for publication, $700).
Editors' Take on Very Short Fiction Submissions.
Essays in this bulletin:
Jenny Zhang: When I listen to myself on those tapes now, I pity my four-year-old self—how I struggled to perform a happiness that I hardly felt, how I pursued details and embellishments that I thought would delight and charm my parents when really what I wanted to say was: Why did you leave me here? (more)
Nic Brown: I figured if I spent my free time crunching rankings points and following obscure international doubles specialists, I might as well write about them, too. I self diagnosed: If you want the writing to come easily, write about what you're obsessed with. It made the act an indulgence. The result: Doubles, a novel. My first. (more)
Thomas E. Kennedy: I set off by thumb and bus to see my country, worked my way around the US, trying to learn to write. I spent a couple of nights in jail, slept in fields, on lake banks, by the Big Sur River, narrowly escaped a good many years in prison… (more)
Justin Kramon: But somehow, after wandering the halls of one particular story, I stumbled on some real feelings. I knew it by the energy of the language, the fact that I wasn't trying to impress anyone but rather get a hold on something in myself. (more)
Results of the April Family Matters competition:
Winners and finalists have been notified, and the Top-25 list is posted! (note) Our thanks to all of you for letting us read your stories!
1st place: "We Love You Crispina" by Jenny Zhang
2nd place: "The Man in the Elevator" by Joy Wood
3rd place: "When We're Lying" by Linda Legters
Feel free to forward this bulletin to your writer friends. As you know, the bulletin is free and meant to inform and to promote writers. (We never share your info.) People can sign up for bulletins themselves here. Missed a bulletin? They're all archived here.
Looking forward,

Sisters and Editors
Glimmer Train Stories, represented in recent editions of the Pushcart Prize,O. Henry, New Stories
from the South
, New Stories from the Midwest, and Best American Short Stories anthologies.

Please note that we never share your contact information.

Don't want to get our bulletins and reminders? UNSUBSCRIBE here. Doesn't come up? Just forward this to us at unsubscribe@glimmertrain.org

Questions? Please check our straightforward FAQs; if the answer isn't there: editors@glimmertrain.org.

You are subscribed as efritzius@gmail.com

Southampton Writers Conferences

The Southampton Writers Conference, sponsored every summer by Stony Brook Southampton, offers limited scholarships and unlimited opportunity to select students--from undergraduates to post-professionals--in all genres. In our relaxed, intimate workshops, emerging and established voices come together to study with such distinguished poets, authors, playwrights, and screenwriters as Billy Collins, Tom Lux, Julie Sheehan, Emily Mann, Marsha Norman, Andrew Bienen, Elizabeth Strout , Meg Wolitzer , Colson Whitehead, among others. Along with workshops, a full roster of lectures, readings, performances and small-group discussions offers inspiration and guidance to new writers, established writers, teachers of writing, editors, and qualified auditors. Located in a resort area of natural beauty, the conferences welcome all who seek instruction that is friendly, rigorous, professionally useful, and intellectually challenging.

Information on the Writers Conferences at Stony Brook Southampton is available on our website, as are applications. Conferences and workshops include the following.

JULY 14-25:
Southampton Writers Conference
Poetry with Billy Collins
Poetry with Julie Sheehan
Poetry with Tom Lux
Creative Nonfiction with Matthew Klam
Memoir with Kaylie Jones
Fiction with Melissa Bank
Personal Essay with Roger Rosenblatt
Novel with Meg Wolitzer
Novel with Colson Whitehead
Short Fiction with Elizabeth Strout
Southampton Playwriting Conference
Playwriting with Emily Mann
Monologue and Performance with Mike Daisey

JULY 28- AUGUST 1
Southampton Children's Literature Conference
Writing for Ages 5 through Young Adult with Cindy Kane
The Art and Craft of Writing Picture Books with Emma Walton Hamilton
A Crash Course in Writing for Young Adults with Margaret McMullan
All in the Telling with Tor Seidler
Words and Images in Storytelling with Ed Young
Southampton Screenwriting Conference
Buildling Stronger Scenes: Andrew Bienen
Structuring Your Screenplay: Christina Lazaridi
The Art and Craft of Film Adaptation: Stephen Molton
Finding Your Story: Frank Pugliese
Breaking the Back of Your Story: Paula Brancato
Southampton Playwriting Conference
Musical Book with Marsha Norman
Playwriting with Annie Baker
Playwriting with Leslie Ayvazian

Stay updated on our programs through Facebook:

Writers Conference -

Playwriting Conference -

Children's Literature Conference -

Screenwriting -

We're pleased you are considering our summer programs. Please call or email if you have any questions.

A Writer's Summer: Southampton Writers Conferences
MFA in Writing and Literature
Stony Brook Southampton
239 Montauk Highway
Southampton, NY 11968
631-632-5030
southamptonwriters@notes.cc.sunysb.edu
http://www.stonybrook.edu/writers

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Ten Strategies to Write Your Novel

(This news courtesy of Steven Goff)

NEW BOOK ON NOVEL WRITING BY MEREDITH SUE WILLIS: TEN STRATEGIES TO WRITE YOUR NOVEL

Montemayor Press is proud to present a new book Ten Strategies to Write Your Novel by Meredith Sue Willis. Says Montemayor Press: "Meredith Sue Willis is a gifted and widely published writer of both fiction and nonfiction. In addition to her many fine novels and collections of stories, she has also published three widely praised books about the writing process: Personal Fiction Writing, Deep Revision, and Blazing Pencils. In Ten Strategies to Write Your Novel, Ms. Willis has now distilled several decades of writing—as well as her extensive experience as a teacher—to offer her readers an eloquent, practical guide to the delights and challenges of working with a big fictional canvas.

"An important addition to any novelist's (or would-be novelist's) resources about writing technique and the writing life, this clear, eminently practical guide offers both general approaches and targeted suggestions for working through the complex tasks of writing a novel.
Ms. Willis describes multiple entryways into this formidable genre, offers vivid illustrations from classic and contemporary novels, and provides dozens of creative exercises to jump-start the writing process. Ten Strategies to Write Your Novel is destined to become a classic guide for newcomers and veterans alike."

Willis teaches writing at New York University in New York City. Her books include In the Mountains of America, Billie of Fish House Lane, Higher Ground, Oradell at Sea, Dwight's House and Other Stories and the upcoming Out of the Mountains from Ohio University Press.

The book is available through your favorite book store, online from various stores including the independent book store Powell's, or from Montemayor Press, e-mail: montepress@aol.com, P.O. Box 526 Millburn, NJ 07041 or go to the website at http://www.montemayorpress.com.