The Writer's Perspective by Maria Schneider - writing contest announcements

Maria in NYC

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:48:41 GMT

Hey Folks,

Maria is in New York City this week and put Zac and I in charge of holding down the WD fort—oh yes, there's actually a WD fort, and it's made up of empty Mt. Dew cans, Gatorade bottles and various office supplies. But just because she's OOO (Out Of Office) doesn't mean you won't get any updates. And in typical Questions & Quandaries fashion, I'm going to update you in Q&A form:

Q: Why is your favorite forum barista in the Big Apple?

A: Each year, a WD editor takes our Annual Competition winner to NYC to meet with agents and editors. This year is a little extra exciting because Maria is escorting two writers—Eros-Alegra Clarke (2007 winner) and Mary Feuer (2006 winner)—around town. Both have very different backgrounds and stories, but both are excellent writers.

Q: When will Maria return?

A: She'll be back at the office on Thursday, but she's hoping to stop by her blog and provide daily updates from her trip. If she's unable to hop online before she returns, expect a full recap of her adventure on Friday.

Q: How will we survive without her?

A: Zac and I highly recommend building a fort.

Take care of yourself and your writing,
Brian

PROJECT 20/20: BUILD MY BLOGROLL WEEK #15 ADD!

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 22:40:57 GMT

Hi Writers,
This is week 15 in my Project 20/20 Build My Blogroll project
Please follow the link for details about the project where you'll find many of the writer's blogs nominated in the comments section of that original post.

There's still no shortage of great writer's blogs to add to my blogroll, as you'll see with this week's add: Kelly Spitzer

There's a lot to admire about Kelly's blog, including helpful book reviews and journal recommendations. But one of my favorite features is her Writer Profile Project in which Kelly profiles writers and also editors of small literary magazines and journals.

I love literary journals, but admittedly have a difficult time keeping up with them all. Kelly's blog is going to be my new go-to source for information on what's new and happening on the journal front.

Kelly's also an editor herself. She's the submissions editor of Smokelong Quarterly an online journal featuring flash fiction “about a smoke long.” I'm embarrassed to admit I hadn't heard of Smokelong, but I'm definitely going to become a regular peruser there. The art is striking and they're publishing some recognizable names, including our new fiction columnist himself, Mr. Steve Almond.

So Kelly, welcome to my blogroll, and thanks for doing such great work on behalf of the indie press.

Keep Writing,
Maria

The Hemingway Foundation/ Pen Award

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:01:10 GMT

Hi Writers,
Here's the press release for a prestigious award for a debut author. This is open to books published in 2007 (self-pub books not eligible):

Go here for more info: The Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award

Entry Requirements, Deadlines and Application

PEN New England is now accepting submissions for the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for books published in 2007. The award of $8,000 is presented for a novel or book of short stories by an American author who has not previously published a book of fiction. The prize was won last year by Ben Fountain, BRIEF ENCOUNTERS WITH CHE GUEVARA. Two finalists and two runners-up will also be named. The winner also receives a one-week residency in The Distinguished Visiting Writers Series at the University of Idaho’s MFA Program in Creative Writing. In addition, the winner and competition finalists and runners-up receive Ucross Residency Fellowships at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, a retreat for artists and writers.

The late Mary Hemingway, a member of PEN, founded the award in 1976 both to honor the memory of her husband, Ernest Hemingway, and to recognize distinguished first books of fiction. The award is funded by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation, which has been administered by the Hemingway Society since 1987, and PEN New England. A panel of three distinguished fiction writers selects the winner. PEN New England is one of five regional branches of PEN American Center, which is in turn part of International PEN, the only worldwide organization of writing professionals.

The award will be presented at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston on Sunday, March 30, 2008. The ceremony is co-sponsored by the library and The Boston Globe. Previous recipients of the Hemingway/PEN Award include Marilynne Robinson, Bobbie Ann Mason, Josephine Humphreys, Mark Richard, Louis Begley, Edward P. Jones, Susan Power, Ha Jin, Charlotte Bacon, Jhumpa Lahiri, Akhil Sharma, Justin Cronin, Jennifer Haigh, Chris Abani, and Yiyun Li.

Eligible titles, which must be the first published book length work of fiction by an American citizen or resident, published in the United States in 2007, may be submitted by publishers, agents, or the authors themselves. Authors are not disqualified by the previous publication of nonfiction, poetry, drama, or books for children. No self-published books, electronic submissions, or e-books are eligible for consideration.

DEADLINE: December 21, 2007 POSTMARK (Early submissions are encouraged. Galleys are acceptable.)

To Submit Books for the Award, mail four (4) copies, a $40 entry fee* for each title, and the application form to:

THE HEMINGWAY FOUNDATION / PEN AWARD
PEN New England
Lesley University
29 Everett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

*Exceptions will be made for small press submissions: if your press’s annual net sales do not exceed $4 million, you need not submit the entry fee.

Keep Writing,
Maria

The 15th Annual WD Self-Published Book Awards Winner

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:01:39 GMT

Hi Writers,
A big congratulations to Norma Lehmeier Hartie, winner of our 15th annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards. She took home the prize (including $3,000 in cash) for her book Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet, which was entered in the Inspirational category.

You can read an interview with Hartie on the Ecolibris blog, where she discusses the process of self-publishing her book, and how to be a "green" author. A fascinating read.

Here's what one of our judges wrote about the book:

"This is a beautiful looking, very well organized and thoughtfully written book. The author obviously has thoroughly done the necessary study/homework as she writes with an authentic voice, one of experience. The cover is especially lovely, evenly designed and inviting to the potential reader to open the book and go further. In reading we can only be inspired to beautify our lives, make the necessary changes that would make us happier, healthier, more at peace—on a personal, group, community or global level. I found myself drawn in to clean out my cluttered basement and give things away, as well as to get out my pendulum again for special use, and to be more conscientious about my cleaning products or home purchases. The benefits for clearing out, cleaning, and adjusting energy are explained succinctly and reasonably, and these tips are therefore encouraging and convincing. A lovely book to keep and refer to often. So many answers therein – if lots of people would accept this wonderful holistic approach."

Our interview with Hartie, along with the list of top winners in each category, will run in the April 2008 issue of Writer's Digest.

Keep Writing,
Maria

Amazon Breakthough Novel Award

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:51:26 GMT

Hi Writers,
There's another new contest bringing the Web 2.0 concept to the publishing world. Here's a blurb, "Publishers seek talent online" that ran in yesterday's New York Times:

Joining the growing list of publishers that use public votes to decide what to publish, Penguin Group is teaming with Amazon.com and Hewlett Packard for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. From today through Nov. 5, contestants from 20 countries can submit unpublished manuscripts of English-language novels to Amazon, which will assign a small group of its top-rated online reviewers to evaluate 5,000-word excerpts and narrow the field to 1,000. The full manuscripts of those semifinalists will be submitted to Publishers Weekly, which will assign reviewers to each. Amazon will post the reviews, along with excerpts, online, where customers can make comments. Using those comments and the magazine’s reviews, Penguin will winnow the field to 100 finalists who will get two readings by Penguin editors. When a final 10 manuscripts are selected, a panel including Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the current nonfiction paperback best seller “Eat, Pray, Love,” and John Freeman, the president of the National Book Critics Circle, will read and post comments on the novels at Amazon. Readers can then vote on the winner, who will receive a publishing contract and a $25,000 advance from Penguin. Separately, Borders Group, the bookstore chain, is teaming with Gather.com, the social networking site, and Court TV to solicit unpublished manuscripts from mystery or crime writers. A panel of judges that includes the writers Harlan Coben and Sandra Brown will crown the winner from a pool of finalists selected by voters on Gather.com. The winner will receive a $5,000 advance and will be published by Borders itself.

Go to Amazon for more info. and to register. Send your entry asap, they're only taking the first 5,000 submissions!

And please keep me posted if you're planning on entering this contest. What a fabulous opportunity for a new novelist. Best of luck to all who enter.

Keep Writing,
Maria

2007 ZOETROPE: ALL-STORY SHORT FICTION CONTEST

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 18:01:11 GMT

Here's an announcement I received for the Zoetrope short story contest, for anyone who's interested. The deadline is next week!
I'm a big fan of Zoetrope.

Keep Writing,
Maria

*****

www.all-story.com/contests
e-mail: contests@all-story.com

THE JUDGE: Joyce Carol Oates, the National Book Award-winner and Zoetrope contributor, will award the top prizes.

PRIZES: The first-place prize is $1,000, second-place prize is $500, and third-place prize is $250.

LITERARY AGENCIES: The winner and seven finalists will be considered for representation by the William Morris Agency, ICM, Regal Literary, the Elaine Markson Literary Agency, Inkwell Management, Sterling Lord Literistic, and the Georges Borchardt Literary Agency.

THE DEADLINE: All entries must be postmarked by October 1, 2007. The winners and finalists will be announced at the website December 1, 2007, and in the Spring 2008 issue of Zoetrope: All-Story.

PROJECT 20/20: BUILD MY BLOGROLL WEEK 6 ADD!

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 18:37:49 GMT

Hi Writers,
It's FRIDAY! the most exciting day of the week in writing blogdom. It's the day of the week I add another writer's blog to my ever-expanding blogroll in my Project 20/20: Build my Blogroll contest. I'm adding one blog a week, each Friday, for 20 weeks.

And today I'm announcing sweet number six, which belongs to a writer who is also a Writer's Digest frequent forumista. In fact, we've been having the most interesting conversation about writing blogs on the forum. Another frequent forumista, Ultimate Cheapskate, seems to think that writing a blog, a.k.a. giving away your work, is pointless. We had a really fascinating, slightly controversial subject about it, of course we had to point out to Cheapskate the error of his ways. Please check it out and add to the discussion you writer/bloggers.

With that I'd like to introduce my next blogroll add: A Writer's Edge
by Georganna Hancock.

Georganna has been blogging since 2004. Three years seems like an eternity in blogdom, doesn't it?

I liken blog years to dog years: 1 year blogging = 7 regular years.
21 years blogging! Amazing!

Georganna is perhaps even more obsessive/compulsive than I am in keeping up on publishing industry trends and news, and she shares freely, along with her own writing tips for success.

Please join me in welcoming Georganna to my lovely blog circledom.

Please note: I've added my original post about Project 20/20, which includes many of the blogs that have been nominated (in the comments section), in the left navigation here.

Keep nominating your favorite writing blogs--there are still 14 weeks to go!

Keep Writing,
Maria

The third William Saroyan International Prize for Writing

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:10:25 GMT

Hi Writers,
I get quite a few requests to post writing contests. This one seems intriguing so I thought I'd share it with you.
Maria

The third William Saroyan International Prize for Writing

Call for Submissions:
Nominations are now being accepted for the third William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. This award, given by Stanford University Libraries in partnership with the William Saroyan Foundation, recognizes newly published works of fiction and non-fiction with a $12,500 award for the winner in each category. The prize is designed to encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan literary legacy of originality, vitality and stylistic innovation. While normally biennial, this third round of the award is on a triennial schedule, having been timed to coincide with the Saroyan Centennial celebrations taking place in 2008. For entry forms and more information on the prize, including entry forms and rules, visit the Saroyan Prize website: http://library.stanford.edu/saroyan Entries must be received on or before January 31, 2008.