VOLUME 24, ISSUE 8 | February 16, 2024 |
USING REAL PLACES AND PEOPLE No, I'm not an attorney, but this is my two cents of advice when it comes to using real people and places. If the people are strongly in the
public eye, you can use them. However, if you use them in a negative light, you take a chance. If people are average Joe's, like you and me, then get their permission, preferably in writing. The person you get along with today might be your enemy next week. As to places, if you use them in a benign or positive light, you're safe. If you use them in a
negative light, depends. If a real restaurant is mentioned, don't drop a body in the middle of the diners or have a character get sick from the food. However, if it's just where someone meets, and the situation is positive or the restaurant is just mentioned without opinion, you're probably safe. They haven't been hurt. When a crime goes down in my
books, it's never in a real place. I use real streets, restaurants, businesses and grocery stores in my Edisto series, and the island folk appreciate it, as do so many fans who visit there, but I perform the crime where nobody's image can be tainted. Bottom line is what kind of damage can you do. These days, people are rather litigious so an author has
to be careful. If in doubt, speak to your attorney, your publisher, or your agent. If you have none of the above, stop and wonder if mentioning a real person or place is absolutely necessary in telling your story. |
C. Hope Clark
Editor, FundsforWriters
Email Hope | Visit Website | Sign up for Newsletter
Newsletter: ISSN: 1533-1326
FFW has been on the Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers list every year since 2000
Our subscriber list is
NOT made available to others. Use information listed at your own risk. FundsforWriters gives no warranty to completeness, accuracy, or fitness of the markets, contests, and grants although research is done to the best of our ability. FundsforWriters finds open submission calls, contests, and markets from a wide variety of sources, including Erika Dreifus' Practicing Writer newsletter, Erica Verrillo's
blog, Authors Publish, Poets & Writers, Duotrope, Winning Writers, Write Jobs Plus,
LinkedIn Jobs, Emily Stoddard, and other newsletters and online sites. Many announcements are submitted directly to FundsforWriters. All must be paying opportunities. Contests must pay a minimum of $200 first place. Submit potential listings to [email protected]
TWITTER - http://twitter.com/hopeclark
AUTHOR SITE - http://www.chopeclark.com
FACEBOOK - http://www.facebook.com/chopeclark
GOODREADS - http://www.goodreads.com/hopeclark
BOOKBUB - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-hope-clark Read the FFW Archive FIRST PAGES PRIZE SUBMISSIONS OPEN MARCH 1, 2024. Prizes awarded in BOTH Fiction & Creative
Nonfiction Winners receive cash awards, developmental mentoring, & an agent consultation. Fiction & Creative Nonfiction Judge - EDWIDGE DANTICAT Open to un-agented writers worldwide, the
First Pages Prize invites you to enter your first five pages (1250 words) of a longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction. For details, visit: www.firstpagesprize.com BEWARE THE CALL Well known mystery/suspense author Lee Goldberg received a call recently from a gentleman professing to be with a literary
agency. He and his organization would assist him in getting his book promoted at the Los Angeles Festival of Books. Mr. Goldberg recorded the conversation and you'll enjoy listening to this renown traditionally published author mess with a scammer. https://leegoldberg.com/the-new-age-literary-agency-scam/ Someone calls me every month or two want to promote me at some book fair or another. Most of the timem they ask to represent The Shy Writer Reborn, a nonfiction how-to book I self-published last in 2014. Sometimes I talk to them. Other times I do not. I have messed with them like Mr. Goldberg, too. A FundsforWriters reader
recently wrote me, asking for assistance in finding grant funds to pay a literary agency that called him, seeking to promote his book at the Frankfurt Book Fair. I warned him to avoid these scammers, and I really think I took the wind out of his sails. He was hoping this was a break for him and his book. If a caller seeks you out, making promises about publishing and marketing your books, do not
take them seriously. They are not good for you, and will only take your money with little positive in return. I know it's difficult to tell someone no. . . someone who seems to want to help, but scams are abundant in this regard. They will ask you for thousands, promising you the moon, and all you'll get in the end is crickets, unless you go to the event, in which case you'll have a vacation. . .
then crickets. Story Unlikely's magazine submission period is now open through September! Seeking short stories of all genres (fiction and creative nonfiction), 10k length (or 15k if you're a member)
8 cents a word payment, reprints are 1 cent a word (see details for payment caps)
All published stories are illustrated
(no submission
fees) Read our submission page for more details: https://www.storyunlikely.com/#submit -March 8, 2024 - Colleton County Library, 600 Hampton St, Walterboro, SC - 1-2PM -March 22-24, 2024 - Writer's Digest Mystery/Thriller Virtual Conference - presenter - Keeping Pace in the Middle of
Your Mystery -May 29, 2024 - A Moveable Feast, presenter C. Hope Clark, Restaurant TBD, Pawley's Island, SC -June 1-8, 2024 - The Gutsy Great Novelist Retreat, Bar Harbor, Maine - writer-in-residence
-June 22, 2024 - Richland County Library, Ballentine, 1200 Dutch Fork
Rd, Irmo, SC - time TBD - July 9, 2024 - South Congaree-Pine Ridge Branch Library, 200 Sunset Dr, West Columbia, SC 29172 - 5:30-7:00 PM
Email: [email protected] to schedule events, online or otherwise. There's starting to be life out there! "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” ~Annie Dillard
<<If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to [email protected] >>
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4 Ways to Tap Into the Booming Middle Grade Horror Market
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By Sarah Allen According to a 2022 article in Publishers Weekly, "shivery tales are proliferating." Middle grade horror stories are having a moment, and for good reason. These books can do both things a great kids book sets out to do: entertain and enlighten. Horror stories keep kids engaged and turning the page. R.L. Stein, the king of middle grade horror, writes brilliant books that master engagement. But middle grade horror can also provide a metaphorical lens through which kid readers can
deal with real life trauma. Books that do this well—Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls, Christian McKay Heideker's Scary Stories for Young Foxes—have even won the coveted Newbery Award. This market growth shows no signs of slowing down. If you're a middle grade writer, how can you tap in? Use the wealth that's already there. With the rise of shows like Stranger Things and Wednesday,
kids are already tuned in to the spooky, monstrous zeitgeist. Take something familiar and put your own twist on it. Want to write a ghost story? Check out City of Ghosts by V.E. Schwab, Ghost Girl by Ally Malinenko, and Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega. All ghost stories with a unique twist. All very successful entries in the booming middle grade horror market. Think school visits. From the beginning, perhaps even
before you put pen to page, give thought as to how you can position yourself for school visits, both in person and virtually. The kids will love the adventures and the monsters in your story—but what about the teachers and librarians? Maybe your platform is one of pure engagement and excitement about reading. Maybe it's tied in with something else like disability or mental health, or maybe you've included STEM elements. My middle grade horror, The
Nightmare House, is told in partial verse. I made sure to include all types of poetry—sonnet, haiku, limerick, abced-arians, shape poems, and more—with the explicit thought in mind that teachers can use this book as a resource. It came out in August, just in time for the school year to begin, and I've already scheduled school visits booked where we'll talk about writing, reading, and poetry. Know your audience. Be aware of reader
expectations. Be aware of what current middle grade horror covers look like. Know the typical tropes—for example, that teams of friends and a strong humor element are very common and important in middle grade horror stories. Know that your middle grade readers are very discerning, and will want to know what makes your monsters unique. For example, Adrianna Cuevas' forthcoming Mari and the Curse of El Cocodrillo includes effigies, friend groups, and
family curses with a particular Cuban flair. Small Spaces by Katherine Arden is hugely popular, perhaps in part because it uses the tropes of friend groups, school trips, and haunted mazes, adding specific and unique twists of grief, neurodiversity, and a villain with a very clear and creepy personality. Be targeted with your online presence. The middle grade target audience is aged 8-12. They are too young to be your social media
audience. (Yeah, smartphone and social media use is skewing younger and younger, of course, but still, even if your Instagram and TikTok followers are 8-12 year olds, you want to be careful about directly and privately communicating with them anyway.) What does this all mean for your social media? It means that your real target audience is parents, teachers, and librarians. Spend some time every week interacting with and reaching out to library and
bookseller accounts—look up your local independent bookstore and local public library on Instagram and TikTok, and see what they're up to. Search hashtags like #teachertiktok and #librarianlife. Consider putting out free resources for teachers on your website—I have tried to do that on my website, because I believe educators deserve every break we can give them. As a middle grade author, your online presence is really targeted toward these middlemen. Some of my favorite teacher and educator accounts online are Kathie Macisaac and Too Cool for Middle School on
Instagram and The Snarky Librarian on TikTok. Start with a few, and they will lead you to others! Personally, I don't think there's a better market and better audience to be writing for. These are the readers who will think of you as a rockstar, if you can reach them. These
are the readers who will always remember you as the writer who kept them up way past their bedtime, reading under the covers with a flashlight. BIO: Sarah Allen is a poet and author of books for young readers. Her latest middle grade horror, THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE, released in August of 2023, with her next, MONSTER TREE, coming out September 2024 and available for pre-order. Her first book, WHAT STARS ARE MADE OF, was an ALA Notable Book
of 2020 and Whitney Award Winner, and her second, BREATHING UNDERWATER, was a Jr. Library Guild Selection for 2021. Born and raised in Utah, she received an MFA in creative writing from Brigham Young University, and now lives in Florida. She spends her non-writing time watching David Attenborough documentaries and singing show-tunes too loudly, and she's a lover of leather jackets, grizzly bears, and Colin Firth. Find her online, subscribe to her newsletter, or follow her on all the socials @sarahallenbooks
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GUTSY GREAT NOVELIST CHAPTER ONE PRIZE $20 ENTRY FEE. Submissions open Thursday, Feb 1 - Friday, March 1, 2024. The Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter One Prize is awarded for an outstanding opening page of an unpublished novel. First prize is $1,000; 2nd is $500; and 3rd is $250. The prize is open internationally
to anyone over 18 writing a novel in English in any genre for adult or YA readers. ALPINE POETRY PRIZE
https://alpinefellowship.com/poetry-prize
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 1, 2024. Theme: Language. You may submit one poem or a
collection of poems as long as ALL the poems in the collection speak to the theme. There is a maximum of 500 words per entry. There is no minimum required word count. First place: £3,000. Second place: £1,000. Third place: £1,000. The winner and runners-up will be invited to the annual symposium. Up to £500 travel expenses to help with travel to the event and meals and accommodation. ALPINE WRITING
PRIZE
https://alpinefellowship.com/writing-prize
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 1, 2024. Theme: Language. All genres of writing are permitted, including fiction, non-fiction, and non-academic essays. Open to all nationalities. First place: £3,000. Second place: £1,000. Third place: £1,000. The winner and runners-up will
be invited to the annual symposium. Up to £500 travel expenses to help with travel to the event and meals and accommodation. A maximum of 2,500 words per entry. HG WELLS SHORT STORY COMPETITION
https://hgwellscompetition.com/competition-rules-2024/
Zero to £10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 8, 2024. Competition offers a £500 Senior and £1,000 Junior prize and free publication of all shortlisted entries in a quality, professionally published paperback anthology. Theme: The Fool. The length must be 1,500 to 5,000 words. WRITER'S
DIGEST ANNUAL WRITING COMPETITION
https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/annual-writing-competition
$20-30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 6, 2024. Grand prize winner receives $5,000 and a paid trip to New York to the conference (and more). The First place winner in
each category will receive $1,000 and publication of their winning piece on WritersDigest.com. The Second place winner in each category will receive $500. The Third place winner in each category will receive $250 in cash. The Fourth place winner in each category will receive $100. The Fifth place winner in each category will receive $50. The Sixth through Tenth place winners in each category will receive a $25 gift certificate for writersdigestshop.com. Categories: Inspirational/Spiritual,
Memoirs/Personal Essay, Nonfiction Essay or Article, Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.), Mainstream/Literary Short Story, Rhyming Poetry, Non-rhyming Poetry, Humor, Children’s/Young Adult Fiction.
Erma Home Schooling The Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop invites writers to join us in the virtual classroom for "Erma Home Schooling."
Enjoy our popular keynote talks, including the opening night kick-off with Anna Quindlen, and learn from renowned faculty who will offer four exclusive workshops to uplift your writing life. You'll hone your creativity, build valuable skills - and discover a wonderfully supportive online writing community. Early bird fee: $199 before March 8. Check out the program - and join us April 4-6, 2024. GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING SILVERS GRANT FOR WORKS IN PROGRESS
https://silversfoundation.org/grants/
Deadline March 31, 2024. Anglophone writers of any nationality may apply for up to
$10,000 to support long-form essays in the fields of literary criticism, arts writing, political analysis, and/or social reportage. Grants may not be used to fund translation. Applicants must have an editorial agreement with a publication or publishing house for the work under consideration. US WRITERS AID INITIATIVE
https://pen.org/us-writers-aid-initiative/
Deadlines April 1, 2024, July 1, 2024, October 1, 2024. The U.S. Writers Aid Initiative is intended to assist fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, playwrights, translators, and journalists in addressing short-term financial emergencies. To be eligible, applicants must be professional writers based in the United States, and be
able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping address a short-term emergency situation. ENTRY FEES FOR POETS
https://www.poetrybulletin.com/poetry-fee-support
This group pays entry fees
for poets attempting to submit their manuscripts to publishers that charge to submit. Submission fees for poetry chapbooks and full-length poetry manuscripts only. A maximum of three submissions per poet. A STUDIO IN THE WOODS RESIDENCIES
https://www.astudiointhewoods.org/apply-for-self-as-universe-mending-our-collective-ecosystems-residencies/
Deadline April 3, 2024. Theme: Self as Universe: Mending Our Collective Ecosystem. Open to artists of all disciplines who have demonstrated an established dialogue with environmental and cultural issues.
Residencies are 6 weeks and will take place between September 2024 and May 2025. Recipients will be provided $3000 as a stipend and $2000 towards materials. Provides full room and board including food, utilities for living, and studio space to selected residents. RHODE ISLAND GRANT APPLICATION CLASS
https://arts.ri.gov/press-releases/state-arts-council-opens-arts-grant-applications-april-1-deadline
RISCA staff is hosting information sessions, office hours, and application walk-throughs to assist with the grant application process. Mark your calendar for the next in-person Information Session, Wednesday, March 6,
6-7 p.m., at the Warwick Public Library, 600 Sandy Lane, Room 113, Warwick, RI.
Rigel 2024: $500 for Prose, Poetry, Art, or Graphic Novel Authors & Artists Eligible. Rigel, the brightest star in the Orion constellation, inspired Sunspot Lit to find the single short story, novel, novella, artwork, graphic novel, or poem
that outshines the rest. Literary or genre works accepted; the only requirement is quality. Winner receives $500 plus publication, while runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Length for prose is a maximum of 1,500 words; poetry can be up to 14 lines; and graphic novels/comics/scripts/screenplays can be 1 to 6 pages. Excerpts from longer works
are eligible. An excerpt selected as the winner or as a finalist will be offered publication only for the submitted sample. Open: February 1 Close: February 29 Entry fee: $12.50 Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition an average of two months after contest completion, as well as in the annual print edition. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period. Enter as many times as you like through Submittable or Duotrope, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected. 100 DAYS IN APPALACHIA
https://www.100daysinappalachia.com/2020/07/100-days-appalachia-call-pitches/
Invites new voices
and perspectives to contribute to narrating the true story of Appalachia — in words, pictures, video and experimental media. Can also post credentials for them to send you story ideas. Pays roughly $200 per piece. PTO TODAY
https://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-submission-guidelines
For leaders of parent groups (often called parent-teacher organizations) at the 80,000-plus elementary and middle schools across the United States. Runs instructional pieces, best practices, idea roundups, and more. Assignments run roughly 600 to 1,500 words. Payment depends on difficulty of the topic and experience of the writer. Pays $125 to $500. BRIARPATCH
https://briarpatchmagazine.com/submissions
Publishes writing and artwork on a wide range of topics, including current events, grassroots activism, electoral politics, economic justice, ecology, labour, food security, gender
equity, Indigenous struggles, international solidarity, and other issues of political importance. Pays $150 to $350. See themes. CHICKEN SOUP: ME AND MY DOG
http://www.chickensoup.com
We are looking for true stories about your dog. Can't
wait to read all the heartwarming, inspirational, and hysterical stories you have about your dogs. Pays $250 and ten copies. Liimit 1,200 words. First person only. MEN'S JOURNAL
https://www.mensjournal.com/
Specifically looking for hot
take op-eds and spicy essays about whisk(e)y. Rate is $250 for 600-800 words. Send pitches (and writing samples) to [email protected]
ENTREPRENEUR PRESS
https://www.entrepreneur.com/press
Under the
Entrepreneur Media umbrella, like the magazine, this press publishes small business and marketing books. PERSEA BOOKS
https://www.perseabooks.com/contact/
Publishes literary fiction, creative nonfiction, memoir, essays,
biography, literary criticism, books on contemporary issues (multicultural, feminist, LGBTQI+), Young Adult novels, and literary and multicultural anthologies that are assigned in secondary and university classrooms. LYRICAL PRESS
https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/pages/lyricalsubmissions/
Looking for fresh stories in a variety of categories including all romance genres (specifically suspense and historicals with unique settings), compelling psychological suspense fiction, thrillers, women’s fiction, new adult, and cozy mysteries. Hopes to find edgy and daring voices that readers will love. BAEN
https://www.baen.com/faq
Looking only for science fiction and fantasy. Prefers 100,000 - 130,000 words.
Please forward the newsletter in its entirety. To reprint any editorials, contact [email protected] for permission. Do not assume that acknowledgements listed in your publication is considered a valid right to publish out of ours.
C. Hope Clark
E-mail: [email protected]
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036
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