SPONSOR OF THE WEEK

WOMEN READING ALOUD , founded seventeen years ago by award-winning writer, Julie Maloney, is an international organization dedicated to the support of women writers.

WRA provides space for artistic growth through workshops and retreats modeled after the Amherst Writers and Artists Method. All genres are welcome. 
 
In 2020, WRA returns to Greece for our tenth anniversary retreat. We encourage writers to cherish their own voices, as well as the voices of others.
 
Visit our website: www.womenreadingaloud.org to see our USA and international writing retreats, testimonials, and photo gallery.

THE REWARD ISN'T ALWAYS INSTANT

Many authors judge an opportunity by its instant reward. How many books can they sell? How much can they make in so many hours? How big is the audience? How much will they get paid?

Granted, I'm a person who strongly vets a public appearance. People still do not believe that I wrote The Shy Writer Reborn as a truly introverted person. To this day, I carefully analyze an appearance, weighing the level of stress I put on myself to appear versus the benefit of appearing. 

However, I'm the first to tell you that just because few people bought your book doesn't mean you won't land a bigger benefit downstream. Just realize that it might not happen instantly. We cannot measure promotion by the end of the day's proceeds.  

I'm not a fan of book fairs. . . those huge events where 50-100 writers appear. There are tents, classes, booths, and panels. Writers competing against writers. But I did one once upon a time and served on a panel of four female mystery authors. That I could handle. However, when it came time to sign books, I competed against 20 authors. Sold one book. However, other things occurred from that event. 

1) Barnes & Noble began stocking my books. 

2) The State newspaper took photos and did a feature on the book fair. . . with the photo they chose being one of me speaking on the panel. I'm animated when I speak, so there I was, all earnest and intense for half the state to see.

3) I was asked to speak to a book club. 

4) A women's club asked me to be their keynote for a banquet. I spoke to 150 women and sold 85 books in two hours, with a fabulous meal on top of it all. 

I could tell stories like that for hours. Sometimes serendipity happens and I'm amazed at the results of just showing up. Sometimes nothing happens. There's little instant reward in this business. Just keep reminding yourself that branding takes time. And it's that brand that makes for long-range success.

But it can't happen if you aren't putting yourself out there to snare that opportunity. 





 

SUPER SPONSOR WORTH NOTING

The Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest is open to anyone who loves expressing innermost thoughts and feelings into the beautiful literary art of poetry and/or writing a story that's worth telling everyone! And welcome to all, having the ability to dream... Write a poem or short story for a chance to win cash prizes totaling $1275.00. All works must be original.

Guidelines:

Write a poem, 30 lines or fewer on any subject, style, or form, typed or neatly hand printed. And/or write a short story, 5 pages maximum length, on any subject or theme; fiction, nonfiction or creative nonfiction (including essay compositions, diary, journal entries, and screenwriting). Also, all entries must be either typed or neatly hand printed.

Multiple and simultaneous poetry and short story entries are accepted.

Postmark deadline: December 28, 2019. All contest winners will be published on February 29, 2020

Prizes:

Writing First Prize is $500. Second Prize: $250. Third Prize: $100.
Poetry First Prize is $250. Second Prize: $125. Third Prize: $50.

Entry fees: $10 per story, $5 per poem.

To send entries: Include title(s) with your story(ies) or poem(s), along with your name, address, phone#, email, brief biographical info. (Tell us a little about yourself), on the cover sheet. Add a self-addressed stamped envelope for entry confirmation. Fees payable to: "DREAMQUESTONE.COM"

Mail to:

Dream Quest One
Poetry & Writing Contest
P.O. Box 3141
Chicago, IL 60654

Visit https://www.dreamquestone.com for details on how to enter!

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Featured article

Blinkered by Books

By Gurmeet Mattu

So there I am, the young unpublished writer in his 20s working on his novel, Such Lunatic Gods. What genre am I writing in? Science fiction, of course, because that's what I like reading about. It's a natural progression, obviously, because I've sold a few articles and short stories so it's time for a full-length piece. 

I finish it, send it off to publishers, and the rejection slips mount up. I try for an agent, however, and land one. Whoopee! He thinks I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread and promises an exciting future. I start working on the follow-up book. Yet time passes with nothing happening. I'm young, impatient, expecting results. But no publisher biting. I finish with the agent, resigned that I'm a failure and done with writing. Years pass.

I'm in a dead-end job one day listening to the radio. An ad comes on saying that the local commercial station, Radio Clyde seeks comedy writers for a planned new series, Six of the Best. I'm not a comedy writer and I've never written for radio, but the urge is still there. I dig out the typewriter. I write a sketch called The Curse of Hitler's Moustache, and glory be, I'm selected to join one of the writing teams. That leads to publicity since I’m an oddity, an Indian Scotsman, and I get a phone call from a local Asian arts group asking would I be interested in writing a play for them? Never written for theatre before, but what the hell. The result was Citizen Singh which we took to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to great acclaim.

Then the producer of the earlier radio show asks if I'd do a radio play for him as he'd moved to the BBC. Hey, when did I become a dramatist? I'm a writer of science fiction novels. Seems not, because they tell me I'm really good at writing dialogue and was born to write scripts. I wrote Sick as a Parrot for Hamish Wilson.

More stage and radio plays follow. Siege Mentality, Cowboys & Indians, A MsSiah, the Flirt and These Magic Words. I become a local celebrity, appearing in newspapers, pontificating on radio and TV.

I get another agent, and this one specialises in TV sitcoms. He wangles two sitcom pilots with the BBC; Coconuts and Doc, which is very rewarding financially. But I know the big money lies in cinema and not TV, so I write a film script, Disciple, and it wins an award, the Scottish Screen/DNA Films First Draft Award.

So, I'm not rich and I'm not famous, but I am a writer and that's all I ever set out to be. Not the kind of writer I expected to be, a novelist, but a dramatist. If I'd known this when I started I could have saved a lot of time, but I'd been blinkered by books. I'd thought that to be a writer I needed ink on paper, a book on a shelf. I'd been misled by my naivety into imagining there was only one kind of writer and prose was what they wrote.

But the likelihood is that dramatic writing will surpass prose in the future, if it has not already done so, as we become a more visual species who rely on seeing rather than reading. This shouldn't deter you as you write your short story or novel, because it spells opportunity and that is a good thing.

You won't know if you can do it till you try it, so the next time you begin, instead of typing in Chapter One, try Scene One.
 
Brief Bio = Gurmeet Mattu is an award-winning Scots-based comedy writer with works in prose, comic books, theatre, radio, TV, and cinema. 
 

COmpetitions

ST. MARTIN'S MINOTAUR / MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA FIRST CRIME NOVEL COMPETITION
https://mysterywriters.org/about-mwa/st-martins/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 3, 2020. The Competition is open to any writer, regardless of nationality, aged 18 or older, who has never been the author of any Published Novel (in any genre). If a winner is selected, Minotaur Books will offer to enter into its standard form author’s agreement with the entrant for publication of the winning Manuscript. After execution of the standard form author’s agreement by both parties, the winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000. 



K. MARGARET GROSSMAN FICTION AWARDS
http://www.literal-latte.com/contests/fiction-award/
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 15, 2020. First Prize $1,000. Second Prize $300. Third Prize $200. Send unpublished stories, 10,000 words max. All subjects and styles welcome.



BREAKWATER FICTION CONTEST
https://www.breakwaterreview.com/contests
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 1, 2020. We are seeking submissions for pieces that breathe freshness to the form. We are interested in previously unpublished prose ranging from 1,000 - 5,000 words. Prize $1,000 and publication in the Winter issue.



HEKTOEN INTERNATIONAL WRITING CONTEST
https://hekint.org/special-issue-submission-instructions/
Deadline January 15, 2020. Hektoen International invites you to send an essay of under 1,600 words on the subject of Blood. The contest honors the achievements of the Red Cross, locally, nationally, and globally. Two prizes will be awarded: $3000 for the winner and $800 for the runner up. Entries should be no longer than 1,600 words and must also include at least one image. 



JAMES JONES FIRST NOVEL FELLOWSHIP
https://www.wilkes.edu/academics/graduate-programs/masters-programs/creative-writing-ma-mfa/james-jones-fellowship-contest.aspx
$30 ENTRY FEE. A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. Runners-up will receive $1,000. A selection from the winning work is published in Provincetown Arts. The award is intended to honor the spirit of unblinking honesty, determination, and insight into cultural and social issues exemplified by the late James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity and other prose narratives of distinction.



NOVELLA-IN-FLASH AWARD
https://bathflashfictionaward.com/novella-entry/
ENTRY FEE £16. Deadline January 12, 2020. Prizes: £300 first, two £100 runners-up. Winner and two runners-up published as individual novellas. All entries considered for publication. Entrants must be 16 years or over. Entry is open to everyone; locally, nationally and internationally. The novella-in-flash must be in between 6,000 and 18,000 words long.



SISKIYOU PRIZE
https://siskiyouprize.com/guidelines.html
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 1, 2020. The Siskiyou Prize accepts published or unpublished full-length prose manuscripts, including novels, memoirs, short story collections, and essay collections. Winner will receive a cash award of $1,000 and a two-week residency at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology during the 2020-2021 residency season. All unpublished manuscripts submitted to the prize will be considered for publication by Ashland Creek Press.



PROMETHEUS UNBOUND CONTEST
https://www.prometheusdreaming.com/awards
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2019. Only poetry considered. Submit up to five pieces of poetry (up to ten pages) per submission. The winner and all finalists will be published in a special edition of Prometheus Dreaming. Grand prize of $500.



J. NEW BOOKS / MALCOLM LOWRY LITERARY NOVEL CONTEST
https://jnewbooks.submittable.com/submit
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 20, 2019. We are now accepting submissions for the first annual Malcolm Lowry Literary Novel Contest, open to all novels of literary fiction. First prize will be $300 and a publishing contract from J New Books. (Selected novel to be published in September 2020).



GEORGIA POETRY PRIZE
https://georgiapress.submittable.com/submit
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2019. Authors of winning manuscripts receive a cash award of $1,000, and their collections are subsequently published by the University of Georgia Press under a standard book contract. Winners have ten days to accept the award and ten days to sign the contract following receipt. The competition is open to writers in English, whether published or unpublished. Writers must be residents of North America. Manuscripts are recommended to be a minimum of 50 pages to a recommended maximum of 100 pages of original poetry. No more than one poem should appear on a page. 

 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

SUMMER INSTITUTE
https://iwp.uiowa.edu/programs/summer-institute/application
Deadline February 1, 2020. The Summer Institute is an immersive two-week creative writing and cultural exchange program held in Iowa City, Iowa, U.S., a UNESCO City of Literature, for participants age 18-22 from Pakistan, India, and the U.S. Students from all disciplines – the arts, humanities, sciences, and everything in between – are welcome to apply! This program is free for selected participants and will focus on creative writing and the power of narrative. Attendees take part in master classes in the craft of writing, in collaborative workshops focused on their creative work, and in activities designed to forge new lines of understanding and shared purpose among its community of writers. 



STEINBECK FELLOWS PROGRAM
http://www.sjsu.edu/steinbeck/fellows/steinbeckfellows_apply/
Deadline January 2, 2020. The emphasis of the program is on helping writers who have had some success, but not published extensively, and whose promising work would be aided by the financial support and sponsorship of the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies and the University’s creative writing program. One-year fellowships, each with a stipend of US$15,000 (increased from $10,000 in 2018), are open to writers of fiction, drama, creative nonfiction, and biography. Applicants do not need to be U.S. citizens. The number of fellowships offered varies each year; for 2019/20 there were six fellows. Writers may not be enrolled in an academic degree program during the fellowship period and there is no application fee.



MACDOWELL COLONY RESIDENCIES
https://www.macdowellcolony.org/apply/application-guidelines
Deadline January 15, 2020. The colony is accepting applications from emerging and established artists for its summer fellowship program in the following disciplines: architecture, film/video arts, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theater, and visual arts. The fellowship includes exclusive use of a private studio, accommodations, and three prepared meals a day for a period of two to eight weeks. Summer residencies are available from June 1 to September 30, 2020. There are no residency fees, and travel grants as well as need-based stipends are available (though artists are generally responsible for the cost of travel to and from the colony). The sole criterion for acceptance is artistic excellence.



LEEWAY FOUNDATION
https://www.leeway.org/grants/art_and_change_grants/
Deadline March 1, 2020. Through the program, grants of up to $2,500 will be award to women and trans artists in the greater Philadelphia region in support of art for social change projects. The foundation encourages those with an art-for-social-change project or opportunity that impacts a larger group, audience, or community and a financial need and limited or no access to other financial resources to apply. 



MAUREEN EGEN WRITERS EXCHANGE AWARD
https://www.pw.org/about-us/maureen_egen_writers_exchange_award
Deadline January 6, 2020. Introduces emerging writers to the New York City literary community. The prestigious award, which aims to provide promising writers a network for professional advancement, has helped to launch the careers of Sue Monk Kidd (The Invention of Wings, The Secret Life of Bees), Lidia Yuknavitch (The Book of Joan), Bryn Chancellor (Sycamore: A Novel), David Mura (Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei), and others. 







The Rhythmic Heart: Equinox in Ixtapa Retreat for Writing & Yoga, March 21-28 

Crack open your fierce, original voice at one of the year's most intensive writing retreats at the renowned and secluded Present Moment seaside eco-retreat! Buoyed by stunning natural beauty & the pulsing rhythm of Pacific waves, you'll dive deep below the surface of "the usual" to supercharge your writing practice & surprise yourself on the page.  

Three spots left for writers of all levels & genres. This retreat offers profound creative catalyst along with unconventional & incredibly effective tools of the craft to bring your words alive in brand new ways. The ocean's edge is a potent threshold between one thing & another, and equinox embodies deep tension between dark and light. We'll channel that visceral energy into our writing, uncovering exciting new undercurrents and fragments in our stories. Writing workshops and feedback on your work-in-progress by award-winning author and teacher Jeannine Ouellette.

Retreat includes ground transportation, room & board with all fresh gourmet meals, daily writing workshops with facilitated craft discussions & readings, expertly guided yoga & meditation, optional eco-adventures, individualized support & more. Inquire soon! Space is limited; payment plans available. Join us!

For all retreat details:  http://elephantrockretreats.com/equinox-in-ixtapa-writing-retreat

Contact: Jeannine Ouellette – [email protected] or  612-801-2566

FREELANCE MARKETS

TWO MILLION BLOSSOMS
https://www.2millionblossoms.com/write-for-us
We seek short-form (300-800 words) and long-form (1,200-2,500 words) articles, preferably accompanied by appropriate photos sized at a minimum of 4x5” at 300 dpi. Articles that transport readers to a pollinator rich habitat, delight us with charismatic fauna, or inform us how to improve habitat are also appreciated. We’re open to submissions on any topic related to pollinators and pollination, written for a lay audience. We also welcome articles on honeybees that emphasize the role of managing Apis mellifera conscientiously, helping beekeepers be good stewards of the land. We purchase first-time print rights, pay upon publication, $100-200 for short-form articles and $200-400 for long-form. We ask that authors refrain from posting the articles on personal websites for six months post-publication. Send us a pitch.


 
GAY MAG
https://gay.submittable.com/submit
What we love and want: cultural criticism; thoughtful, clever and beautiful personal essays; short fiction; original artwork and photography. We do *not* want even the best hot take you can imagine, and we will not publish news. We do not want you to cannibalize yourself. We are interested in provocative work, but we are not interested in senseless provocation. We pay $1 a word for work up to 3,500 words in length (preferably around 1,500 words). We respond to all submissions, generally within six weeks. 



ISSUE MEDIA GROUP - PORT HURON, MI
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=46549a187481f1f0
Issue Media Group seeks creative self-starters for freelance writing roles for The Keel, a weekly publication and email newsletter featuring stories about bold startups, emerging places, catalytic talent, transformative projects, and ideas across the Thumb region. Ideal candidates will have previous digital journalism or community newspaper experience or be a recent graduate with relevant qualifications and work samples. Candidates should have a passion for finding interesting stories and be able to perform under the parameters of deadline requirements. Must be based in the Thumb area (Port Huron, Lexington, St. Clair County, etc.) and/or have a deep knowledge of the community and its unique stories.



THE PURITAN
http://puritan-magazine.com/submissions/
$100 per interview, $200 per essay, $100 per book review, $150 per work of fiction, and $25 per poem or page, capped at $80 for four pages or more. An online magazine run from Toronto. Since expanding its mandate to include poetry and reviews, The Puritan now seeks to publish the best in all forms of writing.



EDITORS IN RESIDENCE FOR THE TOWN CRIER
http://puritan-magazine.com/submissions/
Every year, six Editors in Residence take creative control of the blog for one month each. They are responsible for soliciting, editing, and publishing eight to ten nonfiction pieces throughout the month on a chosen literary theme or concept, in addition to writing four of their own pieces to introduce and develop their theme. The position comes with a $200 honorarium. 



STAFF WRITER - THE LANCASTER NEWS, SC
https://www.journalismjobs.com/1657150-staff-writer-the-lancaster-news
Lancaster is located just 45 minutes south of Charlotte, NC and 60 minutes north of Columbia, SC. Write news, features, and columns, as assigned. Take photographs as assigned and to accompany news stories. Cover assigned beats. Will include attending meetings at nights and covering spot news. Develop/write features and news for special publications, promotions.

 

Publishers/agents

 
HG LITERARY
https://www.hgliterary.com/
HG is a full-service literary agency that through collaborative and client-focused representation manages all aspects of an author’s career, from manuscript shaping to sale and publication, subsidiary rights management, marketing and publicity strategy, and beyond. Our clients have access to the resources and expertise of every member of our agency team, which includes contracts professionals, a film/TV rights director, foreign rights managers, and royalty and accounting specialists. Each agent has different interests and requests. Pitch them individually. 



CAROL MANN AGENCY
https://www.carolmannagency.com/submissions
The Carol Mann Agency was established in 1977 and has long been home to highly-regarded writers of fiction and nonfiction. For fiction, send a query letter including a brief bio, and the first 25 pages of your manuscript. For nonfiction, send a query letter including a brief bio, a synopsis/proposal and the first 25 pages of your manuscript. Submit to one agent at a time. 



REES LITERARY AGENCY
http://www.reesagency.com/
Founded in 1983, the Rees Literary Agency is renowned for its work with leading authors. We represent the following genres: literary and commercial fiction, memoirs, history, biography, business, young adult and middle grade, self-help, psychology, and science. 



HORNFISCHER LITERARY MANAGEMENT
https://www.hornfischerlit.com/
Hornfischer Literary Management, L.P., is a literary agency with a strong track record handling a broad range of serious and commercial nonfiction and select fiction. HLM’s clients include major award-winning nonfiction writers, memoirists, historians, scientists, professionals, journalists, and assorted other literary artists with portfolio.
 

SPONSORS

www.fundsforwriters.com/advertising 

FINE PRINT

Please forward the newsletter in its entirety. To reprint any editorials, contact [email protected] for permission. Please do not assume that acknowledgements listed in your publication is considered a valid right to publish.

C. Hope Clark
E-mail: [email protected]
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036
http://www.fundsforwriters.com

Copyright 2000-2019, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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