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Poetry competition
deadline delayed
 With the deadline for firstwriter.com's
Eleventh International Poetry Competition fast
approaching (October 1, 2012), firstwriter.com has
announced a last-minute delay to allow for final entries
to be submitted. If you haven't yet entered your poems for
your chance to win £500 (that's over $750) plus a
free licence for WhiteSmoke
2010+ (worth $99.95) you can enter online now in
seconds by going to https://www.firstwriter.com/competitions/poetry_competition.shtml.
As well as the
£500 first prize there are prizes of $150 for the best US
runner-up, and £100 for the best runner-up from the
United Kingdom. All winners and ten special commendations
will also receive firstwriter.com
vouchers
worth $36 / £24, which can be used to take out an annual
subscription to firstwriter.com for free, giving
full access to our database of over 850 literary
agencies, over 1,550 magazines,
over 1,400 publishers,
and over 100 constantly-changing competitions
(you can start enjoying all these benefits now by clicking
here).
A new way to receive
daily info about literary agents, publishers, magazines,
and competitions
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many years, firstwriter.com has kept its
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notifications of new and updated literary
agencies, publishers,
magazines,
and competitions
that match each user's specific preferences and interests.
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For two weeks only:
Harper Voyager opens doors to unsolicited submissions
For the first time in more
than a decade, Harper Voyager – publisher of some of the
biggest names in fantastic fiction (George R. R. Martin,
Kim Harrison, Raymond E. Feist, Robin Hobb, Richard Kadrey,
Sara Douglass, Peter V. Brett and Kylie Chan, to name but
a few) – will be opening its doors to unsolicited and
unagented submissions direct from authors.
With the explicit aim of
finding new authors with fresh voices, strong storytelling
abilities, original ideas, and compelling storylines, they
will be looking for all kinds of adult and young adult
speculative fiction for digital publication, but
particularly epic fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy,
horror, dystopia and supernatural. Manuscripts need to be
complete, at least 70,000 words long, and preferably
between 80,000 and 120,000 words. They may have been
previously published (provided you retain all rights), but
must not currently be under consideration at another
publisher.
Submissions will be
accepted online only, through the website at http://www.harpervoyagersubmissions.com.
Submissions will begin to be accepted from October 1,
2012, but this is a limited opportunity – you
have only till October 14, 2012, before the standard
policy of submissions via literary
agents only resumes.
For details of over
1,400 other publishers, click
here
Newsletter seeks
poetry submissions
The Poet Band Company is
asking for poetry up to 40 lines and prose up to 300 words
(English language only – if sent in another language,
also include English translation or transliteration) to be
submitted for possible publication in The Poetry
Explosion Newsletter (The PEN), issued
quarterly (January, April, July, and October).
Deadline dates are the
first week of each month prior to the month of publication
(December, March, June, and September).
July's issues are dedicated
to romantic poetry, and October's issues spotlights
holiday poetry. All other issues are "opened to the
writer".
Poems and prose are
published pertaining to all subjects (love, holidays,
current events, etc.) and in any form (sonnets, haiku,
rhyme, free and blank verse, etc.). Simultaneous and
pre-published submissions are accepted. Bio-sketches are
optional. Presently, there is no monetary payment, but if
your works are selected you'll be sent a free copy of the
issue in which they appear.
All submissions must be
typed and of “camera ready” quality. Submit a maximum
of five works by post (including a LSASE with correct
postage if you want your works that are not accepted for
publication to be returned) to:
Arthur C. Ford
PO Box 4725
Pittsburgh, PA.15206-0725
United States
If sending from another
country, send International Coupons (two per dollar
amount) or a Money Order or Check written in US Dollars
from a US Bank.
Email submissions are
accepted to wewuvpoetry@hotmail.com
and must include snail-mail address.
For the details of over
1,550 magazines, click
here
Ebook retailer leads the search for “America's Next Author”
Aspiring writers, take note:
eBookMall.com is leading the cause to reinvent the traditional writing contest. eBookMall’s "America's Next Author” competition begins Monday, September 17 and takes a play out of the American Idol playbook – readers will vote to advance their
favourite submissions. Consider it the book industry’s answer to widely popular TV shows looking for music’s next superstar.
"This is not your average writing contest,” says eBookMall Managing Director Martijn
Leenders. “In most writing contests, authors are left in the dark without ever knowing what other people entered or why they didn't win, and the general public is often left out of the equation all together. This contest will be transparent, a social experience that reveals what real people really want to read.”
Writers will submit stories at
eBookMall.com/americasnextauthor. Submissions should be between 2,500 and 5,000 words and feature only original material that has not been published anywhere else. Entering the contest is free and the grand prize is $5,000 – not to mention priceless exposure as an up-and-coming author. Two runners-up will receive $500.
As with traditional writing contests, eBookMall seeks submissions featuring well-written stories and engaging characters, but America's Next Author is different in one very significant way: contestants can influence their chances of winning by
mobilising their fans through social media and word-of-mouth promotion. Encouraging friends, family, and fans to vote will be crucial to the winning author's success.
Of course, it’s not designed to be a simple popularity contest. A panel of experienced professionals from the publishing industry (“the jury”) will oversee the competition. The jury will read entries and provide critical feedback to authors in a public forum. Like American Idol, this professional criticism may (or may not) impact voting. The jury will also award four wildcards, guaranteeing their preferred contestants will make it to the “finals” round of competition, and will choose the ultimate winner from three finalists in early December.
The contest is broken into the following four rounds:
Submission period: starts September 17th – During this period, authors will submit their original short story. Submissions will not be immediately visible on the contest website, but authors will receive an email confirmation when their submission is accepted or rejected.
Nomination Round: October 9th–November 27th –
During the nomination rounds, the public will have access to submissions while authors can enhance their profile page to win over fans and improve their chances of nabbing a nomination. Aspiring writers can continue to submit stories during the nomination round, but writers who submit early will have more time to garner support and increase their ranking. Readers can provide written reviews or quick star-reviews.
eBookMall officials will rank authors using an algorithm that incorporates ten distinct factors, including number of reviews, result of reviews, social media mentions
(Facebook, Twitter) and news articles about the author and/or story. Ranking will be visible on the contest website and updated regularly. At the end of the nomination rounds, the jury will also select four “wildcard” authors to advance to the finals.
Finals: December 5th–December 11th –
The final 12 nominees (eight from nomination rounds, four wildcards) will be positioned against each other in a bracket system. Readers can return to vote for their
favourite author as he or she goes head to head with another nominee. The three candidates with the highest score from this round will make it into the final jury selection.
Jury Round (December 11th–December 18th) –
The members of the jury will read and review works submitted by three finalists and decide who will be crowned America’s Next Author. eBookMall will announce the grand prize winner and two runners-up on December 18, 2012.
Founded in 1999, eBookMall is a veteran in the growing e-book industry. The retailer offers digital books from the world's biggest publishers, including Random House, Simon & Schuster, and MacMillan. Books are available in PDF and ePub formats for Windows and Mac computers, Android tablets, dedicated eReaders, and mobile phones.
“America’s Next Author” is eBookMall’s first contest for aspiring writers. For more information, visit
www.ebookmall.com.
For the details of over
100 other current writing contests, click here
 Marion Grace Woolley at
booQfest
Marion Grace Woolley has
this month been doing her first Waterstone's book
signings, as part of booQfest. Here Marion is pictured at
Northampton Waterstone's on Sunday September 16, 2012.
Marion found both of her
publishers by searching firstwriter.com's database
of publishers. You can read about her success in an
interview in fwn
112.
For more information about
Marion, go to http://www.authormgw.co.uk
To search our database of
over 1,400 publishers, click
here
Black Rose Entertainment
plans spoken word compilation
Black Rose Entertainment is
planning to put together a spoken word compilation. $25
will get you a slot for your piece on a compilation with
other poets/spoken word artists who share your passion for
poetry.
There are a total of 15
slots available. The compilation will be shopped to
several poetry societies and record labels as a means to
offer something different to the music industry.
The first 15 people who are
chosen will have their picture and social media links on
the flyer and CD, as well as being a part of the
promotion.
The CD will also be
available for free download on several sites across the
internet.
For more information contact Stephanie Davis of Black Rose
Entertainment at 4gentco@gmail.com
Brummet website relaunches
with opportunities for writers
The Brummet website at http://brummet.ca
has been relaunched with a brand new look and all new
content.
Writers may be interested
in networking on their blog where you can submit articles
for consideration, or query them for a World of Writing
interview. They also interview authors on their radio
show, depending on their genre.
Resources for
writers at firstwriter.com
Visit firstwriter.com
for the following invaluable resources for writers:
To advertise
on this newsletter for as little as $30 / £20 click
here
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