Monday, February 28, 2011

Ninth Glass Woman Prize

Sorry guys, this contest is for women only, but you can still check out the thought for the week.

NINTH GLASS WOMAN PRIZE
http://www.sigriddaughter.com/GlassWomanPrize.htm

No entry fee.
Deadline: March 21, 2011

Prizes will be awarded for an original or previously published short work of fiction or creative non-fiction (prose) written by a woman. Your story should be between 50 and 5,000 words. The subject is open, but must
be of significance to women. Only one submission per person.

Top prize: $500.  Second Prize: $100, Third Prize: $50. First through third prizes also include possible, but not obligatory, online publication. This year's contest includes two additional awards of $100 each.





Thought for the week: “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add but when there is nothing left to take away.”   ~  Antoine de Sainte-Exupery 

Monday, February 21, 2011

Patchwork Path and the Eric Hoffer Award for Short Prose

Two stories of mine were accepted by Patchwork Path last October for their Mother's Life anthology, planned for April 2011 release. I just learned last week that Patchwork has canceled publication of any new books. That includes Mother's Life, even though it was past the first edit and in the design phase. I inquired whether a later date was planned or, per my contract, if all rights had reverted back to me. All rights are now mine. I just wish they had made the decision before the deadline for submitting to Chicken Soup for the Soul's anthology about mothers.

I can still look forward to Chicken Soup's My Dog's Life anthology with my "Cairn Mind Meld" story about my cairn terrier. It should be available in April.

Hoffer Award
www.hofferaward.com/HAprose.html

No fee to enter. Only one entry per author.
Deadline: March 31, 2011

This contest offers $500 and anthology publication for short fiction (under 10,000 words).

Monday, February 14, 2011

Kenyon Review Contest and Creating Suspense

Creating suspense is an effective way to grab readers and keep them turning the page. Some writers do this by withholding information from the reader, but this technique can alienate your audience. A far better method is creating tension by what you tell your reader.

Linda Rohrbough, well-known public speaker and publisher author, has an excellent article on how to do this here: http://lindarohrbough.com/home/pdfs/How_Not_to_Cheat_Your_Reader_by_Linda_Rohrbough.pdf


KENYON REVIEW CONTEST
http://www.kenyonreview.org/contests-sf.php

This no-fee contest has a February 28, 2011 deadline and is limited to writers 30 years of age or younger at the time of submission. Your story must be 1,200 words or less.

Only one entry allowed per author. You must use their electronic system to submit.

The Kenyon Review will publish the winning short story in the Winter 2012 issue, and the author will be awarded a scholarship to attend the 2011 Writers Workshop, June 18-25, 2011 in Gambier, Ohio.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Sisters in Crime Study

Even if you don't write or read mysteries, the study recently released by Sisters in Crime of those who read mysteries is interesting. The study is based on 1056 respondents who purchased a book in 2009 and the first half of 2010.

37% described themselves as avid readers (almost always reading a mystery) and 51% as frequent readers (read mysteries often but not exclusively.)  64% are female.  47% are age 60+.

For all genres, women continue to buy the majority of books, but men's share of books is higher in dollars than in units. Mysteries are acquired mainly by purchasing in stores, followed by borrowing from the library, followed by purchasing online.  35% of mysteries are purchased by readers who live in the South. Readers over 60 are
more loyal to the author or character than younger readers.

To check out the full report and learn how mystery buyers differ from fiction buyers in general, what types of stories and which authors different age groups prefer, what influences mystery book sales, and more, go to
http://www.sistersincrime.org/associations/10614/files/ConsumerBuyingBookReport.pdf