Amazon Publishing and Flash Quarterly

Quote for the week: The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.  ~  Mark Twain

I’ve lost count of how many people have predicted the death of print books following the success of e-books. Not everyone shares that view.

One big name that disagrees is Amazon. Why else would that famous dot-com giant start a Montlake Romance imprint, mystery thriller imprint Thomas & Mercer, plus fantasy/sci fi/horror imprint 47North?

Books published under these imprints are available in Kindle, print and audio formats at www.amazon.com, as well as at national and independent booksellers. The Amazon Publishing family also includes AmazonEncore, AmazonCrossing and Powered by Amazon.

10FLASH QUARTERLY

http://10flash.wordpress.com

http://10flash.wordpress.com/guidelines/ 

Each quarterly issue includes ten stories, all written around a common prompt that authors are encouraged to freely interpret.

• April 2012 — The falls are beautiful this time of year. First Date Accepted: January 1, 2012.
• July 2012 – So this [fill in the blank] walks into a bar … First Date Accepted: April 1, 2012.
• October 2012 – A Bridge Too Far. First Date Accepted: July 1, 2012.

Submissions will be accepted for each issue after the First Date Accepted until they have purchased ten stories. When that happens, they post a notice online.
10Flash publishes speculative flash fiction stories — fantasy, horror, science fiction, suspense or slipstream — between 800 and 1,000 words.  “We may fudge on the bottom number, from time to time, but the top limit is firm.” Pays $20.

Got a Yarn? and Anderbo No-Fee Novel Contest

Writer’s Smile for the Week: There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.  ~ William Somerset Maugham

The Yarn web site http://yareview.net/  targets writers of young-adult literature. (They define young-adult as age 14 and up.) The web site includes interviews with published authors. If you have published a young-adult book, you can request an interview by e-mailing the editor at kerri@yarereview.net.

They also publish fiction, essays, and poetry but currently offer no payment.

ANDERBO NO-FEE NOVEL CONTEST
http://www.anderbo.com/anderbo1/andernovelcontest-02.html

Deadline: September 21, 2011

Submit the first 36 pages (up to 9,000 words) of your unpublished novel. The contest will be judged by the anderbo.com editorial staff; they guarantee to choose and use one manuscript-excerpt. The sponsor of this contest, Mercer Street Books & Records, will pay an honorarium of $500 to the winning author upon publication on Anderbo.

A win may or may not lead to full publication of your novel, but it would be a plus to mention in a query letter.