ArkansasWriters.com

Mystery Novel Contest for Unpublished Writers

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:25:01 +0000

The Crime Writers’ Association’s 2010 crime writing competition, The Debut Dagger, is open to any writer who has not had a novel published, commercially, in any genre.

First prize is £500 plus two free tickets to the CWA Dagger Awards in London and a night’s stay for two in a top London hotel. All shortlisted entrants will receive professional assessments of their entries.

Submissions

Entrants are required to submit the first 3,000 words of their crime-themed novel, plus a 500/1000 word synopsis of the rest of the book. There is an entry fee of £25, payable by credit card or PayPal. The deadline is February 6, 2010.

Judges

A shortlist of entries, selected by professional readers, will be forwarded to a final judging panel chaired by the CWA Chairman, and composed of crime fiction editors from major publishing houses and authors’ agents. The judges’ decision is final. The winner will be announced at the CWA Daggers’ Awards.

According to contest chair Liz Evans, since the inception of the contest in 1998, eighteen winning and short-listed authors have obtained publishing contracts.

Guidelines:

Rules:

Entry process

Entry fee £25.

Writing Contest for “Mifiction”

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:00:16 +0000

Writers interested in writing interactive fiction for the youth market (14-24 years), may want to enter the contest sponsored by UK firm Mobile Interactive Horizons Ltd,

The company has coined the word mifiction (pronounced “my fiction”) for both their imprint and the type of fiction they are looking for.

“Mifiction” can be defined as “interactive fiction targeting readers aged 14-24 and intended to be read on a mobile electronic device.”

Cash prizes, (in British pounds), and publishing contracts will go to the top nine winners.

The deadline is 5 p.m., (Greenwich Meridian Time), Monday, 30 November 2009.

Publisher Looking for Midwestern Novels

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:36:52 +0000

Switchgrass Books, the fiction imprint of Northern Illinois University, is seeking full-length literary novels set in or about the Midwest by authors with midwestern ties.

Submission guidelines are available at www.switchgrass.niu.edu/.

Short Story Contest Deadline November 15, 2009

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:05:36 +0000

Donna Volkenannt, Saturday Writers Website Editor, has announced that the contest deadline for her magazine’s 8th Annual Short Story contest has been extended until November 15. Judging the stories will be Pushcart Prize nominated writer Lynn Carney.

Entries must be short stories (no essays, poems or articles). They may be on any subject or in any genre, but must not contain pornography or gore. Stories must not exceed 2,009 words.

Anyone may enter. There is an entry fee of $7 for the general public. Members of Saturday Writers, Ozark Writers League, Missouri Writers Guild or any MWG chapter may enter for $5. The fee is per story and up to three stories may be entered.

Winning stories will win $100 for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place. Certificates will be awarded to writers whose stories place fourth to tenth.

Certificates and prizes will be mailed by the end of December. Complete guidelines at www.saturdaywriters.org

Next Whodunits Meeting November 14

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:32:11 +0000

Freelance court reporter Rebecca Sanderson, will be the featured speaker at the next meeting of the Whodunits on Saturday, November 14 at AQ Chicken on College Avenue in Fayetteville at noon.

Because this meeting is on the same day as a Razorback game, seating may be limited so members are asked to let Trisha Beland know how many to expect by emailing her. who’s coming. Contact her at praccats@cox.net.

Gathering Features Devil’s Highway October 16

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:37:39 +0000

Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Devil’s Highway, will be the featured speaker at the October 16 noon meeting of the Gathering of the Groups at the Fayetteville Public Library.

Urrea’s book, a true story about 14 Mexican illegals who died in the attempt to cross into the United States, is being read throughout Northwest Arkansas as part of the “One Book, One Community” project.

The Gathering of the Groups is open to members of Northwest Arkansas book groups. Urrea’s talk will be held in the library’s Walker Community Room. Copies of the book will be available for purchase from Nightbird Books following the talk.

Although the event is free, registration is required. Lunch will be provided. To sign up, call the Reference Desk at 856-7250.

A review of The Devil’s Highway is available at Blogcritics.

Still Time to Register for September 26 Writers’ Conference

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:46:26 +0000

A few places remain for the September 26 Ozark Mountain Writers’ Workshop at Winslow, Arkansas.

Velda Brotherton will offer instruction in characterization, point of view, dialogue, description, plotting, and pacing. Cost for the one-day workshop is $25. Register by email:

connie@folkways.arcoxmail.com

vebrotherton@gmail.com

or telephone Ozark Folkways: 479-634-3791

September 1 Deadline for Poetry Contest

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:43:20 +0000

If you have written a poem about gardening, you have time to enter it in Horticulture Magazine’s annual contest. The deadline is September 1.

The Grand Prize is $250 and publication in Horticulture. Details here.

Springfield Writers’ Guild features E.G. Massey on August 22

admin — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:25:11 +0000

Award winning western author and historian Ellen Gray Massey will speak on “Never Give Up” at the Springfield Writers’ Guild meeting on Saturday, August 22 at 1:00 p.m.

Since 1990 Massey has given over 350 talks about the Ozarks and about writing. In 1995 she was inducted into the first Writers Hall of Fame of America and has won 25 awards from the Missouri Writers Guild; she was three times finalist in the Western Writers of America’s Golden Spur Awards. Massey has published numerous articles, short stories, essays, a musical play, as well as 14 novels and eight non-fiction books. She now teaches Elderhostel classes for the YMCA of the Ozarks at Potosi and for Ozark Adventures, Inc. in Branson.

Massey’s recent non-fiction books include “Family Fun and Games” and “The Bittersweet Ozarks at a Glance.” Her recent novels are “New Hope,” “The Burnt District” (Hard Shell Word Factory, an online and print publisher), “Brothers, Blue and Gray” and “Her Enemies, Blue and Gray” (Goldminds Publishing).

Preceding the presentation will be the regular mentor/critique hour beginning at 11 a.m. A lunch break will follow at 12 noon. The one o’clock presentation and the critique hour are both open to visitors. Only SWG members can submit work for critique, however the session has proved to be a valuable learning tool for all who attend.

The SWG meets at the Heritage Cafeteria on the corner of Fremont and Battlefield streets in Springfield Missouri on the forth Saturday of every month except December.

For more information on the Springfield Writers’ Guild, go to <www.swgsite.org> or e-mail Reta Stewart Allen at: allenreta@sbcglobal.net or Mandy Barke at: mandybarke@yahoo.com

Ozark Writers League Meeting August 15

admin — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:01:50 +0000

Writer Jory Sherman and Agent Cherry Weiner will be featured speakers at the Ozark Writers League meeting in Branson, Missouri on August 15 at the Plaster Auditorium of the College of the Ozarks.

Sherman will speak on “The Magic Secret to Writing.” A lifetime member of OWL and a writer for over forty years, Sherman began his writing career as a poet in San Francisco and has published more than a thousand articles and five hundred short stories. He has also written more than 300 books since 1965 with such well known publishers as Doubleday, Zebra, Avon, Berkley, Walker & Co., Tor, Forge, and Bantam.

Weiner has run her own literary agency since since 1977. Many of Weiner’s clients write in genres: mystery, romance, historical, Native American historical, western, science fiction, and fantasy, but the agency handles almost all categories of writing. In 1997 and 2000 she was named agent of the year in by the WordCraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers. She will critique the first page of 25 novels sent in by OWL members. NOTE: submissions are closed.

Other speakers will be OWL members Fred Pfister and Allan Young.

The Registration on August 15 begins at 8:30 a.m. and the program convenes at 9 a.m. Participants lunch on their own and reconvene at 1 p.m. The afternoon session will end about 3 p.m.

The price of admission is membership in OWL. If you aren’t a member, you can become one at the door for $25. Save time by downloading the registration form.

A map is available at the Northwest Arkansas Writers site.