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Short story contest –
deadline delayed
 The deadline for firstwriter.com's
Sixth International Short Story Contest has been delayed by one
month to May 1, 2010 to allow for last minute
entries.
The competition is seeking short
stories up to 3,000 words, and is open to stories on any subject
and in any style: literary fiction; genre; romance; horror;
science fiction; experimental – all are acceptable and will be
treated equally – the only criteria on which they will be
judged is the quality of the story and of the writing.
The winner of the competition
will receive a cash prize of £200, or the equivalent in your
currency (that's around $400). Not only that, but there will also
be ten special commendations awarded. All eleven winners will be
published in firstwriter.magazine
and receive firstwriter.com
vouchers worth $30 / £20 / EUR30. These vouchers are enough to cover the cost
of creating an annual subscription to firstwriter.com,
allowing access to our daily updated
databases of over
150 writing competitions, over
850 literary agencies, over
1,200 book publishers, and over
1,200 magazines – as well as the option to receive daily
alerts by email of new and updated listings which match your
interests.
Another advantage of the firstwriter.com
competition is that submissions are made online – saving you
the hassle of printing and posting. To enter your story online
in seconds go to http://www.firstwriter.com/competitions/short_story_contest/
New
novella publisher
Short
Sharp Shock is a new digest
dedicated to publishing novellas, and is
seeking fast-paced, seamless, popular fiction.
For more details, click
here
For over 1,200 other
publishers, click
here. For over 1,200 magazines, click
here.
Competition news
Competitions
seeking submissions
The BookRix free fiction contest invites your best works of fiction, of any type, at least 20 pages long. Prizes include $1,000 for first place, $500 for second, and $300 for
third.
To enter, join the site (for free) and submit your entry before May 10, 2010.
For details click
here.
The 4th Annual Ted Walters International Short Story, Poetry and Playwriting Competition 2010
is now accepting submissions. Full details and online
entry are available at http://www.the-village.co.uk/tedwalters.htm.
There's also just a few
days left to submit scripts for the 2010 BlueCat
Screenplay Competition, which offers a $10,000 top prize
and closes on April 1, 2010. Entries are accepted online
for an entry fee of $60 via http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com
Competition results
Winners have been announced for the International Aeon Award 2009. Annette Reader
wins €1,000 for first place with her story “Frogs on My Doorstep”
and the full results can be found on the website at www.albedo1.com.
The 2010 competition is now underway. For details go to http://www.albedo1.com/html/aeon_award.html
Winners have also been
announced for the Fish Short Story Prize which received
more than 1,800 entries. Jane Camens takes first prize
with her story "A Matter of Luck", which will be
published along with the other winning entries in the 2010
Fish Anthology. Full results can be found at http://www.fishpublishing.com/short-stories-news.php
For over
150 other contests, click here
New website for children's writers
A London-based couple have just launched
www.smories.com, a free website for kids to watch little
films of new stories being read by other kids.
It is also a place for unpublished children's story writers to get their
work published free online, whilst retaining all rights. The stories will be
text only (not illustrated), which will remove a common obstacle to
publication for many aspiring writers.
In order to attract great stories,
there is a £1,000 prize for the best one submitted each month. From the submissions, 50 stories will be
shortlisted each month, get narrated by kids and filmed, and the film
attracting the most traffic on the site will win the prize.
For more details go to www.smories.com.
Blog for redrafting of novel
Author Stewart Ferris has launched a new blog site to track his progress as
he redrafts his 166,000 word novel, The Sphinx Scrolls. Ferris is co-owner
of the award-winning book publisher Summersdale, and although his novel was
begun 14 years ago and a first draft was complete as long ago as 2003, the
demands of his fast-growing business meant that the book had to be set aside
since then. However, he is now taking a 90 day sabbatical in order to
complete the redrafting process, with the goal of producing a publishable
text by May 31, 2010.
"I set up this blog so that writers can follow my progress as I redraft this
novel time and again," said Ferris. "Each sweep through the book will focus
on different aspects of its structure, language, dialogue,
characterisation, historical accuracy, readability, pace, and plot twists. I won't give away
the whole story, but I'll let out enough hints about the plot so that anyone
can follow the project in a meaningful way."
Ferris has written books on the subject of being a writer and getting
published, and is known for repeatedly making the point that a common
difference between published and unpublished writers is the number of drafts
produced. He believes that too many unpublished writers finish a first draft
and think it's publishable. "Published writers know that a first draft is
like the bare bricks of a house," he explains.
"You wouldn't expect someone to enjoy living in it until the plumbing and electrics are in, the walls are
plastered and painted, and the carpets and curtains are
fitted."
Ferris says that he is happy to answer questions from fellow writers about
his writing processes (and about getting published), and is even considering
posting a few pages from the novel on the blog for people to comment upon.
You can visit his blog here: http://stewartferris.blogspot.com
Literary agents event in Connecticut
Connecticut Press Club is
holding an event featuring several literary agents on
April 1, 2010.
Guest speakers:
Michelle Brower of Folio Literary Management (New York City)
Alexandra Machinist of Linda Chester Literary Agency (New York City)
Bob DiForio of D4EO Literary Agency (Connecticut)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
6:00 - 6:30 - Registration, networking, cash bar
6:30 - 7:15 - Three course dinner
7:15 - 8:15 - Program, Q&A
The Norwalk Inn, 99 East Avenue, Norwalk (I-95, Exit 16)
Admission: $40 for
non-members and walk-ins. The program includes a three-course dinner.
Reservations recommended, but walk-ins always welcome. Call
+1 (203) 968-8600 or e-mail ctpressclub@gmail.com.
Resources for
writers at firstwriter.com
Visit firstwriter.com
for the following invaluable resources for writers:
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on this newsletter for as little as $30 / £20 click
here
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