Monday, 7 March 2011
15 days free advertising
Amazon customer?
That is not meant to be mocking, honest.
It just almost seems too good to be true.
On the off chance you are interested, this is a worthwhile read:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/review-my-amazon-kindle-single-publishing-experiment/43911
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Saturday Night laughs
There was once a young man who, in his youth, professed his desire to become a great writer.
When asked to define great, he said, "I want to write stuff that the whole world will read, stuff that people will react to on a truly emotional level, stuff that will make them scream, cry, howl in pain and anger!"
He now works for Microsoft writing error messages.
Ode to the Spell Check
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It cam with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew!
A hungry lion was roaming through the jungle looking for something to eat. He came across two men. One was sitting under a tree reading a book; the other was typing away on his typewriter. The lion quickly pounced on the man reading the book and devoured him. Even the king of the jungle knows that readers digest and writers cramp.
March Competitions
Closing March 11
Northern Stage Award for New Theatre Residency in summer 2011.
The award is for an innovative, thoughtful and intriguing proposal for a new piece of theatre. To submit complete the proposal form available from the website. Prizes: A £2,000 production budget; company support from the Northern Stage team; a mentor; a showcase event; ongoing support for the artist/company moving forward. The residency is only open to artists or company committed to working in the North East, who demonstrate a unique way of looking at the world. www.northernstage.co.uk
Closing March 14
Michael Marks Awards for Poetry Pamphlets
Looking for an outstanding work of poetry published in pamphlet form in the UK during 2009 (open to self-published work); and an outstanding UK publisher of poetry in pamphlet form, based on their 2010 publishing programme. Prizes in each category: £5,000. www.bl.uk/poetrypamphlets
Vintage Script Short Story Competition
Send in a short story on any historical theme, no more than 2,500 words. Entry fee is £3 per short story. Winning entries will be published in Vintage Script magazine.
http://www.vintagescript.co.uk/products
Closing March 15
The only short story chapbook contest in the UK. Submit: 3 stories of any genre (inc. cross-genre work) of between 10,000-15,000 wds total, by one author. Prizes: £100; £75; £50; plus all winners will receive 20 copies of the chapbook. www.treehousepress.co.uk
Closing March 20
The Rider Haggard Society Annual Short Story Competition 2011
Prizes: 1st, £200 and a year's membership of the Society / 2 Runners-up, a year's membership of the Society. If there are more than 25 entrants the prize will be increased proportionately. Copies of the winning entry, and possibly others, will be circulated in the Rider Haggard Society Journal, which has members world-wide. Entry fee: £10. Cheques payable to Roger Allen. All entrants will be given a special offer with regard to the Society and Rider Haggard books. Address: Roger Allen, 27 Deneholm, Whitley Bay, NE25 9AU. E-mail: rb27allen@blueyonder.co.uk.
Sentinel Literary Quarterly Short Story Competition
Prizes: 1st, £150 / 2nd, £60 / 3rd, £40. For short stories up to 1500 words which have not been previously published, or accepted for publication, on any subject or style. Winning entries will be published in Sentinel Champions magazine (paperback and e-Book). Entrants will receive a free copy of Sentinel Champions 4 e-Book. Entry fee: £5, or 2 entries for £9, or 3 entries for £12. Cheques/Postal Ordes payable to Sentinel Poetry Movement. Address: Sentinel Poetry Movement, Unit 136, 113-115 George Lane, London, E18 1AB www.sentinelpoetry.org.uk
Closing March 25
Indigo Dreams Collection Competition
Seeking a selection of 10-15 poems of up to 36 lines each. Prize: Three winners will have a poetry collection published by Indigo Dreams Press and receive 50 copies. www.indigodreams.co.uk
Cardiff International Poetry Festival
Award-winning poets, Don Paterson, Philip Gross and Tiffany Atkinson, will be judging this competition. Submit poems no longer than 50 lines, entry is £6 per poem.
Closing March 31
Merseyside and Cheshire Writing Competition
For stories of up to 700 words on the theme of ‘celebration’ in three categories: under 12, under 16, and adult. Judges: Dame Joan Bakewell and Margaret Murphy (adult); Alan Gibbons and Jonathan Mayhew (under 12, under 16). Prize: winning and runner’s up stories will be broadcast on BBC Radio Merseyside. entries from those under 16 will be free. http://merseysidewritingcompetition.wordpress.com/
The Queen Mother Memorial Poetry Competition
Prize: £50 For poems of 3 verses, 3 lines per verse, 10 words per line. Entry fee: £3 per poem or £10.00 for 4 poems . Address: 19 Westbourne House, London, SW1W 8SJ E-Mail: kumbi.johnson@googlemail.com
Bristol Short Story Prize 2011
Closing Date: 31 March 2011 Prizes: 1st, £1,000 and £150 Waterstones gift card/ 2nd, £700 and £100 Waterstones gift card,/ 3rd, £400 and £100 Waterstones gift card / 17 further prizes of £100 for writers whose stories appear in the shortlist. For stories on any theme or subject, with a maximum length of 3000 words. Entries must be previously unpublished. All 20 shortlisted writers will have their stories published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 4. The winning story will also be published in Bristol Review of Books and Venue Magazine. The 20 shortlisted writers will also be invited to an awards ceremony in Bristol on 16 July 2011, when the winners will be announced and the anthology launched. Entry fee: £7 per story. Entries can be made on-line or by post. For full details visit www.bristolprize.co.uk
Greenacre Writers Short Story Competition
Prizes: 1st, £100 / 2nd, £50 / 3rd, £20. In addition, 3 runners-up will win a subscription to Greenacre Times. For stories of up to 2000 words. Postal submissions only. The competition is open to anyone in the United Kingdom who is over the age of 16. Stories should be in English and should not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere. Stories that have won or are under consideration in other short story competitions are not eligible. Entries should be original, double spaced, typed (12 point) on single sided A4 sheets of white paper with each page numbered. The winning stories will be published online and in the Greenacre Writers 2011 anthology. Copyright remains with the author. Entry fee: £5. More than one entry is acceptable but each entry must have a separate cover sheet. Address: The Administrator, Greenacre Writers, 25 Chislehurst Avenue, London, N12 0HU E-mail: greenacrewriters@gmail.com
Academy of Children's Writers - Write a Story for Children Competition
Prizes: 1st, £2000 / 2nd, £300 / 3rd, £200. The twenty-sixth Annual Write a Story for Children Competition, and is for stories not exceeding 2000 words suitable for children of any age group up to teenage. Entries may be short stories or the first 2000 words of a novel or longer story. The independent judges will be looking for such qualities as originality, imagination, flair and, most importantly, how the story will appeal to children. The competition is open only to previously unpublished (for profit) writers of children's fiction over the age of 18. All entries must be accompanied by an official entry form. Only one entry per person is allowed. Entry fee: £3 (10 x 2nd class UK stamps preferred). Non-UK entries, US $10 bill or €10 note. Address: ACW, Competition Entry, PO Box 95, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 5RL. Entry form available from www.childrens-writers.co.uk
David Burland Poetry Prize 2011
Prizes: 1st, £500 / 2nd, £100 / 3rd, £30 For poems with an open theme written in English or French. The competition is open to poets worldwide over the age of 18. The sole judge will be award-winning bilingual poet and writer, Michel François. Prizes will be offered for both languages. Entry fee: £8 for first poem, £4 for each extra poem. Address: Anna Burland Services Ltd., 39 High Street, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, WV11 1ST. E-mail: annaburland@btconnect.com Full rules, terms and application form available at www.davidburlandpoetryprize.com
Meridian Writing Spring Short Story Competition
Prizes: 1st, £100 / 2nd, £50 / 3rd, £25 plus firstwriter.com vouchers For short stories of up to 3000 words, in any genre or theme. Open to new and published authors. Entry fee: £5 per story. www.meridian-writing.co.uk
Lincolnshire Association of Healers Poetry Competition
Prizes: 1st, £50 / 2nd, £25 / 3rd, £25 For poems of up to 40 lines, typed or hand-written on A4 paper, on anything of a spiritual nature. Do not include your name on the actual entry but enclose a separate A4 cover sheet showing name, address, and contact details. Poems must not have been previously published or won a prize in a competition. Prize winners will be asked for permission to publish in the Association's newsletter and website. Address: Competition Secretary, Coppins Cottage, Habertoft, Alford, Lincolnshire, LN13 9NU
Leaf Books Tiny Weeny Writing Competition 2011
Prize: £75 plus publication in Leaf Writers Magazine and a free subscription to the magazine. For a short piece of writing, up to 140 characters (not including the title) - short fiction, epigraphs, poetry or anything else that takes your fancy. Enter on-line or by post. Entry fee: £2, or £10 for 6 entries. Buying a copy of the Leaf Writers Magazine entitles you to one free entry. http://www.leafbooks.co.uk/New/For%20Writers/CurrentCompetitions.html
Flash 500 Quarterly Competition
Prizes: 1st, £250 + publication in Words With Jam / 2nd, £100 / 3rd, £50 / Highly Recommended, copy of The Writer's ABC Checklist. A quarterly open-themed competition, now in its second year, with closing dates of 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December. Results are announced within 6 weeks of each closing date and the 3 winning entries are published on the competition website. The judge changes each quarter, with details on the Judges Page of the website. Entry fee: £5 for one story, £8 for two stories.. Optional Critique, £10 per story. www.flash500.com
Exeter Writers Short Story Comp
Stories up to 3000 words. Fee is £4. Prizes £250,£100,£50 plus website publication. Details on www.exeterwriters.org.uk Or by post at Exeter Writers Short story Competition, 4Albion Place, Exeter EX4 6LH.
Friday, 4 March 2011
From our incredibly talented Angela Lanyon
IMAGES OF ELSEWHERE
Book 1
THE SWORDSMAN’S REEL
`Far away is close at hand in images of elsewhere'. This graffiti from outside Paddington Station has haunted me for years. Every time the train pulled in or out of the station it was there, prodding me to take notice. Photographs, maps, travel books all kept niggling me. I didn't set out to write a trilogy, just the story of a boy, ejected from his home and going off in search of an unknown father. Slowly it grew; things I had read, objects in museums, with somehow Central Asia predominating. Perhaps because of my love of China. The book took ten years to write and was finished just short of my 70th birthday. Made redundant, I had felt exiled - and needed to reinvent myself. My hero, Per is forced to use his skills and self reliance, as I was, and not expect a magic wand to solve his problems. He also has to look within himself for answers and learn how to control himself if he is to save others and achieve his quest. When I read it now I am surprised by what I wrote. Attempts at main stream publication failed. `Lovely’ `Neat ideas’ but always: `not for us’. In the end, like Per, I had to go it alone (with a little help from my friends) And now, at eighty, this is the right time. There are plenty of young boys who don’t know their fathers, we all need to look within to find self mastery and we all need a good story that comes to a satisfactory conclusion as a result of the hero’s own effort. Not `One bound and he was out’ but achievement as a result of perseverance, ingenuity and courage. I have drawn on many philosophies and belief systems as Per uses his skills as a smith and a ropemaker to fulfil his quest. Book 2 and 3 THE ROPEMAN’S WALK and THE WEAVER’S CLEW complete the story in which he learns the unity of all things and realises that this is the thread which has run through all his experiences and that `In his end in his beginning.’ Angela Lanyon.
`A fascinating narrative’ Lionel Fanthorpe
The Swordsman’s Reel IBSN 978-07552-1300-9 9/99 Available from Amazon. or as ebook from www.authorsonline.co.uk
Apologies
An apology for the lack of blog posts this week. A family health issue demanded foremost attention. This may be an on going issue through this coming week, but hopefully it will not affect regular posts being made.
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