Editor's Blog

Writing Goals 2012

Writers share their writing goals for 2012 and receive support from Audrey Owen, editor at writershelper.com, so their projects get completed in record time.

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VALLUM 9:2 UPCOMING THEME: INVISIBLE ‘CITYSCAPE’ (HIDDEN URBAN LANDSCAPES)

The ‘Cityscape’ has fascinated people since the flâneurs of Paris and beyond. But what is unseen, underground or hidden eludes us. What are some of these hidden aspects of the ‘cityscape,’ the hidden urban landscape?

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CASCADIA POETRY FESTIVAL

Join five fabulous poets from British Columbia for Igniting the Green Fuse: Women on Eco-Poetry. This exciting half-day workshop is located in a spectacular old-growth forest just five miles from downtown Seattle.

Our unique workshop is part of the inaugural Cascadia Poetry Festival organized by Paul Nelson and SPLAB. And I am delighted to announce that our eco-poetry workshop is free, thanks to the Seward Park Environmental and Audubon Center where it will be held.

The five poets cooking up this great workshop for you are Kate Braid, Heidi Greco, Catherine Owen, Sandy Shreve, and myself, Kim Goldberg, as panel moderator.

Come prepared to listen, talk, think, feel, walk in the woods, and write!

Panel Discussion with Forest Walk & Eco-Poetry Workshop:Igniting the Green Fuse – Eco-Poetry Workshop in Seattle
Saturday, March 24, 2012.
Noon – 4:00 pm.
@ Seward Park Environmental and Audubon Center in Seattle.

Poets: Kate Braid, Kim Goldberg, Heidi Greco, Catherine Owen, Sandy Shreve.

Workshop Price: Free!

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THE 3rd GALIANO LITERARY FESTIVAL

February 24-26, 2012.
Galiano Island, BC

The 3rd Annual Galiano Literary Festival will be running from February 24-26 2012 and will be held at the Galiano Oceanfront Inn & Spa here on Galiano Island. The Galiano Literary Festival is run by Galiano Island Books, one of the few remaining independent bookstores in B.C. The bookstore has been on the island for over 10 years, and has become a ‘hub’ of the island community.

Last year, we celebrated “The Book” as historical icon, objet d’art, and physical manifestation of ideas.

A full slate of workshops, readings and panels will discuss a wide variety of book and writing-related topics, providing different approaches to the main focus of this event, which this year is “Books:  Windows to the Past, Present and Future”. To address this theme, we are inviting authors who use both fiction and nonfiction to tell us of the past, explore the complex issues of the present, and create alternate realities of what the future might hold. How does the lens of our current values and beliefs distort how we see and describe the past and how do we use the past to explain or justify who we are? How do books help us to explore and change our views of current events and the world in which we live? How do speculations about the future shape our thinking and decision making today? These are some of the questions our authors and participants, through readings, panels and informal discussions will consider.

We will also be hosting a “Bruce Springsteen Celebration” – music, frivolity and Robert J Wiersema reading from his new book on Springsteen “Walk Like a Man” an event for the whole community at the South Community Hall on Sunday, February 26th which festival attendees are welcome to attend.

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The 2nd Search For the Great BC Novel Contest!

Gurjinder Basran, of Delta B.C., won the 1st contest for her exceptional debut novel Everything Was Good-bye, and it went on to win the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for 2011. EWG was also Reader’s Choice for the ScotiaGiller Prize for 3 weeks in August. Mother Tongue Publishing has now sold Canadian rights to Penguin Canada and Everything Was Good-bye will be re-launched next month as a beautiful Penguin paperback and e-book! The award-winning short-list judges for the 1st contest were BC writers, Kathy Page, Karen X Tulchinsky and the final judge was Jack Hodgins. There were sixty-four submissions.

The judges for the 2nd contest are prize-winning BC novelists Caroline Adderson, Gurjinder Basran, and David Chariandy. The contest is open to all writers living in British Columbia and the deadline for submissions is November. 1st, 2012.

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YOU COULD BE GEIST’S EMERGING WRITER OF THE MONTH

How it works:
Emerging writers are invited to submit short written works online. Geist chooses and publishes one piece each month on a dedicated web page. Geist readers and like-minded people are then invited to comment on the featured work.

Who is eligible:

Canadian students enrolled in secondary or post-secondary courses and/or writing workshops are eligible.
The writer should have no more than 2 short works published in established print or online magazines, books or websites. (Blogs, zines and in-house school publications are exempt.)
Geist staff, board members, editors and interns are not eligible.
If you aren’t sure whether you are eligible, send us a note ask:gewmATgeist.com.

What to submit

Prose: 500 words maximum; fiction or non-fiction; short piece or stand-alone excerpt of a longer piece.
Poetry: 50 lines maximum in any form.
Photo essay: 3 photos and 150 words of text maximum. Submit as one image file—JPG, TIFF or PDF, at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.
Comix and other graphica: 2 pages maximum. Page dimensions should not exceed 8.5×11 inches. Submit as one image file—JPG, TIFF or PDF, at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.

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Access Copyright Foundation Grants

The Access Copyright Foundation is now receiving applications for its 2012 Research Grants program.

Access Copyright Foundation research grants support inquiry relevant to the creation of a publishable work, an innovative program, strategic initiative, study paper or report. Grants are available to individual creators and to Canadian writing, publishing or visual arts organizations. The range of projects supported last year was outstanding, and we hope to receive equally diverse and imaginative proposals for consideration in 2012.

We will be accepting Research Grants applications postmarked by February 13th, 2012.

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POET LAUREATE OFFERS FREE CONSULTATIONS TO EMERGING POETS

Deadline: February 13, 2012.

For more information and to arrange interviews, please contact: Jean KavanaghManager, Marketing & CommunicationsVancouver Public Library
604-331-3895
jean.kavanaghATvpl.ca

Evelyn Lau, the City of Vancouver’s third Poet Laureate, invites emerging poets to apply for a free one-to-one manuscript consultation at VPL’s iconic Central Library.

“I look forward to meeting with poets – aspiring or published – to discuss their submitted work and answer questions about the editing and publishing processes,” said Ms. Lau. “I am happy to offer editorial and publication guidance and provide insights into the writing life.”

Those selected for a consultation are encouraged to bring questions regarding submitting to literary magazines, entering contests, giving readings, putting together a poetry manuscript: in fact anything related to the poet’s life.

Consultations will be held the first Monday of the month beginning in March at the Central Library and will be held most months during Ms. Lau’s three-year term as Poet Laureate.

To be considered for a consultation, interested poets must submit the following two requirements in the body of an email to poetlaureateATvancouver.ca. Do not submitattachments.
* A paragraph of no more than 200 words stating why you would like to meet with the Poet Laureate and what you hope to gain from the consultation.
* A writing sample of up to three poems. The deadline for applications is Monday, February 13. Those chosen for a consultation will be contacted directly by VPL staff with the date and time for their 40-minute meeting with the Poet Laureate.

Evelyn Lau was born in Vancouver in 1971 and is the author of five volumes of poetry, two works of non-fiction, two short story collections and a novel, with works translated into a dozen languages worldwide. She is currently at work on her sixth poetry collection. The Poet Laureate is an honorary position that celebrates literature and poetry in Vancouver. The position is funded by a generous endowment established by Dr. Yosef Wosk.

8TH ANNUAL GEIST LITERAL LITERARY POSTCARD STORY CONTEST

Entries must be post marked no later than February 15, 2012.

Welcome to the Geist Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest, the writing contest whose name is almost as long as the entries!

The 8th Annual (Even More Geistian) Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest is now open and has adopted some new rules.

First Prize: $250
Second Prize: $150
Third Prize: $100
Honourable Mentions: Swell Geist gifts (more than one prize per category may be awarded)

Make your own post card using photos, drawings or images in the public domain, write a story inspired by that post card, then send us the image and the story. The relationship between image and story can be as subtle as you like, as long as the con–test judges can see the connection.

Maximum length: 500 words, fiction or non-fiction, prose or poetry.

Winning entries will be pub lished in Geist and at geist.com.
Honourable mentions will be pub lished at geist.com.

Type your literal post card story on standard paper, in at least 11-point type, and attach the image with a paper clip (no staples, please). Judging is blind, so do not write your name on the story or the card. Include a cover letter with these details:

Your name
Story title(s)
Address
Phone num ber
Email address
How you found out about the contest

(Your per sonal information is kept confidential and will be used by Geist only to con tact you.)

Entry Fee: $20 for the first entry (includes a 1-year subscription or subscription extension),$5 for each addi tional entry.

Send your entry by mail, with a cheque for the entry fee, to:

Geist Postcard Contest
#210—111 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 1H4

WELCOME TO THE 8TH ANNUAL POETRY GABRIOLA FESTIVAL!!

February16-19, 2012

Every year Poetry Gabriola likes to try something new, and this year we’re changing things up again … by bumping the festival from November into February! We thought a fabulous celebration of literature, spoken word, and music would be just the thing to chase away those post-holiday blues, and we hope you agree!

Once again the festival will be held at the amazing Dragon’s Lodge, at the end of Dragon’s Lane, off North Road. This was the perfect venue for the festival last year and we are delighted to be inviting you back.

The 2012 Festival will introduce audiences to exciting Canadian artists who are new to Gabriola, and will also welcome back some familiar favourite faces. This year’s showcase project is a collaboration with the British Columbia Arts Council called From Page to Podium. This special initiative features six BC poets commissioned by Poetry Gabriola to create new works to debut at this year’s festival. The commissioned poets are Barbara Adler, CR Avery, Tim Lander, Susan Musgrave, Gregory Scofield, and Jordan Scott.

As well as four feature evening presentations, 2012 will offer afternoon events, salons, workshops, school shows, cameo performances, and of course the return of the hit event, Knock-Knock, Who’s There? This FREE, family-friendly, site-specific installation features local and visiting artists performing in the 11 teeny, tiny cabins on the grounds of the Dragon’s Lodge.

Last but not least, don’t miss Mingle! – the delightful pre-show wine bar featuring surprise performances where audiences and artists can meet and mix.

We hope you enjoy this year’s Poetry Gabriola Festival as much as we enjoy seeing you there!Have a great weekend.

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dont be afraid

dont be afraid of writing a story. it can always be a major step in life. it doesnt matter what kind of book you write. just express your thoughts. your

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Readability

Readability is measured by indexes like Fogg and Flesch. True readability is much more complex. Use both the hard calculations and the softer measures to check your writing.

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Editing Intern

Get the input of two editors for the price of one by using the editing intern at Writers Helper.

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21st Annual Writing and Illustrating for Children Conference

SCBWI Western Washington invites you to attend its 21st Annual Writing and Illustrating for Children Conference, taking place Saturday, April 21st, and Sunday, April 22nd, 2012, at the Marriott Redmond Town Center in Redmond, Washington.

The two-day event provides tremendous opportunities for growing your career as a writer and/or illustrator for children. Learn from esteemed literary professionals—agents as well as editors and art directors from major publishing houses—in addition to award-winning authors and illustrators.

Standard tuition is $285 for SCBWI International members and $305 for non-members. Register by February 15, 2012, for a special early-bird discount of $20. All prices include continental breakfast Saturday, boxed lunch both days, and admission to Saturday's Wine & Cheese Reception. Additional fees vary, depending on any optional opportunities for writers or illustrators that you may select, such as two Master Classes for Illustrators; Fiction Intensive; Nonfiction Intensive; a Consultation; or the Juried Art Portfolio Display. These additional opportunities are very limited and will be reserved for the first registrants who select and pay for them. Conference capacity is limited to the first 400 registrants.

View complete information and register by clicking on the link below:

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Clear your head

Fill your brain full of oxygen. Go for a walk, you may wish to take a voice recorder. You will find that idea's flood into your mind just by taking mild

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2012 BRISTOL SHORT STORY PRIZE

Deadline: March 3, 2012

2012 Bristol Short Story Prize is open to all writers, UK and non-UK based, over 16 years of age.
Stories can be on any theme or subject and entry can be made online via the website or bypost. Entries must be previously unpublished with a maximum length of 3,000 words (There is no minimum).
The entry fee is £7 ( about $11 ) per story.
The closing date for entries is March 3,  2012.

Prizes:
1st £1000 (about $1570) plus £150 Waterstone’s gift card
2nd £700 (about $1100) plus £100 Waterstone’s gift card
3rd £400 (about $630) plus £100 Waterstone’s gift card

17 further prizes of £100 (about $150) will be presented to the writers whose stories appear on the shortlist. All 20 shortlisted writers will have their stories published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 5. The winning story will, also, be published in Bristol Review of Books and Venue magazine.

The 20 shortlisted writers will be invited to an awards ceremony in Bristol in July 2012 when the winners will be announced and the anthology launched.  The awards ceremony will be the final event of our 2nd Short StoryVille festival. Any shortlisted writers unable to attend the awards ceremony will be sent their anthologies and prize money.

Judging panel : Ali Reynolds (literary consultant, former Random House editor)
Bidisha (writer, broadcaster, critic) Anna Britten (writer, journalist at Venue Magazine)
Chris Wakling (novelist, Creative Writing tutor)

To mark the launch of our 2012 competition we are offering the Kindle format ebook version of our latest anthology for only £0.86p from amazon.co.uk and $1.33 from amazon.com. This fantastic offer will be available until the end of October.

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Canada's New Poet Laureate

Longtime West Kootenay author, editor and teacher Fred Wah has been named Canada’s next poet laureate. House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer and Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella jointly made the announcement Tuesday.

”Fred Wah’s poetry is grounded in Canada’s political and social landscapes,” Scheer said in announcing the appointment.  ”He has done much to encourage and promote the importance of literature, culture and language within Canadian society.”  Wah is the fifth Canadian writer to hold the position of national poet laureate.

Wah taught for more than 20 years for Selkirk College, both at the Castlegar campus and as the founder and director of the writing program at Nelson’s David Thompson University Centre, which operated between 1979 and 1984.  DTUC, the prototype for B.C.’s university colleges, was a joint initiative of Selkirk and the University of Victoria.  Wah, a former president of the Writers Union of Canada, subsequently taught at the University of Calgary.

Wah’s many books of poetry, essays, and memoir include Diamond Grill, which describes his childhood growing up in Nelson in the 1950s as the son of the owner of a Baker St. Chinese restaurant.  Wah received the 1986 Governor General’s Literary Award for his book of poems, Waiting for Saskatchewan, which also chronicles family and personal history.  He was the editor of Canada’s first electronic literary magazine, Swift Current, in the 1980s.  His most recent collection of poems is Is a Door (2009).  Wah currently divides his time between his home at Riondel on the East Shore of Kootenay Lake, and a pied-à-terre in Vancouver.

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PRISM’s 2012 FICTION & POETRY CONTEST

Deadline: January 27, 2012

Entry fees for all contests are $28 if entering by snail mail, $30 if entering online. Additional entries can be added for $7 each. Every participant receives a one-year subscription to PRISM international. Works of translation are eligible.
The Short Fiction Contest has a deadline of January 27, 2012. The winning story will receive $2000, as well as publication payment for our poetry and fiction contest issue. Three runner-up prizes of $200 dollars are also conferred. This year’s judge is Jessica Grant, an award-winning fiction writer, a member of Newfoundland’s Burning Rock Collective (members include Michael Winter and Lisa Moore), and the author of Making Light of Tragedy and Come, Thou Tortoise.
The Poetry Contest also has a January 27, 2012 deadline. Each entry can be up to three poems. A $1000 grand prize is awarded for the best poem and the winner receives publication and payment in our poetry and fiction contest issue. $300 and $200 are awarded to runners-up. This year’s poetry judge is Jen Currin, author of three books of poetry: The Sleep of Four Cites (Anvil Press, 2005); Hagiography (Coach House, 2008); and The Inquisition Yours (Coach House, 2010), which is shortlisted for the 2011 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, the Lambda Literary Award in Poetry, and the Audre Lorde Poetry Award.Contest entries can be sent to PRISM through snail mail, accompanied by an entry form and cheque or receipt of credit card payment. Or submit and pay online! Entries can be sent to:

PRISM international
Creative Writing Program
The University of British Columbia
BUCH E462-1866 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC
V6T 1Z1
CANADA

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PLANET EARTH POETRY ANTHOLOGY

Deadline: January 31

Planet Earth Poetry and Leaf Press are pleased to invite poets who have read at Planet Earth Poetry, either at the open mic or as featured readers, to submit poems to an upcoming anthology celebrating the weekly Planet Earth Poetry reading series in Victoria, BC.

Guidelines:

1. Submissions are open to those who have read at the open mic or as featured readers since Planet Earth Poetry began at The Black Stilt Coffee House (now Moka House, 103–1633 Hillside Ave.) between 2006 and NOW (up to the January 31 2012 deadline).

2. Mail in a maximum of 2 unpublished poems/ If you wish to submit previously published poems, please provide a credit for the publication and a statement that you own the copyright.

3. Include your name on each page and number the pages.

4. Include a cover letter with contact information, titles of poems, and brief biographical information.

5. All submissions must be mailed to Editor, Yvonne Blomer, 1101 Glenora Place, Victoria, BC, V8P 2C2. NO email submissions will be accepted. Please include your email address for confirmation and contact.

6. No entries will be returned.

7. Each poet chosen for the anthology will receive as payment two copies of the collection. The selected poets may also purchase the anthology at an author’s discount of 40%.

Deadline Postmarked January 31, 2012
Notification Late Spring 2012
Publication Fall 2012

The Four Way Books Intro Prize in Poetry

D.A. Powell, judge
Submissions accepted January 1 – March 31

For a book-length collection of poetry written in English by a poet who has not previously published a first book of poetry.

$1000.00 plus publication and a reading in NYC.

Submit online or by mail January 1 – March 31. Include necessary entry form and submission fee of $28.00.

Four Way Books
P.O. Box 535 Village Station
New York, New York 10014

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ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN REVIEW’S (formerly Horsefly Magazine) First Annual Literary Rant Competition

Deadline: February 29, 2012.

Something got your shorts in a knot? Something REALLY bugging you? Or something have you so fired up with enthusiasm you just have to let it out?

Think Rick Mercer. Think outside the box. Think Slam Poetry frozen on the page. Any and all subjects welcome. Give us your PASSION!

500 words or less.
Submit by February 29, 2012.

Magazine publication and prize money for the best work:
$200 for the best rant.
$100 for 2nd place.
$50 for 3rd.

(All submissions considered, but preference will be given to Kootenay-based writers.)

Include your rant in the body of an email or as an rtf or Word attachment.

To be considered for prizes, submissions must be accompanied by a $5 reading fee which may be hand-delivered or sent to the address below:

Elephant Mountain Review,
1019 Park St., Nelson, BC.
V1L 2H4

Please make out cheques to Horsefly Magazine Society.

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CBC Writing Contest

Only 400 words. Great literary prizes.

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ARC POETRY MAGAZINE POEM OF THE YEAR CONTEST

Deadline: February 1, 2012

Arc Poetry Magazine announces its 2012 Poem of the Year contest.
Big year! Big news… Big prize!
Yes, we know. We write to get it right—the eloquent untruths, the little utopias, the spaces between words. Posterity, schmosterity. Still, who wouldn’t say no to five grand?

Grand Prize: $5,000

Entry fee is $32 (Cdn), which includes a one-year Canadian subscription of ArcContest entry fees may be paid online (Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, and e-cheques) or by cheque or money order mailed with contest submissions.

Entrants may submit up to two unpublished poems with each $32 fee (extra poems: $5 per poem).Length of each poem must not exceed 100 lines.

All contest submissions must be submitted by post mail to:

Poem of the Year Contest
Arc Poetry Magazine
PO Box 81060
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1B1
Poem of the Year Contest

Poets, to your pens!

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The 2012 Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art Writing Contest is now open!

Deadline: February 1, 2012.

$500 prizes in each genre: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry

Plus publication in our landmark 50th issue.

Judges:
Nonfiction:
Anne Fadiman
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
National Book Critics Circle Award 1997

Fiction:
Dinaw Mengestu
How to Read the Air
The New Yorker “20 Under 40” 2010

Poetry:
Eileen Myles
Inferno: a poet’s novel
Lambda Literary Award 2010

Runners-up will be considered for publication on our website.
Entry fee is $14 and includes a copy of Journal 50.

Please note: after your file is uploaded, you will be automatically directed to our payment portal, which will allow you to buy a virtual “ticket” to the contest ($13 plus 75? processing fee).

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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Writer-In-Residence Program at Green College, UBC

Deadline : February 1, 2012

Green College at the University of British Columbia invites applications from Canadian writers normally resident outside the Lower Mainland of BC, for the position of Canada Council Writer-in-Residence at the College. The term of the residency will be three months within the period between September 1 and December 15, 2012, subject to funding approval.

The Writer-in-Residence will work with the Green College community through consultations and workshops, and will create and coordinate a public series of literary events, as part of the College’s academic programming for the UBC and local community. She or he will be expected to live at the College for the term of the residency, and will be provided with reimbursement for economy-fare travel (within Canada) to and from Vancouver, room and partial board during the stay, and a stipend of $18,000. Additional funding will be available to support the public series of events.

For its 2012 residency the College seeks a writer of established reputation in any genre/s (at least two books in print or equivalent public recognition) and with significant previous experience of arranging and hosting literary events.

Only complete applications received by postal mail by the deadline are accepted. Please send applications to:

Writer-in-Residence Selection Committee
Green College, The University of British Columbia
6201 Cecil Green Park Road
Vancouver, BC
V6T 1Z1

Applications must include:

A covering letter that includes a sketch of possible events for the residencyA curriculum vitae20-30 page writing sampleTwo letters of reference, signed by the referees and provided in sealed envelopes, which may be mailed separately

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TESSERACTS SIXTEEN NOW OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS

Deadline: February 29, 2012 (midnight).

(Calgary, Alberta) EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing is delighted to announce that the Canadian speculative fiction anthology Tesseracts Sixteen: Parnassus Unbound, is now open for submissions.

ABOUT THE TESSERACTS SERIES

The first Tesseracts anthology was edited by Judith Merril. Since its publication in 1985, 264 authors/editors/translators and guests have written 443 pieces of Canadian speculative fiction, fantasy and horror for this series. Some of Canada’s best known speculative fiction writers have been published within the pages of these volumes – including Margaret Atwood, William Gibson, Robert J. Sawyer, and Spider Robinson (to name a few). Tesseracts Sixteen is the seventeenth volume in the series. The entire series includes Tesseracts One through Sixteen, and Tesseracts Q, which features translations of works by some of Canada’s top francophone writers of science fiction and fantasy.

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Mark Leslie is a writer, editor and bookseller who has worked for Indigo/Chapters Books and the McMaster University bookstore. He currently works at Kobo as Director of Self Publishing and Author Relations. Apart from being published in numerous publications, he occasionally writes reviews and conducts interviews. He was the series editor for the North of Infinity sci-fi anthology series. Mark sits on the board of directors for BookNet Canada and is president of Canadian Booksellers Association. As an active member of the book industry (both as a bookseller and writer), Mark regularly speaks at conferences, conventions and workshops about books, writing, and publishing.

SUBMISSION DETAILS:

The theme for Tesseracts Sixteen is “Parnassus Unbound.”
Submissions should focus on art, music, literature and cultural elements which are integral to the story. This anthology will reflect as broad a spectrum of stories as possible; highlighting unique styles and manners.
The Tesseracts anthology series is only open to submissions from Canadians, landed immigrants living in Canada, long time residents of Canada, and Canadian expatriates living abroad.
Canadian authors who write in languages other than English are welcome to submit an English translation of their work, provided it otherwise falls within the parameters of this anthology. Translation into English is the sole responsibility of the author. Please supply details of original publication for any submission that originally appeared in a language other than English.
Submissions must be speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy, magic realism, slipstream, supernatural horror, weird tales, alternate history, space opera, planetary adventure, surrealism, superheroes, mythic fantasy, etc.Tesseracts Sixteen is open to both short fiction and poetry.
The maximum length for stories is 5,000 words, with shorter works preferred.
Submission Deadline: February 29, 2012 (midnight).

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RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers

Deadline: January 30, 2012.
Genre: Short Fiction

The Writers’ Trust of Canada is now accepting submissions for the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. This year, the prize will be given for outstanding unpublished short fiction by a writer under the age of 35. The winner will receive $5,000 and two honourable mentions will each receive $1,000. The deadline for submission is January 30, 2012. The award will be presented in late spring.

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PANDORA’S COLLECTIVE Hibernating with Words POETRY CONTEST

Deadline: January 15, 2012 at 12:00am

Contest Details:
Judges: Rob Taylor and Fiona Tinwei Lam
Deadline: Jan 15, 2012, Winners announced Feb 15, 2012

Entry Fees:
Adults – $5/poem
Teens (14 to 19) – $4/poem
Children (13 and under) – $3/poem

Prizes:
Adults – 1st: $100 & publication on the website, 2nd: $50 & publication, 3rd: publication.
Teens – 1st: $75 & publication on the website,
2nd: $35 & publication, 3rd: publication.
Children – 1st: $40 & publication on the website, 2nd: $20 & publication, 3rd: publication.

Guidelines: We do not accept previously published poems. The maximum number of lines for a single poem is fifty. Submissions must be in triplicate (please divide poems into three piles for three separate judges – only one cover letter needed), typed, with no name or address appearing on the same page as the poem. A cover letter must be included showing age category, name, address, telephone number and/or email address, as well as the title of the poem(s) for clarification and the dollar amount included. Please do not use staples. Do not send an SASE, the winners list will be published online. Poems can be of any theme or form as long as they do not exceed the fifty line max. Cheques should be made out to Pandora’s Collective and the envelope should be labeled, “Poetry Contest Submission”. All rights return to the poet after publication. This contest is open to poets world wide.

Mail submissions to:
Pandora’s Collective
(Poetry Contest Submission)
5505 Main Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V5W 2S3

* Please note that this is blind judging. Your name must not be on your poems.  Pandora’s Collective poetry contests are open to writers world wide and of all age categories.

Upcoming Contests:
Kisses and Popsicles Spring Poetry Contest:
Deadline May 15, 2012, Winners announced June15, 2012Judges: tba

The Summer Dreams Poetry Contest:
Deadline Sept 15, 2012, Winners announced Oct 15, 2012
Judges: tba

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Must-Read Review of Apple's Pages

An enthusiastic Mac owner writes a review of apples Pages for writers. Writer's Helper editor, Audrey, adds comments on Change Tracking.

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How to add dry facts to a story

I'found that if I need to put in some backstory or information that does not fit in anywhere else, that I can do it in a usually boring task that a character

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Writing Goals

Get help meeting your writing goals.

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Clear your mind clutter before you begin

Set a silent timer for just five minutes and write the words, I am aware... Then write fast, without stopping till the timer goes off. Go back and highlight

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Listen to the Voice

Always listen to the little voice that offers new ideas and images. It comes in handy

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YOU COULD BE GEIST’S EMERGING WRITER OF THE MONTH

An enlightened online space for new writers to test-drive their work

How it works:
Emerging writers are invited to submit short written works online. Geist chooses and publishes one piece each month on a dedicated web page. Geist readers and like-minded people are then invited to comment on the featured work.

Who is eligible:

Canadian students enrolled in secondary or post-secondary courses and/or writing workshops are eligible.
The writer should have no more than 2 short works published in established print or online magazines, books or websites. (Blogs, zines and in-house school publications are exempt.)
Geist staff, board members, editors and interns are not eligible.

What to submit

Prose: 500 words maximum; fiction or non-fiction; short piece or stand-alone excerpt of a longer piece.
Poetry: 50 lines maximum in any form.Photo essay: 3 photos and 150 words of text maximum. Submit as one image file—JPG, TIFF or PDF, at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.
Comix and other graphica: 2 pages maximum. Page dimensions should not exceed 8.5×11 inches. Submit as one image file—JPG, TIFF or PDF, at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.

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Enjoy the luxury of time and space … for your art, and for yourself.

Literary writer Shelley A. Leedahl offers her home on the edge of the scenic village of Middle Lake, SK (1.5 hours NE of Saskatoon, near Humboldt) for creative or contemplative retreats. Individual or two-person residencies preferred, and two month minimum requested. Dog companions welcome. Two bedroom-plus-study home is furnished and includes upright grand piano.The home floods with light and the broad western sky provides a dramatic backdrop to your creative work. A postcard ten-minute walk through the woods leads to the quiet lakeshore. Birds, nature and trails are abundant.

Retreat rate is $800\month (single) or $1200\month (double), wireless internet and utilities included. Better rates negotiable for 3 month (or longer) retreats.Contact Shelley A. Leedahl:
shelleyaleedahl@gmail.com or 604-989-4959 for more info or to reserve your private 2012 retreat now.

ARC POETRY MAGAZINE POEM OF THE YEAR CONTEST

Deadline: February 1, 2012.

Arc Poetry Magazine announces its 2012 Poem of the Year contest.
Big year! Big news… Big prize!
Yes, we know. We write to get it right—the eloquent untruths, the little utopias, the spaces between words. Posterity, schmosterity. Still, who wouldn’t say no to five grand?
Grand Prize: $5,000

Entry fee is $32 (Cdn), which includes a one-year Canadian subscription of Arc
Contest entry fees may be paid online (Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, and e-cheques) or by cheque or money order mailed with contest submissions.
Entrants may submit up to two unpublished poems with each $32 fee (extra poems: $5 per poem).
Length of each poem must not exceed 100 lines.
All contest submissions must be submitted by post mail to:

Poem of the Year Contest
Arc Poetry Magazine
PO Box 81060
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1B1
Poem of the Year Contest

But really, what more do you need to know? Poets, to your pens!

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Self Published Author Stories

A self published author is more susceptible than other writers to the dangers of writing alone. Share the stories of other self published authors. Submit your own story.

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How To Write For IBook

Scared to write for ibook? Follow six simple steps to get your book to the masses.

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Watch out for multiple similarities

I love to write and read but a good thing to keep in mind is to stay original. I once needed to strip down and rewrite 10,000 words because it had several

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Try several styles of writing

I have always loved to write stories, to be more specific science fiction but at age 11 for a class project I wrote a poem and liked it so I decided to

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Emotion To Brilliance!! :)

Write from your experiences! That doesn't mean an autobiography. Find a deep experience with lots of emotion, what emotion was it? Use that in your next

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Details To Boredom! :)

People say you should always, always, ALWAYS put lots of details in your writing! But don't over-do them! If you do them your readers can get bored if

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Bare Knuckle MBA Book Review

Bare Kuckle MBA book review. Clayton Bye's book on how to make your business profitable, no matter what your business is gets a review from Audrey Owen of Writer's Helper.

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2011 DORSET PRIZE FOR POETRY

September 1 – December 31, 2011
(postmark or online submission-date)
Final Judge: Tom Sleigh
$3,000 Prize

The Dorset Prize includes a cash award of $3,000 in addition to publication by Tupelo Press, a book launch, and national distribution with energetic publicity and promotion. Manuscripts are judged anonymously. All finalists will also be considered for publication. This competition is open to any poet writing in English. Previously published poems with proper acknowledgment are acceptable. Translations are not eligible, nor are previously self-published books. Employees of Tupelo Press and authors previously published by Tupelo Press are not eligible.

Manuscript Requirements:

Submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript of between 48 and 88 pages (of poems).
Include two cover pages: one with the title of the manuscript only, the other with title of manuscript, name, address, telephone number, and email address.
Include a table of contents and, if applicable, an acknowledgments page for prior publications in periodicals. Cover letters or biography notes are optional; if included, these will not be read until the conclusion of the contest.

The Dorset Prize is open to anyone writing in the English language, whether living in the United States or abroad. Translations are not eligible for this prize.
Poets submitting work for consideration may be published authors or writers without prior book publications.
While the first three winners of the annual Dorset Prize were first books (the anonymous process seems to work), we receive many submissions from poets with significant publishing histories, including previous books, so the competition is intense. Please take this into consideration when deciding whether to enter a manuscript for the Dorset Prize.
Individual poems in a contest manuscript may have been previously published in magazines, journals, or anthologies, but the work as a whole must be unpublished. Reminder: Translations and previously self-published books are not eligible.Simultaneous submissions to other publishers or contests are permitted, as long as you notify Tupelo Press promptly if a manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
All finalists will also be considered for publication.
Tupelo Press endorses and abides by the Ethical Guidelines of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP).
Before you submit a manuscript to a Tupelo Press competition, please consider exploring the work of the poets we have published. We’re drawn to technical virtuosity combined with abundant imagination; memorable, vivid imagery and strikingly musical approaches to language; willingness to take risks; and an ability to convey penetrating insights into human experience

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KUNG FU FOR WRITERS WITH KIM GOLDBERG

November 10 – December 15, 2011
7:00-9:00 pm, six consecutive Thursdays
@ Victoria College of Art, 1625 Bank Street,
Victoria, BC
Cost: $195

Join award-winning poet, journalist and author Kim Goldberg for an extraordinary six-week creative writing course involving martial arts, Qigong and writing exercises that will awaken your body, unleash your mind and stimulate the flow of words. “Body Talk: Kung Fu for Writers” is offered by Vancouver Island School of Writing, based at Victoria College of Art.

Discover what happens to your creative powers when Angry Horse Turns Head Around or Green Dragon Stretches Claws. Each week, students will explore one of the body’s five principal organs using Five Element Qigong along with a corresponding movement from Liuhebafa – an ancient martial art that purports to hold the key to immortality. Creative writing exercises will be linked to specific qualities of each week’s organ for the ultimate mind/body experience. Writing will be shared but not critiqued. The focus will be on cultivating a spontaneous writing practice. (“First thought, best thought,” in the tradition of the Beat poets.) This course is well suited to people currently writing poetry, fiction or creative nonfiction, or for writers who are stuck and need a creative kick-start, or for people just beginning to explore their creative abilities with writing. No prior background in martial arts is necessary.

Kim Goldberg is the author of Ride Backwards on Dragon, RED ZONE and other books. She has been studying Qigong, Liuhebafa and other healing and martial arts involving Taoist internal alchemy for 14 years.

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Winter Retreat at St. Peter’s Abbey

Deadline for receipt of applications is 4:30 pm, November 30, 2011.

The Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild will be holding a Winter Retreat at St Peter’s Abbey February 3-24, 2012. Cost is $300 per week for Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild or CARFAC SASK members (Saskatchewan Residents), $475 (Out of Province residents, members of SWG or CARFAC SASK ) or $550 per week (Out of Province residents, non-members of SWG or CARFAC SASK). Deadline for receipt of applications is 4:30 pm, November 30, 2011.

Please send completed applications to:
Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild, Attention Retreat Coordinator, Box 3986, Regina, SK, S4P 3R9.

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Contract with editor? With price tag?

What does a professional experienced editor - with New York City experience - typically charge? What does the contract look like?

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I have problems with spelling and grammar

Because English is my second language writing for me has been very difficult. One of the reasons I am taking this class is to improve my writing. My

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their/there

I always get mixed up between their and there. How do you keep them straight

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