Writing Resources
Let Us Hear Your Voice: Writers Helping Writers
Do you have a great writing tip to share? A short opinion based on your own experiences? Send your tips and opinions typed in the body of your email to info@markhamvillagewriters.com.
Famous Quotations:
“You need a certain amount of nerve to be a writer.”
-Margaret Atwood
Need a motivational kickstart? Try this writing prompt:
Write about your most memorable first day of school.
Whether you write one paragraph or a full story, as long as it’s based on the prompt, we’ll feature it next month. Just send it to: info@markhamvillagewriters.com
Contests
Annual International 3-Day Novel Contest, Sept. 4 to 6, 2010
Registrations are now open for the world’s most notorious literary marathon, taking place Labour Day weekend. Complete rules here: http://www.3daynovel.com/register/?rules
Surrey International Writers’ Conference Writing Contest
Deadline: September 10, 2010, postmarked by 4 pm. The Surrey International Writers’ Conference Writing Contest is open to all writers 18 years and older. Four Categories: SIWC Storyteller’s Award: short stories 3,500 – 5,000 words; SIWC Non-fiction Award: maximum length 1,500 words; SIWC Poetry Award: one poem per submission: 40 lines max; SIWC Writing For Young People Award: short stories, maximum length 1,500 words. Entry fees: $15 per submission. Prizes: Storyteller’s Award: 1st Place $1,000 and anthology; Honourable Mention(s) $150 each; Nonfiction Award: 1st Place $1,000 and anthology; Honourable Mention(s) $150 each; Poetry Award: 1st Place $1,000 and anthology; Honourable Mention(s) $150 each. All winning entries will be published in the Writing Contest anthology which will be available at the conference Friday evening, immediately following the announcement of the winners. Complete rules and submission infor here: http://www.siwc.ca/contest/
Guide Gecko Guidebook Contest
Deadline: September 15, 2010. Write and submit your own 32-page travel guide to Guide Gecko. Travel, food and lifestyle guidebooks can be submitted. PRIZES: 1st, publication of your guide book and a trip to the Frankfurt Book Fair where your book will be showcased. 2nd and 3rd prizes: your book will be showcased at the fair. More details at: http://www.guidegecko.com/writing-contest
SubTerrain Magazine
Deadline: Sept. 15, 2010. Call for submissions: Theme for Issue #57 (Winter 2010) is Regret. “Regrets, I’ve had a few…but then again, too few to mention…” SubTerrain magazine is published 3 times a year and distributed to magazine stores across Canada. We strive to produce a stimulating fusion of fiction, poetry, photography and graphic illustration from rising Canadian, U.S. & International writers and artists. Each issue of SubTerrain has a theme, but you should feel free to interpret these themes in unique and unusual ways. Theme issues will still feature “regular” work, so please continue sending us your submissions, theme-related or not. Submissions should be typed, double-spaced on 8 1/2 x 11 paper (no disks or e-mail submissions please) Fiction: a maximum of 3,000 words (2,000 or so is best for us). Creative Non-Fiction: a maximum of 4,000 words. Commentary (social or otherwise): a maximum of 4000 words. Photography & Illustration: we only accept solicited art and photography. Please forward us a link to your Include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your work. Those submissions not accompanied by a self-addressed envelope will not be considered or returned. Payment for prose: $25 per page. Send submissions to: SubTerrain Magazine, P.O. Box 3008, MPO, Vancouver, BC V6B 3X5 Canada
Ascent Aspirations Spring 2011 Anthology
Deadline: October 10, 2010. We have decided to create one anthology a year in the spring and for this year we have massaged the theme and are open to your best and most exciting work within our guidelines. We still like the theme of work and social issues related to work and daily life. After all no matter what we are doing in life, work is definitely involved. So you can bend and twist your material to fit the theme. In other words interpret the theme very broadly and come at it from whatever direction you wish. Details at http://www.ascentaspirations.ca/ascentspring2011.htm
70th National One-Act Playwriting Competition
Deadline: Friday October 15, 2010 by 5:00 p.m. The Ottawa Little Theatre is accepting submissions for their annual competition. One-act plays in English, with a maximum playing time of 60 min. For guidelines, visit www.ottawalittletheatre.com and click on the Learning@OLT section.
The Malahat Review Open Season Awards
Deadline: November 1, 2010. $1,000 Prize in each of three categories. Submit work in any of our three marquee genres: poetry, short fiction, or creative non-fiction. Poetry: up to three poems per entry (max. 100 lines each); Short Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction: one piece (max 2500 words). Fees: $35 CAD for Canadians; $40 USD for US entries; $45 USD for entries from elsewhere. For more information: http://www.malahatreview.ca/open_season/info.html. Inquiries: malahat@uvic.ca
CV2′s 35th Anniversary Poetry Contest
Deadline: November 1, 2010. Accepting poetry: 1-4 poems/submission, entry fee: $24, includes a 1-yr subscription to CV2. Prizes: $500/$300/$150/two honourable mentions + paid publication for each winner. Details: Whether 35 lines, 35 stanzas or “35″ written into the poem itself, each poem must incorporate “35″ somehow in its language or form. No extra points for being tricky, but we are definitely open to innovation! Anyone can enter, though only original, unpublished poetry is accepted. No simultaneous submissions (more details online). Each poem may not exceed 100 lines. Manuscripts must be typed on 8.5×11 paper, title and page number on each page. Judging is blind, so include contact information on a separate sheet with a list of titles in your submission. Only paper submissions by post will be accepted. Send to: Contemporary Verse 2, 502-100 Arthur St, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 1H3, CANADA (204) 949-1365. Complete contest info at contemporaryverse2.ca
NOWW’s 12th Annual Writing Contest
Five categories: fiction, poetry, memoir, children’s story, flash fiction. Entry: FREE to NOWW members (join online or email admin@nowwwriters.org) or $10 per entry (limit 2 entries per category). Complete details at www.nowwwriters.org.
The Writers’ Union of Canada Contest
Deadline: November 3. Short Prose Competition for Developing Writers: Prize of $2,500. For more details, visit www.writersunion.ca/cn_main.asp
Minotaur Books First Crime Novel Contest
Deadline: November 13, 2010. Open to any writer, regardless of nationality, who has never been the author of a published novel. Self-published writers may enter, as long as the entry has not itself been self-published. Submit previously unpublished works of book length (no less than 220 typewritten pages or approximately 60,000 words). PRIZE: $10,000 advance and a publishing contract from Minotaur Books. More details at: http://tinyurl.com/2vdc2u8
Bottle Tree Productions’ 2010 One Act Play Competition
Deadline: November 30, 2010. One Act Plays of up to 70 minutes may be submitted to Bottle Tree Productions at 445 Southwood Drive, Kingston, Ontario K7M 5P8 or check out their website for email submissions. Please have your copy bound and if you wish it returned, please include a manuscript-sized SASE. Multiple submissions accepted. Plays can have previously been produced but not professionally. Please do not attach your name or contact name to the script but have that information on a separate sheet of paper. If you want a critical analysis of your work please enclose a cheque for $50 made payable to Bottle Tree Productions. Entry Fee: $25 per entry. First Prize: $1,000 Second Prize: $250 Third Prize: $100. Complete rules at http://www.bottletreeinc.com/script_contest.html
Prairie Fire Press & McNally Robinson Booksellers 2010 Writing Contests
Deadline, Nov 30, 2010. Three categories: Poetry, Short Story and creative non-fiction. First prize $1,250.00. For more info: www.prairiefire.ca or email: prfire@mts.net
Writing contest seeks “wild words” Top prize $750 to prose competition winner
Deadline: November 30, 2010. Having a wild time this summer? Why not write it all down? Wild Words, WCDR’s themed prose contest is looking for entries. Send readers on a wild ride. Tell a tale about a trip into the wilds. Invent a character with wild ideas. Narrate your wild past. Write about an adventure with the Minnesota Wild hockey team. In short, let your wild and crazy side take over. If your entry wins, you’ll have a wild time with the winnings. The $750 first prize includes publication in both the literary magazine Surfacing and the Wild Words literary anthology. The $500 second prize winner, $250 third place winner and selected honourable mentions will also be published in the anthology. All published entries reap $25 payment and a contributor’s copy. What’s more, each and every entry in the contest receives written feedback from the judges. This open genre, open form prose competition welcomes fiction and non-fiction. The maximum word count is 1200 words. The entry fee is just $20 – $25 for international entries. Online submissions only. Payment by PayPal, or mail a cheque or money order to Wild Words, The Writers’ Community of Durham Region, Bayly Postal Outlet, PO Box 14558, 75 Bayly Street West, Ajax ON L1S 7K7. Winners will be announced in March 2011. For details, visit www.wcdr.org or e-mail querycontest@wcdr.org.
The Fiddlehead presents: 20th Annual Literary Contest
Deadline: Postmarked by December 1, 2010. This year, The Fiddlehead is 65 and our literary contest is 20, so we’re commemorating 2010 in a big way! There are two contest categories: poetry and short fiction. Poetry prizes: $2010 Ralph Gustafson Prize for Best Poem and $500 each for two Honourable Mentions; Short fiction prizes: $2010 for the Best Story and $500 each for two Honourable Mentions. The winning entries will be published in the Spring 2011 issue of The Fiddlehead (No. 247) and on our website. The winning authors will be paid for publication in addition to their prizes. One short-fiction entry is one story (6,000 words maximum). One poetry entry is up to 3 poems; no more than 100 lines per poem. Entry Fee: $30 for Canadian entries and $36 for international. Entry fee includes a one-year subscription to The Fiddlehead. For full contest details go to www.thefiddlehead.ca/contest.html or contact us at fiddlehd@unb.ca.
Enfield & Wizenty Fiction Contest
Deadline: December, 2010. $5000.00 advance for the most outstanding submission of literary fiction (novels and collections of short stories). More information at: http://www.greatplains.mb.ca/wordpress/?page_id=11
Red Tuque books short story competition
Deadline Dec 31, 2010. Writers of short fiction are encouraged to enter the Red Tuque Books Short Story Competition. The total prize money to be awarded is $1,000.00. The first, second and third place stories will be selected by two accomplished writers. Eileen Kernaghan has written eight historical Fantasy novels and is a three-time winner of the Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy Award. Casey Wolf is the author of numerous speculative short stories, fifteen of which can be found in a short story collection: Finding Creatures & Other Stories. Stories must contain an element of the fantastic and must be ‘canadian’. Guidelines at: www.redtuquebooks.ca
Ascent Aspirations
Spring 2011 issue will be published at the end of February 2011. Contributors for the anthology will be chosen through Ascent Aspiration’s poetry and flash ficiton contest. Contest winners will also receive cash prizes: First Prize for Poetry: $100 & 1 copy of the anthology; First Prize for Flash Fiction: $100 & 1 copy of the anthology; Second Prize for Poetry: $50 & 1 copy of the anthology; Second Prize for Flash Fiction: $50 & 1 copy of anthology; Third Prize for Poetry: $25 & 1 copy of the anthology; Third Prize for Flash Fiction: $25 & 1 copy of the anthology; Plus 6 – $10 (CND) honourable mention awards with 1 copy of the anthology; Plus all additional contributors chosen for the collection will receive one copy of the anthology. Entry fee: $5 for one poem or 3 poems for $10. $10 for each piece of flash fiction. You can send as many poems/flash fiction pieces as you wish. The goal is for the contest to generate the costs for publishing the anthology. If the entry fees and sales of the anthology exceed the costs, then the additional money will be used to fund future print anthologies with prize money being more widely distributed among all the authors who appear in the anthology. Rules & Guidelines here: http://www.ascentaspirations.ca/ascentspring2011.htm
The Canadian Writers’ Contest Calendar, 2010
Whether you’re a beginner or advanced writer, if you’re looking for places to send your work, you should add contests to your list. The Canadian Writers’ Contest Calendar gives a full listing of contests in Canada arranged by deadline date. It lists contests for short stories, poetry, children’s writing, novels, and non-fiction — contests for just about everyone. Mail your cheque for $22 (includes taxes and shipping) to: Brian Henry, 110 Reiner Road, Toronto, ON M3H 2L6.
Markets
The Writing Lady Publishing seeks young-adult fiction and non-fiction (no explicit sex or gratuitous violence) that addresses the need for romance and coping with life’s real obstacles, and fantasy fiction (no fan fiction). Young adult is usually (12 years to 17 years depending on the source). Also needed are chapter books for middle-readers, who are generally 8 years to 12 years of age. How-to books are also very popular for this age group and young adult readers. We are also seeking New Adult Readers books. These are for adults who are learning how to read. Use simple words and tell a grown-up story with well developed characters and plots. For all submissions, minimum word count is 15K. Allow approximately two to four weeks for evaluation of your manuscript. Please edit and polish your manuscript to reflect your best work. On the title page, include a working title, your complete name and/or pseudonym, and all your contact information. Please put page numbers in the upper right corner but no headers. One inch margins; 1.5 spacing New Roman 12. Attach as a .rtf file. Keep your introduction letter simple and include any publishing history, if any, and professional experience if it pertains to the book. All manuscripts should be sent to submission@thewritinglady.com. (Please note that “submission” is not plural!) http://www.thewritinglady.com
A Call for Submission of Poetry and Prose: From the Cottage Porch
Submission Deadline: October 1, 2010. From editor: Jessica Outram. In spring 2011, Sunshine in a Jar Press will publish a book exploring the humour, the drama, the traditions, and the culture of cottage life. I am looking for previously unpublished, themed submissions of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Publication Date: Spring 2011. Before submitting work, please note the following guidelines: Poetry: up to 5 poems; Prose: up to 3 prose to a maximum of 2000 words. I accept submissions by email. Please send to sunshineinajar@ymail.com. I will send you a note confirming I received your work. Please attach your submissions in MS Word or PDF format. Submissions must be typed, double-spaced, with 1.5″ margins. Manuscripts may be rejected if they do not adhere to these guidelines. Payment: If accepted, authors will receive one contributor’s copy of the anthology. Please contact Jessica at sunshineinajar@ymail.com for general inquiries.
York University’s Existere Magazine
Deadline Dec 31 2010. Seeks submissions: fiction (short/flash/postcard), poetry, visual poetry, non-fiction (essays, reviews, interviews, etc., short plays or excerpts. Guidelines at: http://yorku.ca/existere/submissions.html/
MAC and iPod Articles Wanted
MacLife provides exclusive, authoritative information and advice for readers who want to get the most out of their Macs, iPods, and third-party hardware, software, and services. The magazine also delivers informative feature articles showcasing the latest hardware and software, an expanded “how-to” section, and candid reviews of the latest gear. Seeking articles for both new and experienced Mac users. Pays up to 50 cents/word. View website for details. http://www.maclife.com/article/about_us
Good Housekeeping
Audience is 25 million women, mostly married, most of whom have children (anywhere from newborn to college age) and who work outside the home. High-paying market. Guidelines: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/good-housekeeping-contributors-guidelines
James Lorimer & Company
is currently seeking submissions for its children’s books series. Submission guidelines: Children’s and Young Adult Series. Streetlights: Streetlights novels are for kids ages 8 to 10 who enjoy realistic stories packed with humour, adventure, and problem-solving. Settings must be contemporary and Canadian. 20,000 words. Sport Stories: Sports Stories are exciting, plot-driven hi-lo novels with lots of fast-paced sports action. Settings must be Canadian, contemporary, and realistic. Main characters are aged 12-13. Hockey, soccer, and basketball stories are in the highest demand. 25,000 words. SideStreets: SideStreets novels are issues-based, high-interest stories for reluctant teen readers. They feature realistic characters, situations, and dialogue, and explore the often difficult feelings and situations faced by contemporary Canadian teens. 30,000 words. Recordbooks: Recordbooks are non-fiction Canadian sports biographies that explain how one athlete or group of athletes overcame issues to succeed at sport. These issues can include, gender, physical, race, or political or economic barriers. 15,000 words. Please visit www.lorimer.ca for more information. Mail query letter, summary, author bio, and manuscript to: Children’s Book Editor, James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers, 317 Adelaide Street West, Suite 1002, Toronto, ON M5V 1P9. Include SASE for return of material. Allow 12-16 weeks for a response.
Cross Country Skier
Readers are active enthusiasts who seek information about ski trails, resorts, equipment, technique, competition and feature reports about cross country skiing. Guidelines: http://www.crosscountryskier.com/guidelines.html
Shelf Life is a literary journal that publishes prose and poetry focusing on books, writers, and readers. “We want articles about books, either the reading or the writing of them. We are looking for interviews (real or possibly, obviously fake), book reviews, critical analyses, blogs about public readings, meditations on a particular topic, open letters to writers dead or alive or anything else your hot, beautiful mind can come up with. Humor is appreciated. So is Quality. Art Any visual and audio mediums can be submitted.” Please put Shelf Life Submission in the subject of the email and include a short third-person bio to contact@shelfllifemagazine.com Full guidelines here: http://shelflifemagazine.com/
Skylights Magazine The in-flight magazine of Spirit Airlines. Their stories offer quick and practical information on where travellers are going, what’s doing once they get there, where they can eat, sleep, play, buy, relax. They present who and what they’re talking about – names, faces, music, movies, books, gadgets, fashion – in chatty, culture-current language. Their voice reflects a youthful, sassy edge that informs, amuses and delights their wide-ranging readership. They invite freelance queries. View website for guidelines: http://www.skylightsmagazine.com/guidelines.aspx
International Living General themes are retiring overseas, how to get the best deals when travelling, real estate bargains outside of the U.S., how to set up a business outside of the U.S., items that you find overseas that may sell well in the U.S. market (import-export), foreign investment… basically anything that involves saving or making money outside of the U.S. The countries that have our attention right now are Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Belize, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, Costa Rica, Romania, France, and Italy. If we use your Postcard or information we will pay you $50. If you are a photographer who has photos of these countries, we are also interested in hearing from you. You can send Postcards (approximately 250-500 words) to Len Galvin. If you are familiar with International Living magazine, you can send full-length articles (1,000 words) to Managing Editor Laura Sheridan. Please do not send photos with your first submission. For more information: http://internationalliving.com/2007/08/write-for-us/
Qwerty: Poetry, Fiction, Art Is accepting submissions for Issue #25. Fiction/Creative, Non-Fiction/Reviews: max. 3,000 words Poetry: up to 5 poems. Artwork: high-quality black-and-white prints (you may submit colour images for cover consideration). Guidelines at: http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/QWERTY/submit.php
TravelGeneration.com A travel-planning site that publishes travel narratives. They don’t have much North American content. Submission guidelines are brief: “Do you simply love travelling and want to share your experiences with fellow travellers? If so, we would love to give you the opportunity to write travel stories for Travel Generation. We pay up to NZ$50 per article that we publish about travelling around the world. Contact Dan Roberts for more details and to enquire how you can turn your travelling into a money making venture.” Check out the variety of travel stories they publish here at: http://travelgeneration.com/travel-stories/
Arsenal Pulp Press Small independent publisher in Vancouver. Beyond its regular publishing program, Arsenal partners with the 3-Day Novel Writing Contest to distribute the winning book. Complete submission guidelines here: http://www.arsenalpulp.com/contact.php
This Magazine Integrates writing about culture and politics in its broadest sense and serves it up with a sharp wit and a keen eye. Subject matter includes politics, culture, the arts, social issues, labour, feminism and sexuality. Details: http://www.thismagazine.ca/contact/writersguide.php.
Vox Humana Books Small international publisher seeking literary fiction and non-fiction proposals from Canadian writers. Details: http://voxhumana-books.com/?page_id=15
Click on the “Resources archive” link to find more markets!
Resources
Essay Writing Resources
Aimed at students, this site has a wealth of information on how to research, organize and write essays and various types of papers. http://www.accredited-online-college-degrees.com/essay.html
Writing for Audio Theatre
This site shows you how to write radio plays. http://www.ruyasonic.com/rdr_writing.htm
Writing Short Stories This is a free course from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which will help you to learn how to write your own short stories. http://tinyurl.com/2vjswq8
ScreenwritersArsenal.com A family of websites to help scriptwriters. The Script Delivery E-Query service is the service of choice for serious screenwriters looking to sell their work or gain representation: www.ScriptDelivery.net / SellAScript.com Development Services: www.sellascript.com/source/develop.cfm / Keep up to date on industry Script Sales at: www.sellascript.com/source/sales.cfm / Sponsored competitions at: www.scriptdelivery.net/sd/source/sponsoredcompetitions.cfm / Take advantage of our Writer’s Resources at: www.sellascript.com/source/resource.cfm
Writing Treatments A site that tells you all you need to know about writing treatments, what they are, why you need them if you’re trying to sell a script and how to use them. Visit http://www.writingtreatments.com/html/home.html
DiplomaGuide.com A guide to the best writing reference sites on the web! It lists poetry sites, journalism sites, technical writing sites, fiction, writing for the web and details of free and paid for courses: http://tinyurl.com/2ezr4jo
The Self Editing Blog by John Marlowe Blog on the subject of grammar and other topics to help improve and polish your writing skills, but also covers such topics as choosing good character names, avoiding bad endings, the misuse of coincidence, and much more: http://www.selfeditingblog.com/
The Short Story This is a UK site that praises the short story in all its forms. It not only publishes short stories, but lists competitions, magazines that purchase short stories and has a handy list of articles on the short story form. Visit: http://www.theshortstory.org.uk/
Happily Ever After A site for romance writers with helpful articles, a round-robin romance story to participate in, software and writing resources. Visit: http://www.teresciaharvey.com/hea/index.html
PaulLima.com Discover excellent resources for writers…Check out the advice for writers at Paul Lima’s blog: http://paullima.com/blog/
BookProposalWriting.com This site has lots of free resources and articles on how to write book proposals, including a book proposal workshop. Visit http://www.bookproposalwriting.com/
WritingRaw.com is a FREE literary ezine dedicated to new and emerging writers. Our goal at Writing Raw is simple – to serve the literary community with the opportunity to have their work online and out in the world. In this world of disappearing literary magazines, Writing Raw is providing the blank pages for writers to fill. Be sure to check out the NEW announcements on WritingRaw.com’s Home page from writer’s group and organizations worldwide. Discover meeting places, organizations offering fellowships, contests, and a variety of other useful websites all dedicated to writers of every level.
Carolyn Jewel’s Romance Writing Tips If you want to learn how to write romance novels, head along to this site. Jewel is the author of nine published romance novels and on her site she helps you to learn from her early mistakes. http://www.carolynjewel.com/craft/workshop.shtml
Creative Nonfiction If you’ve ever wondered exactly what is meant by the term creative nonfiction, then a trip to this site will help to clear things up for you. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the article to listen to the audio clips explaining creative fiction. http://www.creativenonfiction.org/thejournal/whatiscnf.htm
Journaling as a Way of Life This site has lots of useful information on journals, journaling, different types of journals (e.g., electronic vs. paper), purposes of journaling, writing styles, prompts and more. A good place to get started, especially if you’re new to journaling. http://iheartjournals.com/
Allyson Latta: Memoir Writing
Days Road Writers’ Workshops Allyson invites writers interested in memoir writing to explore a new feature on her site. “The Writers Den: Conversations on Memoir” is a space devoted to interviews Allyson has conducted over the past five years with fascinating people in the realm of life writing–self-published authors, a literary agent, a book coach, a travel writer, acclaimed authors including David Gilmour and Catherine Gildiner, and more. Visit www.daysroadwriters.blogspot.com and spend some time in The Writers Den. If you’d like to be added to Allyson’s “Google Group” in order to be notified when there are occasional new posts to her site, please contact her at lattamemoirs@gmail.com.
Wordwrights Canada For two decades, Wordwrights Canada has helped those who strive for a high professional standards in their writing, be it fiction, literary nonfiction, or poetry. Among the many resources available, you’ll also find: The online poetry writing course Lessons in Writing the Poem; An extensive list of Canadian Links of Interest to Writers; Susan Ioannou’s book of encouragement and support, Holding True: Essays on Being a Writer. For more details, visit www.wordwrights.ca.
Quick Brown Fox A literary bulletin e-mailed to 5,000 subscribers Note: Please forward this email to anyone who might be interested. Also, please email me about anything your fellow writers might like to hear about: good markets, contests, calls for submissions, new writers’ groups, etc. Most especially, let me know about your successes at brianhenry@sympatico.ca
Click on the “Resources archive” link to find more resources!
Five categories: fiction, poetry, memoir, children’s story, flash fiction. Entry: FREE to NOWW members (join online or email
admin@nowwwriters.org) or $10 per entry (limit 2 entries per category). Complete details at www.nowwwriters.org.