Call for Stories about Mom

Familia Books is buying stories to be collected into an anthology tentatively titled Wisdom of Our Mothers. Fifty percent of the profits from the book will be donated to shelters for mothers and their children escaping from abusive relationships.

Payment: If your work is accepted, you will be paid US $100 per story upon publication of the book. (Other payment options for more money are available.)

Story guidelines: Stories will be true accounts of life’s lessons learned from one’s mother, regarding values, ethics, relationships. They should be generally positive, but may explore areas of disagreement or conflict with one’s mother.

Maximum length is 3,000 words (no minimum).

How to submit your story:

E-mail (preferred): ericjbowen@comcast.net

S-mail: Familia Books • PMB 326 • 1225 E. Sunset Dr. Ste. 145 • Bellingham, WA 98226 USA

Include with submission: Contact information: your name, address, phone number, and email address; short (100 words max) biography, resume, and/or self-promotion to publish with your story.

Deadline: November 30, 2008 (tentative)

For more information: Visit www.familiabooks.com

Gauge The Success of Your Novels' Title!

Are you trying to decide if the title of your novel will hook potential readers? The folks at Lulu.com commissioned a research team to analyze the titles of every book that topped the hardback fiction section of the New York Times Bestseller List from 1955 to 2004. They used the data gathered from over 700 titles to create the "Lulu Titlescorer," a program able to predict the chances that any given title would become a New York Times bestseller. Simply enter your choice of title in the field at the top of the page, make selections from 3 drop-down menus to define the title's attributes, and click on "Analyze my title!" The score represents the chances that your title will become a #1 hit!

"ZYZZYVA" Is Accepting Submissions Now!

Zyzzyva (ziz-uh-vuh) is not only the last word in the dictionary ("any of various South American weevils of the genus zyzzvya, often destructive to plants"); it is also the name of a literary magazine that appears in March, August, and November.
They publish a wide range of fiction, poetry, and essays (no interviews, reviews or criticisms), and accept submissions only from writers who live on the West Coast: CA, OR, WA, AK, HI. They also pay $50 on acceptance for first North American serial rights.
Submissions are accepted by snail mail only, and they ask that you not send anything via certified or registered mail. Send your work to: Editor, P.O. Box 590069, San Francisco, CA, 94159-0069. You may submit material of any length, and as many manuscripts as you like. "Take your best shot," and why not? It's free! Please go to their website to check out the rest of their submission guidelines.

"Election Horror" Short Fiction Contest ~

This year's theme for the Annual Apex Halloween Contest is "Election Horror," something I think it's safe to say we can all relate to. (Just the idea of the political arena makes me shudder!) Submit your short story of 1000 words or less (and for which first rights are available), to halloween(at)apexdigest(dot)com by 11:59PM EST, October 15, 2008. Prizes? Yes!

• 1st place winner receives 10 cents a word and publication in Apex Digest Online.
• 2nd place winner receives 5 cents a word and publication in Apex Digest Online.
• 3rd place winner receives a free Apex Book Company hardcover.
• 4th place winner receives a free Apex Book Company trade paperback.

Winning and second place stories will be published on November 4th (election day!) There's no fee to enter this contest, and there's plenty of inspiration no matter where your political affinities lie!

Poetry of the Sacred ~

Do you write poetry that expresses, directly or indirectly, a sense of the holy, or that evokes the sacred? If your work is religious, prophetic or contemplative, why not send a poem to the Poetry of the Sacred Contest 2009? Submit only one previously unpublished poem, written in English, of no more than 100 lines, to Merton Institute, 2117 Payne Street, Louisville, KY, 40206, (or email to vhurst(at)mertoninstitute(dot)org, by December 31, 2008.

• First Prize: $500
• Three Honorable Mention Prizes: $100

Poems will be judged on literary excellence, spiritual tenor, and human authenticity. Winning poems will be published in The Merton Seasonal. Please go to their website for the rest of the contest guidelines, get in touch with your spiritual center and see where it leads you.

"On The Premises" Wants To Read Your Revelation!

Who hasn't believed something that turned out to be false? Web-based fiction magazine On the Premises is giving all of us to whom that's happened a chance to turn our sadder-but-wiser (or maybe happier-and-wiser ... it could happen), stories to our advantage in their current contest: Revelation. They publish winning stories in no-fee contests held every four months. Send them between 1,000 and 5,000 words of fiction in which one or more characters believes something that turns out to be false, by 11:59 pm EST, Tuesday, September 30th, for a chance to be published and win prizes:

• 1st prize: $140
• 2nd prize: $100
• 3rd prize: $70
• Honorable mention: $25 (Between 0 to 3 of these)

They're interested in compelling, well-crafted, creative stories that clearly use the premise, and all the stories they publish are the contest-winning entries. Send your submissions to entries(at)onthepremises(dot)com. If the premises of On the Premises intrigues you, please go to their website and check them out!

Got Bad Poetry? No: Really Really Really Bad Poetry?

This one looks like too much fun! It's the Winning Writers 8th Annual Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest. All you need to do is submit a really awful poem to one of those bogus "vanity" poetry contests whose goal is to sell you expensive products and attract you to conferences. (There's a link to "contests to avoid" so you'll be able to find one of those easily enough). After you submit your parody poem to a vanity contest as a joke, submit it to the Wergle Flomp contest. They are looking for poems that are 1) Inspired nonsense, 2) Spectacularly awful, and/or 3) Intended to make fun of "vanity" contests. Prizes:

• First Prize: $1,359 and publication on WinningWriters.com
• Second Prize: $764 and publication on WinningWriters.com
• Third Prize: $338 and publication on WinningWriters.com
• Twelve honorable mentions will receive $72.95 each and publication on WinningWriters.com

Winning writers and honorable mentions will also receive Winning Writers polo shirts. There's no entry fee, and the deadline is April 1, 2009. Even if the contest is not for you, you'll have a blast reading the previous winning poems.

WritersWeekly.com's 24-Hour Short Story Contest!

This Writer's Weekly contest charges $5 in order to enter, but the premise is so intriguing I couldn't resist posting it here. You must enter the contest before the topic is posted; you cannot write your story first, and then enter. The start time is September 27, 2008 at 12:00 pm (noon) central time, and your story must be IN their inbox within 24 hours in order to qualify. This contest is held quarterly and limited to 500 entrants. Once you pay the 5-spot, you can download a pdf file of the contest guidelines. There are more than 85 prizes, including door prizes given at random, so there's many ways to come out a winner in this contest! Originality and good, strong endings are a priority. Please go to the contest webpage to check out the rules and guidelines (as well as all the prizes!), and then get ready to enjoy the creative stress you'll be in for ... perfect for those of you who work best under pressure!

Los Angeles Theater Women's Festival

The Los Angeles Theater Women's Festival is holding their Sixteenth Annual Festival March 26 through 29, 2009, and they have extended the deadline for video submissions until September 30th, 2008. They are seeking female solo performers of all ethnicities and ages with original performance pieces: Actors, performance artists, dancers, comedians, storytellers, singers and performance poets from throughout the world. Send them a videotape (cued to a 10-minute viewing segment), showing the exact performance under consideration for the Festival.
Send your video, (along with a $35 submission fee), and a self-addressed stamped envelope for returns to: Los Angeles Women's Theater Festival, 11411 Cumpston Ave. Suite 204, No. Hollywood, CA 91601. Include a photograph, resume, and other supporting materials, as well as a letter of introduction describing your work. Performers will be paid! If you are interested, download an application at www.lawtf.com. If you have questions, call them at (818) 760-0408, or email lawtfspotlight(at)yahoo(dot)com

Writer's Faire '08 ~

If you enjoy being surrounded by hundreds of fellow-writers who are interested in learning more about perfecting their craft, this Sunday's free UCLA Extension Writer's Faire, an annual gathering of the writer's community, is just the thing for you! Featuring 24 mini-panels that will focus on every aspect of writing, from "Getting Started as a Writer" (at 11:00 AM) through "Living Your Live as a Writer" (at 3:00 PM), this festive occasion will give you the opportunity to explore many different realms of writing. Screenwriting, fiction writing, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, writing for the youth market, getting published, getting produced, getting started, getting into an MFA program, getting to the heart of a story – all will be explored at the Faire! Six panels will be run simultaneously in six different classrooms, so you are sure to find discussions that will interest you! Seating is first-come, first-served, so arrive early to get a prime spot. After the panels, you can talk with the instructors in the courtyard, get writing advice, and have them sign a favorite book (their publications will also be available). This is also a great opportunity to meet and network with other writers and make new friends!

Peace, Love and Rock 'n' Roll: Woodstock Revisited

Where were you in 1969? If you were at Woodstock and can come up with a true 850 to 1100 word story, you might want to submit it to Literary Cottage's Woodstock Revisited Anthology Contest. You'll have to hurry, though: the deadline is September 7, 2008. Adams Media will pay authors $100 per story, plus one copy of the anthology. Not only that, Literary Cottage offers prizes!

• 1st Prize: $100
• 2nd Prize: $75
• 3rd Prize: $50

So, if you were there and can remember the experience, or if you know someone who was (they are also accepting "as told to" stories), write from the heart, tell your story with imagery and humor, end with a satisfying conclusion, and email your story to sreynolds(at)literarycottage(dot)com. They have many guidelines for submissions as well as tips for writing a fabulous story, so please go to their website and check them out.