The Pale King: Monologues from the unfinished novel by David Foster Wallace

This just in from Skylight Books:

PEN Center USA presents: THE PALE KING: Monologues from the unfinished novel by David Foster Wallace 

Rosemarie DeWitt joins Henry Rollins, Josh Radnor and Nick Offerman in the event cast. Los Angeles Times book critic, David L. Ulin, will host.

Beverly Hills, CA: PEN Center USA will present THE PALE KING: MONOLOGUES FROM THE UNFINISHED NOVEL BY DAVID FOSTER WALLACE at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills on April 28, 2011. Doors will open at 7 PM with a cocktail reception in the theatre’s rotunda. The event follows the April 15 release of The Pale King (Little, Brown and Company), which follows the lives of the agents at the IRS Regional Examination Center in Peoria, Illinois. The Pale King, as well as Wallace’s backlist titles, will be available for purchase before and after the performance, courtesy of Skylight Books.

PEN Center USA is proud to make a follow-up cast announcement, adding Rosemarie DeWitt (Cinderella Man, Rachel Getting Married) and René Auberjonois (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) to the line-up, which includes Henry Rollins (Black Flag, Lost Highway, Get In The Van), Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother), Megan Mullally (Will & Grace), Adam Scott (Step Brothers, The Aviator), Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation, Sin City), Michelle Azar (Monk, ER), Brian Elerding (Mad Men), Rob Delaney (Nature Of The Beast), and Casey Wilson (SNL). Bonnie Nadell (Literary Agent) and Bruce Cohen (Producer, American Beauty, Milk) are co-curating the literary material for the evening.

Charlie Stratton (Naked Angels, New York Stage and Film, Wilton Project) will direct the performance. The event will be hosted by Los Angeles Times book critic, David L. Ulin.

David Foster Wallace was born in Ithaca, New York, in 1962 and raised in Illinois. He received
Bachelor of Arts degrees in Philosophy and English from Amherst College and wrote what would become his first novel, The Broom of the System, as his senior English thesis. He received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona in 1987 and briefly pursued graduate work in Philosophy at Harvard University. His second novel, Infinite Jest, was published in 1996. Wallace taught Creative Writing at Emerson College, Illinois State University and Pomona College, and published the story collections Girl with Curious Hair, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and Oblivion, and the essay collections A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again and Consider the Lobster. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, a Lannan Literary Award and a Whiting Writers’ Award, and was appointed to the Usage Panel for the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. He died in 2008, leaving behind unpublished work of which The Pale King is a part.

To purchase tickets for THE PALE KING: MONOLOGUES FROM THE UNFINISHED NOVEL BY DAVID FOSTER WALLACE, please contact the Saban Theatre Box Office, Tuesday through Friday, 12 PM – 5 PM. The Saban Theatre Box Office is located at: 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Phone: 323-655-0111. You may also purchase tickets for the event online at
www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are: $65 (includes admission, preferred seating and a copy of The Pale King) and $25 (includes admission).

For more information on this event, please contact Michelle Meyering, Director of Programs and
Events, at PEN Center USA: michelle@penusa.org.

Other books by David Foster Wallace:

Hermosa Beach. Pier Ave. Writers Group!

There's more to do on Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach than partying, tanning, and rollerblading! Now there's our newest writers group! This group is the same format as all the groups we've been successfully running since 2003. Better yet, it's in a parking-friendly part of Pier Ave, at Planet Earth Eco Cafe. The group starts at 7:30pm on Wednesday, May 11th and the cafe will be closed to the public during group (the cafe closes at 5pm daily, but go there and stop in before 5pm because they have yummy drinks and vegan and vegetarian food). Part writing workshop, part critique group, part creativity booster, our groups are more than just a group of writers gathering together to review each other's work. They are professionally led by a qualified moderator so you not only benefit from peer review of your work, but you also get critique on anything you bring in from our professional group leader.

We are delighted to announce that our Pier Avenue writers group will be run by Miranda Valentine:

Miranda Valentine is an East Coast native soaking up sunny Southern California, where she lives with her husband and two rescue dogs, Bailey & Lola. She holds a Master of Professional Writing degree from the University of Southern California, where she was fortunate to learn from some of the best writers in the business, including The New Yorker staff writer Dana Goodyear, The Atlantic Monthly editor and memoirist Sandra Tsing Loh, and best selling novelist Gina Nahai. While her first love is the short story, she adores her work as a contributing writer for Bunker Hill Magazine and Joonbug.com, and as the editor of the popular lifestyle blog Everything Sounds Better in French. She is currently working on a memoir about love, loss, and what to do when your ex’s new wife appears naked on your computer screen. It’s tentatively titled “Reboot”. Just kidding...

Writers of all skills, levels, and genres are welcome in our groups. It works for everyone whether you write poetry, memoir, literary or genre fiction, essays, or screenplays and we hire moderators for their specific ability to provide cross-genre feedback, and for their overall supportive nature.

Los Angeles Writers Group, Hermosa Beach

Location: Planet Earth Eco Cafe Map

Date: Starts Wednesday, May 11th and meets once a week for 8 Weeks

Time: 7:30pm - 10:00pm

Register for our Hermosa Beach Writing and Critique Workshop

Fill your notebook.(tm)

Email any questions you may have to lawritersgroup@gmail.com

The Myth of the Three-Act Screenplay Structure

I'm delighted to present a guest blog post from Rob Tobin, author of The Screenwriting Formula and the recent novel, urban fantasy e-novel God Wars: Living with Angels:

---------------

Feature film screenplays fall naturally into four acts, not the traditionally accepted three acts. In fact the three-act structure comes from the “traditional” theater and was imposed on the film world even though it entailed ignoring the mid-second act break that in effect breaks a feature film screenplay into four acts, not three.

This accounts for the well-known difficulty writers have with the second act -- writers get bogged down in trying to write from page 30 (approximately) to page 90 (approximately).

Most feature scripts have a first act in which the hero, the hero’s flaw and the hero’s world are introduced, and ends with a life changing event (usually instigated by the opponent) that throws the story in a new direction.

The second act begins the process of the hero and ally trying to overcome the hero’s flaw in order to be able to respond to the opponent’s challenge.

There are usually two struggles going on here: the hero and ally trying to overcome the hero’s flaw; and the hero trying to hold onto to his or her flaw because usually the hero views that flaw not as a flaw but as a defense against some kind of hurt or danger. So while the ally is trying to help the hero overcome that flaw, the hero is resisting letting it go.

About halfway through the second act the struggle between the hero and ally comes to a head and the hero breaks, giving in to the ally so that from that point onward they work fully as a team to overcome the hero’s flaw and prepare the hero to meet the opponent in the traditional third act.

Then comes the third act in which the opponent and hero go at it fully.

Thus you have four segments, not three. Knowing this makes it easier to write that second act, writing from the life changing event at the end of act one, to the mid-second act break in which the hero and ally’s struggle peaks, and then from the mid-second act break to the end of the second act at which point the hero has overcome his or her flaw and is ready to confront the opponent in the final battle scene.

If you have questions about the three-act vs. four-act structure, feel free to contact me at robtobinwriting.com. Feel even freer to buy my screenwriting book “The Screenwriting Formula,” which discusses the four-act structure among other things. And in the meantime, good writing to you!

If you like action-filled, darkly humorous fantasies about witches, demons, angels, zombies and three-foot-tall aliens with really bad attitudes, Rob's urban fantasy e-novel God Wars: Living with Angels is now available to download from the following sites, for only $2.99: amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, omnilit.com and smashwords.com. View the first two Book Trailers at http://www.youtube.com/user/robtobinwriter.

Write Your Story: Our New Promotional Video!

This is the first of three new promotional videos we've made! Take a peek!

An Evening with Sandra Cisneros at Live Talks LA

Live Talks LA presents author Sandra Cisneros in conversation with Cheech Marin.

Sandra Cisneros is the founder of the Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Foundation, the Elvira Cisneros Award and the Macondo Foundation, all of which work on behalf of creative writers. She is the recipient of numerous awards including a MacArthur.

Her writings include novels: The House on Mango Street and Caramelo; short stories: Woman Hollering Creek; and poetry collections: My Wicked Wicked Ways and Loose Woman. She is currently at work on several writing projects including Writing in My Pajamas, essays; Infinito, stories; Have You Seen Marie?, an illustrated book for adults; and a children’s book, Bravo, Bruno. She served as Grand Marshall at the 2010 Poteet, Texas Strawberry Festival. She makes her home in San Antonio, Texas, where she is writer in residence at Our Lady of the Lake University. Visit her website: www.sandracisneros.com

Net proceeds from this event will benefit the Macondo Foundation. The Macondo Foundation works with dedicated and compassionate writers who view their work and talents as part of a larger task of community-building and non-violent social change.

For tickets and more information: An Evening with Sandra Cisneros

Bloggers file Class Action Lawsuit against Huffington Post

Mediabistro reports that Jonathan Tasini has filed a class action lawsuit against The Huffington Post on behalf of their bloggers.  GOOD.  I was hoping this would happen.  We're rooting for you Jonathan and all you bloggers who were used and paid nothing while Huffpo sold the site and made what?  300 Million?  And Huffpo couldn't bother to pay the people who created the content for the site, without which a sale would have never existed?

Bloggers Against Blogger Lawsuit Against HuffPo  http://ow.ly/4zImS

Additional reading:  http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/13/readers-bloggers-sound-off-on-huff-post-sale/

Image by Pearson Scott Foresman [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Author Thaisa Frank at Vromans Bookstore Tonight

The author of our current writing book club selection will be at Vromans Bookstore tonight! Go meet and support her! Thank her for providing us with our discussion points for our upcoming book club meeting.

Thaisa Frank discusses and signs Heidegger's Glasses

Location: Vroman's Bookstore

695 E. Colorado Blvd

City: Pasadena,

Province:California

Postal Code: 91101

April 12th, 2011, 7:00 pm

During the end of World War II, The Third Reich's obsession with the occult has led to an underground compound of translators responsible for answering letters written to those eventually killed in the concentration camps. Into this covert compound comes a letter written by eminent philosopher Martin Heidegger to his optometrist, a man now lost in the dying thralls of Auschwitz. How will the scribes answer this letter? Part love story, part thriller, part meditation on how the dead are remembered and history is presented, this novel evocatively illustrates the Holocaust from an entirely new vantage point. Heidegger's Glasses was sold to ten foreign countries before publication and got a starred review in Publisher's weekly.

Heidegger's Glasses is a tour de force whose imagery haunts the reader long after the final page is turned...

.Jim Moret,

-The Huffington Post

This is stunning work, full of mysetry and strange tenderness. Thaisa Frank has written one of the most compelling stories of the Nazi regime since D.M. Thomas's Pictures at an Exhibition. It is a book that will haunt you.

-Dan Chaon, author of Await Your Reply

Thaisa Frank works "by a tantalizing sense of indirection...."

-The New York Times

West Los Angeles Writing and Critique Workshop starts Thursday!

Our West Los Angeles Writing and Critique Workshop begins on Thursday!

LAwritersgroup.com has been running writers groups and creative writing workshops throughout the greater Los Angeles area since 2003. We hire moderators to run these groups who have years of experience giving writers feedback on their novels, screenplays, essays, children's books, short fiction stories, memoirs and even on poetry. Our moderators are chosen because they have experience working directly with creative writers and they understand how to give supportive cross-genre feedback that will leave you excited by the possibilities of your story and hungry to go home and rewrite your project, if it needs rewriting.

We also create new stories / writing in our groups through improvisational writing exercises given as writing prompts by our group moderators that are hand-picked by that moderator based on the needs of individual writers in the group to help elevate your prose, theme, dialogue, character development and much more. Because of this, no two groups are the same, which is why we have so many people who repeat group after group (plus returning writers get the returning member discount!). Our rules for the critique process have been developed over years of working in this group setting in order to keep the critique process constructive and positive.

Critique is not only good for the person receiving critique. It also benefits the critiquer. Listening to our moderators and other members give feedback on various writing styles, stories, and genres, helps those listening elevate their level of critique and their ability to critique their own stories as they write them. While our groups are not writing classes per se, and we have no lecture portion of the evening, a great deal of experiential learning, often customized for the individual group, takes place during our workshops. Even if a writer never brings in a story for feedback, they grow from a craft perspective just by listening and participating in the process.

Please visit http://www.lawritersgroup.com or email lawritersgroup@gmail.com for information or questions about our writers groups.

Hansel and Gretel

Based on my last post, I reread Grimm's Hansel and Gretel and I'm now traumatized. The Dad lets his wife dump his kids in the forrest to starve to death and when the kids survive and outsmart the child-eating witch then find their way back home with riches, mom is dead and codependent wimpy-ass dad gets to be rich??? How the did I have fond feelings for that story? Humpf.

Photo is in Public Domain: http://commons.wikimedia.org/

wiki/File:DBP_1961_369_Wohlfahrt_H%C3%A4nsel_und_Gretel.jpg

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Huge list of Grimm's Fairy Tales. Great Sunday Reading.

Ten Elements of the Intellectual Thriller

Here's a fabulous list that describes the ten important elements of writing an intellectual thriller.

Our Current Writing Craft Book Club Book Selection

Read along with us and participate in person or in our online discussion on our Writing Craft Book Club Meetup page

Who or what influenced you to be a writer?

Someone on one of my LinkedIn groups posed the question, "Who or what influenced you to be a writer?" and it elicted some fantastic answers so I thought I'd pose the question here.

For me (Nicole), here is a slightly longer version of my answer:

My writing influence stemmed from desperation and the love of a good friend. Thanks to a series emotionally blindsiding tragedies, I found myself needing to retreat and process what was happening around me. My abused friends enjoyed the brunt of my venting via email and instant message, and one valuable friend in particular changed my life when he complimented my writing and told me I should be a writer. That was the first time I'd ever considered becoming a writer. He encouraged me to take writing classes at a local university extension program. At that point, not only had I never been exposed to writing classes, I didn't even know they'd existed. When we parked in the campus parking structure, and got out of the car, I had what I now understand was a panic attack. I'd had negative scholastic experiences and just being on a campus elicted a great deal of anxiety. Still does, actually. He took my hand anyway and walked me there, steadfastly reassuring me that it would be okay. He was right. It was. If he hadn't been the Gayle to my Oprah, I wouldn't be a writer today. Thanks Geo!

Should you read in the genre you write?

Someone recently asked me why it's important to read in the genre they write, i.e., if you write science fiction, should you read science fiction, if you are a memoirist, should you read other memoirs?

In response, I asked him if he had a day job.

He did.

I asked him what he did.

He was an engineer.

I then asked, "If you'd never opened a physics book, how would that affect your job?"

He replied, "Well, I'd loose a great deal of feel for what it is I do and why things work."

EXACTLY.

Reading in your genre is not setting yourself up as a plagiarist. It is not distracting you from your writing. It is your homework, your business. If you are writing Fantasy fiction, you need to read as much Fantasy as possible. That is your job. You need to understand the conceits and structure of your genre. You need to know what's already out there. You need a background sense of what you should be aiming for in your finished product. You need to understand how to incorporate theme and foreshadowing into your prose. You need to understand how to organically set up a fantastical world. You can't work in a field you know nothing about. Well, perhaps you can, but you will likely be inefficient and ineffective.

I've heard people give writers advice to avoid reading about a subject they are writing, or in a genre they are writing because it will 'unduly influence their writing, and that they need to remain original.' I can't disagree more with this statement. This is like telling a painter never to look at other paintings. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Studying other painters is part of what makes someone a great painter.

It's okay to be influenced. All artists have influences who have inspired their work. This is not a bad thing. This is an imagination booster, not a route to being a copycat. This is true even for screenwriters.

Read in your genre.

Photo by Lienhard Schulz (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

Call for Submissions: Global Graffiti

Call for Submissions - Global Graffiti Magazine, an online journal

Before we get to the call, you've got to love their description of graffiti:

Graffiti is…

Why Graffiti? Because it’s public, brash, offensive, suspect, state-run propaganda, boring, art, fucked, defacement, all surface, a style, compelling, loud, ubiquitous, co-opted, selling out, beautiful, illegal, annoying, etc.

How can you not want to submit to a mag who defines their content with such all-encompassing edginess?

... back to our regularly scheduled programming....:

Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives are deceitful, and everything conceals something else.”–Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino

Global Graffiti is an online journal dedicated to world literature, arts, and culture. Our first three issues have featured creative pieces and interviews with exciting local and international authors, along with edgy scholarly work.

We are currently seeking creative work (poetry, stories, essays), critical essays (book reviews, academic articles), literary translations, and artwork centered on the theme of our fourth issue: CITIES. We conceive of this theme broadly, encompassing various perspectives of both urban and suburban spaces, lifestyles and experiences.

Please send English-language submissions (foreign language works translated into English also gladly accepted) and your bio/c.v. to globalgraffmag@gmail.com by May 15, 2011.

Why Reading Books About Writing is Important

Reading books on the writing craft (and in your genre) is almost as important as writing. This is why LAwritersgroup.com has sponsored a free Book Club on Meetup.com specifically to read books about writing.

By way of evidence as to how beneficial this can be, here is a blog post by Author, Jody Hedlund: My Writing Success:The ONE Thing That Helped Me Most where she talks about how reading books on the writing craft helped her the most.

Join our Writing Craft Book Club! Our first meeting is Saturday, April 2nd at 11:00am at the 18th Street Coffee House in Santa Monica, CA. Our monthly meetings will alternate between West LA and the Los Angeles South Bay.

Writers Group Schedule Update - March and April 2011

Here is a update of our creative writing workshops / writers group schedule:

• Miracle Mile / Koreatown writers group starts March 23, 2011, this Thursday! (Mid-City)
• Rancho Palos Verdes writers group also starts March 23, 2011, this Thursday! (South Bay)
• El Segundo April 2011 writers group is SOLD OUT (South Bay)
• Glassell Park / Glendale April 2011 group is now open to new members (San Fernando Valley, East Hollywood)
• Valencia / Saugus April 2011 writers group is now open to new members (Santa Clarita)

View our creative writing workshop schedule

Read about how we run our writing workshops

Photo by Keith Evans [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Do you write or aspire to write romance fiction?

The Los Angeles Chapter of Romance Writers of America sent us this announcement so I thought I'd post it in case any of you are romance writers:

Sunday - 27 March, 2011

Writer's Voice workshop by three multi-published authors Jane Porter, Liza Palmer and Megan Crane.

http://www.lararwa.com/calendar.html

"Voice Lessons – Writer’s Voice, that is!

Los Angeles Romance Author’s invites you to a rare opportunity to hear Jane Porter, Liza Palmer and Megan Crane - three dynamic speakers – talk on the subject of Voice. Join me, the thrilled programmer of this event, at the Sportsman’s Lodge Hotel in Studio City on Sunday, March 27th to learn more about how to improve your novel or script with Voice and style, Voice and theme, Voice and (best of all) the writer’s market.

Date: Sunday, 27th March, 2011
Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm
(two breaks, lunch and book signings after presentation)
Cost: $25 through PayPal at http://www.lararwa.com/calendar.html
(includes continental breakfast; does not include lunch)
Place: Sportsmen's Lodge Hotel
12825 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604
Toll Free: 800.821.8511
Local: 818.769.4700
Map: http://www.lararwa.com/wherewemeet.html

Speaker Bios:
Jane Porter - http://www.janeporter.com/index.php
Megan Crane - http://www.megancrane.com/index.html
Liza Palmer - http://www.lizapalmer.com/aboutliza.html

Why Los Angeles is the Best Place in the World for Writers

Where else can you find something this unique?

On Saturday, March 26, 2011, Heritage Square Museum’s annual Vintage Fashion Show and Tea will take a bold step forward, presenting “Fashions from Literature”.

Beginning at 11:00 a.m., see what Elizabeth Bennett, Dorian Gray, Scarlet O’Hara, Jane Eyre, Daisy Buchanan and other favorite literary heroes and heroines would have worn in their respective eras. Learn why only in the imagination of the printed word could there be such a thing as a bodice ripper! Excerpts from some of the most famous works ever written will come to life as historically accurate recreations of the costumes of the period are displayed before you.

With the museum’s historic Longfellow-Hastings Octagon House as the backdrop for the show, models will promenade in men’s and women’s vintage or period accurate reproduction clothing based on historical patterns from the 15th Century through the 1940s – all with a literary twist. After the show, visitors may also sample items commonly enjoyed at an afternoon tea, view a vintage clothing display inside the Hale House, shop in our Museum Store or Vendor Market, and much more. The annual fashion show is sponsored by Costumer’s Guild West, Folkwear, the Perfume Station (Alhambra) and Councilman Ed Reyes, District 1.

As the Vintage Fashion Show and Tea often sells out, reservations are required. Call (323) 225-2700 ext. 223 to secure your seats, as no tickets will be sold at the door. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children 6 to 12. Heritage Square Museum members receive a 25% discount on the ticket price. As this is a special event, no regular tours of the museum’s historic structures will be given on the day of the fashion show.

The Difference Between Idioms and Cliches

While sitting around pondering the difference between idioms and cliches and unable to come up with the distinction on my own, I reached for my trusty MacBook and took a trip to the grammar-and-language-geek section of the internet. I finally found an article that seemed to explain the difference in the clearest possible way. Since I'm sure you also spend your early Saturday evenings pondering idioms, I thought I'd share this article with you. It's a couple years old, but timeless:

Dr. Goodward's Language Blog: Cliches and Idioms

Blogs About Writing and Our Favorite Posts

It's tough to write, read, raise kids, work day jobs, keep up with the cleaning and laundry, meditate, get in some cardio, and then read about writing. With all the information out there on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, paper books, e-books, it's an overwhelming task just to keep up with all that reading.

We're going to make it a little bit easier for you. We're going to scour the web for the most helpful articles about writing and present them here, to help streamline at least a small part of your day.

Here's what we found over the last few days:

Good Books for Learning Different Writing Skills by Mary Carol Moore

Point of View in Fiction by Writerly Life.com

Five Writing Excuses You Should Eliminate Now by Procrastinating Writers

The Quick and Easy Cheaters Guide to Writing Plotlines by Flash Fiction Chronicles (If we gave out gold starts for great blog posts, this one would get tripple gold stars)

What Editors are Looking For by Pub Rant's Agent Kristin

PB, MA, YA, What does it all mean? by Sarvenaz Tash

That's our list for now - more to come!

If you have a blog you follow and want us to follow it for you and post the best stuff here, let us know!

Call for Submissions: Some Ways to Disappear

Always fans of art inspiring more art, we just got a call for submissions from Some Ways to Disappear (what a fantastic name for a literary journal) and for this upcoming issue, they are asking writers to look at their Flickr Pool of photos for inspiration, and inspire they do. A fantastic collection of photos such this one should not go unbrowsed, even if you're not planning to submit. Delicious.

Here is one such photo:

Their Call for Submissions:

Some Ways to Disappear is a biannual publication of new Photography and Literature, with no advertising or extraneous fluff. Currently, Some Ways to Disappear is inviting literary submissions, considering all styles, genres, and formats for Issue III.

For this issue, we are encouraging applicants to take a look at our Flickr pool before submitting. If you wish to submit any work please e-mail it directly to:

somewaystodisappear[*at*]hotmail.co.uk

Please e-mail us with either a PDF or word document. Submissions should be no longer than 3000 words. All styles, genres and formats considered.

The deadline for all submissions for the third issue is 1st May 2011.

For further information please visit www.somewaystodisappear.co.uk or contact us at somewaystodisappear(at)hotmail.co.uk

Advanced Writers Workshop & Retreat in the British Isles

Ron Carlson and Marisa Silver teach WordTheatre®'s Advanced Writers Workshop in Edale July 2-8, 2011 in England's Peak District National Park, Derbyshire.

$2100USD

Please contact:

Genna Walsh

genna[*at*]wordtheatre.com

http://wordtheatre.com/writersretreat/

Agent Blog Post on Writing Non-Fiction Query Letters

We are on a mission to bring you the best writing-related articles we can find online.  We usually post them on twitter and facebook.  Should we post them here too or is that repetitive?

Here is an example, an article written by a literary agent:

Let's talk about non-fiction query letters for a minute

Let us know in the comments.

Time to Write

We are delighted to post a guest post blog from Andrew McFayden-Ketchum, our Mid-City writers' group moderator!

TIME TO WRITE

One of the most common problems I hear about from writers is "finding enough time" to, yah know, WRITE. There are dinners to make, kids to clothe, vehicles to repair, fat to lose… the list goes on and on.

Though I've been writing stories and poems since I was seven years old, I've most certainly had this problem.

Throughout my formative years I loved to write and was pretty good at it. But after graduating from college, I was tending bar at a high-end club in downtown Nashville while clerking at a law firm and working on local political campaigns. I was meeting girls, making good money, and, every night when I came home to the stars spread above my studio apartment on the outskirts of town, it seemed my muse was waiting for me.

There was only one problem: I wasn't actually writing.

At first it seemed natural. I'd just graduated. I was making a living. I needed a break.

But as summer moved into fall and fall into winter, I discovered that even when I'd carved out some random time to write, I either had writer's block or simply didn't have the energy to write in the first place. That was when I knew something had to change.

So I went to my mother and explained the problem. And pretty quickly we came to a solution: Establish a schedule and never deviate from it.

"All great artists have a work routine," she said. "You're not going to write if you don't force yourself to. It's too hard."

So we spent the afternoon looking at my finances and at my day-to-day schedule. With a little tweaking we discovered I could cut back my work schedule a bit and write 2-3 hours a day if I got up at 6 am.

I tried it for a week and the results were obvious. I was reading poetry that had been gathering dust over a year on the bookshelf, and I was writing and revising poems left and right.

Of course, back then I was just a kid. No wife, no kids, no mortgage. Well, that's all changed now (minus the kids), and I still get up at 6 am every weekday and read and write for at least four hours. That's 20 hours a week of writing folks— not bad considering I have six part-time jobs, have been married for five years to a career woman, edit an online poetry journal, and live in the second most expensive city in the country.

I'm not saying everyone has to get up at 6 am or that writing several hours a day is required to create the works you have in you to create.

What I'm saying is simpler than that.

Establish a routine and don't let anything change the plan.

Try it for a week and let the results speak for themselves!

Guest Blog Post by:

Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum

Adjunct Professor of English

Pepperdine University

www.AndrewMK.com

------------------------

LAwritersgroup.com is a great way to keep yourself on a schedule by having a deadline to bring work in for constructive critique feedback every week. During the group, you have seven opportunities to bring work in and learn how you can elevate your story and your writing.

Check Andrew's writers' group schedule.

Collection about Barry Hannah seeks Essay, Poetry, Stories

VOX PRESS, in conjuction with the well known online journal, Drunken Boat, is compiling a collection of perspectives on Barry Hannah. If you have any perspectives on Hannah's work or personal accounts or both (a merging of the two would be ideal), send them as attachments to

louis-bourgeois(at)hotmail.com

The essays can be any length. Initially the essays will appear at Drunken Boat but eventually they will be collected and published in a book via VOX PRESS. There may be money involved when VOX takes over the project in earnest. All rights revert back to VOX and the authors. Also, we are seeking poems or stories about Barry Hannah.

Call for Submissions about the Inland Empire in So Cal: Inlandia

Inlandia: A Literary Journey, the online literary journal for the Inlandia Institute, is currently reading submissions.

We are primarily seeking stories, poems, novel excerpts, memoir, images, etc., by writers and artists whose work is in some way grounded in the Inland Empire, works that will give readers around the globe a sense of the region and its people.

To give a clearer picture of where this region is located, it is in the southeastern corner of California and encompasses all of Riverside and San Bernardino counties from the heights of San Gorgonio Mountain to the lows of Death Valley, from the wineries of Temecula to the shuttered citrus packing houses of Riverside, and all points in-between.

Above all else, we want fresh, compelling writing.

Please visit the Inlandia website for complete submission guidelines and to review our current issue, which includes works by Shin Yu Pai, Rebecca K. O'Connor, Stephanie Barbe Hammer, Louise Mathias, and many more.

Scribblers May Writers Conference

From the Scribblers' Retreat Writers' Conference, in case anyone needs a literary get-away:

Scribblers' Retreat Writers' Conference

St. Simons Island, GA

May 12-14

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 8, 2011

Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for adventure, suspense, mystery, and history. Our May Conference is sure to tantalize and inspire you on your own writing journey. If you have been wondering about how to make your writing a true success story, you will really get a lot out of this conference. We are proud to present a very interesting mix of inspiring experts from a variety of backgrounds and geographies. From "thriller" novelists to writers of enchanting poetry and award-winning juvenile fiction writers-this conference has it all!

Seating is limited so register today!

www.ScribblersRetreatWritersConference.org

800-996-2904

King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort,

www.kingandprince.com

620 Arnold Rd. St. Simons Island

Call for Submissions: Sliver of Stone: Fiction, Poetry, Essay, Creative Non-Fiction

Call for Submissions: Sliver of Stone

www.sliverofstone.com

Sliver of Stone is proud to announce that its second issue is now available online. Featured authors include Dan Wakefield, Allison Joseph, and Matthew Sharpe. Interviews with Susan Orlean, Les Standiford, Mark Vonnegut, and artist Kristin Meyers. Check out our past contributors, such as Kim Barnes, John Dufresne, Denise Duhamel, and many talented others.

We're now looking for submissions for our third issue!

DEADLINE: June 15, 2o11

Sliver of Stone is a bi-annual, online literary magazine dedicated to
the publication of work from both emerging and established poets,
writers, and visual artists from all parts of the globe. We publish
work that is surprising and inventive.

We're interested in the following:

Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Essays (3,500 words or less).
Poetry, any form or genre (No more than 5 poems)
Visual art

Multi-authored works are not eligible.
No previously published works.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable but we must be notified
immediately should your work be accepted elsewhere for publication.

For complete submission guidelines, please visit www.sliverofstone.com

Short short story contest (no fee): Shenandoah

As you may know, we no longer publish writing contests on this blog unless they have no fee. Here is a no-fee contest! Thank you, Shenandoah for not charging writers to submit their work.

The Bevel Summers Prize in the Short Short Story is open to all authors of stories of up to 1,000 words. Stories should be sent to Bevel Summers/Shenandoah, Mattingly House, 2 Lee Ave., Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA 24450 and must be received by March 31.

Send two copies, one with name and contact information, including e-mail address, and a duplicate with no identifying information, along with an sase for notification. The winner will receive a $250 prize and be featured prominently on Shenandoah's first online issue. There is no entry fee for the 2011 contest. A judge has not yet been selected.

Call for poetry and mixed-genre chapbooks: Slash Pine Press

Call for Chapbook Manuscripts (Poetry and Mixed-Genre): Postmark May 1, 2011

Housed in the Department of English at The University of Alabama, SLASH PINE PRESS locates itself in an intellectual space where forms and intuitions make writing a process of risk and otherness—a space where the high stakes of creative inquiry make self-effacement impossible.

Slash Pine fosters work that investigates the dimensions of place, whether construed as location or situation. Such work is, like the slash pine itself, able to survive in swamps and sandhills, to thrive in salt and heat, to occupy an imaginative landscape that is raw and abrasive, and to expand its territory toward the interior. Neither cynical nor rhetorically meek, the work is concerned with but not limited by the map; its logic is global, written against the grain of history and biography. And where there is a cut, a thick sap flows.

Guidelines:

• Deadline: Postmark by May 1, 2011.
• Multiple submissions are acceptable; so are simultaneous submissions, but please notify us if manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
• Include two copies of manuscript with two title pages; one with title only; one with title, author's name, and full contact information.
• Manuscripts should be no longer than 24 pages and be either poetry or mixed-genre.
• No more than one poem or mixed-genre piece per page, please. No electronic submissions.
• Do not send SASE. Manuscripts will be recycled.
• All manuscripts receive a blind reading.
• Faculty, students, and graduates of The University of Alabama are not eligible for publication.
• Reviewers: Francine J. Harris, Nathan Hauke, Abraham Smith, Patti White, Joseph P. Wood
• Manuscript selections will be announced on our web site and Facebook page in late August.

SLASH PINE PRESS

Department of English

Box 870224

The University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, AL 35487

www.slashpinepress.com/submissions

Call for poetry submissions: Poemeleon

Poemeleon: A Journal of Poetry is celebrating its 5th year in operation!

We have dubbed our next issue, Volume V Issue 2, The Open Issue, scheduled for launch June 2011. Unlike past issues, The Open Issue is not focused on any one particular kind of poetry but instead will strive to include as wide a variety as possible. Please send only your best work, any length, any style.

Deadline for this issue: March 31, 2011

Expect a response within 1 - 3 months after close of submissions. If you have not heard from us after 3 months please inquire.

Please visit the website for complete guidelines and a link to our submission manager, and while you're there check out our latest issue, Prime Time Poetry, featuring the work of Prime Time Poets Tony Barnstone, Robert Pinsky, Molly Peacock, Red Shuttleworth, Mark Halliday, David Kirby, David Graham, Martha Silano, and many others!

Call for poetry, fiction submissions: Gertrude

Gertrude, the biannual literary and arts publication of Gertrude Press seeks submissions of fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction for its upcoming issue.

Gertrude accepts manuscripts from new and established writers and artists. Subject matter need not be LGBTQA-specific and we welcome writers and artists from all backgrounds. We accept simultaneous submissions with notification. We do not accept previously published work. Please note that we do not publish novels. We read chapbook manuscripts ONLY through our annual competition (currently open). Gertrude accepts surface mail submissions and electronic submissions submitted through our online submission form only. For surface mail include a cover letter and a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) for reply. Do not place your name directly on manuscripts. Submissions that do not include an SASE will be discarded. We shred and recycle all unused manuscripts.

For electronic submissions, please use our online submission form only:
http://www.gertrudepress.org/submit/

Poetry: Submit up to six poems of any subject matter. There is no line limit; however, poems less than 60 lines are preferable. Fiction/Novel Excerpts*/Creative Nonfiction:Submit one to two pieces, double-spaced, up to 3000 words, of any subject matter. Include a word count for each piece in your cover letter.

Interviews: Please query the editor by email with your proposal.

Art: Gertrude showcases one visual artist per issue, including full-color cover and six to eight black and white images inside the journal. To submit artwork for future issues, please send slides, prints (do not send originals), or a website URL to the attention of the art editor.

Send all manuscripts and artwork to:
Gertrude Press
PO Box 83948
Portland OR 97283
*Gertrude Press does not publish novels at this time.

__,_._,___

Peace of Mind for Writers

Nothing gives a writer peace of mind as much as a complete backup to an external hard drive.

The Los Angeles Review Wants Your Writing

The Los Angeles Review, the fabulous literary journal of Red Hen Press, notified us that they are seeking submissions for their 10th issue:

• Nonfiction: We seek essay, memoir, and commentary told as compelling, focused, sustained narrative in a distinctive voice, rich with detail.
• Fiction: We’re looking for to hard-to-put-down shorties under 500 words and lengthier shorts up to 4,000 words–lively, vivid, excellent literary fiction.
• Poetry: Please submit 3-5 poems that will surprise us, wow us, and make us wish we’d written them ourselves.
• Book Reviews: We welcome queries to review new and recent books. We are especially interested in authors and works that are connected in some way to the Los Angeles or Southern California regions.
• Translations: Please submit 3-5 translated pieces that open the writer’s original vision to an English-speaking audience; the writing may include poetry, novel excerpts, short stories, essays or interviews.

Full guidelines are available at www.losangelesreview.org.

New Writers Group in Santa Clarita Valley!

LAwritersgroup.com is coming to the Santa Clarita Valley! Our newest writers group is starting in Valencia on Tuesday, April 5th! We are excited to bring our groups to this often forgotten-about valley filled with creative and entertainment folks.

Our moderator will be Kirby Timmons, a versatile and talented creative writer with an impressive list of credits and the kind of cross-genre and supportive leader our groups require.

Kirby's Bio:

Kirby Timmons is a professional writer, trainer and speaker who has written scripts for some of TV's most enduring series, including THE WALTONS, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GRIZZLY ADAMS, and THE INCREDIBLE HULK. Kirby has also written, produced and directed hundreds of training programs, including THE ABILENE PARADOX, named one of the 5 best business videos of all time by Fortune Magazine; GROUPTHINK, winner of the American Psychological Associations Award for Best Training Program; and TEAMWORK IN CRISIS: The Miracle of Flight 232, now used in disaster programs worldwide, including Columbine High School in Colorado. While he has concentrated in scriptwriting, Kirby is also a published author, and has contributed articles to THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS, THE HERALD-EXAMINER, MARRIAGE & FAMILY LIVING Magazine, among others. Kirby taught Scriptwriting For Informational Media at California State University at Northridge, and has lectured at Los Angeles Valley College. He has also taught high school screenwriting workshops with the Writer's Guild Foundation. After attending Oglethorpe University in his hometown of Atlanta, Kirby studied at USC where he graduated with a B.A. cum laude in Philosophy. He has been a member of the Writer's Guild of America longer than he can remember, and a member of the American Society of Training & Development for less long. Among Kirby's recent writing projects is a teleplay for CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION which won scriptwriting competitions at Scriptapalooza and Austin, and Grand Prize in Hour-Long Drama at the WildSound Film Festival in Toronto. Despite being the "best CSI episode ever written" (his words), it is not currently under consideration by producers of the show.

This group is in addition to the groups we already have in:

• LA South Bay - Rancho Palos Verdes
• LA South Bay - El Segundo
• Miracle Mile/Koreatown,
• Pacific Palisades / West LA
• Glendale / Glassell Park

Read more about how our new Santa Clarita Writers Group will work.

View our upcoming writing groups schedule.

Call for Submissions: FOX-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest

Enter the 4th Annual FOX-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest and submit your script for an original half-hour comedy series. One winner will receive $25,000 and a development deal with FOX. Twenty-five (25) Finalists will have their scripts evaluated by FOX for a possible development deal with the network and will receive NYTVF designation as 2011 Official Artists and be invited to the New York Television Festival, held in New York City in September 2011.

The New York Television Festival was founded in 2005 as the industry's first creative festival for television artists. The NYTVF works in partnership with networks, studios, brands and agencies to more effectively and efficiently deliver the best projects and showcase the most promising artists.

There is no fee to enter the script contest. There are a few dates to know before submitting:

• April 4, 2011 - Script Submission period begins (at 12:00 noon ET)
• April 18, 2011 - Script Submission period ends (at 12:00 noon ET)
• On or about September 17, 2011 - 2011 FOX-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest Winner is announced at the Festival Award Show

All scripts must be between 25 and 35 pages and in PDF format. For more information on the contest and how to submit scripts, please visit http://nytvf.com/2011_fox_contest.htm.

Call for Submissions: UCity Review

The UCity Review publishes twice a year, both on the web and as a limited edition letterpress print edition. Each issue highlights a noteworthy writer, whom the editors believe deserves more exposure. Each issue includes approximately twelve authors.

UCity Review considers poetry in February of each year. We will strive to provide the status of submissions by the end of March of each year. As for the likes and dislikes of UCity editors, take these words from Zbigniew Herbert:

In Poland, we think of the poet as prophet; he is not merely a maker of verbal forms or an imitator of reality. The poet expresses the deepest feelings and the wildest awareness of people... The language of poetry differs from the language of politics. And, after all, poetry lives longer than any conceivable political crisis. The poet looks over a broad terrain and over vast stretches of time. He makes observations on the problems of his own time, to be sure, but he is a partisan only in the sense that he is a partisan of the truth. He arouses doubts and uncertainties and brings everything into question.

Submissions can be emailed to editors[at]ucityreview.com. Please include the author's name and submission date in the subject line. We accept the following file formats: .doc; .pdf. Please limit poetry submissions to six poems, and please do not submit simultaneous submissions.

For more information, please visit our website: www.ucityreview.com

Call for Submissions: The Whistling Fire

The Whistling Fire is proud to announce our ongoing Guest Editor Themed Selection. Throughout the year, we will have various Guest Editors taking over The Whistling Fire for an entire month and selecting special themed work of their choice. The lucky few selected will be published every Tuesday of their Guest Editor's month. The Guest Editor for May is David Crawford, a graduate of the UC Riverside Palm Desert Low Residency MFA. He gives the following message for submitting writers:

What place do we have for humor in literature? We know the weighty subjects of the world are approached with a deferential reverence, but who is to say we cannot use humor just as effectively. Poets such as Billy Collins and Ron Padgett make humor a regular part of their work. Narrative writers like David Sedaris draw us into their world with the comedic exposé of self. We find humor in the larger premise and in the tiniest moment. So what can we create with humor? I want to hear the biggest subjects treated with humor that doesn't depreciate the weight or the importance of the topic; the humor of the character, the humor of the experience, the humor of language, bring it all to the table.

The Whistling Fire will be accepting submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry under 3000 words. Please send your submissions to whistlingfire[at]gmail.com. Please include the words "May Editor" in your subject line. No more than two submissions per author. All submissions must be sent as an attachment (MS WORD preferred). Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Previously published work is also allowed as long as the author retains the rights. Please include a short, third-person bio for our contributor's page. The deadline for submissions is April 23, 2011.

There is also still time to submit to our April Guest Editor, Lindsey Lewis Smithson, whose deadline is March 26. For more information, please visit http.whistlingfire.com.

Call for Submissions About Women: ADANNA

Call for creative writing submissions about women: ADANNA poetry, short stories, essays, and reviews of books and visual arts:

Adanna: A Journal for Women, about Women will be an annual perfect bound print book publication, first issue Summer 2011.

Editor: Christine Redman-Waldeyer

Guest Editor: Diane Lockward

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

• The reading period for this first issue begins on January 31 and closes April 30.
• Please send your submissions to adannajournal@yahoo.com
• Adanna accepts poetry, short stories, essays, and reviews of books and visual arts.
• We welcome both National and International submissions in English.
• Please submit only unpublished pieces, 3-6 at a time.
• Please limit prose pieces to a maximum of 2000 words.
• Submissions should be one file in one attachment.
• Include your name in the header of each page along with current contact information including e-mail and phone number.
• Simultaneous submissions accepted.Please notify us as soon as possible of any accepted work.
• For works accepted, the author will receive a free complimentary copy.

Visit the Adanna Website for additional information:

http://www.adannajournal.blogspot.com

Call for Submissions from Chicano & Latino Writers (Some Pay)

Call for Submissions from Chicano & Latino writers: fiction, flash fiction, poetry, novel exerpts, cross-genre/hybrid work and short plays. Some pay.

Call for Submissions
PALABRA invites Chicano & Latino writers to submit fresh, engaged work that stretches beyond the boundaries of conventional form, content and context. We accept fiction, flash fiction, poetry, novel excerpts, cross-genre/hybrid work and short plays. Some pay. Submission period: September 1 to May 31.

Specific guidelines are available on the website: www.palabralitmag.com.

Queries:
Submit via USPS only.

PALABRA
A Magazine of Chicano & Latino Literary Art
P. O. Box 86146
Los Angeles, CA 90086-0146

Call for Creative Writing Submissions: Sunsets and Silencers

Call for Submissions for innovative short fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, essays, paintings, photography, and comic strip:

Sunsets and Silencers," an online magazine, is now accepting submissions for our new issue.

"Sunsets and Silencers" is open to a wide variety of styles and wants to publish only the most innovative and creative work. We are careful about the work we publish, and we read and consider every submission, carefully. S&S publishes short fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, essays, paintings, photography, and comic strips as a platform for emerging and established artists to showcase their work. On promising work, we may offer feedback, even if the piece didn't work for us. Please, keep in mind, however, that we do not respond to every piece, mostly because of the volume of submissions received. We want to provide exposure to artists and writers who create
out of a restless fever, and who are fearless in their choice to submit. So, send what you have, but please pay attention to our submission guidelines.

More detailed submission guidelines can be found at: http://sunsetsandsilencers.com/home/archives

The current issue of Sunsets and Silencers can be found at: http://sunsetsandsilencers.com

What Makes LA Fabulous? The Library!

A friend who moved to Los Angeles from back east once told me that, "Los Angeles is a great town to be broke in." I have to agree. Yes, rents are high. Yes, owning real estate is out of practical reach for most people who live here. Yes, gas is expensive and owning a car cleans out your bank account. However, free and low-cost entertainment and fun awaits in nearly every LA neighborhood. Free movie screenings and interviews with industry folks are available on practically any day of the week. We have parks, hiking, lectures, roller blading along beaches, snow-filled mountains that a mere couple hours drive away, museums, piers, live music, movie screenings in cemeteries, all things that are absurdly cheap and/or free.

As great as these options are, none of them are as awesome as the Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL). Housing nearly 7.5 million volumes, our library system stands as the single greatest free resource in our city. As of July 2010, it became the 4th largest Public Library in the United States in terms of volumes, and the largest public library system in the Western United States. The LAPL system alone makes living in Los Angeles worth all the high rents and the time sitting in traffic. This should-be-legendary library system offers a comprehensive collection with branches in nearly every neighborhood, free internet access, free movie rentals, free book borrowing,

and free delivery of anything in their catalog for easy pick-up at to your local library.

Central Library is the LAPL headquarters stands sphinx-like on West 5th between Flower and Grand and is both is parking friendly and public-transit friendly - just two short blocks from the 7th Street Metro station. This easily-accessible library houses art exhibits, free lectures, a video-lending library, an awe-inspiring multi-storied atrium, seemingly endless rows shelves - 90 linear miles of shelves to be exact, and nearly 7.5 million volumes. It is apropos that it sits on a street between Flower and Grand, because it is just that, beautiful and grand. This enormous block-long building feels both historic and new all at the same time. Inside, murals depicting California history, mosaic wall-art, and modern art sculpture chandeliers all proudly nod to one another, artistic reminders that we can all live together in harmony. After the 1986 fire, architects Pfeiffer Partners redesigned and restored the library. They also designed the Boston Public Central Library and their website contains gorgeous photos of Los Angeles Central Library's interior and exterior. If you've never been to the downtown Central Library, take a day trip and go see it. You may never leave.

The LAPL online catalog will take your breath away, not only because of its comprehensive vastness but because it is digitally connected. The behemoth catalog integrates with social networking - you can tweet or create a Facebook post about nearly any item in their online catalog. Many items display links to amateur reviews on Goodreads.com and to professional reviews from publications like Publisher's Weekly and the Library Journal. Options to view a book's table of contents comes in handy when perusing anthologies. Many books even outline the characters in the book and have handy excerpts. The catalog lists how many available copies are available and at which branches you can find them.

Now, our fabulous library system has stepped even further into the digital age with downloadable digital content: E-books, electronically rentable movies, downloadable music, and audiobooks. With a library card number, renting online to an iPhone, iPad, Android device, Mac, or PC (just to name a few), can be a few clicks away once you've invested the inevitable learning time that necessarily accompanies new uses of new technologies. There are no late fees because when your time is up the download disappears like a self-destructing message right out of a Get Smart episode gone digital.

It takes a bit of time to master the whole digital borrrowing system, but the culprits are not the libraries - although it would be nice to be able to search by digital format - nor is it the fault of the companies that provide the digital content to the libraries, but the frustration comes from the digital e-reading devices, such as Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Android devices, etc., because certain types of content isn't available on certain devices.As far as what content is available on what device, the short answer is: If you have a Kindle, you can't (yet?) borrow an e-book. If you have anything else, you probably can borrow an e-book. The long answer is that E-books (for reading, not listening as you would with audiobooks) are generally available in two formats: EPUB format or PDF format, so you need to have a device (Mac, PC, iPad, Kindle, Nook, iPhone, Android phone) that can read at least one of these two formats. Sadly, neither EPUB nor PDF is currently supported by one of the most popular e-book readers, Kindle, so you can't rent e-books from LAPL if the only device you own is a Kindle.

Whether you groove on that irreplaceable smell and feel of a book in your hands at home, prefer sitting in a gorgeous library for hours, or you geek-out on the ability carry 150 e-books at all times, the Los Angeles Public Library awaits, ready to accommodate your every bibliophilic, artistic, or researchable whim.

Our List of Writing and Literary Agent Blogs

We've compiled a list of writing and literary agent blogs on our website.  It's a long list compiled over the last few years, so please check it out and let us know what you think!  There is also a form there to add a site if you know of any that should be on our list.  Enjoy and happy reading.

http://www.lawritersgroup.com/list-of-writing-and-agent-blogs.html

Friday Round-Up: Tweets you may have missed

Just in case you missed them - or you have yet to join the Twitter craze - here's a rundown of the posts from our LAwritersgroup.com Twitter account from the past couple weeks.

Key:
RT = Re-tweet, which means someone else tweeted something and we re-tweeted it.
@(name) = This is a user name on Twitter. If you click on it, you should be able to visit that person's twitter site and follow them if you so chose.

• The Poetry Market Ezine Call for Poetry Review Submissions: http://ow.ly/1s0CEx
  
  
• Miracle Monocle Call for Poetry, Fiction and Microfiction Submissions: http://ow.ly/1s0CTt
  
  
• Diverse Verses Quarterly Call for Poetry, Short Story, Personal Essay and Creative Nonfiction Submissions: http://ow.ly/1s0CTE
  
  
• Mythium Literary Journal Call for Poetry, Fiction and Creative Nonfiction Submissions: http://ow.ly/1s0CU5
  
  
• Writer Beware™ Blogs!: Alert for Poets: Oprah Wants You (But You May Not Want Oprah) http://ow.ly/1s12QJ
  
  
• The Redheaded Stepchild Call for Previously Rejected Poetry Submissions: http://ow.ly/3UlFC
  
  
• Why join a writer's group or a writing workshop? http://ow.ly/3UHmD

Call for Submissions: The Redheaded Stepchild

The Redheaded Stepchild is a magazine that only accepts poems that have already been rejected by other magazines. We publish biannually and only accept submissions in the months of August and February. We do not accept previously published work. We do, however, accept simultaneous submissions, but please inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere. We are open to a wide variety of poetry and hold no allegiance to any particular style or school. If your poem is currently displayed online on your blog or website (or wherever), please do not send it to us before taking it down, at least temporarily.

You may submit 3-5 poems that have been rejected elsewhere with the names of the magazines that rejected the poems. We do not want multiple submissions, so please wait for a response to your first submission before you submit again. As is standard after publication, rights revert back to the author, but we request that you credit Redheaded Stepchild in subsequent republications.

We do not accept email attachments; therefore, in the body of your email, please include the following:

• A brief bio
• 3-5 poems
• The publication(s) that rejected the poems

Send your submissions to redheadedstepchildmag[at]gmail.com

For more information, please visit our website at http://www.redheadedmag.com/poetry/