High Arts (on a writerly salary!)

Looking for something different from the usual dinner and a movie? Two great ticket services are dedicated to getting people out to live events for as close to the price of a movie ticket as possible: Goldstar and StubDog. Whether it's to live jazz, the hot new play at the Taper, a touring dance troupe, small theater or comedy improv, they offer tickets from about half price all the way to downright free. The seats are good seats, and the prices unbeatable. Goldstar offers weekly emails, alerting you to a thorough listing of popular and unusual live events. StubDog lets you browse by category -- family events, theater, music, art.

With either of these two services, there's now a very affordable way to keep your creative energies well fed.

Call for Essays - Lamberson Corona Press

Lamberson Corona Press is looking for essay writers for an anthology, details as follows:

First and Last Name: Margaret Shaw
Company: Lamberson Corona Press
E-mail: lambersoncorona@gmail.com
Call Description:Wanted personal essays for an anthology on looking back at childhood or adolescence. Nonfiction essays only. For possible publication. Payment: one copy of the book free and ability to buy other copies at cost. (Which you may sell at full price) Send essay 2,000-4,000 wds via email. No fees. Deadline April 1, 2008 Need essays about disabilities and perceptions of the disabled, gender identification, family stories and changing cultural and family traditions (and anything else. Seeking essays that tell a story rather than just about what it means to be a family, etc. Change over time is especially appropriate. Then and now essays. I'm in New York but with email, this is easy.
Contact: lambersoncorona@gmail.com
Payment: There is no payment unless we actually make a profit from the books which so far has not happened. If it did, there would be royalties. We are a new small press. But authors can buy the books at cost and sell them at a higher price which actually can be more than royalties when there are multiple authors involved. (and of course, this also keeps us from making a profit. Amazon.com and other retailers also take a big percentage of the price so being small we are often lucky to break even.) But profit is not our purpose at this time. We do not yet have a website but are planning to have one soon. All information can be obtained through this email address. Many of our authors are college professors who can use the publication for promotion. I am hoping that I get a few responses to fill out the anthology which is coming together but is only half the size we hoped.

Camp Quest West Essay Contest

If you are a middle school student, or you know a writer who is, this contest might interest you: Camp Quest West is announcing an essay contest whose winner will receive a free campership at Camp Quest West 2008, valued at $390! Simply write a short essay, between 200 and 400 words, on any one of the following intriguing questions:

1. Should Intelligent Design be taught in public schools along with evolution? Why or why not?
2. What, if anything, does evolution tell us about the interconnectedness of life and how we should treat each other?
3. Is science the only way of knowing about the universe, or are there other ways? Explain.

The submitted essay must be entirely the work of a middle school student, with the exception of attributed quotations. Any work that does not meet these qualifications will be disqualified and the deadline is March 15, 2008. Please go to the Camp Quest West website for the application form.
Camp Quest West 2008, for campers aged 8 through 15, will be held at Camp Ross Relles in Nevada City, California, from Sunday July 13 to Saturday July 19. In addition, campers aged 16 and 17 are welcome as "staff in training,"

Poetry Reading in the Valley

This just in from Valley Contemporary Poets:

The Valley Contemporary Poets Present:
Don Newton
Poet, artist and supporter of the artsfrom the East Valley

Tuesday, February 19
Cobalt Café
22047 Sherman Way
Canoga Park, CA 91303
(just west of Topanga Canyon)

9pm, Free – one drink minimum
Open Mic

Beating Perfection Syndrome

We all want our writing to be the best that it can be, which, in our self-critical eye, is often better than it seems. If you find the desire for perfection to be so strong that it prevents you from writing at all ... well ... that sort of thing not only keeps you from sharing your gifts, it can constrict your soul. Author and copywriter Angela Booth grapples with this problem, and, in this article, generously shares her insights into its causes and consequences, as well as valuable tips on how to overcome it.

Live and In Person

UCLA Live's Spoken Word series is a real chance to hear writers talk about their writing. Single event tickets are now on sale for evenings with such luminaries as Anne Lamott and David Sedaris. Held in UCLA's Royce Hall, these evenings include readings, conversation, and question and answer sessions with the writers.

Be warned, these events often sell out, so don't wait until the last minute.

Writer Beware: The Dangers of Writing Fiction

Although writing about the stuff of our own lives, (non-fiction, memoirs, journals, etc.), may seem as though it would entail more emotional risks than writing fiction, through her own experience, Jennie Nash shows us that the exact opposite is, in fact, the case. She discovered that she revealed more of herself than she anticipated when her first novel was published, and in this insightful and informative article, explains how and why this happened.