Travel 'Zine Seeking Submissions

TRAVEL THRU HISTORY is a unique new travel ‘zine dedicated to exploring historical and cultural experiences. If you have toured the pyramids of Egypt, trekked through the Berber villages of the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, explored the ancient ruins of Greece or immersed yourself in another culture, we’d like to hear from you. This is a site for writers to share their travel experiences in a creative literary way through travel articles, essays, journals and creative non-fiction memoirs.

Readers will be taken on fresh, often overlooked experiences and adventures that will provide a valuable insight into the past as well as the lifestyles of other cultures.

To send a story or query a story idea please check the categories and read the writer’s guidelines and previously published articles. Response time: two weeks - month

Payment is from $10.00 up to $25.00 for a feature (for U.S. contributors paid in US money order). New writers are welcome!
submissions@travelthruhistory.com

(There is no set publishing schedule except we try to post stories under each category once a month)

They hope to hear from you soon.

W. Ruth Kozak (editor/publisher)
B.C. Association of Travel Writers
Federation of B.C. Writers

Check out their site at:
www.travelthruhistory.com

The Basics of Writing Poetry ...

There are many instructive articles about writing, but this one by writing coach Jessica Page Morrell is one of the most thorough and instructive I've come across since I started writing for the LAwritersgroup.com blog. She begins with a quote from the Norton Anthology of Poetry that is worth repeating here:
'A poem is a composition written for performance by the human voice. What your eye sees on the page is the composer's verbal score, waiting for your voice to bring it alive as you read it aloud or hear it in your mind's ear.'
She goes on to offer suggestions and insights into:

• The importance of keeping a notebook
• Joining the writing life
• Looking to your own life for material
• Using poetry to express emotion
• Style tricks
• Style: Line
• Style: Stanza
• Style: Shape and format
• Style: Repetition

She packs a lot of information into short paragraphs, and simply reading her suggestions is inspirational.

Remember Those Who Forget - The Early Onset Project ~

Those of us who are aware of the immense therapeutic benefits of writing may be especially drawn to this request for submissions by The Early Onset Alzheimer's Project. They have already published one anthology, "The Alzheimer's Anthology of Unconditional Love: Early Onset Dementia," which focused on the 110,000 people in Missouri affected by this disease. Their goal now is to create awareness of how many Americans are affected, and to let these people know where to go for help, that they are not alone. They are seeking true stories about persons with Early-Onset Alzheimer's and Early-Onset Dementia, which develops in people under age 65. There is no entry fee, and the deadline is June 30, 2008. Authors of stories selected will receive a free copy of the publication. Although no other payment will be made, stories will automatically be entered in a contest:

• First Prize: $100
• Second Prize: $50
• Third Prize: $25
• Honorable Mention: $10

You may submit more than one story for consideration, but only one prize will be awarded for each author, and your work should be no more than 2500 words. Stories deemed to be fiction will be automatically disqualified. Please go to their website for complete submission guidelines, and to learn more about this wonderfully thoughtful and heroic enterprise!

Another Good Agent Blog

I'm quickly becoming a fan of agent blogs. Finally the publishing world seems to be catching up with the digital age (God bless all you gen-y'ers). To think I was all excited when agents gradually began accepting e-mail queries.

Read Elizabeth Jote's blog - she already has some great advice that will keep good writers from making stupid political and green mistakes:

Paper Cuts! Glorious Paper Cuts!

She also links to Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips, one of my personal favorite podcasts. Who wouldn't love an agent who listens to Grammar Girl?

La.CityZine Contest - Deadline - Valentine's Day

LA.CityZine.com is putting on a writing competition to showcase unknown talent in LA.

Prizes include:
* $250 Cash!!!
* 10 Vip Tickets to a pre-release private screening of Robert Downey Jr.'s latest film Charlie Bartlett.
* Have your work read and judged by famous author of White Oleander and Paint it Black, Janet Fitch.
* A personalized autographed copy of Fitch's most recent book, Paint it Black.
* $100 Gift Certificate from Threadless.com.
* Have your work published on La.CityZine.com, and be exposed to hundreds of thousands of readers every month.

1,000 words by midnight Valentines day! Check out www.la.cityzine.com/competitions/ for all the details.

Hope you enjoy!

--Mali Elfman
Editor in Chief - La.CityZine.com

From Freckles to Wrinkles: A Sliver Boomer Book ~

From Freckles to Wrinkles: A Silver Boomer Book, is accepting submissions of prose and poetry until April 15 for publication this year. They are looking for stories of lives lived large, or of simple, significant sagas spanning from the Great Depression to September 11. Fiction or memoirs, essays or scenes, poetry, prose, or something in-between, they're interested in stories of ordinary lives lived in extraordinary times. Beyond these simple guidelines, they welcome surprises. They will pay $5 for poetry, and $10 for prose, plus a contributor's copy. If you agree with them that a writer's most productive years are between 60 and 80, and you have achieved this accomplishment, here is a chance to share your wisdom and achieve the public acknowledgment you richly deserve!

Have a question for a Book Agent?

What writer doesn't have a zillion questions to ask a book agent? Check out this new blog by a former Editor at Random House and Warner Books turned book agent. Go ask her all your deep burning questions! Run! Hurry! Do it now before she gets too bombarded! THE BOOK AGENT