Interested in Breaking the Rules?

For those of you who appreciate that beauty lies in imperfection or in uneven intervals, the Interstitial Arts Foundation has issued it's 2nd annual call for their Second Anthology of Interstitial Writing called Interfictions II. According to their Web site, they are "a not–for–profit organization dedicated to the study, support, and promotion of interstitial art: literature, music, visual and performance art found in between categories and genres — art that crosses borders."

From their Web site:

Submission Guidelines for
Interfictions II: The Second Anthology of Interstitial Writing

What We’re Looking For
Interstitial Fiction is all about breaking rules, ignoring boundaries, cross-pollinating the fields of literature. It’s about working between, across, through, and at the edges and borders of literary genres, including fiction and non-fiction. It falls between the cracks of other movements, terms, and definitions. If you have a story idea that’s impossible to describe in a couple of sentences, it may be interstitial.

We’re looking for previously unpublished stories that engage us and make us think about literature in new ways. Rather than defining “interstitial” for you, we’d like you to show us what genre-bending fiction looks like. Surprise us; make us see that literature holds possibilities we haven’t yet imagined.

We are also open to graphic stories of about 10 pages.

Who We’re Looking For
Writers in all genres of fiction (contemporary realism, mystery, historical, fantasy, whatever) who have an idea that challenges generic tropes and expectations..

Practical Matters
Our submission period will be from October 1, 2008 to December 2, 2008.

No Fee Poetry Contest - Spiritual Directors International

Spiritual Directors International puts out a publication called Presence, which is ."..a peer-reviewed journal that publishes thought-provoking articles addressing topics of interest to spiritual directors. The goal of Presence is to identify current trends in the field, to provide background and resources for spiritual directors as well as others interested in the ministry of spiritual direction, and to look ahead at what might be developing in the future."

They are currently holding a no-fee Poetry Contest.

Deadline May 15!

Details from their Web site:

"Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction announces its fourth annual juried poetry contest.

The grand prize winner will be awarded a US$100.00 cash prize. Three runners up will receive US $75.00 each. The top four selections will be published in the September, December, March, and June issues of Presence, respectively. A number of honorable mentions will also be selected for future publication. Everyone may enter."

How to Pitch an Idea to Hollywood

This morning's Los Angeles Times Magazine has a very informative story written by none other than Michael Wright himself (V.P. at Turner) about how to pitch show ideas to networks. His main point? Skip the gimmicks, remember you are selling to a buyer who reps a certain brand, go straight for the why-this-works-for-your-brand sell and then back it up with the goods and talent to actually make your project happen. Well, with one caveat. Sometimes gimmicks do work as he reveals at the end of his article. So let's see... follow the rules only to find the right moment to break them? It's so much more fun to just break the rules right out of the gate, though...

Read the article.

LitMatch.net Launches Upgraded Listing Pages

This just in from LitMatch.net:

LitMatch.net, the largest and most complete database of literary agents and agencies on the web, recently launched a major upgrade to their agent and agency listing pages. The new layout was designed with ease of use in mind, and brings key information to the forefront while organizing the rest in a simple, intuitive format.

The new layout features an at-a glance style, with large, friendly icons that indicate an agent or agency’s submission status, if they accept email queries, and if they accept postal queries. Other important information; like response times, comments, and clients & projects; is arranged in a simple, tabbed format on the right side of the page. The tabs keep things organized and allow users to limit their view to only the information that’s of most interest to them. Everything from layout to colors to fonts has been given an update for a fresh, clean look in order to make searching for a literary agent as easy and painless as possible.

“This upgrade represents a big step forward for us, and addresses some issues with the site that have been nagging me since the site launched back in September.” said Christopher Hawkins, creator and lead developer of LitMatch. “We’re excited about the change because it gives our listings a first-class presentation that matches the first-class quality of their content.”

Other features of this upgrade include:

• Clearer division between content areas for faster browsing and increased readability.
• Contact information that’s more prominent and easier to cut and paste into word processing programs.
• A redesigned “Genre Information” section.
• Flag icons that visually identify an agent’s or agency’s country.
• A reformatted user summary area that keeps all queries to a given agent or agency close at hand.
• More prominent hotlist links.
• An updated look to the submission stats table.
• Reformatted comments and comment entry form.

Atlanta Review International Poetry Competition Deadline Looms

The Atlanta Review, despite it's somewhat primitave Web site, is a well-known poetry publication that boasts the poetic publication of Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners. Their 2008 International Poetry Competition is open and the deadline is less than a week away. Entries must be postmarked on May 9th, 2008.

GRAND PRIZE: $2,008
(not bad!)
and 30 International Merit Awards that includes Certificate, Honorable Mention in Atlanta Review, and Free Issue

A few extra details from their Web site:

20 International Publication Awards
Winners will be published in Atlanta Review and appear in over 120 countries.
This is the only poetry competition that guarantees you international recognition!
Winners will be announced in August. The Poetry 2008 contest issue will be published in October.

Profit From Mood Swings in Many Ways ~

If you are one of the estimated 5.7 million people with bi-polar disorder, you might be interested to know that there is an online magazine for you: bphope.com, whose aim is to provide "hope and harmony for people with bipolar." It is not a medical journal, but rather a lively and information-rich consumer magazine. The reason I mention it here is that, happily, they accept submissions -- articles and stories -- that relate to this often crippling disorder. They seek features that are:

• Useful to their readers, ie., they can relate the material to their own lives.
• Meaningful to readers on a personal level, through the use of stories, quotes, anecdotes and humor.
• Educational and rich in comments from experts and those living with bipolar.
• Informational and inclusive of resources such as Websites, books, and so on.

Main articles are between 1,500 and 2,500 words, and they also publish short features (650 to 750 words) on such topics as interviews with those living with bipolar; food and nutrition; healthy living; spirituality; parenting with childhood depression; exercise; wellness and so on. Email a query letter to queries (at) bphope (dot) com. Please go to their website for complete writer's guidelines.
Fees are negotiated on a per story basis, based on length, experience, complexity, etc. They pay for North American rights for original material, and for rights to post stories on their website, www.bphope.com.

* Celebrating the Goddess in Every Woman *

SageWoman, a quarterly magazine of women's spirituality, is dedicated to helping women explore their spiritual, emotional and daily lives in a way that respects all persons, creatures, and the Earth. Their readers relate positively with the term "Goddess," and include women from a variety of religious faiths, from Roman Catholic to Lesbian Separatist Witch and everything in-between. Their focus is on issues of concern to Pagan and other Goddess-friendly women, and they are accepting submissions (written by women), of non-fiction prose that relate to women's spiritual experience. They also accept modest amounts of poetry, photographs and graphic artwork. They do not accept fiction, screenplays, long narrative poems, erotica, or press releases. Since their editorial style focuses on personal experiences, please write in the first person!
Your articles should be between 800 and 5000 words in length. All material should be sent to the attention of the Editor to either meditor (at) sagewoman (dot) com, or P.O. Box 687, Forest Grove, OR. 97116. They'll pay $.01 per word for unsolicited material, with a minimum of $10, as well as one copy of the issue in which your work appears. They are often able to pay more for work that is commissioned especially for SageWoman, so please contact them directly if you are interested in working for them on this basis.
The theme of their next issue is "Giving and Receiving." For those of us who are already aware of some of the many instances that life is a plethora of give-and-take and sharings, that we are not as isolated and alone as we may feel, it might be a fun challenge to dip into this awareness and come up with something personal to illustrate this. You have until August 1, 2008 to send them your submission.
Please go to their website for more information and to find samples of articles they have published.