First Person America Seeks Sumissions

Stories, Videos, and Photographs Reflective of Our National Economic Crisis

Competition information as listed on website:

Artists: We are looking for short memoirs and essays, documentary films, and photographs that depict Americans from all walks of life. We are especially interested in stories that are unique to your family, your community, your town, your region – that capture the idiosyncratic things that are happening where you live - the slices of life that, taken together, will give us a First Person picture of America in 2009 – the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful.

Submission Guidelines:
Writing submissions – up to 2,500 words.
Film and video submissions – up to five minutes, excluding credits.
Photography submissions - may include up to five photographs, with or without accompanying text of up to 100 words per image.

Submission deadline: June 30, 2009

For more information: http://www.hardtimes.firstpersonarts.org/

Drue Heinz contest for a book-length collection of short fiction

Call for Submissions 2009

The Drue Heinz Literature Prize:

http://www.upress.pitt.edu/renderHtmlPage.aspx?srcHtml=htmlSourceFiles/drueheinz.htm

From their site:

The Drue Heinz Literature Prize recognizes and supports writers of short fiction and makes their work available to readers around the world. The award is open to writers who have published a book-length collection of fiction or at least three short stories or novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals.

Manuscripts are judged anonymously by nationally known writers; past judges have included Robert Penn Waren, Joyce Carol Oates, Raymond Carver, Margaret Atwood, Russell Banks, Rick Moody and Joan Didion. The prize carries a cash award of $15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press under its standard contract.

The winner will be announced by the University Press in January. No information about the winner will be released before the official announcement. The volume of manuscripts prevents the Press from offering critiques or entering into communication or correspondence about manuscripts. Please do not call or e-mail the Press.

Manuscripts must be received during May and June 2009. That is, they must be postmarked on or after May 1 and on or before June 30.

See website for eligibility details.

Comedy Script Contest

The New York Television Festival announced the Fox-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest. Contest opens on June 1st.

Contest Details:

The FOX- NYTVF Comedy Script Contest Official Premiere Network Sponsor Fox and Signature Sponsor Procter & Gamble Productions (PGP) have partnered with the New York Television Festival to present the second annual FOX-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest. The contest once again invites aspiring television writers to enter their scripts for original half-hour comedy TV pilots for the opportunity to win $25,000 and a development deal with the network!

This year, the winning script will automatically receive consideration to be produced by Procter & Gamble Productions as a pilot with a first-look at the Fox network.

Scripts must present an original idea for a potential half-hour comedy series. All entries must be uploaded to the NYTVF Web site. Opening date for script submissions is June 1, 2009, and the submissions window will close on June 15 or at 1,500 entries, whichever comes first. Entry is free. For more information and official rules, visit http://www.nytvf.com/2009_scripts_info.htm.

Authors Needed

Leimert Park Village Book Fair is looking for authors to participate on Sat June 6 www.leimertparkbookfair.com

Tips on Pitching

Excellent article on how to pitch your work to development execs. Key: Have an arsenal of stories at your disposal, not just a single script.

Bartlett's Screenwriting Tips: THE WRITER'S COUCH

Read. Then start outlining. A lot.

Submit your Short Fiction Story to Esquire Mag - No fee

Winner gets $2500 and publication in Esquire Magazine
Bookfox has a superfly blog that we've fallen in love with, and he recently blogged about Esquire's new no-fee fiction contest, so we thought we'd pass it on [and why aren't you Tweeting, Bookfox? If you are, be sure to follow us].

Esquire's short story winner gets $2500 and publication in Esquire Magazine. What's the catch? You have to follow their rules, and of course, as purveyors of creative writing exercises and prompts, we're big fans of writing contests with interesting rules.

From Esquire.com:

"The first and most important rule — besides, of course, that the story has to be original — is that the story must be based on one of three titles that we have provided.

The titles are:

1. "Twenty-Ten"

2. "An Insurrection"

3. "Never, Ever Bring This Up Again"

A date, a thing, and a statement. No exceptions. Make of them what you will, do with them something great. But no taking an old story and slapping one of our new titles on it. We'll know, and we won't be happy.

Second rule: Your story cannot exceed 4,000 words. We are serious about that, too."

Submissions begin May 1st and the deadline is Midnight, August 1st, 2009.
Visit Esquire.com for more further details and to submit. Also check out Esquire's new online fiction 'zine.

Writers Group for Screenwriters

12-Weeks + 10-pages a week = complete draft. Apply now by emailing nicole@lawritersgroup.com.

LAwritersgroup.com is pleased to announce the next 12-Week Writers Group for Intermediate to Advanced Screenwriters.

Start Date: Thursday May 21st for 12 weeks
Start Time: 7:00pm - 10:30 pm
Cost: $480
Moderated by: Rob Tobin, author of two books, "The Screenwriting Formula" and "How to Write High Structure, High Concept Movies".

For more information on how the group works and how to apply, visit www.LAwritersgroup.com.