Write a Radio Play for Children - No Fee Contest

This just in...

THE PIG and THE TRACTOR' COMPETITION
OPEN TO ALL Writers!
NO ENTRY FEES
Competition Open June 15th to August 15th, 2011

You're probably a Film, TV or Documentary Writer; a Playwright or maybe even a Novelist, BUT....
Would you be interested in a very different, challenging NEW writing experience?

WRITERS - email for sign up instructions

This fun competition is open to ALL writers to write a short Radio Play Story script for children, ages 3-10. The Winning title is 'The Pig and The Tractor'.  The story is about a pig and a tractor. Use your own ideas and imagination to make this story idea come to life as a RADIO PLAY Script.

One CASH PURCHASE PRIZE to be awarded to the winning writer or writing team for the Winning 10 page Radio Play Script Radio Play Story Templates, instructions, entry forms and competition Rules and Regulations are supplied. Email to request sign up instructions

http://www.audiomoviesclub.com/competition.html
Young Children 3-10 years old

This fun competition is open to ALL writers to write a short Radio Play Story script for children, ages 3-10. The Winning title is 'The Pig and The Tractor'. The story is about a pig and a tractor. Use your own ideas and imagination to make this story idea come to life as a RADIO PLAY Script.

One cash purchase prize to be awarded to the winning writer or writing team for the Winning 10 page Radio Play Script.  Radio Play Story Templates, instructions, entry forms and competition Rules and Regulations are supplied.

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A few books on writing for radio, in case you're interested:
Writing for Radio: How to Write Plays, Features and Short Stories That Get You on Air (Successful writing)
Writing Dialogue for Scripts: Effective dialogue for film, tv, radio and stage (Writing Handbooks)
Radio comedy: how to write it: Including the mathematics of humorHow To Write a Radio Play
How to Write a Radio Serial Drama for Social Development: A Script Writer's Manual.
You Can Write: Techniques for Television, Radio, and the Theater. Gathering and Organizing Material for Fiction, Essays, Feature Articles and Newspaper Editorials.

Why it's important to support your local independent bookstores

It's more important than ever to support your local bookstores, because the possibility that they may go away is quite real.  Here is an article in today's LA Times about two more independent bookstores closing their doors.

We've picked a book for our Book Club!

http://www.meetup.com/West-LA-and-South-Bay-Writers-Book-Club>
We've picked a book for our new Writing Craft Book Club!

Finding your Writer's Voice by Thaisa Frank, Dorothy Wall

If you are not local or can't make our meetings, feel free to read along with us and discuss it online on our Meetup group page.

Miracle Mile / Koreatown Writers Group starts Thurs June 2nd, 2011

Our Koreatown / Miracle Mile writers group starts next Thursday!  Register now to reserve your spot.

Thurs evenings beginning June 2nd
Moderator:  Andrew McFayden-Ketchum
7:30pm - 10:00pm

 Read a detailed description of our writers groups

Register now to reserve your spot

Twelve Places Looking for your Fiction & Poetry

The Postcard press seeks prose of 100 words or less and 10-line poems (needs to fit on a postcard) of theme THAT'S NOT FUNNY.

Deadline: May 31st, 2011

Asymptote is looking for translations of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama, we also take original English-language critical essays and book reviews, essays about relatively unknown authors writing in a language other than english.

Deadline: June 1st

Creative Nonfiction is currently seeking experimental nonfiction for their "Pushing the Boundaries" section

Postmark deadline: June 13, 2011

Insolent Aardvark is reading poetry, fiction, non-fiction submissions for their inaugural issue.

Deadline: June 24th

Blast Furnace is looking for poetry

Deadline: July 15th, 2011

Weave Magazine is looking for literary fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, drama, and visual arts that transfix, transport, and inspire.

Submit via: http://weavemagazine.submishmash.com/Submit

Deadline July 31, 2011

Yeast of Eden, an anthology of stories inspired by beer, is looking for fiction and nonfiction submissions

Deadline: September 1, 2011

Fiction Fix seeks fiction and artwork

for their Fall 2011 issue

Deadline: August 1, 2011

Printer's Devil Review is currently seeking submissions of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and visual art.

Reading period ends August 1

Valparaiso Fiction Review is seeking submissions of original short fiction for its inaugural issue.

Palooka is a print journal, seeking works of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, plays, and graphic stories and essays.

Year-round submissions accepted.

Colorado Review is now reading nonfiction year-round. Submit essays via coloradoreview.submishmash.com

Go forth and submit.

The LA Writers Group blog doesn't publish contests or calls for submissions that charge writers a fee to read their work.

Article on MFA Programs and American Fiction

Another interesting article on the ongoing debate about the worth of MFA programs and their effect on American fiction:  Are MFA programs ruining American fiction? - Writers and Writing - Salon.com

How to publish your own children's picture book

We're pleased to have a guest post today from Kirby Timmons, indie author, speaker, and television writer who published his first children's book in 2009:

The Unopened Stocking: A New Holiday "Yarn" For Dads & Families Who Love Them

One of the great things about being a writer today is that you don't have to wait for a publisher to decide to accept and publish your work.  You can publish it and market it yourself with the help of the internet, the great equalizer.   It's easier than you might think to get your children's picture book out into the world.  What's the worst that can happen?  No one buys it?  What the best that can happen? You create a grass-roots movement and sell copies of your book, or perhaps you get the opportunity to decide whether or not you want a publisher involved when they come knockin'...

CHILDREN'S BOOKS, NOT JUST FOR KIDS

by Kirby Timmons

One of the pleasant things I remember about 2009 was that it was the year I published my first children's book, "THE UNOPENED STOCKING".  Thinking back, it seemed like a pretty daunting challenge. But once I broke it down into some manageable steps, it actually came about rather easily. And it could happen for you just that way also.

YOUR STORY

I chose a holiday story I'd written years ago, one in which my twin boys teach me a touching lesson about Christmas spirit. Whether you're adapting a story or essay you've already written, or writing something original for kids, focus upon something simple and personal that could appeal to young minds. If it's universal, it will appeal to adults, as well.

BREAK IT DOWN

A children's book is really just a small artbook which mixes text, pictures and white space in an engaging way. So, take your original story and break down the text into self-standing, manageable bites. A good way to think about this is to look at individual sentences to see what is "illustratable". That will help you to define which text and pictures will live together comfortably on a page.

LAY IT OUT

Each set of facing pages of a children's book really needs to be designed almost as a single page, so that, together, you can lead your viewer's eye down and across the left page and onto the right page. For those of you who have up-to-now been primarily formatting text only, this will take a little trial and error to achieve a pleasing flow.

OUTPUT TO PUBLISHER

For formatting, you can utilize writing programs you may already be familiar with -- Microsoft Word and PowerPoint both allow you to mix text and pictures. There are several online book publishers that will allow you to input your book online. When completed, you'll be able to print one-at-a-time copies for a very reasonable price.So, whether it's a children's book, a small art book for adults, or some other project you decide on, there are lots of advantages to starting small.

Not the least of which is that you'll be able to mark the passing of a very special year -- the year you became a published author.

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.

Also Kirby Timmons is the Moderator of our upcoming Santa Clarita Writers Group Group and Creative Writing Workshop.