Tag Archives: Rick Taylor

CAA National Capital Region, Literary Events Week of Nov. 12, 2012

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NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION BRANCH (NCR)

Weekly Notices for the week of November 12, 2012

 19 items: 7 new events and 1 new contest

 Please send all submission & event notices to Carol Stephen atcstephen0@gmail.com 

####Find writing-related services offered by our members at our CAA-NCR website  http://www.canauthors-ottawa.org/hire-a-member.shtml

CAA-NCR BRANCH NEWS

ITEM 1: CAA-NCR MEETING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13  7:00 p.m.

Ottawa Public Library's Main Branch, designed ...

Ottawa Public Library’s Main Branch, designed by Bemi & Associates Architects (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

LOCATION: OTTAWA PUBLIC LIBRARY, METCALFE & LAURIER, in the auditorium  

BLOGGING FOR WRITERS presenter, Arlene Smith

 Blogging is about having something to say, not having to say something. And what writer doesn’t have something to say? Arlene will discuss how blogs improve your writing and increase your community profile. She will cover the reasons to begin blogging and the questions you need to ask yourself before you start. With some tips on timing, formatting, word choice, and promotions, you will learn how to create a sustainable blog that is just right for you.
 Arlene Smith began her career shooting the rapids of the Ottawa River—with a video camera, that is. As a videographer for Wilderness Tours Whitewater Rafting, she laughed a lot and slept little as she gave people a memory of themselves crashing through towering sprays of whitewater. For twelve years she worked as a producer for Rogers TV in Ottawa. She is now a freelance writer who crafts original video and television scripts, speeches, and promotional materials. Her work has appeared on HGTV Canada, the W Network and Rogers TV. She has had short stories published in DESCANT and the Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Collection.
She blogs about inspiration, balance and outreach at www.scienceandstory.wordpress.com and she posts weekly book reviews to her blog www.wednesdaybookreview.wordpress.com.
ITEM 2: CAA NCR WRITING WORKSHOP WITH RICK TAYLOR

DATE: Saturday, November 17  9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

LOCATION: ALGONQUIN COLLEGE, WOODROFFE CAMPUS 1385 Woodroffe Avenue ROOM P201

English: Taken by SimonP

English: Taken by SimonP (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cost: $45 for members; $75 for non-members. Parking available adjacent to Building P, and is free on weekends

WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW AND DON’T KNOW

Everyone has stories to tell. Shape your own personal experiences to craft fiction and nonfiction. Whether you are writing memoir, blogs, personal essays, humour or travel writing, you are basically writing nonfiction short stories. In both fiction and nonfiction, you employ techniques such as scene setting, characterization, description, narrative arc and dialogue.

Learn how to give voice to your own stories, whether you’ve really experienced them or have invented them. To get you writing, the workshop will include jumpstarts and examples of published fiction and nonfiction.

Richard Taylor has been at Carleton University since 1995 when he was Writer-In-Residence. Also he has taught writing in Hong Kong, Australia, Tuscany and over 100 workshops in Ottawa, and an annual summer writers’ retreat, Write by the Lake in Val-des-Monts, Quebec near a waterfall of his beautiful lake house Monet Bay.

He has published a novel, a collection of short stories, an Australian travel memoir House Inside The Waves: Domesticity, Art and the Surfing Life, and many feature magazine articles. While surfing and open water swimming around the world, he is working on an unusual book about swimming with writers, Water and Desire.

Visit Rick’s website at www.taylorswave.ca.

Spaces are limited, so register early. Contact Arlene Smith at somertonsmith@yahoo.comto register. Please respect our fragrance-free environment. (Note that lunch is not included.)

ITEM 3: CAA-NCR BRANCH DECEMBER SOCIAL  

DATE: Saturday, December 1, 2012

TIME: 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Regina Street near Lincoln Fields Shopping Center in Ottawa — complete directions will be provided when you RSVP.  

This annual get-together is the go-to event for writers in the Ottawa area. Mark the date in your calendar. CAA-NCR Christmas socials are an opportunity to meet writing colleagues in a casual, congenial and celebratory atmosphere! All are cordially invited – members, non-members and adult guests.

It’s a pot-luck, so bring your favourite seasonal or traditional holiday dish and your own liquid refreshment. Members are invited to read seasonally-inspired poems and stories.

R.S.V.P to Sylvia Adams BY EMAIL at sylviaadams@rogers.com.  Let her know you’re coming, if you are bringing any guests, and what culinary delight you will add to the menu.

ACCESSIBILITY: Let us know if you have any special needs regarding physical access so we can accommodate.     NOTE: Please respect our fragrance-free environment.

 

CAA NATIONAL NEWS

 ITEM 4: SAVE THE DATE! CANWRITE! 2013 JUNE 13-16, 2013

Lakehead University Orillia Campus, Orillia, Ontario

Stay tuned for more information

English: Waterfront of Orillia, Ontario, Canada

English: Waterfront of Orillia, Ontario, Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Call for Presenters

Canadian Authors is now accepting expressions of interest in being an instructor at CanWrite! 2013, to be held at Lakehead University’s Orillia Campus in Orillia, Ontario from June 13-16.

If you are a professional member, have skills to share and are experienced in leading intensive hands-on workshops related to writing or getting published, contact us at admin@canauthors.org and we’ll tell you what we need from you.

Call for Member News

Our quarterly newsletter, Canadian Author, is about to relaunch this fall. If you have any interesting info you would like to share with your fellow writers – upcoming book launch, a new commission, a scheduled reading – send it to us and we’ll make sure it gets in. For more information, contact Courtney at admin@canauthors.org or call 1 866 216 6222  for formatting and word-length requirements.

Call for Expressions of Interest

Are you a published member of CAA? Would you like your work to be showcased in CAA’s upcoming book catalog? If so, let us know and we will send you information on cost, timing and specs. For more information, contact Courtney at admin@canauthors.org or call 1 866 216 6222

 

BRANCH MEMBER NEWS

 

ITEM 5: CAA MEMBER DYAN CROSS ANNOUNCES HER NEW BOOK FLYING ON INSTINCT: CANADA’S BUSH PILOT PIONEERS    

 

They were nicknamed Snow Eagle, Flying Knight, Bush Angel, Punch, Doc and Wop. They worked in open cockpits and flew through cold, snow and fog without the benefit of radios, maps or weather reports. They flew over the Barrens, frozen lakes, boreal forests and mountain ranges by dead reckoning and line of sight. They landed on makeshift runways, glaciers, muskeg, tundra and glassy lakes. Comrades of the wilderness, they were Canada’s early bush pilots. These brave and enterprising pilots rolled back the boundaries of western and northern Canada, delivering mail, medicine, miners and all the supplies needed by frontier settlements. Flying such planes as Curtiss, Bellanca, de Havilland, Fairchild, Junkers, Norseman, Stinson and Vickers, they were the off-roaders of aviation, venturing where no others dared to go. Climb into the cockpit with these pioneering pilots for an exciting trip into Canadian aviation history.

Flying on Instinct: Canada’s Bush Pilot Pioneers  (ISBN: 9781927051849) is another title in the Amazing Stories Canadian history series by Ottawa writer L. D. Cross and is available at Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Chapters Indigo or, directly from Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd., Victoria, BC. ISBN: 9781927051849      Cdn$ 9.95

Dyan Cross, Ottawa

WEB: http://www.koalaus.com

 


ITEM 6: QAIS GHANEM BOOK SIGNING AT CHAPTERS       NEW!

 Qais will be signing his new book, MY ARAB SPRING MY CANADA ($12), and his 2 novels FINAL FLIGHT FROM SANAA and TWO BOYS FROM ADEN COLLEGE

 

LOCATION: South Keys CHAPTERS, Saturday  Nov. 17, 2012,  2:00 p.m.

 

This was postponed FROM to Saturday November 10

WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS

 ITEM 7: END-OF-YEAR WORD GATHERING WITH SUSAN HICKMAN NEW!

 DATES: Saturday afternoons, Nov 24 to Dec 15,  3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Dymon Storage boardroom, 323 Coventry Road, across from the Baseball Stadium at Vanier Parkway.

Four weeks, $99. Course runs Saturday afternoons 3 to 5 p.m.

All those wonderful words of wisdom, wonder or wistfulness you’ve been jotting down all year ? Now’s the time to gather them up into one place and let them shine! Warm the cockles of your heart and those of others by sharing your writing in a series of intensive classes before the year comes to an end. Oh, and just in case the world does come to an end on December 21, we’ll wrap up the week before, so you won’t go down empty-handed!

You can come to the course with an idea (at any stage of development), process that idea into an article for publication or broadcast and learn how to pitch the idea to target markets, which we will also explore, or you can come looking for inspiration or to give it to your fellow writers.

This is also an ideal trial course for those writing lurkers who are wondering how they might fare in a writing course environment. contact Susan Hickman at shickman19@gmail.com asap to reserve your spot.

OTTAWA REGION SUBMISSION CALLS AND OPPORTUNITIES

 ITEM 8: BYWORDS.CA SUBMISSION CALL    

 DEADLINE:  November 15 for the December issue

Bywords.ca considers previously unpublished poetry from emerging and established poets for our online monthly magazine. We consider work by current and former residents, students and workers of Ottawa. We also publish poems by contributors to our predecessor, the Bywords Monthly Magazine.  FOR SUBMISSION INFORMATION VISIT www.bywords.ca and click on Guidelines.  Amanda Earl, Managing Editor.  Check out Bywords.ca’s literary events calendar here: http://www.bywords.ca/calendar/index.php.  The calendar contains up-to-date info on NCR readings, book signings, writers’ circles, literary festivals, spoken word showcases & slams. Event submissions can be sent to events@bywords.ca. If you need more info, please Amanda know.

 

ITEM 9: CALGARY DISTINGUISHED WRITERS PROGRAM SEEKS WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE                                                                                     

The Calgary Distinguished Writers Program encourages submissions from promising Canadian writers for the position of Canadian Writer-in-Residence, a ten-month residency at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Arts from August 15, 2014 to June 15, 2015. Submissions must be received or postmarked by January 31, 2013 to be considered.

This is a unique opportunity for early to mid-career Canadian writers to devote their time to writing and to advancing their writing careers. Applications for the position are encouraged from writers from diverse genres—including literary fiction or non-fiction, poetry, scriptwriting, and playwriting. Candidates will have one to four published and/or performed works to their credit, and are expected to propose a project or projects that they will undertake during their term as Canadian Writer-in-Residence. They will preferably, but not necessarily, hold a university degree. FOR MORE INFO AND SUBMISSION DETAILS SEE: http://english.ucalgary.ca/news/residency-opportunity-calgary-distinguished-writers-program

IN THE INTEREST OF WRITERS HELPING WRITERS

 

ITEM 10:  TREE READING SERIES                                                  NEW!

DATE: Tuesday November 13 6:45 p.m.

LOCATION: 2 DALY AVENUE, ARTS COURT, OTTAWA

Free Workshop Barbara Myers on Provisional Endings

Is it true a poem is never finished just abandoned? Getting at what the poem wants to be, working with possible twists and turns, (provisional) endings.

8:00 p.m. Readings Open Mic and these Featured Readers:

Glen Downie: has served as Writer-in-Residence at Dalhousie University and has published several collections of poetry.

Oana Avasilichioaei:  Oana’s recent projects include “The Mapping Issue,” co-edited with Kathleen Brown for Dandelion Magazine

More info on the readers at Tree Reading Series: http://www.treereadingseries.ca/

 

ITEM 11: NOV. 12 TO NOV. 18 EVENTS AT COLLECTED WORKS    NEW

1242 WELLINGTON STREET WEST AT HOLLAND Check Facebook for full details or visit http://www.collected-works.com/pages/events.htm         

Wednesday, November 14  – 7:00 p.m. Richard Ziegler presents his book The Cults of Bosnia and Palestine

The Cults of Bosnia and Palestine is an examination of the attitude of people, particularly on the political left, to the Bosnian civil war of 1992-1995 and also to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Specifically, it analyzes why so many people have viewed these two complex conflicts in simplistic black and white terms, with the Bosnian Serbs and the Israeli Jews as the guilty aggressors and the Bosnian Muslims and Palestinians as the innocent victims. The book shows that the attitude of many people towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been influenced by the Bosnian civil war.

Richard Ziegler grew up in Hamilton and studied forestry at the University of Toronto. The bulk of his work experience has been here in Ottawa as a historical and political researcher with the federal government. He resigned that position in order to write full-time. He likes to present a left-wing perspective to current political matters and is active in numerous political causes.

Thursday, November 15  – 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Wellington Street Readers meet

The book club discusses The Cat’s Table, by Michael Ondaatje. Meetings are open and new members are welcome at any time. For more information, visit the Wellington Street Readers on Facebook.

Saturday, November 17  – 2:00 p.m. Meet David McColl, author of A Father’s Tears

“My name is David McColl, on April 16, 2011 my nineteen year old son was the designated driver at a house party in a rural area of Quebec. Ironically, while driving four female partygoers home that night, his car was hit head-on by a car being chased by police. The driver of the other car was suspected of drinking and driving. Both drivers were killed instantly and the four passengers in my son’s car suffered serious injuries, but all survived. The story received a lot of national publicity and people in a similar position have reached out to me asking if I can help them in dealing with their grief. I am certainly not qualified professionally to give anyone advice, but I thought that if I write my story, perhaps people may find relief and comfort through reading about my journey through this horrible process.”

“As part of the healing process, I was encouraged by a number of friends to write down my feelings as I experienced them. I resisted doing so for many months but eventually succumbed to my friends’ persistence. I began to write about my experience with the grief of losing my only son. My writing quickly turned to making the decision to write a book about how I am dealing with the powerful force that grief is. A Father’s Tears was self-published on September 25.”

ITEM 12:  THE FACTORY READING SERIES PRE-SMALL PRESS BOOK FAIR READING                                                                                          NEW!

DATE: Friday, November 16, 2012 Doors 7:00 p.m. reading 7:30 p.m.

LOCATION: The Carleton Tavern, 223 Armstrong Street (at Parkdale; upstairs)

Readings/launches by: Rachael Simpson (Ottawa), David Blaikie (Ottawa), Christian McPherson (Ottawa), Michael Lithgow (Gatineau)

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan

  • Rachael Simpson’s chapbook Eiderdown (Apt 9 Press) will appear in Fall 2012. She lives in Ottawa.
  • David Blaikie won the inaugural Tree Reading Series chapbook contest in 2011 for his entry, Farewell to Coney Island, which appeared with Tree Press in 2012. He lives in Ottawa.
  • Christian McPherson is the author of six books, Cube Squared (coming from Nightwood 2013-14), My Life in Pictures (Spring 2013 from Now or Never Publishing), The Sun Has Forgotten Where I Live, The Cube People (shortlisted for the 2011 ReLit Awards), Poems that swim from my brain like rats leaving a sinking ship (longlisted for the 2009 ReLit Awards), and Six Ways to Sunday (shortlisted for the 2008 ReLit Awards). He is married to the beautiful Marty Carr. They have two kids, Molly and Henry. They all live together in Ottawa.
  • Michael Lithgow is a PhD candidate in the School of Journalism and Communication. His first solo collection, Waking in the Tree House, was published in Spring 2012 by Cormorant Books. He is currently a contributing editor at ArtThreat.net, research associate with the Canadian Alternative Media Archive project, and director of OpenMedia.ca.

http://www.abovegroundpress.blogspot.ca/2012/09/the-factory-reading-series-pre-small.html

ITEM 13: LIPS  INTRODUCES THE NEW SEASON WITH A SLAM      NEW!

 DATE: Friday, November 16, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30).

 LOCATION: Morphy’s Falls Restaurant in Carleton Place – upstairs Dining Room

Admission only $5 per person.  Participants in the competition or Open Mic get in free.

This is a Welcome Back SLAM, to say “good job” to the LiPS 2012 National team. For more information – contact LiPS at lanarklips@hotmail.com. Hope to see you come out & try your hand at Spoken Word, and to give a resounding welcome back to the 2012 team.

ITEM 14: THE OTTAWA SMALL PRESS BOOK FAIR FALL 2012 EDITION NEW!

DATE: Saturday, November 17, 2012

LOCATION: room 203 of the Jack Purcell Community Centre (on Elgin, at 320 JackPurcell Lane)

Contact rob at rob_mclennan@hotmail.com to sign up for a table, etc.

Admission free to the public.

“once upon a time, way way back in October 1994, rob mclennan & James Spyker invented a two-day event called the ottawa small press book fair, and held the first one at the National Archives of Canada…” Spyker moved to Toronto soon after our original event, but the fair continues, thanks in part to the help of generous volunteers, various writers and publishers, and the public for coming out to participate with alla their love and their dollars.

General info: The Ottawa Small Press Book Fair noon to 5pm (opens at 11:00 for exhibitors)

$20 for exhibitors, full tables, $10 for half-tables (payable to rob mclennan, c/o 402 McLeod St #3, Ottawa ON K2P 1A6 Send by November 7 if you would like to appear in the exhibitor catalogue.

Note: for the sake of increased demand, we are now offering half tables. for catalog, exhibitors should send name of press, address, email, web address, contact person, type of publications, list of publications (with price), if submissions are being considered & any other pertinent info, including upcoming ottawa-area events (if any).

Info at http://www.smallpressbookfair.blogspot.ca/2012/08/the-ottawa-small-press-book-fair-fall.html

ITEM 15: MEDIA CLUB OF OTTAWA MEETING               

DATE: Monday, November 19 from 6:00 P.M. -8:00 p.m.

LOCATION:  Library and Archives Canada, room 16

Guest Speaker  Kate Heartfield, deputy editorial pages editor Ottawa Citizen

Cost, which includes a light meal: Members $15, Non-Members $20, students with ID free. RSVP  613-521-4855

 

ITEM 16. EDITORS’ ASSOCIATION OF CANADA NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION BRANCH ANNUAL WINE & CHEESE                      

 DATE:  NOV. 21 7:30 P.M.

LOCATION: CAPITAL HILL SUITES HOTEL 88 ALBERT ST. OTTAWA

 (No hotel parking available. Plenty of street and municipal parking.) The admission fee for all is $10.

Don’t know Jack? Feta up with working alone? Blue for some company? Well, fear not. It’s that time of year again, it’s the Annual EAC Wine & Cheese event. Great cheeses and superb wines.Mark your calendars for November 21st

We’re gearing up for our swanky wine and cheese soirée — for food, wine, networking opportunities, and fun. The Editors’ Showcase will be the highlight of the evening. So if you have some editing work you wish to showcase, let us know in advance and bring it along for show & tell, or come to hear about editing accomplishments!

Attendance confirmation is required NO LATER than November 14th.

Hope to see you there! RSVP to ncr@editors.ca

 

ITEM 17: FIRST EDITION READING SERIES 2012 -Fall Schedule

 LOCATION:  Backbeat Books, Music & Gifts 6 Wilson Street West, Perth, On. 613-466-0663

TIME:              All readings begin at 7:00 p.m.

  •  
  • Nov. 17:    Tanis Rideout, Grace O’Connell, & Mike Blouin.
  • .. Here’s a little more about these tremendously talented authors:
  •  
  • TANIS RIDEOUT has been a finalist for the Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers and the CBC Literary Awards. In 2006, she was named Poet Laureate for Lake Ontario. Rideout also joined Sarah Harmer’s I Love the Escarpment Tour to read a commissioned poem. She was born in Belgium, grew up in Bermuda and in Kingston, Ontario, and now lives in Toronto. Rideout’s debut novel, Above All Things, is a work of historical fiction based on George Mallory’s ill-fated 1924 attempt to be the first man to conquer Mount Everest.
  • GRACE O’CONNELL holds an MFA in creative writing. Her work has appeared in various publications including The Walrus, Taddle Creek, Quill & Quire and EYE Weekly. She has taught creative writing at George Brown College and now works as a freelance writer and editor in Toronto. Her debut novel, Magnified World, follows a young woman who begins to experience unexplained blackouts in the wake of her mother’s suicide.
  • MICHAEL BLOUIN‘s critically acclaimed first novel Chase and Haven (Coach House) was a finalist for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award and won the 2009 ReLit Award. In 2007 his first collected poetry I’m not going to lie to you (Pedlar Press) was a finalist for the Lampman Scott Award. In 2011 Pedlar Press released Wore Down Trust to rave national and international reviews and it recently won the Lampman Award. He was a finalist for the 2010 CBC Literary Awards and his work has been published in many literary magazines including Descant, Arc, The Antigonish Review, Event, Queen’s Quarterly, The New Quarterly, and The Fiddlehead. He is currently completing work on his second novel and his chapbook LetLie (above/ground press) is currently shortlisted for the bpNichol Award.
  •  
  • Nov. 24:    Sarah Tsiang, Sandra Ridley, & Christine McNair.

 

**Please NOTE all readings are on Saturdays at 7 p.m. @ Backbeat Books, Music & Gifts in Perth, Ontario.**

 ITEM 18: OTTAWA AUTHORS & ARTISANS FAIR 2012             

 DATE:  Sunday Dec. 2:  10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

(Set-up begins at 8:30 a.m.; take-down at 4:30 p.m.)

 LOCATION: Jack Purcell Centre, 320 Jack Purcell Lane at Elgin Street Room 203 – 2nd Floor (there is an elevator to the 2nd floor)  Table Rental Fees: OIW members: $35 full table; $20 half table;  Non-members; $40 full table; $25 half table Registration and Information: Email your confirmation to George Laidlaw: gwjlaidlaw@gmail.com  Make your cheque out to Ottawa Independent Writers and send it to: George Laidlaw 2863 Old Almonte Rd. Carp ON K0A 1L0 Contact: email: gwjlaidlaw@gmail.com

 ITEM 19: MAGAZINE SUBMISSION CALLS:                                

 NEW! The travel itch is an irresistible on-line read and the next best thing to experiencing Canada and the world firsthand. It offers fresh Canadian perspectives on travel that entertain and inform while agitating the itch to go. We are hunting for original travel articles from blossoming and bloomed Canadian writers about their travel experiences at home or abroad. We’re also seeking gripping travel images and film, book and restaurant reviews. Submission guidelines are at http://www.thetravelitch.com/pages/submissions.html.

 filling Station is accepting poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction and non-fiction submissions for an upcoming themed issue: Experimental Writing by Women. Guidelines are available at: http://www.fillingstation.ca/submit. Deadline: February 15.

 Dragnet Magazine is accepting fiction submissions. Details can be found at: http://dragnetmag.net/?page_id=21

  Event Poetry and Prose is accepting submissions. Guidelines are available at: http://eventmags.com/about-2/submission-guidelines/fiction-poetry/.

 Grain Magazine is accepting submissions. For more details, visit: http://www.grainmagazine.ca/submissions.html

 The French Literary Review: We are looking for lively, contemporary poems; short stories; extracts from novels which stand on their own; articles; paintings/drawings/photographs, all of which should have a French connection. Submission deadlines: 30th July & 30th December. Please send submission to: B. DORDI, Chemin de Cambieure, 11240 Cailhau, Aude, France

http://www.poetrymagazines.org.uk/magazine/index.asp?id=103 

SUBMISSION CALL FROM POSTSCRIPTS TO DARKNESS We are looking for works of short weird and uncanny fiction (of up to 3000 words) Details can be found at: http://pstdarkness.wordpress.com/submissions/ 

http://www.liternational.com/submissions/

NEW! Leaf Press Anthology: Newborns  Leaf Press is gathering poems for an anthology about the newly born, the almost born, the journey in-between. Deadline Jan. 30, 2013 Please send your poem to: poems@leafpress.ca Guidelines and additional information http://www.leafpress.ca/guidelines.htm

Tesseracts Seventeen: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast to Coastis now OPEN for submissions. Submissions will close February 28, 2013. Tesseracts 17 is seeking submissions from Canadians in all provinces and territories (and abroad). Authors, please make sure you list where you were born and where you are living. Details can be found at:

http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/tess17/t17-catalog.html


UPCOMING WRITING CONTESTS

 

Darker Times Fiction, a monthly short story competition for stories of 3,000 words and less in the horror genre or on the subject of ‘darker times’. All of the information can be found on the website – www.darkertimes.co.uk . It’s open to UK and international writers and ends on the last day of each month.

           

MONTHLY TWITTER WRITING CONTEST!  DEADLINE:  LAST DAY OF THE MONTH AT 11 AM 

Scribendi.com is hosting a weekly writing contest that I think would be of interest to your audience. How it Works: The first day of every month at 11 AM, we will announce the topic. Entrants must write a 140-character-or-less tweet, mention @Scribendi_Inc, and summarize the topic. The contest closes the last day of the month at 11 AM.

Summarize This! promotes concise and precise writing skills in a fresh, fun way (http://www.scribendi.com/summarize_this). Prizes range from free editing to Scribendi.com swag.

 

NEIL POSTMAN AWARD FOR METAPHOR (no fee) Rolling Deadline. Although primarily known as an educationist and a media critic, Neil Postman was, at his core, a “noticer”—and he particularly noticed what we do with metaphor and how metaphor shapes and creates our cognitive world. Postman maintained that words (and words, in truth, are metaphors) are as much the driver of reality as they are the vehicle. Consequently, metaphor was not a subject to be relegated and limited to high school poetry units wherein a teacher drones on about the difference between “like” and “as” and considers the job finished. For Postman, the study of metaphor was unending and metaphors were as crucial as they were omnipresent; they served to give form to and dictate experience. In honor and remembrance of Neil Postman, who died on October 5, 2003, we have established the Neil Postman Award for Metaphor. The motivation for the award is simple and two-fold: To reward a given writer for his or her use of metaphor, and to celebrate (and hopefully propagate) Postman’s work and the typographical mind. Each spring the editors will choose one poem from all of the submissions received by Rattle during the previous year. The author of the chosen poem will receive $500. There are no entry fees or special submission guidelines. Send up to 5 unpublished poems plus a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to: Rattle, 12411 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA 91604. To browse previous winners, and for information on how to submit electronically, visit our website: www.rattle.com

 NOVEMBER DEADLINES:

 

  • Prism International’s 2012/13 Literary Non-Fiction Contest. Deadline: November 28. Full contest guidelines are available at: http://prismmagazine.ca/contests/.
  • Fence Books invites entries for a new book contest, the Fence Modern Prose Prize for a book-length work of prose. Prize: $2500 plus publication. Deadline: November 30, 2012. Entries accepted during the month of November only. Entry fee: $28 (includes subscription). Winning manuscript published in Spring 2014. http://www.fenceportal.org/?page_id=4191
  • Banff Centre Bliss Carman Poetry Award DEADLINE NOV. 30 One, two or three poems per entry (but totalling no more than 150 lines)..Prairie Fire Press, Inc., 423-100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg MB R3B 1113. Prize: 1250, $500 & $250 & Paid Publication Entry Fee: $32 Details: http://www.prairiefire.ca/; 204-943-9066
  • Prairie Fire Creative Non-Fiction Contest Deadline: November 30 With your contest submission you’ll receive a one-year subscription to Prairie Fire, so if would like to start reading Prairie Fire as soon as possible, you can send in your entry today! Entries by email will not be accepted. We’re working at having this option available to you next year. Entry fee: $32 More detaisl at website: www.prairiefire.ca/; 204-943-9066 
  • Canadian Historical Association Awards. DEADLINE NOV. 30 For a full listing of prizes in Primary and Secondary School Teaching; Prizes for Student Work; High School; University, Prizes for Research Work, Prizes for Popular Work available, consult the website.Canadian Historical Association, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa ON, KIA 0N3.  Prize: varies Entry fee: $32 Website:www.cha-shc.ca/splashpage.html; 613-233-7885

DECEMBER DEADLINES

  • THE SANTA CLAWS CONTEST is for aspiring fiction and creative non-fiction writers who have not professionally published. The December Issue (holiday / fantasy). Submissions for  holiday / fantasy are now OPEN. Liternational Editor’s will select the semi-finalists for publication and judging begins AFTER the December Issue’s release. Winners will be announced on or before St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th). For submission guidelines, click http://www.liternational.com/submissions/

 

 

 

AND LATER DEADLINES:

  • Asheville Poetry Review will accept entries for the third annual William Matthews Poetry Prize from September 15, 2012 through January 15, 2013. All submissions will be considered for publication. Postmark Deadline: January 15, 2013. Submission and prize details: http://www.ashevillepoetryreview.com/
  • QUATTRO BOOKS SUBMISSION CALL FOR  THE TORONTO DECAMERON. DEADLINE TO SUBMIT IS JANUARY 15, 2013. Inspired by Boccaccio’s opus, the Toronto Decameron is a ten-day literary festival that will showcase 100 new short stories by 100 local authors, each uniquely tied back to Toronto.This is an opportunity for the community to come together and experience new works about their city.  Short stories are integral to keeping literature alive, particularly in this age of short attention spans and limited time for leisure. What’s more, The Decameron is a mosaic of stories, an apt format for a festival in a multicultural and multi-perspective city like ours. Submit your short story for a chance to be in the inaugural Toronto Decameron. Participation includes reading at the festival alongside some of Toronto’s finest writers and publication in the print edition of the Toronto Decameron (published by Quattro Books). The Toronto Decameron literary festival is proudly coordinated by AASC, the Association for Art and Culture. More information and submission Requirements: http://www.quattrobooks.ca/articles/the-toronto-decameron
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  • THE POETRY SCHOOL / PIGHOG PRESS PAMPHLET (CHAPBOOK) COMPETITION (UK) First Prize: publication by Pighog Press. Runners Up Prizes: Poetry school activities. Judges: Julia Bird & Brendan Cleary Closing date for initial entries: 31 January 2013 Full details at: http://www.poetryschool.com/pamphletcompetition.php

 

  • NEW! ON THE PREMISES  Contest #19 launch November 11, 2012. Its premise is HOLIDAY For this contest, we want at least one officially recognized holiday to play a critical role in your story.  Your challenge: In at least 1,000 but no more than 5,000 words, write a creative, compelling, and well-crafted story that clearly uses the premise. If you have questions, ask us at Questions@OnThePremises.com. Deadline: 11:59 PM Eastern Time, Thursday, January 31, 2013. http://www.onthepremises.com/index.html

 

 

 

  • The Malahat Review invites entries for their 2013 Long Poem Prize. Prize: $1000. Length: 10-20 pages; one single poem or cycle of poems. No restrictions regarding genre, subject matter, or aesthetic approach. Deadline: February 1, 2013. Entry fee: $35-$45 (includes subscription). http://www.malahatreview.ca/contests/long_poem_prize/info.html

 

  • ACCENTI MAGAZINE WRITING AND PHOTO CONTESTS. First Prize: $1000 and publication. Deadline:  February 8, 2013 (writing). Open to all writers and photographers, established and emerging, worldwide. Accenti’s writing contest is open to fiction and nonfiction (in English) on any topic. For more information, please visit www.accenti.ca.

 

 

 

 

  • Summit Studies of Newmarket, Ontario announces a story contest, running until Feb. 29 2013. $3000 in cash prizes to nine winners in four categories, including a $1000 grand prize. They will publish four anthologies in the next two years, and those who do not win prizes may still be published. Writers maintain copyright to their work and are paid a minimum $100 honorarium for a published story. The website for additional info is www.summitstudios.biz. Included are samples of previous winners to familiarize you with types of stories they like to publish. All stories are to be true, and about travel and/or outdoor experiences. They must be true, although literary lic. is acceptable. While “funny” is preferred, those with a thoughtful or heartwarming theme are fine. Hope to hear from you! Stories, generally 1000-2500 words, may be e-mailed to submissions@summitstudios.biz or mailed to Summit Studios, 80 Cardinal Cres., Newmarket, Ontario L3Y 5Y4
  • Entries are invited for The New Quarterly Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest. Prize: $1000. All submissions considered for paid publication (payment: $250) in the magazine. Submit essays of any length, on any topic, in which the writer’s personal engagement with the topic provides the frame or through-line. Canadian writers only. Deadline: March 28, 2013. Entry Fee: $40 (includes subscription). http://www.tnq.ca/contests

 

  • The New Quarterly invites entries for the Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest. Prize: $1000. Theme: poems of occasion, either personal or public, or poems that make of something an occasion or simply mark one. Deadline: February 28, 2013. Entry fee: $40 (includes subscription) for up to 2 unpublished poems; $5 per additional poem. http://www.tnq.ca/contests

 

 

  • AWARD TO RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE IN FIRST NATIONS, METIS AND INUIT YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE Submissions deadline May 1, 2013. The Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature . The Award will be given annually to three English-language literary works for Young Adults by First Nations, Métis or Inuit authors. A First Prize of $12,000, a Second Prize of $8,000 and a Third Prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the authors and translators (if applicable) of the winning titles. For further details, submission guidelines etc. on the Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature, go to http://www.codecan.org/get-involved/burt-award-canada

 

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