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WIWA NEWSLETTER
Issue No. 010 October -- November 2002
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CONTENTS
Message From the Editor
Letters to the Editor
On the Island
Off the Island
online
How to Make Yourself Irresistible to Any Agent or Publisher, Part 2: The Role of Agents
-- by Michael Larsen, AAR
Join WIWA and You May Win a Subscription to Writer's Digest
Anthology Editor Issues Challenge
-- by Celeste Mergens, Director WIWA
Book Signing Opportunity at Trade Fair
Cheers
Recent Releases
Novel Workshop Guidelines
-- by Chuck Hastings
WIWC Brochures
Contests and Market Requests
Cyber Surfing
Quotes
Problems Reading the Newsletter?
To Contact Us
To Subscribe or Unsubscribe
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MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
One needs a mentor, otherwise it's very lonely. You need someone to tell you to go on. -- Paul Scott
When my husband and I rented a movie, the salesclerk asked if we wanted to join the video club. Membership would entitle us to special price breaks and speed up the checkout process. Bob completed the form and returned it to the clerk who, pointing to an unanswered question, asked, "Don't you want to put your wife's name there so she can check out movies, too?"
"Nah," Bob said. "She won't join anything."
He's right. About the only organization I belong to is the National Geographic Society, and that only because my parents give me a subscription for Christmas every year. After more than 30 years of voting in elections, I still don't belong to a political party. You won't find a AAA sticker on my car. I'm not a member of my alumnae association. I do have a library card, but that’s not the same as belonging to a club. The card is my key to services paid for with tax dollars. You get the picture; I'm not a joiner.
Or, I wasn't until I joined the Whidbey Island Writers Association. I finally found an organization I wanted to belong to -- a network of writers helping writers. Its big event is the annual conference, but that's not why it’s special for me. It's the little things, like Jill Johnson, who after winning 4th place in a WIWA essay division, wasn't satisfied, so she kept improving and rewriting Three Women in Bronze -- Three Sisters in Vietnam until it was published in the Seattle Times. And there's Lenore Skomal who said that winning 4th place in a WIWA contest boosted her confidence so much that she wrote two books, Keeper of Lime Rock and Heroes: 50 Stories of American Heroism, both of which were published by Running Press.
WIWA has contests for kids and displays their work in libraries. It provides scholarships for students so they can attend the conference. WIWA sponsors workshops and retreats. It holds poetry readings by such notables as Pushcart winner Pattiann Rogers, Iowa's First Poet Laureate Marvin Bell, and Utah's First Poet Laureate David Lee. It arranges for WIWA members to promote their books through book signings at trade fairs, art shows and the annual conference. It’s building a community of writers who actively support each other, and that community extends far beyond Whidbey Island.
If you like being a part of our writing community, please join the Whidbey Island Writers Association. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and need your membership support to maintain our status so that we can continue to network and bring you the upcoming anthology, the newsletter, contests, writing groups, workshops, classes, retreats, readings, and anything else we can dream of that will create a warm, supportive environment for writers or anyone who cares about the written word.
Whether you're interested in publishing your work, writing your memoir, keeping a journal, trying your hand at poetry, finding an outlet for your creativity, or doing your part to ensure that future generations can communicate through written language, WIWA has something to offer. For more information about how to join, see the article Join WIWA and You May Win a Subscription to Writers' Digest. Good luck.
May goodwill prevail,
Candace Allen
To read past issues of the newsletter online, go to: http://www.whidbey.com/writers/newsletter
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Critique Group Essay
Thank you so much for sending me the Newsletter. What a terrific job you do! And thank you for sending it "readable." I would be happy to be a part of your group . . . it sounds so wonderful. I lived in Bayview, ID (at the bottom of Pend Orielle Lake) for 20 years, then Coeur d'Alene for another 20, before old age forced me back to my home town and family. The Northwest is in my heart . . . the people there were the friendliest I've ever met, as a whole. We were introduced to the area with three years at Fort Lewis. The Toni Grove article on critiques is one of the best I've ever read. Critique groups are certainly open to criticism at times.
Thanks again, I loved reading the news! --Marion Lillie
Critique Group Guidelines
I appreciated getting your newsletter. I particularly appreciated Toni Grove's article on critique groups, which I very much agree with. So, thanks for adding me to your list.
I'm moved to offer you, in return, the following related material (Novel Workshop Guidelines). Although I was the scribe who set down and worded these guidelines, I didn't create them. They evolved, as the modus operandi of a critique group (called a workshop) in Northeast Portland, which ran for about six years. I was a member during its last year-and-a-half of operation, before we all scattered and it disbanded. I compiled the guidelines later, during an effort to organize another group.
I've belonged to four other groups over the last decade, but that was the best one. The format works. I know that there are other formats, which involve reading aloud, and in which there's a designated czar or czarina; I have not seen those to work as well.
Please keep me on your distribution list. Thanks, --Chuck Hastings
Thank you Chuck for submitting your Novel Workshop Guidelines, which appear later in this newsletter. I'm sure many of our readers will find them useful, either as is, or as a template to develop guidelines for their own group. --the editor
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ON THE ISLAND
Fall Fiction Classes Sponsored by WIWA
Wayne Ude, MFA in Creative Writing and author of four books of fiction, will teach two WIWA-sponsored writing classes in fiction this fall. Each 20-hour, ten-week course costs $55 for WIWA members and $60 for non-members. Enrollment is limited to 12. To enroll, contact Dorothy Read at (360) 331-2038 or thereads@whidbey.com.
Beginning Fiction Writing will be held Tuesday evenings, 7:30--9:30 p.m., from October 8 through December 10 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland. The first hour of each class will include writing exercises, discussion of the techniques of fiction, discussion of short stories and articles about writing fiction, and question-answer sessions about fiction writing. In the second hour, students will read their exercises and short stories. Purchase of a textbook (to be announced) is required for this course.
Advanced Fiction Writing will meet every Monday (except Nov. 11) from 12-2 p.m., from September 30 through December 9 at Trinity Lutheran church in Freeland. This course will be a workshop. Students will bring copies of their stories or chapters of longer work to class for distribution and discussion. No textbook is required, however the cost of making copies will be the student's responsibility.
Editing Workshop
The second of a two-part workshop presented by SueEllen White, Literary Editor at Hedgebrook, will be held October 12, from 2 until 5 p.m. at the Freeland Library Community Room. Anyone interested in attending may contact Dot Read at 331-2038 or <thereads@whidbey.com>. The cost is $5 for WIWA members, $10 for nonmembers.
The first of Sue Ellen White's editing workshops provided valuable new tools for both writers and editors. Participants' comments include ". . . so informative that my brain is full." "An excellent 3-hour workshop. I cringe now to think of how unprofessional some of my submissions have been." "Best $5 I ever spent!!" "Sue Ellen, an experienced editor and journalist, presents a fast-paced workshop that hones in on the responsibilities of the editor and the relationship between the writer and the editor."
Choose from Three WIWA-Sponsored Writing Groups
Now you can choose from three WIWA-sponsored writing groups: an evening group, a north-end daytime group, and a south-end daytime group. Sponsored by WIWA, the groups offer an opportunity to share work, gain insight, and discuss the world of writing and publishing. Featuring a friendly forum and useful critiques, these groups welcome writers at every experience level. Drop-ins are welcome.
Evening Writers' Group
The evening WIWA Writers' Group meets the first Wednesday of every month from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Freeland Library, 5495 Harbor Avenue. Toni Grove, treasurer for WIWA is the facilitator for the group. You can contact her at: toniandgordy@pioneernet.net.
Day-time Writers' Groups
The North Whidbey Writers' Group meets the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, 1 to 4 p.m., at Great Times Espresso in Coupeville (water-side of Front Street, down one flight of stairs).
The South Whidbey Writers' Group meets the first and third Wednesday of each month, 1 to 4 p.m., at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland (Hwy 525 and Woodard Rd.) The meeting is in the small building closest to Highway 525.
For more information, contact Dot Read at <thereads@whidbey.com> or call (360)331-2038. Or just drop in; you will be welcome.
Coupeville Writers' Group
WIWC participant Kathy Pigott invites interested writers to join the Coupeville Writers' Group. The next meeting will be held Thursday, Oct. 12 at 10:45 a.m. at Great Times Espresso in Coupeville. The coffee house is on the water-side of Front Street down one flight of stairs. The group meets in a private room, so ask the coffee server to point you in the right direction. Currently the group includes: a published novelist, several poets, short story and fantasy writers and writers in the works.
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OFF THE ISLAND
Old Dominion University's 25th Annual Literary Festival
Sept. 30 - Oct. 5, Norfolk, Virginia. For information about the festival and a complete schedule of events, see http://courses.lib.odu.edu/litfest/25th/. On October 3 WIWA Board Member Wayne Ude will give a fiction reading and talk at the Festival. Ude is a former Director of that Festival as well as former Director of Old Dominion's MA in Creative Writing and designer of the school's present MFA program. Several former festival directors are being brought back as part of the 25th anniversary, including Whidbey Island's Peggy Shumaker. Among other readers will be Pulitzer-Prize-winning poets Henry Taylor, Stephen Dunn, and W.D. Snodgrass.
Activities At Richard Hugo House
Hugo House is located at 1634 Eleventh Ave, Seattle (between Olive and Pine on Capitol Hill). For directions, visit www.hugohouse.org.
Oct. 2 -- Subtext Reading Series. Bryan Mason and Christine Stewart read; 7:30 p.m.; $5 donation. Visit www.speakeasy.org/subtext.
Oct. 4 - 6 -- Annual Inquiry 2002, Surveillance. Tickets $6 & up. Full schedule with bios and details: www.hugohouse.org/surveillance, or contact (206) 322-7030 or welcome@hugohouse.org.
Oct. 9 -11 -- Novel Writing Workshop, taught by James N. Frey, 6-10 p.m., $75, www.jamesnfrey.com, (503) 286-0945 or
mattie@inetarena.com
Oct. 14 -- Melange on Monday. Find the writing group of your dreams. Bring a piece of writing to share & be ready to write something new. No registration required, 7 p.m. Free.
Oct. 19 & Nov. 16 (3rd Saturday of every month) -- Hugo House Book Group, 1--3 p.m. Free.
Northwest Bookfest
Oct. 19 -- 20, Sandpoint Magnuson Park, Seattle. More than 250 authors will participate in the 8th annual Northwest Bookfest. For more information, see http://www.nwbookfest.org/index.ldmx.
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online
An online advanced poetry workshop through Writers Digest Schools begins October 17. This class offers poets the opportunity to workshop in a structured environment from their own computers. Marian Blue, member of WIWA, will be the instructor. Registration deadline is October 10. To register or obtain more information, check out http://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/.
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HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF IRRESISTIBLE TO ANY AGENT OR PUBLISHER
Part 2: The Role of Agents
by Michael Larsen, AAR
This is the second in a series of four articles by Michael Larsen, AAR, of the Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency, http://www.larsen-pomada.com. The article is adapted from Michael's book, Literary Agents: What They do, How They Do It, and How to Find and Work with the Right One for You.
Literary agents supply more than eighty percent of the books published by the major houses. So to understand how publishing works, you also have to understand how agents work:
-- Your agent is a mediator between two realities: you and the marketplace.
-- Your agent is a scout who knows what publishers are looking for.
-- Your agent is a midwife who can provide editorial guidance that will help you give birth to your idea.
-- Your agent is a matchmaker who knows what editors and publishers to submit your book to and, just as important, which to avoid. Your agent will continue to send out a manuscript until it is sold or until the agent has tried all likely publishers.
-- When a publisher makes an offer, your agent is a negotiator who hammers out the most favorable possible contract for your working marriage with your publisher.
The contract, which is between you and your publisher and which you must approve and sign, enables your agent to act on your behalf and receive income earned through the contract. The agent then deducts a commission, usually fifteen percent for domestic sales, and forwards the rest to you.
-- Then an agent serves as the liaison between you and your publisher on editorial, financial, production, and promotional questions that arise during the publication of your book.
-- Your agent is your advocate in helping to solve problems such as a late or rejected manuscript, a bad jacket design, or your editor leaving the house.
-- Your agent is the focal point for the sales of subsidiary rights. For film and foreign rights, your agent may appoint a co-agent.
-- Your agent may be able to get you writing assignments.
-- Your agent is an advisor about your writing and your career. In what may be a desert of rejection, your agent is an oasis of encouragement.
Here is why an agent can help you:
-- Like publishers, agents reject more than ninety percent of the submissions they see, but agents also receive more rejections than writers. By absorbing rejections and helping you with the financial aspects of your career, your agent helps free you to write.
-- As a continuing source of manuscripts, your agent has more clout with editors than you do.
-- Your share of subsidiary rights income will be greater if your agent, rather than your publisher, handles them.
-- Your agent enables you to avoid haggling about rights and money with your editor, so you and your editor can work together to ensure your books' success.
-- The selling of your book deserves the same level of skill, care, knowledge and experience that you lavish on writing it. An agent can't write your book as well as you can; you can't sell them as well as an agent can.
-- At a time when editors may change jobs and publishers may change hands at any time, your agent may be the only stable element in your career. Like publishers, agents:
- are motivated by love or money or both
- need big books to make big bucks
- love to get excited about their books and authors
- must do a good job if they expect to work on the author's next book
Publishers and agents start working with a writer in the hope that they will establish a permanent relationship that will grow more profitable and creative as the writer's career develops. They both face the perpetual challenge of finding books.
Most agents, including us, must find new writers to make a living. So the harder it gets for agents to sell books, the more eager they are to find writers whose work they can sell.
You can find an agent in just three simple steps:
- Write a salable novel or a proposal for a nonfiction book.
- Research agents through your professional networks, the Association of Authors Representatives, directories, writer's
conferences and organizations, and online.
- Contact them in a professional way as their listings in directories recommend.
If you have a question for Michael Larsen about literary agents or publishing, email your request to candace@whidbey.com with the subject line, "Question for Mike." He will respond in the next newsletter.
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JOIN WIWA AND YOU MAY WIN A SUBSCRIPTION TO WRITER'S DIGEST
Join WIWA or renew your membership by November 23 and you will be included in a drawing for a year's subscription to Writer's Digest. The lucky winner will be announced in the next newsletter.
Annual membership dues of $10 help support WIWA activities and networking opportunities for writers such as classes, workshops and book signings. In addition WIWA sponsors writing groups; the WIWA email newsletter; the upcoming anthology Sea of Voices, Isle of Story; contests for adults and children; student scholarships to the annual conference; and much more. Membership entitles you to book signings and promotion of your books at WIWC and other events, reduced fees at selected workshops and classes, waiver of reading fees for the Celebrate Writing Contest, merchandise discounts, drawings and prizes at WIWC, and an opportunity to help plan and implement writing activities.
To join, send a check for $10 to Whidbey Island Writers Association, P. O. Box 1289, Langley, WA 98260. Be sure to include your name, address, phone number and email address. If you'd like to tell us more about your writing interests, complete the membership form at http://www.whidbey.com/writers/wiwaform.htm and include it with your dues. A membership year coincides with a calendar year, however, any dues received during the last three months will also apply to 2003.
As a member, your name, address and other information will never be sold or used for anything other than official WIWA purposes.
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ANTHOLOGY EDITOR ISSUES CHALLENGE
by Celeste Mergens, Director WIWA
I admit it. I take rejection personally. Sure, on occasion I have announced to my husband gleefully that I just got a "personal" rejection from an editor, but even those sting with disappointment. Or they did -- until now.
Recently, I had the opportunity to join talented editors who selected the finalists for the WIWA anthology Sea of Voices; Isle of Story. In every case great writing rose to the top, and yet, for reasons I was grateful to learn firsthand, some of it was not included in the final book .
Writers from around the globe sent us an avalanche of submissions. Hundreds of you stepped forward, sending us into panic at being able to read them all by our deadline. We received so many outstanding contributions that even if we accepted only the flawless ones, there would be too many to include in one book. And what about the ones that perhaps bore tiny slumps in form and yet did what great writing does, drew us in, introduced us to new vision, knowledge and experience. Entries that made us laugh, cry, sigh, groan and gasp.They left us changed, because for a brief moment we were in that writer's world. We wrestled over our final selections and still there were at least 30 more of these outstanding selections than we could possibly use in the book.
How did we narrow it down? If you would, please allow me to show the experience through the "box of chocolates" metaphor that we used to ask writers to send us the wealth of genres, styles and diversity that our annual conference represents. It turns out that when you have cases of incredible chocolate treats to choose from and only one small box to fit them into, some of the best chocolate gets skipped over. Though you really love that exotic pineapple piece you suddenly realize that you already had two pineapple flavors in a row. It's time for an almond mocha. Or a particular bit of chocolate was too long for the slot available and chopping it would ruin its beauty. Reluctantly you set aside one of your favorite pieces. I'm sure you see the point.
A few days ago, two national poetry editors told me they liked the rejection letter they received. In other words, there was some seriously tough competition here and some highly skilled writers' work was not included. Being the pros that they are, I doubt they took it personally, but before now I would have.
We ended up with a delicious collection that represents the amazing spectrum of great writing that we received featuring both nationally renowned and first time authors side by side. As I recall my favorite submissions (some which are included in the final anthology and some which are not) I have one overruling feeling -- appreciation for the courage that so many writers have to share.
A friend recently pointed out that she just broke her record. Fifty rejections before a particular piece was eventually published. She pointed out that a salesman expects 100 rejections to one "yes," and yet we writers can take one rejection as a sign that we are inadequate. So do me a favor, the next time you receive a rejection, or perhaps recall a rejection from this anthology, close your eyes and picture the editors arm wrestling over whether your piece will fit. And know that it is quite probably true that yours almost did. Yes, editorial decisions are based on the quality and style of writing, but in the end there is a lot more to the final decision that has nothing to do with you or your writing.
Having discovered that rejections are only a sign of one thing, a writer who is doing something, I issue a challenge to each of us. Let's see who can get the most rejection letters between now and our next conference this coming Feb. 28th - March 2nd. Winner gets a prize at the conference -- and my hunch is a few acceptances along the way. Oh and acceptances count too!
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BOOK SIGNING OPPORTUNITY AT TRADE FAIR
WIWA is offering authors an opportunity to promote their books through a book signing at the 11th annual Uniquely Whidbey Island Trade Fair and Home Show Oct. 12 and 13. The Trade Show will be held at the Coupeville High School and is expected to draw more than 3,000 attendees. Participating authors must be members of WIWA; dues are only $10 annually. To reserve a time for your book signing, or for more information about becoming a WIWA member, email writers@whidbey.com. For more information about the Trade Fair, see http://www.whidbey.com/islandco/edc/UniquelyWhidbey.html.
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CHEERS
Your good news cheers us on! Please share your successes with us. email the editor at: candace@whidbey.com.
Check out the cover story of the September issue of Log Home Living to see WIWA Newsletter editor Candace Allen's feature Good Vibrations. Also see the October issue for her piece, Hip Hop Mountaintop, about music mogul, Happy Walter's, log home getaway in Montana. Walters is the producer for Incubus and Korn as well as many others groups.
WIWC participant Brian Ames has been busy again. Read his latest online story, Meta-Hard Driving Physics Encomium #1, at the Sweet Fancy Moses site http://www.sweetfancymoses.com/ames_hard. At the same site you can read about the e-zine's debut print edition which includes Brian's The Jerky Fair. Another short story, whose title is actually a symbol best described as a gray sphere, will appear in MOTA's anthology Truth from Triple Tree Publishing, www.tripletreepub.com. Null Rocket is online at Pig Iron Malt and Effect of Sunlight in Fog is in the new magazine Buffalo Carp.
Barbara Joy Laffey, WIWC stage manager and producer of the one-hour documentary Home Movie, answered questions from the audience September 3 at the Clyde Theater in Langley after a sold-out showing. The documentary received two thumbs up from Ebert and Roeper.
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RECENT RELEASES
Double Bluff
by Michael A Hawley
August 2002
Onyx
Penguin/Putnam obtained the rights to Double Bluff after Whidbey Island Sheriff Mike Hawley's debut version was published under a Barnes and Nobel imprint. The fast-paced police procedural, released nationwide, is the first in a series, featuring fictional characters Seattle Police Detective Sergeant Leah Harris, Internal Affairs Lt. Frank Milkovich, and a host of others engaged in true-to-life crime fighting.
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NOVEL WORKSHOP GUIDELINES
by Chuck Hastings
After reading Toni Grove's essay, The Ins and Outs of Critique Groups, in the last newsletter, Chuck Hasting was moved to offer guidelines that evolved from his favorite novel writing workshop.
1. The group's purpose is to help each member create and improve the novel that he or she is trying to bring into existence. This goal implies support, encouragement, and criticism.
2. Criticism is necessary, "the dross to consume and the gold to refine." It may at times be -- strong, and heartfelt -- but it's never to be destructive.
3. Criticism is always to be accompanied by a suggested "fix." The author may choose to accept the "fix," or not; but this rule is a necessary discipline for the critic. Just saying "That doesn't work for me" does not help the author to improve his or her novel, and is out of order. Criticism which implies that the author should simply have written some entirely different novel, or should adhere to different political or religious or cultural views, also is out of order. Obviously, personal attacks are totally out of order. In response to criticism, the author may explain -- but should avoid defending.
4. Meetings are once a week; if they're less often, members may forget to come. The group functions best if all members are present and on time, unless they're quite ill or else unavoidably out of town. Wednesday nights are perhaps the best all-around compromise.
5. Each member is presumed to have a serious work in progress. Normally, members bring at least one new or freshly-rewritten chapter each week, comprising five to twenty standard-format manuscript pages, with enough multiple copies that every other group member can have a copy to take home. Reading one another's written work in private allows much deeper and more meaningful insights and consideration; it's far more effective than just hearing excerpts hastily read aloud in a group setting.
6. At the next meeting, each member is to have read the other members' chapters, and to have performed whatever markups the spirit has moved him or her to do. Copy-editing isn't the main focus here, but it's not out of order. However, the emphasis should be on making the author's chapter work better -- sharpening the characterizations, making the action deeper and bolder, adding trenchant details, and strengthening the story. Also, of course, spotting any inconsistencies or discontinuities or "gotchas" which could cause rejection of the manuscript by an agent or editor.
7. Each member gets a turn to have his or her work-in-progress chapter discussed. Usually, a proper and unhurried discussion may be expected to take twenty to forty minutes.
8. No member is "boss." If necessary, there can be a rotating chairpersonship. If any member becomes destructive, disruptive, or long-term unproductive, the group may ask that member to leave -- by unanimous vote of the other members. This scenario is very unlikely; the dysfunctional member usually will have withdrawn of his or her own accord, before it ever comes to that.
9. The optimum number of members is probably four; but the format has proven to be workable with anywhere from three to six members. Whenever that seventh serious member shows up, the group should be prepared to split into two groups.
10. Novel writing is serious business. But having a little fun is not out of order!
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WIWC BROCHURES
Brochures for the Whidbey Island Writers' Conference 2003 will be mailed soon. If your mailing address has changed within the last year, you may want to contact WIWA to ensure that you receive a new brochure. Please email your new address to: writers@whidbey.com.
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CONTESTS AND MARKET REQUESTS
Celebrate Writing Contest for Adults
Whidbey Island residents 18 years of age and older are invited to enter the Celebrate Writing Contest for adults. WIWA sponsors the contest each year to encourage adults in the community to develop and share their experiences and stories in the spirit of writing.
Manuscripts will be accepted from Sept. 26 through Oct. 19 at the Whidbey Island branches of the Sno-Isle Library System in Clinton, Langley, Freeland, Coupeville and Oak Harbor. Contest rules and entry forms are available at the libraries. Writing categories include short fiction, nonfiction, life history/memoir, poetry and children's literature. Manuscripts will be returned with comments by November 26, 2002.
The winner of each category will be invited to attend the Book Signing/Authors' Reception and the Authors' Panel at the Whidbey Island Writers' Conference 2003. The grand winner of the contest will win a tuition-paid scholarship to WIWC 2003. All place-winning manuscripts in each category will be displayed in the Whidbey Island branch libraries from Nov. 25 through Dec. 31.
No entry fee is required for WIWA members, but nonmembers are charged a $5 reading fee for each entry submitted. Membership dues, $10 per year, are used to support WIWA activities such as writing workshops, retreats, writers' groups and contests. Membership application forms will be attached to the contest entry forms for anyone interested in joining WIWA.
King County Library System and Seattle Times Sponsor Teen Contest
The King County Library System and the Seattle Times are sponsoring a book-review contest for teens. Submit a review in 500 words or less. Entry forms are available at any King County Library. The Times will also run the form Oct. 8 - 22. The deadline for entry is midnight Nov. 30.
Richard Yates Short Story Award Competition
Night Train, http://www.nighttrainmagazine.com/home.html, a fiction-only literary journal debuting fall 2002, is sponsoring the Richard Yates Short Story Award Competition with prizes ranging from $100 to $800. Submissions will be accepted through December 15. For details, see http://www.nighttrainmagazine.com/yates.html.
New Writer Prose and Poetry Contest
The New Writer magazine is accepting submissions for its annual prose and poetry contest through November 30. Categories include 1) short stories/serials/novellas; 2) essays, articles, interviews; and 3) single poems and collections. See http://www.thenewwriter.com/prizes.htm for details.
Triple Tree Publishing Contest and Request for Submissions
Triple Tree Publishing is now accepting both regular submissions and Emerging Writer Contest submissions for MOTA 2003: Courage. Submission guidelines are on the Web site: http://www.tripletreepub.com or available for an SASE to: Triple Tree Publishing, PO Box 5684, Eugene, OR, 97405.
A Cup of Comfort Seeks Submissions
Adams Media Corporation is producing a series of Cup of Comfort Books. Guidelines for submissions are available online at http://www.cupofcomfort.com/share.htm
One World Journey Seeks Submissions
If you're passionate about nature, One World Journey would like you to share your stories and become a member of their Corps of Storytellers. See http://www.oneworldjourneys.com for details about how to submit your stories and supporting images and art work. (Payment -- none)
ByLine Sponsors Contests
Check out ByLine's Web site http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp for the many contests it is sponsoring through December 2002.
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WIWC YOUTH SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE
Student scholarships are available for the Whidbey Island Writers' Conference 2003. Students in grades 9 through 12 or those enrolled in a college or university undergraduate program are eligible to apply. Details and an application form are available at http://www.whidbey.com/writers/scholar.htm. Applications must be postmarked no later than December 31, 2002.
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CYBER SURFING
Have you encountered some helpful Internet sites? Send us the address and your brief review.
Marian Blue reminds us that the Raven Chronicles offers an index of Northwest Writers. If you are interested in being listed, or are looking for a northwest writer, see http://www.ravenchronicles.org/nwwriter/top.htm.
Both Dan Millman and Eva Shaw shared Ann Patchett's New York Times article , Why Not Put Off Till Tomorrow the Novel You Could Begin Today? http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/26/books/26PATC.html
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QUOTES
I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear."
--Joan Didion
Language is the dress of thought. --Samuel Johnson: Lives of the English Poets (1779-81)
Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands and goes to work. --Carl Sandburg
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PROBLEMS READING THE NEWSLETTER ?
If you have trouble reading the WIWA Newsletter because of gobbledygook, or unwanted characters, please contact the editor at: candace@whidbey.com. She will put you on a list to receive the newsletter in plain, instead of stylized, format, which may alleviate the problem. You may also read prior issues online at: http://www.whidbey.com/writers/newsletter
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TO CONTACT US OR SUBMIT AN ARTICLE
We are interested in hearing from you. Perhaps you've been to a recent book fair, heard a favorite author speak, or learned valuable tips from a writing class. Perhaps you're a professional willing to share your expertise. If you would like to submit an article; tell us about your good news for the Cheers or Recent Releases columns; send us your favorite quotes, markets, contests and cyber sites; or contact us about the newsletter for any reason, please email the editor at: candace@whidbey.com
To contact the Whidbey Island Writers Association, email : writers@whidbey.com
The WIWA Web site is: http://www.whidbey.com/writers
Whidbey Island Writers' Conference:
Feb. 28-- March 2, 2003
The Spirit of Writing
http://www.whidbey.com/writers/conference
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