Missouri Review's 19th Annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editor's Prize Contest

Today in St. Peters, MO: Mostly cloudy, high 71 degrees.

The Missouri Review is offering $15,000 in prize money for the 19th annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editor's Prize Contest -- $5,000 per genre in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. The work of past winners has been reprinted in the Best American series. Each entry is $20. All entrants receive a one-year subscription to The Missouri Review either in print or in their new environmentally friendly digital format, which includes bonus audio content. The deadline is October 1st, and you can enter online or by mail. For details, check out their webpage: http://missourireview.com/contest.

The Ultimate Series Seeking Submission

Forecast for St. Peters, MO: Mostly cloudy, high 80 degrees.

Last month I attended an event at a local library. One of the speakers told the audience about HCI books and a pending call for submissions. The speaker led us through a brainstorming exercise to generate ideas for The Ultimate Bird Lover's book. I scratched out some thoughts about my late father's fascination with birds and even came up with a title, "Backyard Birdwatcher."

Unfortunately, life intruded on my good intentions of writing the essay. When I visited the website I found out I had missed the deadline. My website visit wasn't a wasted effort because I found another call-out for submissions for The Ultimate Christian Living book. Around the same time, I read a blog post about the same call-out on Cathy C. Hall's blog. Coincidence? Maybe.

So, I thought I would share the call-out for submissions with my blog visitors. Publishers are looking for "personal, true stories by and about Christians whose lives have been impacted by their faith." The deadline is October 19. The compensation rates are decent. Even if the Christian Living book isn't something you want to submit to, you can sign up with HCI to receive information about pending deadlines on other planned titles.

Saturday Writers Extended Meeting

Forecast for St. Peters, MO: Chance of thunderstorms, high 85 degrees.

Members and visitors of Saturday Writers are in for a ten-gallon treat tomorrow when Dusty Richards, acclaimed Western Writer and two-time Spur Award winning author, shares his thoughts on "Developing Character and Setting." Dusty has published almost 100 books under his own name and pseudonyms. He is winner of the Oklahoma Writers' Federation Fiction Book of the Year Award and has been inducted into the Arkansas Writers' Hall of Fame.

The meeting starts an hour earlier than usual--at 10 a.m.--and ends at 1 p.m. at the St. Peters Community and Arts Center, 1035 St. Peters-Howell Road. Click on link for directions.

Prior to Dusty's presentation, as part of our 2009 goal of "taking our writing to the next level," I will give a brief writing tutorial on "Brainstorming." Yikes! I need to brainstorm about what I'm going to talk about on "Brainstorming."

Personal note: Happy birthday to my granddaughter Cari, who turns 15 today! She's growing up so fast--already talking about taking her test to get her permit. Next year, I wonder if she'll be asking for a car?

Family Circle 2009 Fiction Contest

Forecast for St. Peters, MO: Partly cloudy, high 89 degrees.

The clock is ticking on the deadline to submit to the FAMILY CIRCLE 2009 FICTION CONTEST. No entry fee. Entries must be postmarked on or before August 31, 2009, and received by September 7, 2009.

Grand prize winner will receive a prize package including $750, a gift certificate to a mediabistro.com course, value up to $610 dollars, a one-year mediabistro.com AvantGuild membership valued at $49, and possible publication in Family Circle magazine. Total grand prize package $1,409.00. Two runners-up will each receive $250, a one-year mediabistro.com AvantGuild membership valued at $49, and stories may appear on familycircle.com. Total runners-up prize package $299.00.

Read the Official Rules for complete details. Good luck!

Meet the Author at the Strange Folk Festival in O'Fallon, IL

Forecast for St. Peters, MO: Sunny, high 81 degrees. Another gorgeous day!

Jodi Caticchio, Chairman, Arts Commission of the City of O’Fallon, Illinois, e-mailed me with information about an opportunity for writers in the metro-St. Louis area. The Strange Folk Festival is one of the Heartland’s largest outdoor indie arts and crafts shows and a FAMILY FRIENDLY event. Festival organizers are looking for local authors to participate FOR FREE in their Author's Pavilion on September 26 and 27.

Authors are invited to sign up for times in two-hour time slots (authors can sign up for two hours, four hours, the whole day, both days, two hours each day, whatever combination). Sign-ups are from 10am-5pm both days.
Authors only get to sell books if they are PERSONALLY there to sign books. No “substitutes” can sell books. Complete author requirements to participate can be found on their website.

The registration form can be filled out online: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGFWT3NXQzJudzg0Tmxwa2l4ZlN3Mnc6MA..

This lists the time slots available and will ask for the name of the book the author will be bringing. The local library is handling the sign ups.

Click here for festival information. Deadline to register is August 31. Sounds like fun!

Literary Agent Nathan Bransford's Publishing Glossary

Forecast for St. Peters, MO: Chance of thunderstorms, high 80 degrees.

Last week, Curtis Brown Literary Agent Nathan Bransford posted a thoughtful glossary of book publishing terms (The photo of Nathan on the left is from his blog.)

Bransford's list starts with:

"Advance - The money a publisher pays an author to publish their book. This money is an advance against royalties. This means that the author does not receive additional money from the publisher until the book earns an amount of money equal to the advance (see "earn out"). As long as the book is published the author does not have to pay the advance back, even if the book does not earn out. Large advances are typically paid in installments, such as a portion on signing, a portion on delivery and acceptance, and a portion on publication. Advances range from $1 to $1,000,000 or more.

and wraps-up with:

"Wholesaler - Companies that get books to bookstores, libraries, etc. Unlike distributors, which fill orders for one or a few publishers, wholesalers fill orders for basically everything under the sun. Prominent wholesalers include Baker & Taylor and Ingram."

In the middle of it all he gives an example to a link of a good query letter. To read the complete glossary, visit Nathan Bransford's blog. I visit his blog several times a week because of all the helpful information he generously shares with writers. The glossary is just one gem you will discover on his "gold mine" of information site.

Newport Review Flash Fiction Contest

Forecast for St. Peters, MO: Chance of thunderstorms, high 85 degrees.


Here's a flash fiction contest with a short deadline and a small entry fee. The Newport Review Flash Fiction Contest is open through the postmark deadline of September 1, 2009. Word Length: maximum of 1,000 words. Entry fee: $7 per story or 3 for $20. A total of $300 in cash awards, plus publication for winners and honorable mentions. They do not accept e-subs. Visit their website for complete details.