Writing advice, publication opportunities, and thoughts on books, language, and life from Donna Volkenannt, winner of the Erma Bombeck Humor Award. Donna believes great stories begin in a writer's imagination and touch a reader's heart.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saturday Writers 8th Annual Short Fiction Contest - A Bittersweet Experience
On my blog today I'm posting the names of the winning entries in the Saturday Writers 8th Annual Short Story Contest. In the past I have served as a contest judge, but this year it was my honor to serve as contest chair.
Chairing this year's contest has been a bittersweet experience. The bitter part came after the death of our contest judge, Pushcare Prize nominated writer, Lynn Carney. When I asked Lynn to be our judge in the fall, she was so excited. We exchanged e-mails, especially after the contest deadline was extended. Lynn was anxious to receive the entries and finish judging before the holidays.
On Friday the week before Thanksgiving, I mailed the contest entries to Lynn. At suppertime the following Monday I received a tearful call from her husband Mark that he had received the entries, and he told me Lynn had passed away over the weekend. Lynn was only 56 years old. She was such a wonderful writer and generous spirit. Mark told me Lynn's passing was peaceful, and he was content that she was in the hands of the Lord. I told Mark Lynn was in our hearts and prayers and not to worry about mailing back the entries--he had enough to worry about.
The sweet part of the experience came when my dear friend Louella Turner, CEO and publisher of High Hill Press, and also a Pushcart Prize nominated writer, did not hesitate when I asked her to serve as judge in Lynn's place. Lou was thrilled to judge the entries, almost 90 of them. Fortunately, the rules asked for two copies of all entries. I delivered the second copies to Lou in late November, and she immediately got busy judging, which was blindly, so she did not know whose story she was reading. She not only judged the stories, she also provided comments about her experience. You can read Lou's comments on the Saturday Writers Contests page.
Here are the names of the winning entries:
And the winners are:
1st Place "To Touch the Moon" Lisa Tiffin; West Henrietta, New York
2nd Place "Myrtle" Pat Wahler; St. Peters, Missouri
3rd Place "Peligro" Wilma Gore; Sedona, Arizona
4th Place "The Baby" Evan Guilford-Blake; Stone Mountain, Georgia
5th Place "Firebreak" Doyle Suit; St. Charles, Missouri
6th Place "These Boots" Lisa Tiffin; West Henrietta, New York
7th Place "The Darkness of the Pines" Jerrel Swingle; O'Fallon, Missouri
8th Place "Marge" Charles King; Springfield, Missouri
9th Place "Streets of Gold" Nancy Peacock; Fort Smith, Arkansas
10 Place "Splashdown" Brenda Brinkley; Marshfield, MO
Honorable Mention
"Owen Bentley" Jean M. Emrick; Tuscon, Arizona
"Revelation at the Hacienda" Lonnie Whitaker; High Ridge, Missouri
"The Last Time I Saw Herbie" Charles King; Springfield, Missouri
"Misery and the 8N" Terry Alexander; Proum, Oklahoma
"Redneck GPS' Russell Gayer; Fayetteville, Arkansas
"A Grief Too Astray" Zac Walsh; Hayward, California
"Mingled Tears" Lilah Continue; St. Charles, Missouri
"Daddy" Cathy C. Hall; Lilburn, Georgia
"The Man Who Loved His Refrigerator" Dimetra Makris; Amherst, Massachusetts
Congratulations to all whose names are listed below, and thanks to everyone who entered the contest. Part of the contest fees help fund our children's contest and annual meeting. Submitters retain all rights to their stories.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Mid Rivers Review Open for Submissions
The Mid Rivers Review is the literary journal of St. Charles Community College. The MRR is published annually by the SCCC English Department and contains poetry, prose, and artwork contributed by students, staff, faculty, and area residents.
My short stories have been included in three issues of MRR, and the English Department at SCCC does an excellent job producing the journal. Teddy Norris is the journal's editor, and I found her easy to work with and very helpful. She accepts original, unpublished poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, and artistic black and white photos, from September through January.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
A Missouri Redneck Christmas Poem
Today in St. Peters, MO: Chance of showers, high 45 degrees.
A Missouri Redneck Christmas Poem
The week before Christmas in a small Missouri town
a dusting of snow fell down to the ground.
The trees were all sprinkled with flakes from above,
and throughout the woods spread a feeling of love.
When across the vast forest what should appear
but a painted red sleigh with eight mounted reindeer.
Inside the sled my brother-in-law Steve sat,
wearing a Cardinals sweatshirt and camouflage hat.
Huddled next to Steve, sat sweet sister Bridget with antlers and smile,
hoping her Budweiser hoodie would keep her warm for awhile.
The Missouri Redneck sled, built by my niece Angie’s husband Paul,
was mounted on his quad-runner, with deer heads from their family-room wall.
I share this photo so one and all can see why I so “deerly” love my family
We're not phony or fake and we have a good time,
But I must apologize for my attempt at this rhyme.
As Christmas draws near, I wish you much joy and good cheer,
Maybe one day you’ll ride in a sled with eight mounted reindeer.
Merry Christmas! Donna Volkenannt
Monday, December 21, 2009
River Styx - Fourth Annual Schlafly Beer Micro-Brew Micro-Fiction Contest
Rules: 500 words maximum per story, up to three stories per entry.
Friday, December 18, 2009
A Question from Woman's Day Magazine
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Summerfield G. Roberts Award
Here's an interesting writing competition from the Lone Star State. If you've ever lived in Texas, you know it is a state like no other. Walt completed his basic training at Lackland AFB outside of San Antonio in 1967, and our family lived in El Paso in the mid 80s when he and I both worked as civilian employees for the Army at Fort Bliss. Living in Texas was a memorable experience for us and our children.
Back to the award: The Summerfield G. Roberts Award is presented by Sons of the Republic of Texas to encourage literary effort and research about historical events and personalities during the days of the Republic of Texas (1836-1846).
In Texas, they do things big--the cash award of $2,500 is for manuscripts written or published during the calendar year for which the award is given. The award is made possible through the generosity of the late Mr. and Mrs. Summerfield G. Roberts of Dallas.
Manuscripts may be fiction, nonfiction, poems, essays, plays, short stories, novels, or biographies. The competition is open to writers everywhere. Deadline is Jan 15. For complete guidelines and to find out more about the Summerfield G. Roberts Award, visit their website. Good luck, y'all.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Christmas Miracles - And the Winner Is . . .
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
BookReporter's Holiday Basket of Cheer Contest Deadline Dec 17
To enter, complete this form and answer a question by Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 11:59PM (Eastern Time). You can find the answer by reading an excerpt from PRAYERS FOR SALE by Stella Dallas.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Writer's Digest is Looking for Your Story
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Christmas Miracles Book Giveaway
Yesterday I had a wonderful surprise from Dianna Graveman, a good writing friend of mine. Dianna e-mailed and asked if I would like to have a couple copies of the book Christmas Miracles, edited by Cecil Murphey and Marley Gibson. Cecil Murphey is the New York Times bestselling co-author, along with Don Piper, of 90 Minutes in Heaven.
Dianna's heart-warming story, "Milton's Gift," is included in the CHRISTMAS MIRACLES anthology. She very generously offered to donate two copies of her book. One copy is for my 22-year-old niece, Alexandra, who has recently begun chemo and radiation treatments to halt the spread of brain cancer. Alexandra is in need of a miracle--and prayer.
The second copy is to give away here on Donna's Book Pub. Last night Dianna stopped by for a few minutes to deliver the books; she even autographed the copy for Alexandra. We had a nice chat about families and writing and overcoming obstacles in our lives.
So, to pass along Dianna's generous gift, I would like to offer a copy of CHRISTMAS MIRACLES to one of my blog visitors. Here's all you have to do to win the copy:
Christmas is such a special time of year, if you have a special Christmas memory you would like to share, please post it here so we can read it. For sharing your story, you could be selected as the lucky winner of the book. Post your story between now and Dec 15. One winner will be selected at random. The winner's name will be announced here on Dec 16.
Also, please visit Dianna's blog Write in the Midwest to learn details about a special on-line chat next week with the contributors of the CHRISTMAS MIRACLES anthology. I will also post a link to the chat room later this week.
Thanks, Dianna, and good luck to everyone who drops by to post a comment.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Mississippi Review Online Wants Your Flash Fiction
So, if you have something that fits their guidelines, send it. If you don't, write it, but quick about it because the Dec 15 deadline will be here--well, in a flash!
Monday, December 7, 2009
WOW! Call for Query Submissions: YA Issue
Interviews with YA authors about the craft of writing and marketing YA.
Interviews with YA editors or agents and what they’re looking for. What aren’t they getting?
Should YA authors find an agent or editor or does it matter?
YA authors and social networking/blogs: Do they target their teen fans or their writing colleagues or both? Special challenges of having teen fans.
What makes a book YA? The difference from tween and middle grade.
Edgy subjects in YA: are there any that are too edgy? What about language?
The use of technology in YA books—when does it date your ms? Do you need to put in e-mail, texting, Twitter and so on in contemporary novels now? How does having cell phones change the plots of novels?
YA non-fiction: What types of subjects are authors writing about now for teens? Is this an 'easy' sale for authors and publishers?
Trends: Is everybody writing about vampires? What’s the hot thing coming up? Should you write about trends?
We’re open to any ideas you may have for this issue. Please review our past children’s issues to check for YA topics we’ve already covered:
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/27-issue.html
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/14-issue.html
If you have an idea for an article or interview, please query us at submissions (at) wow-womenonwriting (dot) com.
Writer’s Guidelines: http://wow-womenonwriting.com/contact.php
Pay: $50 - $150 per article.
Looking forward to reading your queries,"
Margo Dill
http://margodill.com/blog/
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
St. Louis Writers Guild Annual Short Story Contest
Here's a contest with a quick deadline--and a $300 first-place prize. The St. Louis Writers Guild Annual Short Story Contest has a postmark deadline on or before December 5. According to the guild's promotional material, this is one of the "oldest, if not the oldest, writing contests in the country." TENNESSEE WILLIAMS won first place in this contest in 1935 for his story, Stella for Star.
Writers do not need to be a member of the SLWG in order to participate in this contest. The entry fee is $15, and entries must be postmarked on or before December 5, 2009. The judge for this contest will be best selling thriller author JOHN LUTZ.
Here is a link to the complete contest guidelines. Good luck!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Can you believe it's December already? I can't. This year, Christmas is at my house, so I'll be busy--like everyone else--but I wanted to post some contest listings from Poets and Writers with deadlines this month.
Here's a link to their submission calendar, which lists more than 55 contests for December.
Good luck!
Donna
Mysteries of the Ozarks, Volume V - Interviews with Lonnie Whitaker and Dr. Barri Bumgarner
Here is the second installment of interviews with contributors who have stories in Mysteries of the Ozarks, Volume V , from Ozark Writers, I...
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I'm pleased today to host award-winning writer Jan Morrill to Donna's Book Pub. Jan was born and (mostly) raised in California....
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I'm in shock. This afternoon I received a call from the Erma Bombeck Contest Coordinator at the Washington Centerville Public Library ...
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I'm so pleased to welcome as my guest today Carol Kilgore . I love visiting Carol's blog, Under the Tiki Hut . Carol is a Texas...