This first one is an Irish website with some useful things GO HERE
The other one I found on the site and its a free fun contest to win a writers holiday in Ireland!CONTEST
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Free contest - female writers - sorry guys!
Deadline: 10 May 2011
Do you ever dream about being a best-selling novelist with the literary world at your feet? Well, calling all unpublished female writers: if you’re bursting with creative talent and have lots of good ideas, this is your opportunity! Grazia in conjunction with the Orange Prize for Fiction, are launching an amazing ‘first chapter’ competition to find budding new female writing talent.
Writers often say the opening paragraph is the hardest part of the novel process, so we’ve invited international best-selling author, Kate Mosse (Labyrinth, Sepulchre and The Winter Ghosts) to write the introduction for you (see below). What you need to do now is ‘finish off’ the first chapter in 1,000 words. It’s up to you where you take the story: what we’re looking for is brilliant, original and imaginative writing. The winner will be announced at the Orange Prize for Fiction award ceremony in June – where you will be in illustrious company with some of the world’s top literary editors, agents, publishers and of course novelists.
So, here goes…
Kate Mosse has started off the story - The Deadline - below. Can you finish this first chapter off in 1000 words?
The Deadline
She stood looking up at the house. At the blank grey walls, the shuttered windows with empty boxes on the concrete sills, the stern front door. The house said nothing about what it was or what took place inside, it was unassuming and nondescript and uninviting. She'd come here several times before, but never got the courage to go in. Now, there was no choice. The deadline was today, no last chance of a reprieve or change of heart. If she was going to do it, it had to be now. She shivered, chill from the sudden drop in temperature now the light was fading, or from excitement or from fear, she didn't know. Also, the sense of possibility that, by pressing this suburban doorbell, her life could - would - alter for good. But still she lingered on the unwashed step, picking at a thread of wool come loose from her glove, caught between the girl she was and the woman she might be. A deadline she never thought she would face…
So, what happens next? Let us know in 1,000 words.
YOUR ENTRY MUST INCLUDE
1. An original 1,000 word ‘first chapter’ on The Deadline, which follows on from Kate Mosse’s first paragraph.
2. A brief autobiography of 50 words.
3. Your full name and address.
4. All entries should be submitted no later than 10 MAY to either Victoria Harper, 189 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JG or Victoria.Harper@graziamagazine.co.uk
WHAT YOU'LL WIN
First prize is £1,000 and the publication of your story in Grazia. The winner will also attend the exclusive awards party at the Royal Festival Hall on 8 June where they will receive their award on stage (prize includes travel and hotel). Two runners-up will each receive £500 and publication of their stories right here on Grazia Daily. All three winners will receive copies of the six shortlisted books for this year's Orange Prize for Fiction.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Only one entry will be accepted per person. The closing date for receipt of competition entries is 10 May 2011. The competition is only open to UK residents over the age of 18, who do not have an existing or previous contract with a publishing house. Entry to the competition and acceptance of the prize constitutes permission to use any winner's name, image and any competition entry photograph, for promotional and/or editorial purposes without additional consultation, and acceptance of these rules. By entering you agree that, should you win, Grazia will have first publication rights to your entry with exclusivity for a period of 56 days following publication. This competition is not open to employees of Bauer or our competition partners or their direct family members. The winner/s will be selected by the judging panel. Entries must include the story (1,000 words maximum), autobiography (50 words maximum) and their full name and address. Entries in the incorrect format will not be considered. Entries cannot be returned. Entrants must produce all writing themselves, without any assistance, and the completed piece must be the result of their own labours. Entrants warrant to BAUER UK that nothing within the piece is libellous, obscene, or in any way infringes the copyright or rights of third parties. Only the winner/s will be contacted personally. The name of the winner/s will be available by sending a SAE to Grazia and Orange First Chapter award, 189 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JG. Entrants must be available to travel to London on 8 June for the prize-giving ceremony. First Prize for two people includes: Q Travel to and from London (standard class rail within mainland UK; flights from NI only). Q Luxury hotel accommodation (bed & breakfast only). Q All additional expenses to be paid by Prize Winner (eg bar bills, meals) Q Two tickets to the Orange Prize for Fiction 2011 awards ceremony on 8 June 2011. Prizes must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred although BAUER UK reserves the right to change the prizes in the event of unforeseen circumstances. There will be no cash alternative. Bauer Media does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt. Bauer Media’s decision is final in every situation and no correspondence will be entered into. Bauer Media shall be permitted to exclude any entrant at any time at its sole discretion.
Contact Information:
For inquiries: Victoria.harper@graziamagazine.co.uk
For submissions: Victoria.harper@graziamagazine.co.uk
Website: http://www.graziadaily.co.uk
Do you ever dream about being a best-selling novelist with the literary world at your feet? Well, calling all unpublished female writers: if you’re bursting with creative talent and have lots of good ideas, this is your opportunity! Grazia in conjunction with the Orange Prize for Fiction, are launching an amazing ‘first chapter’ competition to find budding new female writing talent.
Writers often say the opening paragraph is the hardest part of the novel process, so we’ve invited international best-selling author, Kate Mosse (Labyrinth, Sepulchre and The Winter Ghosts) to write the introduction for you (see below). What you need to do now is ‘finish off’ the first chapter in 1,000 words. It’s up to you where you take the story: what we’re looking for is brilliant, original and imaginative writing. The winner will be announced at the Orange Prize for Fiction award ceremony in June – where you will be in illustrious company with some of the world’s top literary editors, agents, publishers and of course novelists.
So, here goes…
Kate Mosse has started off the story - The Deadline - below. Can you finish this first chapter off in 1000 words?
The Deadline
She stood looking up at the house. At the blank grey walls, the shuttered windows with empty boxes on the concrete sills, the stern front door. The house said nothing about what it was or what took place inside, it was unassuming and nondescript and uninviting. She'd come here several times before, but never got the courage to go in. Now, there was no choice. The deadline was today, no last chance of a reprieve or change of heart. If she was going to do it, it had to be now. She shivered, chill from the sudden drop in temperature now the light was fading, or from excitement or from fear, she didn't know. Also, the sense of possibility that, by pressing this suburban doorbell, her life could - would - alter for good. But still she lingered on the unwashed step, picking at a thread of wool come loose from her glove, caught between the girl she was and the woman she might be. A deadline she never thought she would face…
So, what happens next? Let us know in 1,000 words.
YOUR ENTRY MUST INCLUDE
1. An original 1,000 word ‘first chapter’ on The Deadline, which follows on from Kate Mosse’s first paragraph.
2. A brief autobiography of 50 words.
3. Your full name and address.
4. All entries should be submitted no later than 10 MAY to either Victoria Harper, 189 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JG or Victoria.Harper@graziamagazine.co.uk
WHAT YOU'LL WIN
First prize is £1,000 and the publication of your story in Grazia. The winner will also attend the exclusive awards party at the Royal Festival Hall on 8 June where they will receive their award on stage (prize includes travel and hotel). Two runners-up will each receive £500 and publication of their stories right here on Grazia Daily. All three winners will receive copies of the six shortlisted books for this year's Orange Prize for Fiction.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Only one entry will be accepted per person. The closing date for receipt of competition entries is 10 May 2011. The competition is only open to UK residents over the age of 18, who do not have an existing or previous contract with a publishing house. Entry to the competition and acceptance of the prize constitutes permission to use any winner's name, image and any competition entry photograph, for promotional and/or editorial purposes without additional consultation, and acceptance of these rules. By entering you agree that, should you win, Grazia will have first publication rights to your entry with exclusivity for a period of 56 days following publication. This competition is not open to employees of Bauer or our competition partners or their direct family members. The winner/s will be selected by the judging panel. Entries must include the story (1,000 words maximum), autobiography (50 words maximum) and their full name and address. Entries in the incorrect format will not be considered. Entries cannot be returned. Entrants must produce all writing themselves, without any assistance, and the completed piece must be the result of their own labours. Entrants warrant to BAUER UK that nothing within the piece is libellous, obscene, or in any way infringes the copyright or rights of third parties. Only the winner/s will be contacted personally. The name of the winner/s will be available by sending a SAE to Grazia and Orange First Chapter award, 189 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JG. Entrants must be available to travel to London on 8 June for the prize-giving ceremony. First Prize for two people includes: Q Travel to and from London (standard class rail within mainland UK; flights from NI only). Q Luxury hotel accommodation (bed & breakfast only). Q All additional expenses to be paid by Prize Winner (eg bar bills, meals) Q Two tickets to the Orange Prize for Fiction 2011 awards ceremony on 8 June 2011. Prizes must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred although BAUER UK reserves the right to change the prizes in the event of unforeseen circumstances. There will be no cash alternative. Bauer Media does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt. Bauer Media’s decision is final in every situation and no correspondence will be entered into. Bauer Media shall be permitted to exclude any entrant at any time at its sole discretion.
Contact Information:
For inquiries: Victoria.harper@graziamagazine.co.uk
For submissions: Victoria.harper@graziamagazine.co.uk
Website: http://www.graziadaily.co.uk
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Exercise for May meeting
The 'homework' to be done ready for the next meeting is to write a 10 minute play for radio. It must be a mystery. If possible please bring extra copies to the meeting so you can 'cast' your play for reading aloud.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Harry Bowling Prize
This is from Sue Moorcrofts blog If you're an unpublished novelist - check out the details!
Monday, March 14, 2011
For Fantasy Writers
FantasyCon 2011 is delighted to announce author and screenwriter Peter
Atkins as its third Guest of Honour. Peter was born in Liverpool and
now lives in Los Angeles. He is the author of the novels Morningstar,
Big Thunder, and Moontown and the screenplays Hellraiser II, Hellraiser
III, Hellraiser IV, Wishmaster, and Prisoners of the Sun. His short
fiction has appeared in such best-selling anthologies as The Museum of
Horrors, Dark Delicacies II, and Hellbound Hearts and has been selected
four times for the award-winning annual Best New Horror. Magazines to
which he has contributed include Weird Tales, The Magazine of Fantasy
and Science Fiction, Postscripts and Cemetery Dance and he has also
written for the stage and for television. He is the co-founder, with
Dennis Etchison and Glen Hirshberg, of The Rolling Darkness Revue, who
tour the west coast annually bringing ghost stories and live music to
any venue that’ll put up with them. 2009’s Spook City was a three-
author collection featuring him alongside his fellow Liverpudlians
Clive Barker and Ramsey Campbell, and a new collection of his short
fiction is to be published in October 2011.
FANTASYCON 2011 will be held over the weekend of 30th September to 2nd
October 2011 at the Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton; venue for the highly
successful 2010 World Horror Convention.
Peter joins existing Guests of Honour: World Fantasy Award-winning
author and critic GWYNETH JONES, also known as Ann Halam, and Swedish
horror writer JOHN AJVIDE LINDQVIST, author of the best-selling LET THE
RIGHT ONE IN, which was adapted into a movie first in his native Sweden
and more recently remade in the U.S. as LET ME IN, starring Chloe
Moretz from KICK ASS. Our first Special Guest is BRIAN ALDISS, author
of more than eighty novels, both mainstream and science fiction,
including Frankenstein Unbound,The Helliconia Trilogy and Harm to name
just a few; and innumerable short stories, including 'Super-Toys Last
All Summer Long,' which was filmed as A.I. Brian has also edited many
anthologies, acted in performances of his plays, and is also an artist.
Brian will be attending on the Saturday and Sunday of the Convention (
1st and 2nd October)
MISTRESS OF CEREMONIES is SARAH PINBOROUGH, British Fantasy Award-
winning Author of The Language of Dying and A Matter of Blood.
Other professional writers, artists, editors and publishers already
registered as attending FantasyCon 2011 include: Guy Adams, Scott
Andrews, James Barclay, Anne Billson, Ramsey Campbell, Mike Carey,
Vincent Chong, Peter Crowther (PS Publishing), Joseph D’Lacey, Les
Edwards, Christopher Fowler, Simon R. Green, David J. Howe (Telos
Books), Stephen Jones, Paul Kane, Jasper Kent, M.D. Lachlan, Michael
Marshall Smith, Suzanne McLeod, Gary McMahon, Adam L.G. Nevill, Kim
Newman, Nicholas Royle, Robert Shearman, Mike Shevdon, Steve Tribe (BBC
Books), Lisa Tuttle, Ian Whates (Newcon Press), Rio Youers and many
more.
Current cost of registration stands at £50 (£45 to BFS members), costs
will increase incrementally between now and the convention (next
increase due on 1st April 2011). To book your ticket, and for more
information about the Guests or MC, please visit the website: www.
fantasycon2011.org.
FANTASYCON 2011
www.fantasycon2011.org
Atkins as its third Guest of Honour. Peter was born in Liverpool and
now lives in Los Angeles. He is the author of the novels Morningstar,
Big Thunder, and Moontown and the screenplays Hellraiser II, Hellraiser
III, Hellraiser IV, Wishmaster, and Prisoners of the Sun. His short
fiction has appeared in such best-selling anthologies as The Museum of
Horrors, Dark Delicacies II, and Hellbound Hearts and has been selected
four times for the award-winning annual Best New Horror. Magazines to
which he has contributed include Weird Tales, The Magazine of Fantasy
and Science Fiction, Postscripts and Cemetery Dance and he has also
written for the stage and for television. He is the co-founder, with
Dennis Etchison and Glen Hirshberg, of The Rolling Darkness Revue, who
tour the west coast annually bringing ghost stories and live music to
any venue that’ll put up with them. 2009’s Spook City was a three-
author collection featuring him alongside his fellow Liverpudlians
Clive Barker and Ramsey Campbell, and a new collection of his short
fiction is to be published in October 2011.
FANTASYCON 2011 will be held over the weekend of 30th September to 2nd
October 2011 at the Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton; venue for the highly
successful 2010 World Horror Convention.
Peter joins existing Guests of Honour: World Fantasy Award-winning
author and critic GWYNETH JONES, also known as Ann Halam, and Swedish
horror writer JOHN AJVIDE LINDQVIST, author of the best-selling LET THE
RIGHT ONE IN, which was adapted into a movie first in his native Sweden
and more recently remade in the U.S. as LET ME IN, starring Chloe
Moretz from KICK ASS. Our first Special Guest is BRIAN ALDISS, author
of more than eighty novels, both mainstream and science fiction,
including Frankenstein Unbound,The Helliconia Trilogy and Harm to name
just a few; and innumerable short stories, including 'Super-Toys Last
All Summer Long,' which was filmed as A.I. Brian has also edited many
anthologies, acted in performances of his plays, and is also an artist.
Brian will be attending on the Saturday and Sunday of the Convention (
1st and 2nd October)
MISTRESS OF CEREMONIES is SARAH PINBOROUGH, British Fantasy Award-
winning Author of The Language of Dying and A Matter of Blood.
Other professional writers, artists, editors and publishers already
registered as attending FantasyCon 2011 include: Guy Adams, Scott
Andrews, James Barclay, Anne Billson, Ramsey Campbell, Mike Carey,
Vincent Chong, Peter Crowther (PS Publishing), Joseph D’Lacey, Les
Edwards, Christopher Fowler, Simon R. Green, David J. Howe (Telos
Books), Stephen Jones, Paul Kane, Jasper Kent, M.D. Lachlan, Michael
Marshall Smith, Suzanne McLeod, Gary McMahon, Adam L.G. Nevill, Kim
Newman, Nicholas Royle, Robert Shearman, Mike Shevdon, Steve Tribe (BBC
Books), Lisa Tuttle, Ian Whates (Newcon Press), Rio Youers and many
more.
Current cost of registration stands at £50 (£45 to BFS members), costs
will increase incrementally between now and the convention (next
increase due on 1st April 2011). To book your ticket, and for more
information about the Guests or MC, please visit the website: www.
fantasycon2011.org.
FANTASYCON 2011
www.fantasycon2011.org
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Worcs Lit Fest
Check it out Festival this June in Worcester! It doesn't say which writers etc will be visiting yet but worth bookmarking. Also volunteering opportunities available.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Poetry?
Homework for next month's meeting.
Write 3 poems with a common theme.
Poem One to be a Haiku - 3 lines 5-7-5 syllable count.
Poem Two to be a Tanka - A five line 5-7-5-7-7 syllable count.
Poem Three to be a Triolet - An eight line poem with a rhyming pattern
1.A
2.B
3.a
4.A
5.a
6.b
7.A
8.B
Lines 1,4 and 7 are repeats. Lines 2 and 8 are repeats.
Write 3 poems with a common theme.
Poem One to be a Haiku - 3 lines 5-7-5 syllable count.
Poem Two to be a Tanka - A five line 5-7-5-7-7 syllable count.
Poem Three to be a Triolet - An eight line poem with a rhyming pattern
1.A
2.B
3.a
4.A
5.a
6.b
7.A
8.B
Lines 1,4 and 7 are repeats. Lines 2 and 8 are repeats.
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