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 Friday, August 17, 2007
Friday's Feast
Posted by Rachel
Here are a few venues and contests you may not know about.
1. Horror. Pseudopod is a horror podcast magazine. They post a new story every week, and the stories and readers are pretty good. Ben Phillips is the editor. They will take horror stories of 2000-6000 words, but they prefer 3000-5000 words. They also take flash fiction, with a preferred length of 500-1000 words. They pay $50 for the short stories and $20 for flash fiction. Oh, and they accept previously published material.
2. Fantasy. Launching this month, PodCastle is an audio ezine run by editors Rachel Swirsky & Ann Leckie. They’re asking for fantasy stories of 1000-6000 and will pay $20-100. The editors will have their performers read your story if it’s accepted. It’s a sister site to Pseudopod, so PodCastle is likely to turn out quality material. PodCastle prefers to work with previously published material.
3. Contest. Cream City Review sponsors the A. David Schwartz Fiction Prize. This year's judge is Michael Martone. The deadline for this year's contest is December 1. Prize is $1,000 plus publication. Entries should be less than 30 pages and there is a $15 entry fee.
4. Contest. Dzanc Books is sponsoring the “Inaugural Dzanc Prize – a monetary award to a writer with both a work in progress, and an interest in performing some form of literary community service.” Winner receives $5,000 and no requirement to submit their finished work to Dzanc. To submit, send your current cv, a ten page excerpt from your work in progress and your idea for literary community service. Deadline is November 1st. The winner will be announced in December.
Congrats to Elif Batuman, Sarah Braunstein, Robin Ekiss, Alma García, Jennifer Grotz and Holly Goddard Jones for being honored with the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Awards. They will each receive a $25,000 grant and be honored at a ceremony in New York City on September 27. These awards focus on women at the beginning of their careers and are the only national literary awards for women.
Market Info
8/17/2007 11:23:29 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Thursday, August 16, 2007
Preview of 2008 NSSWM-Lisa See
Posted by Rachel
The latest edition of NSSWM comes out this month, as you know from the newsletter. I'm going to start posting excerpts to give you a taste of what's in this latest volume.
First up we have an interview with Lisa See by Janice Gable Bashman. See's latest novel, Peony in Love, is a ghost story set in 17th century China about three women who were married to the same man (personally, I wouldn't marry a man whose wives kept dying).Incorporating historical fact and myths into fiction seems like a duanting process. What methods do you use to make this process successful?
I think you have to get very straight in your mind what you want your story to be. I over-research, use it all, and then cut a tremendous amount of it. As a teenager, I used to read James Michner. He did all this research, but I came to it as a reader, the story would stop dead. I would skip paragraphs and sometimes pages. So I really watch out for that in my own work. For a short time, I need to be world's greatest expert on a subject. The art comes in cutting most of it out and letting the characters tell their story. What I hope happens is that the history and the research are holding the story like a good foundation, not like a big brick wall separating the reader from the charcaters, the emotions and the action.
Myths are a little different. Why are you using a myth? If it pertains to the story, then use it. If it doesn't and you just happen to like the myth, then it shouldn't be there. It has to have some meaning in the story you're trying to sell.
Get the 2008 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market to read the rest of the interview where See talks about the compelling nature of Peony in Love, her creative process and the role of See's Chinese heritage in her novels.
8/16/2007 2:54:52 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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New publisher & editor
Posted by Rachel
People are moving around again.
Simon Spotlight Entertainment has named Carl Raymond as their new associate publisher. Starting September 5, he will do some acquisitions but will mostly work on marketing and publicity.
Congrats to Julie Strauss-Gabel for her promotion to associate editorial director at Dutton Children's. She will continue to acquire and edit titles and will help with developing the list, positioning titles and long-term planning.
Revolving Door
8/16/2007 11:10:40 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, August 14, 2007
More on E-books
Posted by Rachel
I have a confession. I have never read an e-book. At least, not the way it's supposed to be read. I love having real pages to turn, and I just can't get my eyes to accept the idea of reading that much text on a screen, small or large. Others, however, are huge advocates.
In the August newsletter (sign up if you're not on the list), I comment on an article about e-book readers and ask what you think of using e-books. After I finished the newsletter and sent it to IT, I found an article in PW Daily that highlights DailyLit, a new company that sends you books in installment emails, and their addition of new titles and publishers.
Between ezines, e-books and email installment reading, I wonder if the structure of novels is going to change again. Could technology nudge writing towards the way we wrote when it was common practice to have stories published serially in newspapers and magazines, or will nothing change? Is anyone writing specifically for e-books or similar media? How is it different from writing for print publishers? I guess my zillion questions boil down to two: How do you feel about reading books digitally instead of in print format? Is there, and will there be, a difference in how we write electric versus print books? (Ok, so it's three questions since the second question is two-fold, but that's just if you want to get technical.) Update: We've heard from several people in favor of paperbacks, but I would like to hear from some people who like e-books and have actaully used a reader. Is there anyone?
8/14/2007 4:43:43 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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So whatd'ya drive?
Posted by Lauren
Walking down my street this morning on the way to my car, I saw a neighbor's little blue Toyota with the best bumper sticker I've seen in a while: My other car is a Pynchon novel.
This started my Tuesday off on the perfect foot, and I had to share it with you. Anybody else out there got any great literary bumper stickers? (And just what kind of car do you think a Pynchon novel would be?)
8/14/2007 11:04:04 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, August 13, 2007
Marvel Comics at the ballpark
Posted by Rachel
Here's a fun bit to start off Monday morning. Marvel Comics has teamed up with the Triple-A League to have free comic nights at all 30 minor league baseball parks. They've created a special comic, Triple-A Baseball Heroes, that will be given away at the ballparks for one night. The comic features Spider-Man, Iron-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Incredible Hulk. This is a good chance for comic fans to get a special comic, and for those who've never read a comic to get an idea of what everyone is talking about. Unfortunately, some of the events have already happened. I went through the list ICv2 provided and gleaned the ones that haven't happened yet. Sadly, the ones in my area have already passed.
Albuquerque Isotopes - Tuesday, August 14, 2007 Charlotte Knights - Sunday, August 19, 2007
Durham Bulls - Thursday, August 16, 2007
Nashville Sounds - Friday, August 17, 2007
New Orleans Zephyrs - Saturday, August 18, 2007
Norfolk Tides - Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Oklahoma RedHawks - Friday, August 17, 2007
Omaha Royals - Monday, August 20, 2007
Ottawa Lynx - Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Pawtucket Red Sox - Friday, August 31, 2007
Portland Beavers - Sunday, September 02, 2007
Richmond Braves - Sunday, September 02, 2007
Round Rock Express - Monday, August 20, 2007
Salt Lake Bees - Monday, August 13, 2007
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees - Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Syracuse Chiefs - Saturday, August 25, 2007
Toledo Mud Hens - Wednesday, August 29, 2007
I wonder how many kids, and adults, will be reading instead of watching the game...
8/13/2007 10:00:43 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, August 10, 2007
Literal value of the written word
Posted by Rachel
Two different stories have come up recently on the value of written material.
First is the discovery of the long-lost manuscript of Pearl S. Buck's novel "The Good Earth." The typeset, hand edited first draft was lost for 40 years. The ownership of this manuscript, Buck’s first draft, has been resolved between Buck’s heirs and the non-profit Pearl S. Buck International. The family will own the manuscript, but Buck International will display it. Side note: I love that they had to kick out the lawyers to get things resolved.
We think of Timbuktu as the end of the earth, a place to disappear, but government officials, scholars and local residents are working to revive the city by focusing on something very valuable: books. Family libraries in the region go back over 500 years, and the knowledge contained in those books is being made available to scholars. Even the writings in the margins give insight and knowledge not available elsewhere. A modern facility is being built to house these valuble books in the hopes of helping Timbuktu become an intellectual capital not just for Mali and South Africa, but for the world. The Buck manuscript is valuble because of what it is, while the family libraries in Timbuktu are valuable for what they contain. Let's say that someone finds your manuscript 100 years from now. Would you rather the find be valuable because it's YOUR original work, or because of what is found between the pages?
8/10/2007 10:52:17 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, August 09, 2007
Superheroes are the new black
Posted by Lauren
Inspired by Poets & Writers' coverage this month of "Superhero Lit," I had to post this picture that one of my friends in our Marketing Department sent back from the recent San Diego Comic-Con. Apparently, these Superman tote bags were all the rage at the show, and this mega-fan decided they were cute enough to wear. (Love the strap-turned-sash.)
  But more important than fashion (at least to me, anyway) is the impact the resurgence of comics has had on fiction. P&W cites the recent books Soon I Will Be Invincible, by Austin Grossman; Superpowers, by David Schwartz; and Falling Boy, by Alison McGee as proof of the post-Kavalier and Clay wave of superhero mania. I love demigods in tights as much as the next (Bat)girl, but why do you think our literary culture is embracing superheroes so much these days? Is it just to capitalize on the success of recent box-office smashes, or is there more to it? What does it say about us as writers and readers?
I have my own theories, but I'd love to hear yours ...
(Thanks to Justin for the photo ... and to our lovely model, wherever she may be.)
8/9/2007 10:52:57 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Contest with a prompt
Posted by Rachel
I found a new little online magazine called On the Premises. Their set-up is a little different. On the Premises refers to itself as a contest-based magazine. Every four months they have a contest where writers are asked to pen a short story based on the premise the editors give them. Then the editors judge the stories blindly, and winners receive a cash prize and publication in the magazine. The only way into the magazine is through the contest, but the different part is that there's no entry fee.
If you want to check it out, the current contest premise revolves around a main character being in disguise. Contest deadline is September 30th. What do you think of their approach? The premises so far have involved an interrupted journey and a means of detecting the undetectable. It's interesting to see the completely different routes people take on the same premise. The July issue has stories written in fantasy, sci-fi, thriller/mystery and literary styles. There's a story about throwing stones in patterns to determine who will be the best ruler for a kingdom, a competency test for robot nannies and the creation of a machine that can tell whether or not a poem is good. What makes On the Premises an enjoyable read is seeing the different treatments of the premise. Reading the different uses of the same premise is one way to see how much a writer brings to the table. Plus the cartoons ( here and here) are funny.
Market Info
8/7/2007 4:04:14 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, August 06, 2007
What book got YOU hooked?
Posted by Lauren
I was just reading PW Daily and I came across a fabulous awareness campaign sponsored by First Book, a children’s literacy organization that provides new books to children from low-income families, called "What Book Got You Hooked?" In it, tons of famous authors—from Joyce Carol Oates to Kate DiCamillo—and celebrities like John Lithgow and Ed Norton are talking about the books that made them readers. The top 5 responses are:
(1) Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene
(2) Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
(3) Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
(4) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
(5) The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss So what book changed your life and made you a life-long bibliophile and writer? I think mine might have been Beverly Cleary's whole Ramona Quimby series. (Clocking in at #16!) Or maybe Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends. Or maybe Encyclopedia Brown ...
8/6/2007 5:01:12 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Validation! (And way to go, Brock!)
Posted by Lauren
In my very first post last month, I mentioned that I'd just read a fabulous book by my good friend Brock Clarke, An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England. This morning while reading Publisher's Lunch, I saw the September BookSense picks (best books chosen by independent booksellers), and what should be #1 ...? Can I pick 'em or what? ;) If you haven't read this book yet, you should. It's that good. And here are the other September BookSense picks, in case you're looking for one (or 20) final summer read(s) ... The absolute best thing you can do to improve your writing craft is read voraciously! September Book Sense Picks1. AN ARSONIST'S GUIDE TO WRITERS' HOMES IN NEW ENGLAND: A Novel, by Brock Clarke AWAY: A Novel, by Amy Bloom SOUL CATCHER: A Novel, by Michael C. White GARDEN SPELLS: A Novel, by Sarah Addison Allen THE STREET OF A THOUSAND BLOSSOMS: A Novel, by Gail Tsukiyama THE REINCARNATIONIST: A Novel of Suspense, by M.J. Rose LIFE ON THE REFRIGERATOR DOOR: Notes Between a Mother and Daughter: A Novel, by Alice Kuipers HEARTSICK, by Chelsea Cain THE END OF THE ALPHABET: A Novel, by C.S. Richardson WASH THIS BLOOD CLEAN FROM MY HAND: A Commissaire Adamsberg Mystery, by Fred Vargas A CONCISE CHINESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY FOR LOVERS: A Novel, by Xialou Guo SONGS WITHOUT WORDS: A Novel, by Ann Packer THE USED WORLD: A Novel, by Haven Kimmel WALK ON, BRIGHT BOY: A Novel, by Charles Davis THE SPANISH BOW, by Andromeda Romano-Lax STRAWBERRY FIELDS: A Novel, by Marina Lewycka UNDER ENEMY COLORS: A Novel, by S. Thomas Russell GRUB: A Novel, by Elise Blackwell MY LADY JUDGE: A Mystery of Medieval Ireland, by Cora Harrison POWER PLAY: A Novel, by Joseph Finder
8/6/2007 10:49:51 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, August 03, 2007
Fond Farewell. Got anything new?
Posted by Rachel
As is the nature of things, another good thing has come to an end. A few weeks ago I found the online magazine Darker Matter, which focuses on speculative fiction. I contacted editor Ben Coppin to get details and permission to list Darker Matter in NSSWM. A few days after I got Darker Matter into our mammoth database, I got an email from Ben letting me know that he has decided to stop publishing Darker Matter after only 5 issues. I'm saddened that he has decided to close shop, but the website will remain up for a while, and there are some good stories there. I particularly enjoyed Sponsored By..., by Hank Quense.
I troll the web regularly for new magazines (partly because it's my job, and partly because it's fun), but I know I'm missing tons of good magazines, both online and print. So what magazines do you guys read? New or old. Literary or genre. Print or digital. If it's fiction, I want to know about it.
Revolving Door
8/3/2007 10:55:07 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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