"Meaning, moods, the whole scale of our inner experience finds in nature "the correspondences" through which we may know our boundless selves."

- Kathleen Raine - author

Hello Writers and Readers,

I cadged my first blackberries of the season from the alley behind my house this morning. As I looked at the berry stains on my hands the summer stories of many decades came flooding forth. I was again that summer child on a boundless journey. What a moment~!!

May your summer contain such boundless memories and stories.

Happy travelling,

Sandra

Markets:

Here is a round-up of forthcoming contests for your summer writing projects.

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction prefers character-oriented stories. Submission guidelines: http://www.fsfmag.com

Hunger Mountain offers a Creative Nonfiction Prize. Deadline: June 1 - September 10, 2007. Submission guidelines: http://www.tui.edu/hungermtn/nonfiction.asp

American Literary Review offers three contests in three genres -Short Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry. Deadline: June 1 - September 1, 2007. Submission guidelines: http://www.engl.unt.edu/alr/contest.htm

Margie offers "The Editors Prize" Best Poem Contest. Deadline:August 31, 2007. Submission guidelines: http://www.margiereview.com/CONTESTS/edprize07.html

Smartish Pace offers the Annual Erskine J. Poetry Prize. Deadline: August 15, 2007. Submission guidelines: http://www.smartishpace.com/home/contest.html

Our Stories offers an Emerging Writers Story Contest. Deadline: June 1 - August 31. Submission guidelines: http://www.ourstories.us/contests.html

Juked offers both fiction and poetry prizes. Deadline: August 31, 2007. Submission guidelines:http://www.juked.com/prize/

The SubtleTea offers contests for poetry, fiction, essay. Deadline:September 1, 2007. Submission guidelines:http://www.subtletea.com/subtleteawritingcontest1.htm

Ontario Review Press offers the Carter V. Cooper Memorial Prize in Short Fiction. Deadline: May 1 to September 1, 2007. Submission guidelines: http://www.ontarioreviewpress.com/or_main_pages/or_short_prize.html

Poets Corner Press offers a Sonnet contest. Deadline: September 2, 2007. Submission guidelines: http://www.poetscornerpress.com/Competition.html#po

A Gathering of Tribes offers Short Fiction Contest. Deadline: September 15, 2007. Submission guidelines:http://www.tribes.org/cgi-bin/form.pl?karticle=828

The Missouri Review offers an Audio Competition - Voice-Only Literature, 10-minute Play, Narrative Essay, or Documentary. Deadline: September 15, 2007. Submission guidelines:http://www.missourireview.org/contest/audio_competition.php

August discount of 25% to all newsletter subscribers

Manuscript Evaluation -Treat yourself or a writing friend/relative to a manuscript evaluation from a publishing professional. This could include advice on a short story before submitting it to publishers or an evaluation of your novel or non-fiction book. Ask for details by e-mailing Windshift. Please put 'manuscript critique' in the subject line.

Publishing News:

Here is a note of encouragement for all of you who write business related books and a reminder that the life of a book is sometimes a long one.

A recent edition of the NYTimes highlighted the success of John P. Kotter's rewrite of his 1996 book for managers LEADING CHANGE into a business fable (originally
self-published) "about a talking penguin named Fred who mobilizes the entire penguin colony against the threat of its melting iceberg." OUR ICEBERG IS MELTING: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions is reported to have sold 224,000 copies in hardcover since last fall and the penguin movement is now "out of control in a good sense," Kotter says. The previous version of the book is said to have sold over 1 million copies in ten years.

An Author's Life

Here is a comment about current book marketing practices by a new author. As a publisher who must keep up with the current trends, I know that she will have to get onboard or sadly be left behind in the book sales stakes. But at least she has a sense of humour!

Author Kathleen O'Hara expressed reservations about the pressure now being placed on
writers to serve as multimedia marketers of their work: "I must confess
that I am one of the multitude of hopeful novelists, and I'm beginning
to find today's ultra-competitive, multimedia environment very daunting.
Facebook and YouTube are not where I want to flog my work and myself.
Perhaps, I need to attend the Paris Hilton School of Self-Promotion."

888888888888888888888888888888

Independent Booksellers fight back

It's not bookseller Gabi Wedin of the Banff Book & Art Den, who launched a campaign to have chain stores banned in favour of community character, but Wendy Hudson, owner of Nantucket Bookworks in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

The parallels between the two bookstore owners are uncanny as they both began campaigns to limit chain stores in their towns out of a fear corporate names would drown out character.

But while Wedin's campaign has sparked some serious conversations with Banff policy makers and is set to be up for debate once again in the Banff community plan, Hudson has already been successful.

Last year, in April, chain stores were banned from Nantucket after she brought up the issue in a town meeting in 2005.

The downtown was seen as a place that needed to be protected, and lawmakers promptly set to work drafting ways to keep out chains. On the rest of the island chain stores are allowed to set up shop, but downtown, they've limited space to stores and restaurants that have less than 14 identical outlets.

While there has been a fight in Banff over what constitutes a chain store and what role the town should have in limited commercial operations, Nantucket jumped on the idea.

Let's hope that the Banff situation gets resolved soon. There are certainly proponents for both approaches to bookselling.

Home News:

At Windshift Press we are gearing up for the autumn season. The new catalogue is well underway and a calendar of book events and bookfairs is being plotted. New authors have signed on and old friends have returned with a second book. In the meantime our author Lenore Hellum [ 9 Lives (2005) and The Greatest Show on Earth (2006)] read to groups of avid fans at the recent Milner Gardens Arts Event weekend in Qualicum Beach, BC. In early August we will have a booth at the Theatre BC event in Nanaimo, BC. Author Joan Spencer [A Place Where Weeds & Roses Grow (2007)] will be joining us for a book signing.

Note: While every effort is made to check the markets suggested in this newsletter, writers must use their own judgment when submitting their work.

You are receiving this e-mail because you subscribed at http://www.windshift.bc.ca or have requested a subscription. This issue may be distributed f~reely to friends, and writing groups as long as the entire issue is included.

To unsubscribe please use our contact form with unsubscribe in the text.