Thought for the Month

"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing" - Agatha Christie, novelist

Hello Authors and Readers,

January 2010 - the year seems to have opened to 'the best of times and the worst of times'. In the shadow of death and destruction around the world comes the 2010 Olympic games and the kindness of strangers. Out of our tragedies and our triumphs comes the best of our creativity. It is a year for digging deeper.

Keep writing,

Sandra

Markets:

THE IOWA REVIEW seeks submissions of Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction for current competitions. Submission guidelines:http://www.uiowa.edu/~iareview/mainpages/iowaaward.html

New Millennium Writings seeks submissions. Submission guidelines:http://www.newmillenniumwritings.com

PRISM international seeks submissions. Submission guidelines: http://prism.arts.ubc.ca/contests.php

Symphony Space seeks submissions for the Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize. Submission guidelines:http://www.symphonyspace.org/shorts/writing_contest

Blue Mesa Review seeks submissions. Submission guidelines:http://www.unm.edu/~bluemesa/

Literal Latte Magazine seeks poetry submissions. Submissions guidelines:http://www.literal-latte.com/contests/

New Delta Review seeks submissions. Submission guidelines:http://www.lsu.edu/newdeltareview/New_Delta_Review/CONTESTS.html

Southern California Review seeks poetry submissions. Submission guidelines:http://college.usc.edu/mpw/experience/student_life.cfm#review

THE AUROREAN seeks haiku submissions. Submission guidelines:http://www.encirclepub.com/poetry/aurorean/contests

Iron Horse Literary Review seeks submissions. Submission guidelines:http://ironhorsereview.com/

Passages North seeks submissions. Submission guidelines:http://myweb.nmu.edu/~passages/contests.html

CutBank seeks submissions for the Montana Prize in Fiction, the Montana Prize in Creative Nonfiction, and the Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry. Submission guidelines:http://www.cutbankonline.org/contest

The Kenyon Review seeks submissions. Submission guidelines:http://www.kenyonreview.org/contests-sf.php

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:

Robert B. Parker, the blunt and beloved crime novelist who helped revive and modernize the hard-boiled genre and branded a tough guy of his own through his "Spenser" novels that became a television series, has died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was 77.

Rebecca Stead's "When You Reach Me" and Jerry Pinkney's "The Lion and the Mouse," two highly praised books for young people that draw upon famous stories, have received the top prizes in children's literature.

Home News:

We have had several weeks of marketing and strategy meetings at the WPG offices already this year. Sales in the US market for the latter half of 2009 remained soft and current predictions suggest it will be a difficult market for 2010. Although we are cautiously optimistic we need to encourage readers to buy as many books as they can to support writers and writers need to spend more time getting out and connecting with their potential readers. Personal appearances go a long way to connect writers and readers.

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 freely 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.