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July Newsletter
Canada Day and school holidays are upon us. When I was a child summer seemed to drag on interminably. This year I know that it will be Labour Day weekend before I have had an opportunity to contemplate summer. I have been thinking about time a lot recently. It is interesting how we experience it; how we value it; how our culture administers this human constructed concept. A trip to the Greenwich Observatory in the UK brings the science of it to light but I am much more interested in our emotional responses to it. My lasting impression from reading The Remains of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is of time slowed down; in parts, of time suspended. Have you ever written about time?
Writing Tip: - Doing some research? The 1911 encyclopedia is available free on the web. It is filled with historical information that is still relevant today. It fills 29 volumes and could be a useful research tool for you. Find it at http://1911encyclopedia.org/index.htm
Markets:
Ripe Magazine - is now accepting submissions for its 6th issue. The theme
is Things That Smell. The deadline is July 20th. Details at http://www.ripemagazine.com
Little Tiger Press - are inviting entries to their picture book competition for new authors. Authors should aim for 200 - 750 words and target their stories for children up to six years of age. The winner will receive £2000.00 plus a contract for publication. Do not send illustrations as the publisher will do these. Deadline: September 1, 2003. Details: http://www.littletigerpress.com or an SASE to Search for a Story, Little Tiger Press, 1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road, London, SW6 6AW, England.
Wascana Review - seeks poetry, fiction and articles.
No e-mail submissions. Contact: Dr. Michael Trussler, Editor, Wascana
Review, Dept of English, University of Regina, Regina, Canada, S4S 0A2
Details: http://www.uregina.ca/english/wrfiction.htm
Remember an SASE.
Kensington Publishing - is starting a new line of 'chicklit' to debut
in trade paperback in early 2004. Send a synopsis and thee chapters to
John Scognamiglio, Editorial Director, Kensington Publishing Corp., 850
Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022, USA. Website: http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
[Normally Kensington is an agent only submissions publisher so here is
your chance to get your foot in the door - sj]
High Octane - is a new fiction magazine seeking fiction submissions up
to 1,500 words. The next deadline is July 31, 2003. Payment is £
25.00. Details: http://www.rocknrollnoir.com
or contact editor Keith Jeffrey at info@rocknrollnoir.com
Pocket Books - is seeking 'exotic locale' contemporary
romances. They are also looking for 'chicklit' featuring all types of
relationships. Query first with Lauren McKenna, Pocket Books, 1230 avenue
of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, USA. As with many publishers these
days, expect a six-month response time.
Humor and Aging - author Allen Klein is seeking stories for his next book, Humor and Aging. The stories need to be about the aging process [approx. 200 - 250 words] and of course, funny. You will receive credit but no payment. Contact him at: humor@allenklein.com
Hastings International Poetry Competition - Editor Josephine Austin is offering £ 150.00, £75.00 and £50.00 in prizes for poems up to 50 lines long. Deadline: October 21, 2003. Entry fee: £2.00 per poem payable to J Austin, The Snoring Cat, 16 Marianne Park, Dudley Road, Hastings, East Sussex TN35 5PU [Many years ago, I won this competition so have a soft spot for Josephine Austin - sj]
The Crime Writers' Association's Debut Dagger Award is open to anyone who has not had a full-length novel published. Deadline: September 3, 2003. Writers must submit 3000 words of their crime novel together with a 500-word synopsis. Details: CWA new Writing Competition, P O Box 63, Wakefield, WF2 0YW, UK; E-mail: debut.dagger@thecwa.org.uk; Website: http://www.thecwa.co.uk/
Abyss & Apex seeks speculative and imaginative fiction with strong fantasy, magic realism and sci-fi stories that don't fit elsewhere. Submissions to 10,000 words. Pays 3 cents per word. Details: http://www.klio.net/byrenlee/abyssandapex; E-mail: submissions@klio.net
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Cue Time - Every month we include a couple of writing ideas to help you kick start your writing sessions.
1. Take the book that you are reading at the moment. Find a minor character. Using that character create a life and a story for them.
2. Walk around your local mall and listen to bits of conversation. Jot them down in your writing journal and create stories from them. Let your imagination run wild.
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Industry News: At the recent Canadian Book Expo, Carol Shields was named author of the year for Unless by the Canadian Booksellers Association. The prize for non-fiction went to Margaret MacMillan for Paris 1919 and the fiction award went to Guy Vanderhaeghe for The Last Crossing.
Canadian author Austin Clarke won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2003 for The Polished Hoe (Thomas Allen Publishers, Canada). The £10,000 prize was awarded at a gala dinner in Calgary by His Excellency John Ralston Saul, himself a novelist.
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SUBSCRIBER SUCCESSES
Congratulations to Hazel Magnussen for being published in the August issue
of Island Fisherman. Her article is about their boating and fishing trip
to Hakai Pass last summer.
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The answers offered in this column are the personal opinions of the staff at Windshift for Writers. They are in no way meant to take the place of the professional advice you may need to seek for your specific query.
Questions and Answers:
Q. Some magazine editors ask for ideas to be submitted in the first instance. Couldn't these ideas be stolen and written up by someone on the magazine's staff? - Graeme H. -
A. This is a great question. It is always possible that an idea could be stolen. THERE IS NO COPYRIGHT ON IDEAS. The advantage to querying an idea for an article is that you will receive an answer much quicker than if you submitted the completed piece.
Q. In my autobiography, which I hope to one day get published, should I disguise the identity of various people in case of possible libel action if they didn't like what I said about them? - George L. -
A. If including such people in your book adds to the entertainment value or is integral to the story then you would be wise to disguise their identities. This is common practice with other authors writing about their lives. Certain famous authors have admitted to changing the name, sex and physical details of characters in their life stories.
Win a FREE place at one of our Workshops - Writers who wish to host a workshop can do so by inviting interested friends and acquaintances to a venue (It could be your dining-room table.) and providing the coffee. If you host a workshop, your participation is free. Check the Workshops page for further details.
Home News: July is an event free month so far. I am looking forward to
spending some time marketing books published by Windshift Press and bringing
on several titles for the autumn.
I am doing several small 'writers around your dining-room' table [as detailed above] mornings in August. I enjoy meeting writers on an informal basis like this. It is one of the treats of my job.
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