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TOP SPONSOR
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EDITOR'S THOUGHTS
IS YOUR BOOK AN EVENT OR A JOURNEY?
Release date for a book is exciting. You toss that baby into the world and see if the world accepts it, if all the writing you learned is worthy, if all the promotional effort put into place works.
Book a book release is simply one lone event in your writing journey. Where does it fit on that path? How much path still remains ahead of you and have you defined it?
Or are you enjoying the event and deciding whether or not to stay where you are, where the journey ends?
Or are you holding this event then wandering, with no clue what the path ahead consists of? Or even if it ends just around the bend.
An event happens, is done and gone.
An event is a stopping point on the journey. Some people hold the event and turn around and go home. Some hold the event and take a wait and see whether continuing is worthwhile. Some have plans up ahead.
Events can be grand, celebratory moments of measure along a journey, but all too often we get so wrapped up in the event that we forget about the journey. The journey is about the writing itself and the toil of everyday words on the page.
You have to enjoy the journey. You didn't get on this path for the occasional event. You got on this path for the long haul, the journey itself, the joy of putting words together and making them work.
Don't let the lavish feelings of events muddle your original purpose, the long-term purpose, the more meaningful purpose of why you started in the first place.
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SUPER SPONSOR
HOPE'S APPEARANCES
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- March 4, 2023 - Black Creek Literary Festival, Darlington Library, Darlington, SC - 10AM - 2 PM
- March 6, 2023 - Night Harbor Book Club, Night Harbor S/D Rec Center, Chapin, SC - 7-9 PM
- March 21, 2023 - Moveable Feast presenter - 11 AM - 2 PM - Lunch site Hot Fish Club, Murrells Inlet, SC - second signing afterwards at My Sister's Books,
- April 3, 2023 - Night Harbor Book Club, Night Harbor S/D Rec Center, Chapin, SC - 7-9 PM
- April 29, 2023 - Edisto Library - 4 PM - 1589 SC Highway 174, Trinity Episcopal Church, Edisto Island, SC - book club discussion with Hope
- May 1, 2023 - Night Harbor Book Club, Night Harbor S/D Rec Center, Chapin, SC - 7-9 PM
- June 3-10, 2023 - Writing Retreat on the Maine Coast - Special Guest - Sponsored by Joan Dempsey, author and teacher
- July 10, 2023 - Night Harbor Book Club, Night Harbor S/D Rec Center, Chapin, SC - 7-9 PM
- August 7, 2023 - Night Harbor Book Club, Night Harbor S/D Rec Center, Chapin, SC - 7-9 PM
- September 4, 2023 - Night Harbor Book Club, Night Harbor S/D Rec Center, Chapin, SC - 7-9 PM
- September, 2023 (date TBD) - Chapin Library, Chapin, SC - 4-5 PM and 6-7 PM - open to the public
Email: hope@chopeclark.com to schedule events, online or otherwise. There's starting to be life out there! |
SUCCESS QUOTE
“I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else."
– Dolly Parton
SUccess Story
If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to hope@chopeclark.com
Featured article
Writing for Language Learners
By Lou Piccolo
Writers can spend years taking writing classes and attending conferences, and never land a book deal. Often the problem is that writers want to be published with one of the Big Five, and forget there are other ways of birthing a book. For instance, have you heard of graded readers?
Graded readers are books to teach language learners how to read and enjoy the language they're learning. Reading at the appropriate level helps revise and reinforce grammar, and teaches new vocabulary in context. These readers are written at different levels from beginner to advanced, and put a lot of emphasis on the pleasure of reading, rather than on the study of language, like the books you read in your native language.
Graded readers can be about original stories covering many fiction genres such as romance like A New Song for Nina by National Geographic Learning or comedy like What is Brian? by Paper Planes Teens. Whatever your genre, there'll be a learner who'll want to read it. Readers can also be adapted from classics like Dracula by Macmillan or from contemporary books written by authors like Stephen King. There are also nonfiction graded readers focusing on biographies of famous people or
interesting topics like Great Mysteries in Our World by Black Cat.
Although the aim of graded readers is to give language learners interesting books to read at their level, many include comprehension exercises, or glossaries explaining difficult vocabulary. Teachers use graded readers in the classroom, and a lot of school libraries stock them. If you have a background in education, you can write these additional activities. Otherwise, publishers have writers they use for this purpose.
I worked as a foreign language English teacher for two decades and often used graded readers in class. My students enjoyed them so much that I was inspired to write one. Fortunately, my pitch for Save the Titanic! was picked up immediately by Burlington Books, and I've now written two other readers for them called Tunnel to the Unknown and Pompeii, and am currently writing a fourth. Lake Eerie is my fifth reader and was published by Delta Publishing in December 2022. I also contribute
graded articles monthly to Editions Entrefilet's three nonfiction language learning magazines in France since 2014. These magazines are called GO English for adults, English Now for teenagers and GO English Kids for children. I often joke that although writing is never easy, writing graded literature is especially challenging as you have to craft an engaging narrative with limited vocabulary. Publishers will expect you to be able to write to level.
Writing graded readers is a specialized skill with its own challenges, but I find it rewarding. There aren't a lot of writers of graded material, so if you have a background in teaching foreign languages, you may be the perfect candidate for writing a graded reader. Combine that experience with skills like patience, ingenuity and attention to detail and publishers will keep you on their list of authors to contact for a new series instead of looking for new authors.
You won't win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature writing graded readers, but they have their own prestigious award for excellence in writing called the Language Learner Literature Awards. That's one to hang on your website! Pay varies from several hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on the publisher.
How do you find work writing graded readers? They technically fall under the work-for-hire category, so there won't be calls for submissions. You must contact educational publishers with samples of your writing or pitch your own ideas, which is actually great because, at the end, you'll have a book about your original idea and your name on it in libraries and bookshops. That's the dream, after all, isn't it?
Bio - Lou Piccolo is the author of several graded readers through Burlington Books and writers monthly for language learning magazines published by Editions Entrefilet in France. Lou is also a freelance developmental editor of children's literature and runs two editing courses for the Editorial Freelancers Association on editing picture books and YA. You can find her hiking through the French Alps where she lives with her Golden Retriever and two sons or on Instagram
@lou.piccolo_editor, on Twitter @LouPiccoloEdits and at www.loupiccolo.com
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COmpetitions
CHAPTER ONE PRIZE FOR NOVELISTS
https://gutsygreatnovelist.com/chapter-one-prize/
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 1, 2023 at 5PM ET. The Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter One Prize is awarded for an outstanding first chapter of an unpublished novel. First prize $1,000; 2nd $500; and 3rd $250. The prize is open internationally to anyone over 18 writing a novel in English in any genre for adult or YA readers. Winners will be announced March 31, 2023.
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LOUISE BOGAN AWARD
https://triohousepress.submittable.com/submit
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 1, 2023. The Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence is open to ALL poets, regardless of publication history. Poetry manuscripts must be between 48-70 pages of poetry, written in English. Creative nonfiction manuscripts must be between 60,000 - 80,000 words. Translations are not eligible for publication. Winner receives $1000 and twenty copies of their book.
TRIO AWARD FOR FIRST OR SECOND BOOK
https://triohousepress.submittable.com/submit
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 1, 2023. The Trio Award for First or Second Book is only open to poets with less than two books published. Poetry manuscripts must be between 48-70 pages of poetry, written in English. Creative nonfiction manuscripts must be between 60,000 - 80,000 words. Translations are not eligible for publication. Winner receives $1000 and twenty copies of their book.
THE PREMISES SHORT STORY CONTEST
https://onthepremises.com/current-contest/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 3, 2023. No fiction aimed at readers younger than 12, no exploitative sex, no over-the-top grossout horror, and no stories that are obvious parodies of existing fictional worlds/characters created by other authors. (For the same reason, we do not accept “fan fiction”.) Other than that, we’ll take anything from the most super-realistic literary drama to crazy farces (real-world or otherwise) to any variant of science fiction or
fantasy you can imagine. Limit 1,000 and 5,000 words. First place $250. Second place $200. Third place $150. Honorable mention $75.
FITZCARRALDO EDITIONS/MAHLER & LEWITT STUDIOS ESSAY PRIZE
https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/prizes/essay-prize
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 13, 2023. The prize awards £3,000 to the best proposal for a book-length essay (minimum 25,000 words) by a writer resident in the UK & Ireland who has yet to secure a publishing deal. In addition to the £3,000 prize the winner has the opportunity to go on residency at the Mahler & LeWitt Studios in Spoleto, Italy, to work on their book. The book will then be published by Fitzcarraldo Editions. (Thanks
www.authorspublish.com)
NERVOUS GHOST PRESS BOOK PRIZE
https://www.nervousghostpress.org/prize-guidelines
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 13, 2023. For prose, considers single author, original, unpublished writing between 50,000 and 100,000 words. For poetry, considers single author, original, unpublished writing between 48 and 128 pages. Entries are welcome from anyone, anywhere in the United States of America. The prizes are open to new and established writers. The prizes are an advance of $1,000, and a publishing contract. (Thanks www.authorspublish.com)
BAEN FANTASY ADVENTURE AWARD
https://www.baen.com/contest-faa
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 30, 2023. Write and submit a short story of no more than 8,000 words. It must be a work of fantasy, though all fantasy genres are open, e.g. epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, sword and sorcery, contemporary fantasy, etc. The grand prize winner will be published as the featured story on the Baen Books main website and paid at industry-standard rates for professional story submittals. The author will also receive a handsome engraved award and a prize
package containing $500 of free Baen Books. Second place winner will receive a prize package containing $500 of free Baen Books. Third place winner will receive a prize package containing $300 of free Baen Books.
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Emerald Theatre Company's 6th Annual 10-minute Play Festival.
This year's theme is The 7 Deadly Sins : PRIDE, ENVY, SLOTH, WRATH, GREED, LUST, GLUTTONY... Playwrights choose one and get creative!
CONTEST RULES: No more than 10 minutes in length, 10 pages maximum, no more than 3 characters and relates to the theme.
Absurd, Comedic, Dark, Dramatic, Farce, Tragedy...literal or figurative, that is up to you! Work must be original and unproduced. These are black box productions so minimal sets required.
SUBMISSON RULES: Send 2 printed copies. Cover page should only have the plays title and what SIN is represented. On a separate page include playwrights name, address, phone and email. These do not count as one of the 10 pages.
ENTRY FEE: $10 money order/check payable to Emerald Theatre Company
DEADLINE: May 31, 2023
Winners contacted and announced July 1, 2023 and the play festival is September 1-3, 2023
1st - $100 plus a medal plus stage performance
2nd $ 50 plus a medal plus stage performance
3rd a medal plus stage performance
A total of 7 plays will be performed.
For additional information email Hal at hharmon299@aol.com and also check our website at etcmemphistheater.com
GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING
MARYLAND GRANTS FOR ARTISTS
https://msac.org/programs/grants-artists/grants-artists
Must be an artist providing evidence of regular creative practice. Must produce or present projects or programs that are relevant to the community and accessible to the public. Must be Maryland residents (owning or renting residential real property in Maryland at the time of application submission and throughout the funded project or program) and must be 18 years of age or older. May not be enrolled in any matriculated high school, undergraduate or graduate degree program. Grants for
Artists funds are intended to encourage artistic growth and sustained practice. Common expenses include but are not limited to: administrative costs, consultant fees, contractual services, daycare services, entry fees, equipment rental, exhibition costs, financial tools or planning, food, housing, insurance, studio or workspace costs, materials and supplies, marketing costs, medical costs, payment to technical crews, fabricators, or collaborators, professional memberships, performance costs,
production costs, student loans, submission fees for grant or residency applications, travel and transportation, utilities, and website development. Rolling deadline. Grant amount $6,000.
ANN AND STEVE BAILEY OPPORTUNITY GRANTS - KNOXVILLE, TN
https://tnartscommission.org/news/ann-and-steve-bailey-opportunity-grants-available/
Deadline March 19, 2023. A funding program that provides training and technical support to individual artists and small, professionally-oriented arts and culture organizations. Applicants must live within 50 miles of downtown Knoxville and be members of the Arts & Culture Alliance. Membership is open to all. Awards range from $100 to $30,000.
INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANTS - MISSISSIPPI
https://arts.ms.gov/grants/grants-for-individuals/project-grants-for-individuals/
Deadline March 1, 2023. Project Grants for Individuals provide funding to support ideas and projects organized by or for artists in Mississippi. These grants are given to individuals to support innovation, to propel artist’s careers and to encourage collaboration between artists and communities. Individual Project Grants award up to $2,000 to individuals to support their project ideas.
MISSISSIPPI ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS
https://arts.ms.gov/grants/grants-for-individuals/artist-fellowships/
Deadline March 1, 2023. MAC’s Artist Fellowship program is focused on honoring Mississippi artists who demonstrate the ability to create exemplary work in their chosen field. The agency awards fellowships of up to $5,000 in several categories each year.
THE MARGUERITE AND LAMAR SMITH FELLOWSHIP
http://www.mccullerscenter.org/#academic-opportunities
Deadline April 1, 2023. The Marguerite and Lamar Fellowship for Writers is offered during fall semester. The fellowship begins the first of September and ends the first of December. During this time, the writing fellow will reside in a spacious private apartment inside Carson McCullers's childhood home, the Smith-McCullers House. The fellow is provided with a stipend of $5,000 to cover costs of transportation, food and other incidentals. Fellowship recipients are
encouraged to take an active role in the community and to meet informally with students and local residents interested in writing. The fellow will work with the McCullers Center director to plan a presentation near the end of the residency.
FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS
BICYCLING
https://www.bicycling.com/about/a34243047/how-to-pitch-bicycling-magazine/
Bicycling publishes stories about every aspect of cycling, from tips on how to pick out your first bike to human interest pieces to training techniques for competitive cyclists aiming to get better for their next event, and everything in between. We speak to all cyclists: beginners, weekend riders, fans of the pro peloton, cross racers, gear fanatics, and more. Our audience responds best to stories that explain how to better themselves as cyclists for every ride. Pays up to a dollar per
word.
DIEM ESSAYS
https://askdiem.notion.site/askdiem/Diem-Essays-Pitch-Guide-401ad127cd674855a8f34411ec7e098e
We’re interested in personal essays, opinion pieces, and conversation starters on topics related to relationships, health, and money. Most of the work we publish is through a feminist lens. We’re currently looking for stories to publish in our newsletter, The Things We Don’t Talk About. You’ll reach an audience of over 15,000+, who are generally interested in topics having to do with gender, power, and technology. Our rates for Diem stories start at $200 and the
majority of commissioned stories hit the 700-word mark unless otherwise specified.
CHICKEN SOUP - ANGELS
http://www.chickensoup.com
Deadline February 28, 2023. Guardian angels, celestial beings, divine guides, otherworldly, heavenly... whatever you call them, most of the time there is no earthly explanation for what we experience. A higher power is clearly at work. We are looking for true personal stories about how an angel has touched your life — stories of true wonder and awe from people who have directly encountered or received help from angels. Limit 1,200 words and must be first person. Pays
$250 and 10 free copies of your book the story appears in.
CHICKEN SOUP - MIRACLES
http://www.chickensoup.com
Deadline February 28, 2023. Please share your unbelievable and amazing stories about the unexplainable events that have occurred to you. Share the awe, the faith, and the wonder with our readers. Writers of all religions or no religion are welcome. Limit 1,200 words and must be first person. Pays $250 and 10 free copies of your book the story appears in.
CHICKEN SOUP - THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING
http://www.chickensoup.com
Deadline February 28, 2023. How did you “think positive” and how did it change your life? Tell us your success story about using the power of positive thinking! Limit 1,200 words and must be first person. Pays $250 and 10 free copies of your book the story appears in.
WORLDS OF POSSIBILITY
https://worldsofpossibility.moksha.io/publication/worlds-of-possibility/guidelines
https://worldsofpossibility.moksha.io/publication/worlds-of-possibility/guidelines
Original (not reprint) science fiction and fantasy flash stories up to 1,000 words, with no minimum requirement. Speculative poems of any length. Ideally the stories should leave the reader feeling hopeful, peaceful, or happy. Pays ten cents per word for fiction, and fifty dollars for poetry.
SONDER
https://sonderlit.com/submissions/
Deadline February 28, 2023. We are looking for short stories, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, and cover artwork all based on the theme of BELONGING. We especially encourage work from previously unpublished writers who feel it is their time to be heard. Sonder Magazine is all about bringing different perspectives together. hort story submissions should be between 1,000-2,500 words. Creative nonfiction submissions should be between 1,000-2,500 words. Flash fiction
submissions should be no more than 700 words. All contributors this year will receive a complimentary copy and a contribution fee of €300.
KANGAS KAN PUBLISHING
https://www.kangaskahnfilms.com/publish/index.htm#submissions
Deadline March 1, 2023. Pays eight cents/word. Kangas Kahn Publishing is seeking unpublished Halloween short stories for an upcoming anthology to be released in September of 2023. This is an open-themed anthology, but Halloween must be central to the story. Length: 2,000-5,000 words. We're buying global first print and digital publication rights for one year exclusively from the date of print(Sept 2023).
Publishers/agents
INSIDE THE CASTLE
http://www.insidethecastle.org/about/
Submissions are open annually from January 1-March 1. All submissions must contain a full manuscript & a cover letter describing the literary project and context of your work as two separate attachments. Email subject lines shall read “Inside the Castle (year) Submission.” Inside the Castle is a small press operated from Lawrence, Kansas. Inside the Castle publishes literature in the expanded field.
LAMAR UNIVERSITY PRESS
https://www.lamar.edu/literary-press/submissions.html
We want the best quality literary fiction—novels and short story collections. Rarely do we consider genre fiction. As for poetry, pay attention to craft, polish, sound, poetic devices, and use of imagery. While we will consider both traditional and free verse, we are not interested in seeing mere prose broken into lines. If you have written a collection of prose poems, please do not submit it to us.
TWO PLUM PRESS
https://www.twoplumpress.com/about
Two Plum Press produces slim volumes of literary works both contemporary and classic. Titles include works of poetry, essays, fiction, philosophy, visual art, travel and food writing. The books are produced entirely in industrial southeast Portland, Oregon.
INVISIBLE PRESS
https://invisiblepublishing.com/submissions/
Invisible publishes contemporary literary fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. All narrative works with contemporary themes will be considered, however, we are not interested in children’s or YA projects, historical fiction, memoirs, or self-help books.
DALKEY ARCHIVE PRESS
https://www.dalkeyarchive.com/
Dalkey Archive Press is a publisher of fiction, poetry, and literary criticism, specializing in the publication or republication of lesser-known, often avant-garde works.
GAME OVER BOOKS
https://www.gameoverbooks.com/submissions
We ask that you send a full manuscript. This year's reading period will be split into two sections. The prose reading period (novels, novellas, short story collections, etc) will be from 3/1/23 to 3/22/23. The poetry reading period (full-length, chapbooks, etc) will be from 5/1/23 to 5/31/23. If your collection is hybrid, send it during the poetry reading period. Game Over Books generally offers 30% royalties and 25 author copies.
FUNDSFORWRITERS CONTACT INFO
FINE PRINT
Please forward the newsletter in its entirety. To reprint any editorials, contact hope@fundsforwriters.com for permission. Please do not assume that acknowledgements listed in your publication is considered a valid right to publish.
C. Hope Clark
E-mail: hope@fundsforwriters.com
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036
http://www.fundsforwriters.com
Copyright 2000-2023, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326
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