Volume 9, Issue 23
June 7, 2009

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FUNDS FOR WRITERS

Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

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Our subscriber list is NOT made available to others. Use information
listed at your own risk. FundsforWriters gives no warranty to
completeness, accuracy, or fitness of the markets, contests and grants
although research is done to the best of our ability.

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PAID SPONSOR OF THE WEEK
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WOW! Women On Writing Online Workshops & Classes
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.html 

Whether you are looking to boost your income or work on
your craft, we know that education is an important part
of a writer's career. WOW! offers convenient online e-
courses on a variety of subjects: freelance writing,
fiction and poetry, book proposal writing, online author
promotion, how to get an agent, screenwriting and more!
All of our courses are offered online--whether through
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one-on-one with the instructor. Have a mentor guide you
through a charted course of learning!

Find out more by visiting the WOW! Women On Writing Classroom.
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.html

                 
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EDITOR'S THOUGHTS
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Read newsletter online at: http://www.fundsforwriters.com/FFW.htm
Read past issues at: http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?fundsforwriters

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COTTONWOOD PRESS

I've endorsed writing books off and on for several years.
This is the first time I want to endorse a press.
Cottonwood Press specializes in making boring subjects
interesting for kids. To show me, they mailed me three
different books, so I could get a flavor of their efforts.
Don't know if they recognized I was a sucker for helping
teens, but I was sold after reading their works.

No, this isn't a paid endorsement. I don't have a contract
with them. They haven't purchased advertising through me.

I know teachers and parents who struggle teaching kids the
wonders of writing. I know kids who say parents and teachers
don't have a clue. I think Cottonwood Press provides the
bridge between the two. Let me show you why.

SEIZE THE STORY - A Handbook for Teens Who Like to Write
By Victoria Hanley

This book takes the mechanics of writing a story and breaks
it down into the same concepts as adult books - creating
characters, beginnings, dialogue, showing and telling,
plotting, conflict, middles and endings. So what's new?
It's written lighthearted in a language that is simple to
digest - downright interesting. It has lots of examples
and exercises like the one of perspective. The young writer
looks at the world through the eyes and ears of other people
like a good friend, someone you admire, someone you dislike,
someone wise, someone younger, or someone old and sick.
Frankly, this book ought to be used to teach new adult
writers. It's plain, clear and to the point.

UNJOURNALING - By Dawn DiPrince and Cheryl Miller Thurston

Here you find 200 writing prompts for young writers. For
instance:

180. Write a news paragraph that includes the words
cantaloupe, toothpaste, guitar, flashlight, flip flops.

151. Madison is so happy. In one paragraph, show that she
is happy, but don't use the word happy or even a synonym
for happy.

148. Write a paragraph or sentence about celebrating a
holiday. Use exactly 100 letters.

They not only help you think creatively, but they make
you study structure and tight writing. Again, adults
could use this book and make strides in their writing habits.

WILD INK - How to Write Fiction for Young Adults
By Victoria Hanley

Marvelous, marvelous material in this book. I've never
quite understood the line between youth and adult - that
magic slice of life publishers label Young Adult. But this
book defines it so well, and teaches you how to incorporate
the characteristics into your story writing. For instance,
in a section entitled Breakdown/Breakthrough, the author
recognizes that everyone goes through terrible times. Then
suddenly there's the AHA moment when the sun breaks through
or the mystery is solved. Teens thrive on this concept.

The book even goes into submitting manuscripts and getting
published. Chapter Eight is so cool with "Words of Wisdom
from Authors" where published YA authors discuss their
experiences with writing and publishing the genre.

I know I've ranted like a crazy woman here, but I think
this publisher is onto something. This press takes writing
and makes it teachable, entertaining and promising. I
highly recommend them. If you have children who love to
write, children you wish loved to write, or a desire to
write for children, check this press.

www.cottonwoodpress.com

    Hope

www.hopeclark.blogspot.com

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WORDS OF SUCCESS
 
There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening
that is translated through you into action, and because
there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is
unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any
other medium and be lost.

~ Martha Graham

 
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ARTICLE
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FIVE OBSERVATIONS ON SUCCESSFUL WRITERS
 
by W.E. Reinka
 
When writers go on book tours, media escorts greet them at
the airport and drive them to bookstore appearances and
interviews. During my nine years escorting writers on San
Francisco tour stops, I enjoyed quiet dinners with Pulitzer
Prize winners and listened to the aspirations of writers with
unfamiliar names. But whether the writers I escorted were
famous or unknown, they were linked by common five traits.
 
1.         They write the best book they can.
We've all muttered as we flip through paperbacks while standing
in the supermarket check-out line, "My grocery list has better
syntax than this garbage." Maybe so, but best-selling authors
do not write down to their readers. Fakers don't make it.
Whatever you're writing, you don't stand a chance if you write
down to your audience.
 
2.         Writers write. Dreamers dream.
Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler used to write fiction
on the commuter train to his day job. Edgar nominee Martha C.
Lawrence recalls how she only completed her first mystery
after she learned to say "no" to friends who wanted to party.
In The Observation Deck: A Tool Kit for Writers, Naomi Epel
relates how Flannery O'Connor used to force herself to sit
for three hours every day, whether she wrote or not.
 
3.         What muse?
Ask any newspaper columnist, TV writer, or successful
freelancer and they'll tell you that they can't afford to
wait for inspiration. People in other professions work every
day whether they feel like it or not. So do professional
writers. 
           
4.         They aim high.
Some talented actors spend their lives in community theater
productions and amateur skits. Why don't they make it on
Broadway or in Hollywood?  Because they never leave Grand
Rapids or Topeka. Writers often follow the same pattern, never
submitting their work beyond the local library journal or PTA
newsletter. Every famous writer started as an unknown and none
became famous through secondary markets.
           
5.         They read
T.C. Boyle wonders how people expect to write stories if they
haven't read thousands. Mystery master Joe Gores reads 150
novels a year. National Book Award winner Alice McDermott
tells how she encouraged one of her undergraduate students
to read Faulkner. The young man resisted, explaining how he
feared that in reading Faulkner he might "sully" his own style.
 
McDermott patted him on the shoulder and whispered,
"Take a chance."
 
                                                                                   
--W.E. Reinka may be reached at wereinka@ix.netcom.com

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COMPETITIONS
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FLATMANCROOKED CONTEST
http://www.flatmancrooked.com/contest
---
$15 ENTRY FEE
1st place receives $1,000 and publication in the final
anthology of '08/'09 season. Top 10 finalists will also
be published in the final anthology and get special
recognition on the website. The first 50 people to enter
get a copy of Flatmancrooked's First Winter, which features
new fiction from Jorge Luis Borges and National Book Award-
winner, Ha Jin. Entries must be submitted via the online
form by midnight (PST) on August 15, 2009. Paper entries
will not be read, only recycled. Entries must be original,
primarily in English, previously unpublished and unawarded.

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THREE CANDLES PRESS FIRST BOOK AWARD
http://www.threecandlespress.com/FB2009.htm
---
$22 ENTRY FEE
Winner receives $500 and 25 copies of the winning book.
Deadline October 15, 2009. Submit poetry manuscripts of
60 - 95 pages.

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JUKED FICTION AND POETRY PRIZES
http://www.juked.com/prize/
---
$10 ENTRY FEE
First prize for each genre: $500 and publication in our
upcoming print issue, Juked #7. Fiction:  send one story
per entry. There is no length requirement. Poetry:  send
up to five poems (no more than ten pages total) per entry.
Deadline August 31, 2009.
 

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GRANTS
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CANDY MAIER SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR WOMEN WRITERS
http://www.clarityworksonline.com/links/scholarships-and-links#candymaier
---
The Candy Maier Scholarship Fund for Women Writers is a
nonprofit established to help Western North Carolina women
attend writing workshops, retreats, and classes. Up to 50%
of program costs (not including transportation and other
personal expenses) can be applied for. The deadline for
Candy Fund applications is the 5th of each month.

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CALDERA RETREAT
http://www.calderaarts.org
---
Caldera has been offering retreats to professional artists
and writers since 2001. The program has brought nearly 200
artists from as far away as Australia. The community at
Caldera is intimate and no more than five artists are
scheduled at a time. Two- and four-week retreats are awarded
to selected artists and writers from November through March.
Each artist is given a private creekside cottage and the time
to concentrate on their work.

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WRITING AWAY RETREATS - SCHOLARSHIPS
http://www.writingawayretreats.com/contest.html
---
Writing Away Retreats is a destination vacation for you and
your muse.  Aiming to serve writers who need to get away and
focus on their projects, we offer maximum feedback with
minimal interruptions. Providing ample time to write, discuss
your goals, dreams and projects with like-minded creative
individuals is what we do best. All Inclusive 5-day, 5-night
retreat in Breckenridge, Colorado.

Free Tuition Contest - Theme: Burning Down the House.
Deadline for Entries: July 1, 2009. Send up to 5K-word short
story, 3 poems or 5K word essay may be submitted for contest.
You may only submit once and submissions must be based upon
the theme. Entry Fee: $20 and includes a 10% discount off cost
of the retreat if you do not win contest.

Dishes Partial-Tuition Scholarship - 60% off of a five day
or eleven day retreat for October, 2009. Be the lucky one to
do the dishes and help in the kitchen. Deadline: June 15, 2009.
Winner Announced: July 1, 2009. Submit ala Letterman Style, a
top-ten list of why you should be the person chosen to do the
dishes of other writers/agents/editors. Commitment: 2.5-3 hours
a day of kitchen work.

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FREELANCE MARKETS
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FRANCE MAGAZINE
http://www.francemagazine.org/writers_guidelines.asp
---
Authoritative coverage of French culture, travel and art
de vivre. Journalists explore topics from contemporary
design to summer music festivals to the most exciting shows
on the museum circuit. Study cultural events in France and
the U.S., insider travel tips, food and wine, great new French
products and much more. Especially popular are the special
travel issues, which invariably earn a permanent place on
bookshelves as invaluable resources for future trips.

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ROCK AND ICE
http://www.rockandice.com/contributorinfo.php
---
Rock and Ice magazine is North America's leading and most
respected climbing periodical, dedicated to covering the
entire spectrum of the vertical world, from bouldering to
alpine climbing, from the cutting-edge to the periphery of
the sport.

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ARIZONA WILDLIFE VIEWS
http://www.azgfd.gov/i_e/pubs/documents/WritersGuidelinesJuly08.pdf
---
Fees for the three feature categories are $450 (Less than
1,200 words), $600 (1,200 to 1,799 words), $800 (1,800 to
2,500 words). Seeks general interest, how-to, photo features,
popularized technical material on Arizona wildlife and
wildlife management, habitat issues, outdoor recreation
involving wildlife, boating, fishing, hunting, bird watching,
animal observation, off-highway vehicle use, etc., and
historical articles about wildlife and wildlife management.
No "me and Joe" articles, anthropomorphism of wildlife or
opinionated pieces not based on confirmable facts.

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JOBS
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WRITER
Location Alexandria, VA
http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=81190147&aid=27015391-2959&WT.mc_n=125
---
Deadline June 19, 2009. Employer Food and Nutrition Service.
Major duties include: Researching, developing, analyzing,
writing, and editing speeches, talking points, and backgrounders
primarily for the Under Secretary, Administrator, and other
agency and USDA principals to promote FNS programs. Writing
features articles and developing program informational material
for public audiences based on liaison with the program areas.

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WRITER-WEB CONTENT MANAGER
Location Baton Rouge, LA
http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=81213715&aid=27015391-2959&WT.mc_n=125
---
Deadline June 17, 2009. Employer National Guard. Develops
news releases and feature articles describing Guard sponsored
activities or events, presentation ceremonies, etc. 
Distributes these to local and national print and broadcast
media representatives. Coordinates responses to written
communications. Gathers data on public reaction to
communication campaigns for analyses and evaluation.
Prepares and disseminates news releases and feature articles.

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PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST
Location Raleigh, NC
http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=81213887&aid=27015391-2959&WT.mc_n=125
---
Deadline June 29, 2009. Employer Natural Resources Conservation
Service. Develops and writes information materials designed
to reach national, state, and local audiences through the
news media such as wire services, radio, television,
newspaper magazines, etc.  Written materials include news
releases, spot radio and television announcements, fact
sheets, feature stories, background statements, etc.

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PUBLISHERS/AGENTS
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CAXTON PRESS
http://caxtonpress.com/author-guidelines.html
---
CAXTON PRESS has a long tradition of publishing Western works
of timeless appeal. We always are looking for new material.
Caxton publishes nonfiction trade books for general audiences.
We prefer to publish western or frontier history, travel,
pictorials, or narratives: nonfiction with a western theme.
We will consider historical fiction if it deals with the West.
We do not publish poetry.

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OOLIGAN PRESS
http://www.ooliganpress.pdx.edu/submissions.html
---
Ooligan is a not for profit general trade press that publishes
books honoring the cultural and natural diversity of the Pacific
Northwest. Founded in 2001 as a teaching press, Ooligan is
staffed by students pursuing master's degrees in the Department
of English at Portland State University. We publish a wide
variety of books, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and
books for young adults (we aim to publish one young adult book
and one work of poetry each year). We gladly accept submissions
from writers living in the Pacific Northwest, writers whose
work has a strong Pacific Northwest connection, and writers
within the Portland State University community.

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RONSDALE PRESS
http://ronsdalepress.com/
---
A literary publishing house in order to publish fiction,
poetry, biography, regional history, children's literature,
books of ideas, and the occasional scholarly book. Ronsdale
has published a wide range of both beginning and established
authors. Focuses on Canadian authors.

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SPONSORS
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AWARD WINNING NOVELIST, STORY WRITER WILL EDIT YOUR WORK

Winner of the Excellence in Teaching Award from UNC Chapel Hill,
Richard Krawiec has published novels, story collections, plays,
poetry, feature articles, and Young Adult biographies. He's
won NEA and NC Arts Council grants, been nominated for the
National Book Award, and Pushcart Prize.

It's hard to publish these days. 

Let Mr. Krawiec help you prepare your work for publication.
http://home.mindspring.com/~rkwriter/

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CALL FOR ENTRIES!

Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest

Write a poem, 30 lines or fewer on any subject or write a
short story, 5 pages max., on any theme, single or double-
line spacing, neatly hand printed or typed.

Entry fees:
Poetry Contest: $5 per poem
Writing Contest: $10 per story

Writing Contest
First Prize: $500, 2nd: $250; 3rd: $100

Poetry Contest
First Prize: $250, 2nd: $125; 3rd: $50. 

Postmark deadline: July 31, 2009.
Visit http://www.dreamquestone.com/ for details and to enter!

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Decide if you should traditional publish or self-publish;
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Choose the right POD publisher;
Find markets for your work;
Build a waiting audience before your book comes out;
Use the Internet to market and sell your work;
Use social networking sites effectively (and not waste your time);
Get free publicity
 
There are more opportunities now to get published than
ever before--if you know what you're doing. Join VIP
Authors as we make 2009 The Year of the Author.
 
For free newsletter and benefits:
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More information: www.winningwriters.com/margaret

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WORLDWIDE FREELANCE MARKETS - Serving the freelance writing
community for 10 years. Come and try our searchable database of
writing markets from North America, Europe and around the world. 

http://www.worldwidefreelance.com
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http://www.fundsforwriters.com/adrates.htm 

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BUSINESS STUFF
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C. Hope Clark
E-mail: hope@fundsforwriters.com

140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036

http://www.fundsforwriters.com

Copyright 2000-2009, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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