Volume 11, Issue 43
October 21, 2011


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FUNDS FOR WRITERS

Chosen for Writer's Digest Magazine
101 Best Websites for Writers
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

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Posing with my baby boy moments before he headed down the aisle
this past weekend to marry the most beautiful bride in the world.
All the pictures aren't in yet, but you can find a handful at
my Facebook page     . Everything was absolutely perfect, to include
the smiles on all the faces. It's so much fun to see people so
much in love.

 

Editor: C. Hope Clark
Mailto: Hope@fundsforwriters.com
Website: http://www.fundsforwriters.com        
Newsletter: ISSN: 1533-1326

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.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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

=====

BEHIND THE SCENES

Just returned from the most beautiful wedding ever...that
of my youngest son. The setting was outdoors on a heritage
farm, with a pond, phenomenal fall colors, rustic buildings,
and flowers to die for. The temperature was around 70 degrees,
and the sun shined its biggest and brightest as if proud to
be invited. The bride and groom beamed the entire time, so
obviously in love. When they left at the end of the day, they
said words like perfect, the best, all I could ask for.

They never saw the little faux pas behind the scenes.

As the mother of the groom, I knew how the agenda was to
fall into place. A champagne flute broke and the groom's
cake was marred on one side. Both were instantly rectified.
Other catering issues occurred, but to the people that
mattered, the event was marvelous.

That's how you want your writing to appear. Perfectly
choreographed so that the reader comes away thinking
writing is so simple anyone could do it. And to the more
seasoned eyes in the industry, you want the talent to
be smooth and clean.

Nobody has to know that the book was rewritten four times
and edited a dozen. Nobody has to know that you had to cut
the magazine feature from 2,000 to 1,200 words and leave out
one interview. Nobody has to know that you spent two years,
three months and fourteen days writing the story. Nobody
has to know that you were rejected by forty-seven agents
before you decided to self-publish.

No. You want everyone to just enjoy the story.

Writer to writer, I know the sweat that goes into a solid,
well-presented, flowing piece. It's damn hard. I'm throwing
out a nonfiction manuscript I've been struggling with, and
I intend to start over this week, with a new idea, but
nobody needs to know.

The best selling books make us marvel. Snappy journalism
causes us to think. Poetry leads us to dream. These efforts
also make us think that a writer became successful overnight.
That's what you want. You want your talent to appear easy.

Don't tell the world about the flaws, mistakes and do-overs
you did, not unless asked. Because like a wedding album, you
want the populous to remember the beautiful story, not the
details of how the story was written.



                                                               Hope

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ONLY TEN DAYS LEFT FOR THE ANNUAL FUNDSFORWRITERS CONTEST !!!

The 10th Annual FundsforWriters Essay Contest seeks nonfiction
submissions. First prize $400. Five additional cash prizes.
Zero entry fee and $5 entry fee categories. Theme: Diligence.
Limit 750 words. Email submissions only.

Guidelines at www.fundsforwriters.com/annualcontest.htm         




~~~~~~****~~~~~~

WORDS OF SUCCESS

Do not follow where the path may lead,
go instead where there is no path
and leave a trail.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUCCESS OF THE WEEK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Hope-

My dream has come true. Yes, I have been accepted by a publisher.
Yes, I am thrilled to be working with them. Yes, I am still on
cloud 9.

I do realize though that I still have to work hard to improve
my writing in all areas and keep working at it. Just because I
have reached this place doesn't mean that my job is over.


Thank you again and again for your no nonsense advice. Your
message comes through loud and clear. When I follow it, good
things happen.

Because of your newsletters, I found Dancing With Bear Publishers.
My Y/A historical novel, The Wampum Exchange, seemed to resonate
with them. I am in the middle of the editing process and hope to
have it released in November.

Your support of your fellow writers is greatly appreciated.

Rosemary McKinley




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ARTICLE
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Inside the Jury - Judging a Grant Competition

By Elizabeth Creith

In May of 2011 I served as one of four jurors on a granting
jury for the Ontario Arts Council. We read the entries ahead
of time, scoring them yes, no, and maybe for funding. Out of
150 entries, we funded seventeen. Along the way I learned
what it takes to get into that top ten percent.

There are two ways to win a grant:

1) Survive multiple rounds of cuts
2) Wow the jurors

First Round - the unanimous "Wow!"

Jurors unanimously supported two entries, one fiction and
one non-fiction, which were automatically funded.

The non-fiction writer wrote about his own discovery of
Einstein's forgotten work in geomagnetism. He used many of
the tools of good fiction - scene-setting, mood, storytelling
- to make what could have been a dry, scientific work into a
mystery that we wanted to solve.

The fiction writer hooked us with his protagonist, a surfer
who had survived an accident that left him outwardly in a
vegetative state, but endowed him with super heroic mental
powers. The story wasn't complex, but the elements of fantasy
and the protagonist's wry, sometimes dark humor, and
determination to get his life back, carried it.

Second Round - the obvious rejections

Seventy entries received four "no" votes and were cut without
discussion. The reasons?

1) Poor spelling, grammar, punctuation, word use.
2) Obvious lack of proofreading.
3) Poor writing skills: inability to set a scene, build
character and write dialogue.
4) Poor research: obvious factual errors
5) Poor organization: in fiction, a confusing story; in non-
fiction, poorly organized arguments.

Third Round - discussion

We discussed style, quality, competence and ability of the
author to complete the project. We dropped forty or so
entries, including some very well-written ones. We sought
exceptional work. The grant's success was contingent upon
the authors' successes. We wanted the best.

Fourth Round - those on the fence

Jurors attempted to win other jurors to their opinion on
specific entries. Each of the sixteen entries that came
through this round had at least one committed advocate. Two
entries each had only a single juror championing them; the
strength of that juror's argument swayed the others. (In
the end, both were funded.)

Final Round

Each juror privately rated the final list, top to bottom,
according to her or his opinion. The ratings were collated
and the overall top entries were funded.

Of 150 entries, thirteen absolutely proved their worth to me.
They were well-written and drew me in; when I reached the end,
I wanted more. Each writer presented a story they were
passionate about. Here's what wowed me.

1) Compelling characters - a half-breed troll, a quadriplegic
superhero; the character caught my interest.

2) Vivid scene-setting - a train journey through India, a bog
in Northern Ontario; the writer made me feel I was there.

3) Strong story - a boy discovers his grandfather's past is
not what he thought it was, a veteran is hired to search for
a mysterious Tarot deck; a strong, clear narrative drew me
along.

4) Outstanding dialogue - Distinctive voices, believable
speech, good handling of accent or dialect.

Many deserving entries, including seven finalists, were not
funded. The money ran out. The good news is that most grant
competitions allow repeated entries. Learn your basics, both
the technical requirements and the writer's craft. Tell a
remarkable story. Work those pages, seek critique, rewrite,
polish and proofread.

When the next deadline comes around, get in there and knock
their socks off.

BIO
Elizabeth Creith is an award-winning freelance writer. Her
publishing credits include fiction, non-fiction, memoir and
poetry, and a decade as a freelance writer/broadcaster for
CBC Radio, and she is currently working on a young-adult
novel. Elizabeth lives and writes full-time in Northern
Ontario, distracted occasionally by her husband, dog and
cat. She blogs about writing, art and life at
http://ecreith.wordpress.com     

COMPETITIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CINNAMON PRESS WRITING AWARDS
http://www.cinnamonpress.com/competitions/     
---
£16 ENTRY FEE (includes copy of anthology of winners)
Deadline November 30, 2011.

Poetry - The winning author has his/her poetry collection
published with Cinnamon Press and receives a prize of £100.
We also publish an anthology of the best poems submitted and
entry includes a copy of the winners' anthology. We have
commissioned several other collections as a result of being
short-listed.

Short Story - The first prize for a story between 2,000 and
4,000 words is £100 & publication. Up to ten runners up
stories' are also published in the winners' anthology. Entry
includes a copy of the winners' anthology.

Novel/Novella - The aim of this award is to encourage new
authors, enabling debut novelists/novella writers to achieve
a first publication in this genre. The winning author has his/
her first novel published by Cinnamon Press and receives a
prize of £400. The four runners up also receive a full
appraisal of their novel. We have also commissioned other
novels as a result of short-listing in the competition.

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CHILDREN'S WRITER POETRY OR VERSE STORY WRITING CONTEST
http://www.thechildrenswriter.com/AM722/     
---
NO ENTRY FEE or $15 ENTRY FEE
The contest is for a single poem, collection of poems, or
verse story for children of any age, to 300 words. Entries
may be serious or humorous, and take any poetic form.
Entries must be received by October 31, 2011. Current
subscribers to Children's Writer enter free. All others
pay an entry fee of $15, which includes an 8-month subscription.
Winners will be announced in the March 2012 issue. Prizes: $500
for first place plus publication in Children's Writer, $250 for
second place, and $100 for third, fourth, and fifth places.

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THE CITY OF PHOENIX OFFICE OF ARTS AND CULTURE COMPETITION
http://phoenix.gov/arts/publicart/tours/7thAveStreet.html     
---
NO ENTRY FEE
The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture is looking for Arizona
artists and poets to feature as part of the annual 7th Avenue
Streetscape exhibition - Series 8. This is open only to Arizona
artists and poets who have not received a City of Phoenix public
art commission. Two-dimensional artwork from up to three artists
will be selected for display in the art panels at 7th Avenue and
Glenrosa Street. Poems from up to three Arizona poets will also
be selected for display as part of this popular outdoor gallery.
The artwork and poems will be on display for approximately one
year. $900 will be awarded to each artist and poet selected.
Deadline: For poets: Monday, November 7, 2011. For visual
artists: Monday, November 14, 2011.


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GRANTS
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ARTSMITH
http://orcasartsmith.org/residencies.html     
---
Deadline: October 30, 2011. Artsmith offers a one-week,
interdisciplinary residency for writers, scholars, and artists
of all disciplines to create new works. The residency takes
place at the Kangaroo House Bed and Breakfast on Orcas Island
in Washington State's San Juan Islands. Housing and continental
breakfasts are provided. Fellows are asked to spend eight hours
working in the garden during their residency. Residents may bring
significant others, if they will respect the quietude and creative
time of all residents. Five applicants chosen by the Artsmith Peer
Review Panel will be invited to be in residency during the week
of March 18-25, 2012. $25 application fee.

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AMERICAN ACADEMY IN ROME
http://www.aarome.org     
---
Deadline November 1, 2011. The Academy offers up to thirty
fellowships for periods ranging from six months to two years.
Rome Prize winners reside at the Academy's eleven-acre center
in Rome and receive room and board, a study or studio, and a
stipend. Stipends for six-month fellowships are $14,000 and
stipends for eleven-month fellowships are $26,000. Fellowships
are awarded in many art and humanities categories to include
literature, history and language studies.

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SURDNA ARTS TEACHERS FELLOWSHIPS
http://www.surdna.org/what-we-fund/thriving-cultures/82.html     
---
Deadline: November 14, 2011. The Surdna Foundation supports
arts education in public schools by providing arts teachers
the opportunity to focus on their own creative practice and
interact with other professionals in the field to provide
better service to their students. This fellowship funding
($5,500) is open to teachers from specialized public arts
high schools and arts-focused charter and magnet high schools.


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FREELANCE MARKETS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


THE SCHOOL MAGAZINE
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/services/schoolmagazine/contributors/index.htm     
---
The School Magazine welcomes submissions from writers from
within Australia and internationally. The School Magazine
provides an engaging mix of diverse literary genres, including
stories, poems, plays, nonfiction articles, crosswords,
cartoons, puzzles and activities. The School Magazine's four
titles cater to early independent readers (ages 8/9) through
advanced primary school readers (ages 11/14). Pays $270
for 1,000 words for prose and up to $198 for poetry depending
upon length.

=====

COMET MAGAZINE
EXPLORE MAGAZINE
CHALLENGE MAGAZINE
http://www.pearsonplaces.com.au/places/magazines_place/mag_guidelines.aspx     
---
Comet - Up to $200 depending on extent of work involved
Explore/Challenge - Up to 250 words: $80-$100; double-page
feature: $220.

We are always on the lookout for new writers, illustrators,
cartoonists and other creative types to help us put together
the best magazines we can.

Comet
Students in early primary years
Years K-2 ; ages 5-7
Fiction: 350 words maximum
Non-fiction: Varies but usually up to 300 words

Explore
Students in middle primary years
Years 3-4 ; ages 8-10
Fiction: 800 maximum
Non-fiction: 500 maximum

Challenge
Students in upper primary/early secondary years
Years 5-8; ages 11-14
Fiction: 1,000 maximum
Non-fiction: 600 maximum

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KNOW
http://knowmag.ca/about/guidelines.php     
---
KNOW is for children ages 6 to 9. We strive to engage our
readers in a fun, informative, and interactive way, keeping
in mind that children this age have a range of reading abilities
and limited science background. Every issue of KNOW contains
short news items, regular departments, a lengthy section related
to our theme, short fiction, activities, hands-on projects,
interviews and more. At this time we are not accepting queries
or unsolicited non-fiction articles. If, however, you have
experience writing for children, particularly children ages
six to nine, you are invited to contact the editor and may
also forward some samples of your published work. We are
interested in receiving short fiction or poetry (theme-related).
Pays 50 cents/word Canadian.


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JOBS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


BLOGGING POSITION
Location Virtual
http://www.bloggingpro.com/jobs/view/researcherwriter-for-u-s-water-projects     
---
American Water Intelligence (AWI), a national monthly business
magazine that covers the U.S. water markets, is seeking
freelance contributors to track competitively bid water and
sewer projects across the U.S. Each contributor is assigned
a U.S. region in which to look for new projects and update
entries in our database. Contributors are paid $35 per update
and $75 per new project.

Day-to-day work involves calling water plant managers,
engineering firms, city leaders - anyone with knowledge of
a new water plant or an expansion of an existing facility.
Contributors are highly autonomous and work with little
direct supervision. All coverage is remote; candidates need
not live near our office.

An ideal candidate would have some experience covering
infrastructure, but AWI's first priority is to find fast
learners and hard workers who can work contacts for about
20 to 25 hours a week. There are no strict quotas, but
performance will be assessed monthly. Journalism students
and recent graduates are welcome to apply.

=====

RESEARCH-ORIENTED POLITICAL WRITER
Location Santa Monica and Virtual
http://www.bloggingpro.com/jobs/view/research-oriented-political-writers     
---
AllGov.com is a news and information site that covers 335
departments, agencies and programs of the U.S. government
and U.S. relations with all nations. We are in the process
of expanding coverage to include the government of the
state of California and the nation of India. We are looking
for research-oriented writers to prepare articles about
1) California departments, agencies and commissions
2) Indian ministries, departments and attached bodies.

Please study the Department/Agencies sections of allgov.com
before sending in your application and resume.

=====

WRITER
Location Virtual
http://www.FatCatCopy.com     
E-mail: kaiahvz@gmail.com
---
Need a writer with the following skill set:
- ability to ghostwrite books, articles or blogs, and
conduct interviews
- can write social media posts and do the posting
- has copywriting experience - either sales pages, sales
letters, or affiliate experience.

Will pay more money for the right writer who is self-starting,
professional, and meets all deadlines. E-mail a resume, going
rates, and several writing samples.



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PUBLISHERS/AGENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


2M COMMUNICATIONS LTD.
http://www.2mcommunications.com/     
---
The only literary talent agency that solely represents
professional ghostwriters, collaborators and editors. We
work exclusively with other leading literary agents and
editors at the major publishing houses whose high profile
authors, celebrities and public figures require confidential
associations and talented professionals to turn their spoken
words into books.

=====

A+B WORKS AGENCY
http://www.aplusbworks.com     
---
We primarily represent young adult and middle grade fiction,
women's fiction, and select narrative non-fiction. We do not
represent thrillers, literary fiction, erotica, cook books,
picture books, poetry, short fiction, or screenplays -- please
do not query us regarding any of these categories.

=====

ADAMS LITERARY
http://www.adamsliterary.com/     
---
Adams Literary is a full-service, boutique literary agency
exclusively representing children's and young adult authors
and artists.



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SPONSORS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GOOD OAK PRESS helps authors get their books published.
Our services include cover design, typesetting, ebook
formatting and publishing, and POD printing and publishing.

Please visit our website at www.GoodOakPress.com      to learn more
about how we can help you achieve your dream of being published.

www.GoodOakPress.com     

 

=====


 

FINDING TRUE NORTH

Do you need to go to a deeper, resonant place in your writing?

Writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry get there with
Finding True North, a pyramid of audio guided-imagery
meditations created by award-winning writer Anita Riggio.

"Response to her workshop, Finding True North, from students
to peers, to one visiting head of another writing program, has
been almost universally awe-struck."-Chris Lynch, Author

Download the complete program-$10.59 plus tax.

www.covesidewritingworkshop.com     



 

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THE WRITER'S DOMINATRIX: ALL GAIN, NO PAIN!

Need a firm edit? Call the Dominatrix! She'll whip commas
into line and grammar into shape. Dangling participles
cut, misplaced modifiers kicked into place, naughty spelling
spanked - she does it all, and she does it right.

The Dominatrix is an award-winning writer with years of
experience in critique and an excellent command of grammar,
vocabulary and punctuation. She can handle fiction or
non-fiction. Leather or latex, she's firm but flexible; let
her kick asterisk for your manuscript.

http://ecreith.com       - Textual Gratification Guaranteed!


=====

 

Call for Entries: Poets and Writers!

Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest.

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

Writing First Prize: $500, 2nd: $125; 3rd: $100

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

Entry fees: $5 per poem, $10 per story.

Postmark deadline: December 31, 2011.

Visit http://www.dreamquestone.com        for details and enter!

=====

AWARD-WINNING WRITER, PUBLISHER
WILL EDIT YOUR NOVEL, MEMOIR, POETRY

Have your writing edited by an award-winning, professional
writer, editor, and publisher, one who knows how to help
you prepare your writing for publication.  Richard Krawiec
has published novels, biographies, text books, plays, and
a story and poetry collection.  He won the 2009 Excellence
in Teaching Award from UNC Chapel Hill. His essays, feature
articles, and reviews have appeared in major newspapers and
magazines across the US. The NY Times, LA Times, Publishers
Weekly have reviewed his work. Awards include National
Endowment for the Arts and NC Arts Council grants, as well
as nominations for the National Book Award, Best American
Short Stories, and Pushcart Prize. He is founder of Jacar Press.

Contact rkwriter@gmail.com , www.rkeditor.com      




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WHY ADVERTISE IN FUNDSFORWRITERS?

For my first advertising for my fledgling business I needed to
make strategic choices within a very limited budget. I chose
to advertise in two places: the Funds for Writers (FFW)
newsletter and a major writer's magazine (circulation of 100,000).
FFW far outperformed the magazine! From my first FFW ad I got an
immediate and enormous spike in traffic to my web site and within
24-hours had more than 100 people sign up on my website. And that
was just the first ad! Over the course of the six-week ad campaign
I saw a noticeable spike in traffic after each ad hit people's
inboxes and in total garnered at least 500 new sign-ups.

If you're thinking about advertising in FFW, do it!

Joan Dempsey, Founder & President
http://www.literaryliving.com      

=====

ANOTHER FANTASTIC REASON TO ADVERTISE IN FUNDSFORWRITERS

Chalet Publishers, LLC, ran an ad ONE TIME in announcing we
were currently accepting submissions. It had been exactly 24
hours since the newsletter and the ad were distributed. Queries,
chapters, entire manuscripts --- the influx has just now slowed
down. We received way over forty responses to our ad, and they
are still pouring in.  (BTW, this is a very good problem!). Just
wanted to let you know we think you and your newsletter rock!
It's just amazing and lets us know just how loyal your fans are.

Joyce Norman,
Chalet Publishers, LLC
http://www.chaletpublishers.com     

=====

WORLDWIDE FREELANCE WRITER

We're in the business of writing. For 10 years we've been
helping freelance writers to find paying markets. Please
browse our free database of 750 markets or join Markets
Plus and have 2500 markets at your fingertips.

http://www.WorldwideFreelance.com     

=====


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


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BUSINESS STUFF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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

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

http://www.fundsforwriters.com        

Copyright 2000-2011, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326


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