Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competetion

For 80 years, the Annual Writer’s Digest Competition has rewarded writers just like you for their finest work. We continue the tradition by giving away more than $30,000 in cash and prizes!

Win a trip to the Writer's Digest Conference in New York City !

GRAND PRIZE: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with editors or agents. Writer's Digest will fly you and a guest to The Big Apple for the conference. While you're there, a Writer's Digest editor will arrange for you to meet and share your work with four editors or agents!

Deadline: May 2, 2011.
Late Deadline: May 20, 2011.

Compete and Win in 10 Categories!

•Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
•Memoirs/Personal Essay
•Magazine Feature Article
•Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
•Mainstream/Literary Short Story
•Rhyming Poetry
•Non-rhyming Poetry
•Stage Play
•Television/Movie Script
•Children's/Young Adult Fiction

Entry Fee: Poems are $15 for the first entry; $10 for each additional poem submitted in the same online session. All other entries are $25 for the first manuscript; $15 for each additional manuscript submitted in the same online session.

Add $5 per manuscript to all entries submitted after May 2, 2011. Entries submitted after May 20, 2011, will not be accepted.

PRIZES

Grand Prize: $3,000 cash and a trip to the Writer's Digest Conference in New York City to meet with editors and agents.

While you are there a Writer's Digest editor will arrange for you to meet with four editors or agents ! (Includes airfare within the U.S., meals, transportation and related expenses.)

• First Place: The First Place Winner in each category receives $1,000 cash and $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books.
• Second Place: The Second Place Winner in each category receives $500 cash, plus $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books.
• Third Place: The Third Place Winner in each category receives $250 cash, plus $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books.
• Fourth Place: The Fourth Place Winner in each category receives $100 cash, plus $50 worth of Writer's Digest Books..
• Fifth Place: The Fifth-Place Winner in each category receives $50 cash.
• Sixth through Tenth Place: The Sixth- through Tenth-Place winners in each category receive $25 cash.

First through Tenth Place Winners also receive a 1-year Writer's Digest VIP membership, which includes a one-year subscription (new or renewal) to Writer’s Digest Magazine, 1 year access to WritersMarket.com, 10% off Writer's Digest University workshops and purchases at WritersDigestShop.com and more.

11th through 100th Place: All other winners receive distinctive certificates honoring their accomplishment.
Entry Deadline: May 2, 2011

Late Entry Deadline: May 20, 2011 (Add $5 per manuscript or poem to Entry Fee(s))

80th Annual Writer's Digest WRITING COMPETITION COLLECTION

The Grand Prize manuscript, the First Place manuscript in each category, and the names of the top 100 winners in each category will be printed in a special competition collection. Purchase a copy online or use the coupon on the printable entry form. (Publication date: November 2011. You are not required to purchase the collection to enter the competition.)

Go here for more info, rules and guidelines.

Writer's Digest 80th Annual Writing Competition

DIGICON: A Free Online Conference From Savvy Authors

Beginning February 14, 2011, SavvyAuthors will host DigiCon: a free, online, week-long conference dedicated to helping authors refine their strategy to incorporate and capitalize on the aggressively emerging world of e-publishing. Join SavvyAuthors and more than 80 experts through panels, chats, Q&A's, workshops, webinars, and pitching opportunities as they discuss craft, marketing, and techniques to sell your book in this growth market.

* Join editors from Samhain, Sourcebooks, and many others to learn how they successfully navigated the digital domain.
* Join agents for a view of current issues and advice in ebook sales and author career management.
* Join successful eBook authors who are in the midst of the revolution and share their expertise.
* Share your best sites and online tools in our “Best of the Web” sessions

Check out the great events, chats, workshop, prizes, and pitch opportunities below.

Events

* Workshops
* Chat sessions & webinars
* Pitch opportunities
* Contests
* Raffles for craft books, critiques from authors and editors, and more.

Topics

* Current market trends in digital publishing
* State of the art technology in digital publishing
* Online marketing opportunities and pitfalls
* Backlist management and self-publishing
* What the eRevolution means for aspiring authors
* Craft sessions about plot, character, world building and more
* Best practices for developing the perfect pitches, queries and synopses
* Self-publication strategies and successes
* Tips from an Author Success Coach
* Best of Web information and tools
* and many more.

WHEN: Feb 14, 2011 - Feb 20, 2011

COST: FREE for ALL BASIC AND PREMIUM Members!

REGISTRATION: http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/showevent.php?eventid=748

INSTRUCTORS:

Savvy Authors

Participating Publishers

* Lyrical Press
* Sourcebooks
* Samhain Publishing
* Dream Spinner Press
* Night Wolf Publications
* Carina Press
* Muse It Up Publishing
* Liquid Silver Press
* Ellora's Cave
* Draumr Publishing
* Whispers Publishing
* Noble Romance Publishing
* Loose ID
* LL Publications
* Gypsy Shadow Publishing
* Wicked Nights Publishing
* Bluewood Publishing
* Renaissance Ebooks /Sizzler Publications
* Champagne Press
* Changeling Press
* Breathless Press
* Blue Ridge Literary Agency, LLC
* Books for a Buck
* Etopia Press
* and more...

Participating Authors

* Deborah Holland
* Jodi Henley
* Margot Kinberg
* LD Madison
* Gretchen Craig
* Terry Odell
* Angie Fox
* Janie Franz
* Robin Matheson
* Sandy Lender
* Desiree Holt
* Kayelle Allen
* Lakisha Spletzer
* Beth Daniels
* Suzanne Johnson
* Deborah Magnus
* Amber Kallyn
* Marcy Weydemuller
* Nancy J. Cohen
* Dee Lloyd
* Martha Warner
* Su Halfwerk
* Lucinda Schroeder
* Eileen Cook
* Caroline Clemmons
* Paty Jager
* Jane Toombs
* Jamison Wolf
* Renee Wilde
* Christine Amsden
* Flo Fitzpatrick
* D.B. Reynolds
* Alice Osborne
* Monica Peters
* Laurie Sanders
* Alan Nayes
* Susan Hanniford Crowley
* Laura Bickles
* and more...

WHERE:

All events will be held on the Savvy Authors website. All events are free and open to Premium members as well as FREE Basic Members.

*** PERMISSION TO FORWARD GRANTED AND ENCOURAGED ***

savvyauthors.com - Writers Helping Writers
http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/workshoplist.php

Pitch Your MS To Literary Agent Lois Winston

Want to get your work in front of Literary Agent Lois Winston of the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency? Then visit the Musetracks Blog and find out how.

So it's coming up on another round of Agent Shop. This month's attending agent is:

LOIS WINSTON with the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency

Want to pitch your 200 word max pitch to agent Lois Winston?

Well then read the Agent Shop rules, refine your pitch, and be at Musetracks on Jan 23rd at 10:00 EST when I'll post the word GO.

As soon as I post, you can send your pitch to me at Candi_Agent_Shop @yahoo.com, and I'll take the first 30 VIABLE pitches. Meaning pitches that follow the specific rules.

But wait - if you want to take a chance to win the first pitch slot, or a copy of Lois Winston's new release, ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY GLUE GUN, then leave a comment on pitch day using the words AGENT and GLUE GUN! I'll randomly pick one winner from all the comments that include those words to win the top pitch slot, and you'll automatically be entered in a drawing for one of five copies of Lois's book during her blog tour.

Good luck and I hope to 'see' you there.

Musetracks Cafe
Ashley Grayson Literary Agency Blog
Publishers Marketplace

Free Creativity Coaching Opportunity

A few times a year, Author Eric Maisel offers FREE Creativity Coaching sessions. The session runs for sisteen weeks, but the catch is, you will be coached by a coach-in-training. That shouldn't scare you, though. I've been coached a couple of times throughout the years and have had very positive experiences.

So, if you need a little help with motivitation, goal setting or if you just need someone to account to or give you a little push with you writing, I recommend you take advantage of this FREE offer.

*Permission to forward*

The next creativity coaching training starts in a few weeks. It’s your golden opportunity to receive some free email-based creativity coaching.

If you want to work on any issue related to creativity or the creative life—creating more regularly, moving your career forward, dealing with procrastination or resistance, and so on—this is your chance.

Send me an email with a few sentences about you and a few sentences about what you want to work on with a creativity coach and I’ll put you in the client pool for the next training. That’s all there is to it.

Send your information to me at ericmaisel@hotmail.com

*NOTE: I snipped the following info from Eric's CC web page:

BECOMING A FREE CLIENT

If you would like to participate in the Introduction to Creativity Coaching training as a free client and receive sixteen weeks of free email creativity coaching, please provide me with the following information: one paragraph about you (your name, where you live, the art discipline you work in, etc.) and one paragraph about what you would like to work on with a creativity coach. Send that information along to me in the body of an email. When I receive your information I will put you in the client pool for the next training. If a coach selects you, you will hear from your coach during the first week of the training. More than two thousand artists have availed themselves of this opportunity over the past several years.

NOTE: This free client opportunity is offered for the Introduction to Creativity Coaching training only. For the advanced training, coaches who intend to work with clients recruit their own clients and free clients are not provided.

Make sure to check out Eric Maisels website and books. I have a few of them, they're great for helping us creative types. :)

Eric Maisel Website
Creativity Coach Training