writing opportunities July 28, 2016

Fire and Sky: A Canadian Anthology of Poetry dedicated to those affected by of the Great Fire of Fort McMurray. Open to all Canadian Poets—poems wanted on the themes of loss/recovery, renewal/hope, adversity/triumph, poems related to the fire and its aftermath. All profits will be donated to Wood Buffalo Regional Library Fort McMurray. Please contact David Brydges at mybrydges@yahoo.ca with the subject line “Fort Mac Anthology” for further submission guidelines.

 

Musicworks Magazine has a contest for electronic music about sonic geography, in effect, music connected with a geographical location. Entry fee $25, includes a year’s subscription to the magazine. Info here https://www.musicworks.ca/contest .

 

Ninja Essays is running an essay-writing contest. No fee to enter. Details here: https://www.ninjaessays.com/blog/essay-writing-contest/ .

 

 

 

 

 

Saskatchewan is a special place

Saskatchewan is a pretty special place. I just posted some interesting info on CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS’ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/prairiesunflowers/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel .

 

Janet Miller & Virginia Laveau win first-ever Dr. Robert & Elma Schemenauer Writing Awards

Janet Miller of Kamloops and Virginia Laveau of Barriere received the first-ever Dr. Robert and Elma Schemenauer Writing Awards at the Interior Authors Group summer social held at Chartwell Ridgepointe on 9 July, 2016. The first photo shows Janet receiving the Award from Dr. Schemenauer. The second is a photo of Award-winner Virginia Laveau.

Miller won in the category Writing with a Kamloops Theme. Her poem "Kamloops" captures the essence of our beautiful city in 100 words that strongly appeal to readers' senses and emotions. The poem is written in the "1-10, 10-1" form she learned while attending a Downtown Kamloops Library workshop led by its creator, author Richard Wagamese.

Laveau won in the category Writing with a Nature Theme. Her article "Contemplations of a Mule Deer" movingly depicts the life, forested mountain home, and last days of a mule deer injured while trying to protect her fawns from a cougar.

Both the Kamloops Theme and Nature Theme awards consist of a cash prize, a certificate, and a press release issued to local media. Accompanying each award is a cash donation to the IAG to support its growth and educational activities. The yearly deadline for submissions is 21 March. Each award will be issued annually to a member in good standing of the IAG. There is no fee to enter.

 

For more about the awards, please see http://elmams.wix.com/awards .  For more about the IAG, see https://interiorauthorsgroup.wordpress.com/ .

 

THE CASE OF THE HOMELESS PUP: review by Elma Schemenauer

Menzies, J. A. THE CASE OF THE HOMELESS PUP. Markham, Ontario: MurderWillOut Mysteries, June 2016

 

I often don't read every word of a murder mystery, especially on an e-reader. However, I read every word of THE CASE OF THE HOMELESS PUP. The author captured my interest and kept it. Having lived in Toronto for many years, I was particularly interested in the Toronto settings, which are believable and interestingly portrayed. I also liked the extended Italian Catholic family whose members are major players in the story. The subplot about a liberated young woman's budding relationship with a pleasant, responsible young man is icing on the cake. The pup is nice too.

 

THE CASE OF THE HOMELESS PUP is available as an e-book on Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/jy2qsmh .

 

On Amazon.ca, it’s at http://tinyurl.com/jq9b3sj .

 

how to write a book review: Victor Wiebe

Are you considering writing a book review? Good ideas in the following article by Victor Wiebe. Maybe more than what a writer wants to put into the average book review, but one can always pick and choose.

 

http://mhss.sk.ca/books/How-to-Review-a-Book.shtml

interesting poetry writing & other contests: FanStory

I don’t know anything about FanStory but they’re running a lot of interesting writing contests. Worth looking at, even just to see the many different forms of poetry they identify.

 

This month is a great month to get started at FanStory.  Not only do we have fun contests for you to enter. But if you become an upgraded member you can enter contests with cash prizes for free. Find out more.

 

Try our ABC Poetry Contest. 

 

ABC Example
Battling thoughts.
Choosing which option to follow. 
Denied at every turn. 
Endless pursuits. 
Relationships confuse.

For an ABC poem the first four lines follow the order of the alphabet. The last line begins with any letter.

 

Get feedback for everything you write. That includes your contest entries. Membership is just a few dollars a month.  More Information. 

 

Writing Contests

 

Free Verse Poetry Contest
Write a free verse poem. This is a method of writing poetry that does not follow any structure or style. See an example and details in the announcement.
Deadline In 5 Days. Jul 18th

 

Non-Fiction Writing Contest
We are looking for personal essays, memoirs, and works of literary non-fiction. It can be spiritual, political, or funny. Creative approaches welcomed.
Deadline Jul 23rd

 

ABC Poetry Contest
For this contest you are challenged to write a ABC poem. ABC poetry has five lines and often is used to express feelings. See the announcement for an example.
Deadline Jul 28th

 

Newbie Writing Contest
For our New Arrival 'This Sentence Starts The Story' contest we challenge you to write a story that starts with this sentence: 'Hell found me.'
Deadline Aug 3rd

 

Write About This
Write a story based on the image pictured in this announcement. What is happening here?
Deadline Aug 5th

 

Cinquain Poetry
Write an 'Cinquain' poem for this contest. A cinquain poem is a poem that follows a specific format. Read the announcement for a sample poem.
Deadline Aug 9th

 

Minute
Write a Minute poem for this contest. A fun poem to write. It follows the "8,4,4,4" syllable count structure.
Deadline Aug 15th

 

2-4-2 Poetry
Write a 2-4-2 syllable poem. It has three lines. The first line has 2 syllables, the second line has 4 syllables and the last line 2 syllable. The subject can be anything.
Deadline Aug 20th

 

Share Your Story
A memoir gives us the ability to write about our life. But you can write about life with the option to create and fabricate and to make sense of a life, or part of that life. Write a piece of your life!
Deadline Aug 22nd

 

5-7-5 Poetry Contest
For this contest you are to write a short poem. It should only have three lines. But the structure is that of a Haiku. The first line has 5 syllables. The second line has 7 syllables. The third line has 5 syllables again. Write about anything.
Deadline Aug 27th

 

Horror Story Writing Contest
Put your readers on edge or terrorize them for this horror writing contest.
Deadline Aug 31st

 

Tanka Poetry Contest
For this contest you are challenged to write a Tanka poem. Tanka is a form of poetry with a specific syllable count. See the announcement for an example.
Deadline Sep 5th

 

Romance Story
Romance is one of the most popular forms of writing. The challenge for this contest is to write a romance story.
Deadline Sep 10th

 

Four Line Poem
Write a four line poem that has a specific syllable count. The first line has 1 syllable, the second line has 5 syllables, the third line has 5 syllables, and the last line 9 syllables. The subject can be anything.
Deadline Sep 12th

 

Antonym Poetry Contest
Write a four line poem. The first line is only one word. Second and third line can be formatted as you wish. The last line is the antonym (opposite meaning) of the word on the first line.
Deadline Sep 16th

 

Paranormal Flash Fiction
In this flash fiction contest we are challenging writers to write a flash fiction piece that is between 500 and 800 words on the topic provided. The topic is 'paranormal'.
Deadline Sep 21st

 

3 Line Poem
Write a three-lined poem that has a specific syllable count to enter this contest.
Deadline Sep 26th

 

Acrostic Poetry Contest
Write an acrostic poem. An acrostic poem is a poem where the first letter of each line spells out a word. View an example in the announcement.
Deadline Oct 1st

 

Character
A character can make a story. Write a story that based on the scene pictured in this announcement.
Deadline Oct 5th

 

Faith Poetry Contest
The theme for this poetry contest is 'faith'. We are looking for poems that in some way pertain to this theme. It doesn't matter if it's spiritual, political, intellectual or emotional as long as faith is clearly represented.
Deadline Oct 11th

 

Palindrome Poetry
A palindrome is a word (or sentence) that reads the same backwards as forward. So 'Madam' is a palindrome.For a palindrome poem you incorporate it into your poem but do so with the sentences. See an example in the announcement.
Deadline Oct 18th

 

Lune Poetry Contest
A Lune poem is a short and fun poetry form with only three lines. View the contest announcement for an example.
Deadline Oct 24th

 

Newbie 5-7-5
Write a poem that has three lines and follows a specific syllables count. View an example in the announcement.
Deadline Oct 31st

 

Share A Story In A Poem
In this contest you are challenged to write a poem that tells a story and also rhymes. We've included examples of this type of poetry storytelling in the announcement.
Deadline Nov 5th

 

Haiku Poetry Contest
For this contest you are challenged to write a Haiku poem. Haiku is a form of poetry that only uses three lines. Can you paint a mental image using only three lines?
Deadline Nov 11th

 

Sonnet Poetry Contest
Just like Shakespeare did, discover the rhythm and rhyme scheme of the Shakespearean sonnet.
Deadline Nov 17th

 

Blank Verse Poetry Contest
Write a blank verse poem for this contest. A blank verse poem is written without rhymes. It does have a set metrical pattern. See the details in the announcement.
Deadline Dec 2nd

 

Etheree Poetry
The Etheree poem has 10 lines with a specific syllable count.
Deadline Dec 8th

 

Quinzaine Poetry
A quinzaine is a 3 line poem that only has fifteen syllables.
Deadline Dec 14th

 

Love Poem Poetry Contest
Write a love poem. Your love poem can be fictional or non-fictional. It can be a humorous or a serious love poem. The choice is yours.
Deadline Dec 20th

 

 

These are just a few of our contests. View the full listing here.

 

Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

Summer News!

Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

From conference coordinator Kathy:

 Hello!

 What a month it's been! I'll attempt to refrain from overusing exclamation marks, but it's been a pretty exciting time here at SiWC Central, thanks to many of you.

 Registration opened on June 1, and at the time of writing this, we're already 70% sold out overall, and more than 88% sold out of full conference packages, our best value and the only package that includes dinner and evening keynotes. If you're planning to attend, we recommend registering soon so you don't miss out. We sold out and had to turn people away last year, and we're anticipating the same this year.  You can register here.

As you may have read on our website, we're thrilled to be able to offer four scholarship opportunities for #SiWC16: three as part of our Tan Seagull  Young Writers' Scholarship and the brand new SiWC Diversity Scholarship for adults. Check out the details here. We hope to see lots of applications coming in over the next few weeks.

Also up on our website now is this year's room share blog. The comment thread on this post is the place for you to connect with potential roommates to share hotel costs. If you haven't yet booked your hotel room, do it soon, as there aren't very many rooms left.

Thanks to its success last year, we're pleased to once again be offering the SiWC Unconference. This is a chance for attendees to get more involved in a session by introducing or participating in discussion topics. Interested in proposing a topic? You'll find the application process here. Join the conversation!

If you're planning ahead for how to spend your time at SiWC, check out our other attendee participation sessions that don't require you to apply: open mic events and a room for peer editing for those who'd like to try their hand at offering blue pencil or have their pages looked at.  And of course there are also 80 workshops and panels to choose from as well as meals, keynotes, blue pencil and pitch appointments, our traditional Friday Night Owl Shock Theatre event, our trade show, the Saturday evening book signing, and more.  And if you're already planning to join in the costume fun on the Friday night, this year's theme gives lots of scope for imagination: once upon a time… machine.

As a reminder, our annual writing contest, offering a $1000 first prize, is open to short story entries until September 23.  All subjects and genres are welcome.

We still have some ad space available in our conference brochure, distributed to all attendees, presenters, volunteers, and sponsors. For as little as $15 for a classified ad, your book or business will be advertised to about 1000 people who love books and writing. Please contact kcdyer@siwc.ca for rate sheet and details.

As ever, all our latest news is posted on our Facebook page, on Twitter @siwctweets, and on our blog on our website.

Looking forward to seeing you in October!

Kathy

Kathy Chung
SiWC Conference Coordinator
www.siwc.ca
@siwctweets

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