The deadline for the Postcard Story Competition sponsored by the Writers' Union of Canada is February 14. Use humour, poetry, dialogue...to create a short, snappy piece of 250 words. The winning entry will receive $750 and publication in Write.
For an example of a winning entry, read "The Invasion of the Snotty Badgers" by Karin Weber.
Get more details about submission here.
The deadline for The Binnacle's Free Ultra-Short Competition for prose or poetry is February 15. All entries must be no more than 150 words or 16 lines per poem. There is no fee. Full contest details can be found here.
Written by Joanne Guidoccio
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Information Update
Yesterday, the Toronto Star announced its 34th annual short story contest.
The winner will receive $5000 plus tuition for Humber's 30-week writing correspondence program. Second and third prize winners will receive $2000 and $1000 respectively.
Get more details.
The winner will receive $5000 plus tuition for Humber's 30-week writing correspondence program. Second and third prize winners will receive $2000 and $1000 respectively.
Get more details.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Happy January!
Last night, three of us braved the cold temperatures and met at Symposium Restaurant for our monthly dinner meeting. Patricia Anderson, My Linh Huynh, and I discussed the latest books, movies and our respective writing journeys. We left inspired to continue writing.
Upcoming Events and Contests
On Wednesday, January 11th, Alison Pick will read and discuss her books at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library. This event, sponsored by The Friends of GPL, will start at 7:00 p.m.
The deadline for the CBC Writing Contest is Wednesday, February 1st. The First Prize winner will receive $6,000, courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts, and the 4 runners-up will each receive $1,000, courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts. Submissions to the Creative Nonfiction prizes must be between 1,200 and 1,500 words.
Written by Joanne Guidoccio
Upcoming Events and Contests
On Wednesday, January 11th, Alison Pick will read and discuss her books at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library. This event, sponsored by The Friends of GPL, will start at 7:00 p.m.
The deadline for the CBC Writing Contest is Wednesday, February 1st. The First Prize winner will receive $6,000, courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts, and the 4 runners-up will each receive $1,000, courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts. Submissions to the Creative Nonfiction prizes must be between 1,200 and 1,500 words.
Written by Joanne Guidoccio
Monday, December 19, 2011
Congratulations Patricia!
Patricia Anderson's short story, "A Guelph Boy's Christmas Hat Trick Ends Up in the Mail," appears in today's Guelph Mercury. She is a finalist in this year's Christmas Story contest.
Read her story.
Read her story.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Happy December
On Tuesday, five of us gathered at Symposium Restaurant for our monthly dinner meeting.
Dennis Fitter talked about the Backspace Agent-Author Seminar that was held in New York City last month. He enjoyed the experience and received valuable information about query letters, pitches and the first two pages of a manuscript. He encouraged us to join the Backspace online writing community. An annual subscription of $40 provides access to discussion forums with over 1600 writers from New York Times Bestsellers to aspiring authors in all genres. Dennis also gave each of us a copy of his book, A Colorful Shade of Gray. Great holiday reading!
Patricia Anderson talked about her misadventures when she participated in the OHBA Humanitarian Build in the Dominican Republic last month. Can you find her on Youtube?
Upcoming Contests...
The magazine, Our Canada, is sponsoring their first Short Fiction and Poetry Contest. Entries are due December 16th. For more details, visit their website.
The deadline for the Open Heart 6 Poetry Competition is December 25th. They are looking for poems that include a heart theme. All styles are welcome. Poems must not exceed 36 lines.
The deadlines for the Mysterious Short Story Contest is December 31st. To be considered, a short story must contain an element of mystery and be identifiably Canadian. All winning entries will be published in an anthology.
The deadline for the Here be Monsters Anthology #6 is January 16th. They are looking for unpublished works of speculative fiction in any genre.
Written by Joanne Guidoccio
Dennis Fitter talked about the Backspace Agent-Author Seminar that was held in New York City last month. He enjoyed the experience and received valuable information about query letters, pitches and the first two pages of a manuscript. He encouraged us to join the Backspace online writing community. An annual subscription of $40 provides access to discussion forums with over 1600 writers from New York Times Bestsellers to aspiring authors in all genres. Dennis also gave each of us a copy of his book, A Colorful Shade of Gray. Great holiday reading!
Patricia Anderson talked about her misadventures when she participated in the OHBA Humanitarian Build in the Dominican Republic last month. Can you find her on Youtube?
Upcoming Contests...
The magazine, Our Canada, is sponsoring their first Short Fiction and Poetry Contest. Entries are due December 16th. For more details, visit their website.
The deadline for the Open Heart 6 Poetry Competition is December 25th. They are looking for poems that include a heart theme. All styles are welcome. Poems must not exceed 36 lines.
The deadlines for the Mysterious Short Story Contest is December 31st. To be considered, a short story must contain an element of mystery and be identifiably Canadian. All winning entries will be published in an anthology.
The deadline for the Here be Monsters Anthology #6 is January 16th. They are looking for unpublished works of speculative fiction in any genre.
Written by Joanne Guidoccio
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Happy May
Last night, four of us gathered at Symposium Restaurant for our monthly dinner meeting. We discussed our respective writing journeys, covering a variety of topics: literary agents, query letters, social networking, NaNoWrMo and Patricia's upcoming trip to the Dominican Republic.
Upcoming Events and Contests...
Upcoming Events and Contests...
- On Thursday, November 3rd, Edeet Ravel will be reading and discussing her work at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library. The fireside chat starts at 7:00 p.m.
- On Thursday, November 10th, Eveline Adomait will be reading and discussing her books at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library. The fireside chat starts at 7:00 p.m.
- On Tuesday, November 15th, Anita Rau Badami, Wayne Johnston, and Ami McKay will be reading at Norfolk United Church. Tickets are available at the Bookshelf Cafe.
- On Thursday, November 17, Nicholas Ruddock will be reading and discussing his books at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library. The fireside chat starts at 7:00 p.m.
- On Sunday, November 20th, Cindy Carroll and the Guelph Write Now group will conduct a workshop on pitches at Lucie's Restaurant. The workshop starts at 1:00 p.m. Visit the website for more information.
- On Tuesday, November 29th, the eReader and eGifting Options presentation will take place at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library. It starts at 7:00 p.m.
- The magazine, Our Canada, is sponsoring their first Short Fiction and Poetry Contest. Entries are due December 16th. For more details, visit their website.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
All About Horror
On Wednesday night, Patricia Anderson, Cindy Carroll, Judy Emery and I attended the Inspiring Screams: Horror Writing workshop at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library. Teacher and writer, Erik Mortenson discussed the goals behind horror writing and how to get underneath people's skins.
A knowledgeable speaker, Mortenson referred to a number of films among them Jaws, Nightmare on Elm Street, Lizzie's Story, Carrie, Fatal Attraction, The Good Son, Psycho, Hostel, Pet Cemetery, Silence of the Lambs and The Stepford Wives.
Here are some of his tips for wannabe horror writers...
A knowledgeable speaker, Mortenson referred to a number of films among them Jaws, Nightmare on Elm Street, Lizzie's Story, Carrie, Fatal Attraction, The Good Son, Psycho, Hostel, Pet Cemetery, Silence of the Lambs and The Stepford Wives.
Here are some of his tips for wannabe horror writers...
- Readers are afraid of death and losing control. In your writing, play with the illusion of control and make the reader confront the unknown.
- Fear inspires the most action.
- Take the everyday and turn it diabolical. For example, in Stephen King's novel, Kujo, a dog gets rabies and starts attacking people. Keep in mind that any animal can turn.
- Great horror is built on anticipation. In Jaws, the music played whenever the shark was approaching.
- When you limit what the reader knows, he/she will fell helpless.
- Anyone is capable of murder.
- Effective horror tries to bring out lessons.
- Play with...How much do we take for granted?...How much can go wrong?
- To make an even greater impact, have no definite conclusion or closure. For example, in Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal is not caught. The unknown makes everyone uncomfortable.
- If you are looking for a topic, ask yourself: What scares you? What do you fear?
- Play with the idea of science going bad. For example, what could be put in food? How terrifying would it be to lose all consciousness?
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