NCF Tuesday: Shakespeare’s Gettin’ High; Writing Contests; The Scariest Story


News

Turning Tweets into a Novel

Asmaa Elkeurti reports on the three-day (July 15-17) collaborative novel writing project to take place during Iowa City’s (1 of 4 cities worldwide designated as a City of Literature by UNESCO) July Book Festival. The project will collect entries on Twitter from anyone with a Twitter account and put them together to create a novel. Greg Prickman, a codirector of the Book Festival, says, “It’s not meant to be a random stream of tweets, it is meant to be a novel in some sense.”

Do you think a Twitter-collaborative writing project will be successful?

internationaloddities.com
Shakespeare Gettin’ High

Francis Thackeray, the director of the Institute for Human Evolution at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, is asking to examine Shakespeare’s remains to determine if the author’s genius was drug-induced. A discovery of “cannabis residue (along with cocaine) on clay pipe fragments found in Shakespeare's garden” sparked Thackeray’s interest in the bard’s extra-curricular activities.

Would it change anything for you if you knew Shakespeare used drugs while he wrote?

   

Fantagraphics Books
Lou Reed and Edgar Allan Poe

Jennifer Vineyard interviews Lou Reed for this month’s publication of The Raven, a graphic-novel adaptation of his Edgar Allan Poe-inspired album. He tried to make the famous poem more contemporary and accessible in his rewrite.

Do you think it's a good decision to rewrite classic literature to make it more accessible to contemporary audiences?


Contests

FICTION
Glimmer Train Literary Journal
-       Very Short Fiction Award; 3,000 words or less
-       First Place Prize: $1,200, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 20 copies of that issue
-       Deadline: July 30, 2011
-       Details here 

Narrative Magazine
-       Spring 2011 Story Contest: Fiction and Nonfiction of 15,000 words or less
-       First Place Prize: $3,250, considered for publication
-       Deadline: July 31, 2011
-       Details here 

Writer’s Digest Magazine
-       Short Short Writing Competition
o   Fiction: 1,500 words or less
o   First Place Prize: $3,000 and a trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference
o   Deadline: November 15, 2011
o   Details here 
-       5-Minute Memoir, “Tales From the Writing Life”
o   Personal Essay (600 words or less)
o   Prize: Publication in Writer’s Digest magazine
o   Deadline: Rolling submissions
o   Details here 
POETRY
Narrative Magazine
-       Third Annual Poetry Contest
-       Unpublished, all poetic forms and genres, except translations.
-       First Place Prize: $1,500 and publication
-       Deadline: July 16, 2011
-       Details here 

Writer’s Digest Magazine
-       7th Annual Poetry Awards Competition
o   Poetry: 32 lines or less
o   First Place Prize: $1,500 and a trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference
o   Deadline: December 1, 2011
o   Details here 


Fun
Today’s Hyperbole and a Half hits home. It reminds me of the awesome sisterly love I gave my sister, Kate, growing up. Enjoy!
Hyperbole and a Half

The Scariest Story 

Comments

Trisha said…
That tweet novel idea sounds...interesting. hehe
July 7, 2011 at 7:12 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Insecure Writer's Support Group:Overwhelmed

Image
Source My road trip to Boston at the end of August arrived just in time to relieve me from the constant head banging on the wall between me and my writing, blogging and freelance career. The permanent knot on my forehead, bald patches and a jaw that clicks every time I open my mouth has transformed me into a monster you might catch in the dark alleyways of Gotham City. I overdosed on advice in writing magazines, on writing-related websites and blogs. If you peek through the windows, you catch me wandering around the house strung out, too jittery to sit down at my laptop. As an information junkie, I hoarded writing techniques, strategies and prompts. I shoved them into every available space in my writing toolbox, reminding me of an overly prepared-style of packing. Overstuffed. I would sit on the lid to force it shut if it weren’t for the motivational quotes spilling over the sides keeping me from latching the damn thing. Then I come across an article contradicting the no
Read more

L is for Location, Location, Location

Image
Source Readers look to novels to escape reality. An author’s words take them to distant lands. But a well-described location can do more than just take the reader on a trip away from home. It plays an important role in creating atmosphere and describing characters. The strength of location in a story transforms the setting into another character. Characters and setting rely heavily on one another not only to create images in the minds of readers, but also to describe each other.  A character reveals information about a setting. Their traits lead them to specific towns, cities, bars, schools, etc. A well-developed character personality can create the milieu. An uptight individual probably lives in a very neat and organized apartment. A character concerned with the environment might have a vegetable garden planted in the back with a recycling bin and compost heap. A young, single girl might feel stuck in family-oriented suburbia. Now, the same can
Read more

E is for Erasure Poetry

Image
rattle.com April is National Poetry Month . So, I thought I'd give  erasure poetry  a try. I chose an article about dating and race in The Philadelphia Inquirer .  Reading through the article, I underlined words that caught my eye. Then, I created a poem and title from my found words. Unfortunately, it was easier to type the words than scan the article. Enjoy! Talk About Dating First contact          Attitudes affect the messages Cut off from the real world          See the imbalance Healthy partners          Work together, no exclusions
Read more