July Speaker — Charley Valera

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July 2022

Speaker: Charley Valera
Topic: Pitch Your Writing
July 16, 2022, 10 a.m. to Noon
Charley Valera
Location: Map
Word of Life Church
6111 South Pointe Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33919

 Charley Valera has appeared on NBC/NECN, WPRI and other TV outlets. He’s been featured in magazines, newspapers and radio throughout the country. Valera writes articles and blogs for various media on topics from WWII, real estate and aviation. My Father’s War: Memories from Our Honored WWII Soldiers covers both theaters and all branches of war during WWII.  This book features more than a hundred personal photos and stories from WWII veterans. A licensed commercial pilot, Realtor, author, filmmaker, public speaker, father of two boys and husband to Cheryl, they live in southwest Florida. He can be reached through www.charleyvalera.com.

August Speaker — Mary Lou Williams

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August 2022

Speaker: Mary Lou Williams
Workshop Topic: The Art and Craft of the Personal Story
August 20, 2022, 10 a.m. to Noon
In person and Zoom meeting

Mary Lou WilliamsLocation: Map
Word of Life Church
6111 South Pointe Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33919

Handout for Workshop

Using two tried and true techniques, the Memory Map and the “StoryBox,”
participants will learn a fun, easy way to pull numerous story ideas out of their
own personal life experiences and turn any one of them into a well-rounded tale.
Participants will leave the workshop with one new piece that will contain all the
bones of a good story. Whether a story lover, a family storyteller, a performing
teller, a writer or a public speaker – this workshop will help participants build their
repertoires, enhance any presentation and transform life experiences into spellbinding narratives.

What participants will get from this workshop:

  • The Memory Map technique for finding a personal story
  • The “StoryBox” technique for crafting a personal story
  • A new tale that contains all the bones of a good story

Mary Lou Williams is a retired teacher and a professional storyteller. She holds a masters degree in education from Columbia University.  She has served on the board of the Florida Storytelling Association and has produced local storytelling workshops and concerts featuring national tellers.  She is also a member of Toastmasters and has achieved the Distinguished Toastmaster award.  She has written a book of her stories called Ten Fractured Fairy Tales.  She is a member of The Storytellers of the Round Table, a quartet of storytellers that produce and perform storytelling showcases at the Sugden theatre in Naples and the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers and perform regularly at Brambles English Tea Room in Naples. She won first place in the Story Slam contest at the 2018 Florida Storytelling Festival and was a featured teller at the 2018 Stone Soup Festival, the official state storytelling festival of South Carolina.  She won first place in the District 48 Toastmasters Humorous Speech Contest  on May 13, 2022.

Website: Story-Theatre.com

More about Mary Lou

GCWA 2022 Contest Winners

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GCWA

GCWA Contest Winners — 2022

Fiction/Children’s Stories (these categories were combined and judged together according to our guidelines, due to the low number of entries in each.
1st — Leah Miller — Terror in December (Children’s Stories)
2nd — Mary Charles — Counterculture ( Fiction)
3rd — Nancy Leake — Susie Spider Looks for a Friend (Children’s Stories)

Nonfiction:
1st — Deborah Burghardt — Dream Your Ink
2nd — Diane Parnell — A Slip of the Scalpel
3rd — Sally Basmajian — The Field

Poetry:
1st — Megan Dalziel — Maritime Muse
2nd — Debbie Watz — Bayou Sunset
3rd — Paul Anthony — Minimum Wage-Brianna

Youth:
1st — Nishini Fernando — Life is for the Living
2nd — Ryan Lee — A Soldier During the Great War
3rd — Keven Lacayo — Death

FAPA Con 2022

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FAPAconFAPAcon2022 will be held on July 29 & 30, 2022

FAPAcon 2022

Conference + All Five Saturday Sessions + Breakfast & Lunch

We’ve listened to our members and are making this year’s destination more flexible and affordable for you, and more profitable for your business. The main conference will be held on Saturday, July 30, and the Book Awards Celebration that evening. On Friday, July 29, six (6) optional small-group workshops are being scheduled, offering attendees options a more intimate setting to learn about specific topics related to the publishing industry.  These focused workshops will be offered a la carte and are scheduled so that you may register for up to three (3). This new, flexible approach will let you customize your conference experience to focus on the topics most important to you and your business.

To view itinerary and speaker information, click here.

Join us at the FAPA Book Awards Celebration!

GCWA members will save 15% on their registration. For registration code email website@gulfwriters.org.

2022 Hollywood Book Festival

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Hollywood Book Festival

HOLLYWOOD -The 2022 Hollywood Book Festival has issued a call for entries to its annual competition celebrating books that deserve greater recognition from the film, television game and multimedia communities.

Our grand prize for the 2022 Hollywood Book Festival Author of the Year is a $1,500 appearance fee for our gala awards ceremony in Hollywood.

Based in the capital of show business, the Hollywood Book Festival aims to spotlight literature worthy of further consideration by the talent-hungry pipeline of the entertainment industry.

The 2022 Hollywood Book Festival considers published, self-published and independent publisher non-fiction, fiction, children’s books, young adult, how-to, spiritual, wild card (anything goes!), unpublished stories, science fiction, biography/autobiography, sequels, genre-based, business and history.

A panel of judges will determine the winners based on the following criteria:

1) The story-telling ability of the author;
2) The potential of the work to be translated into other forms of media

Deadline July 25, 2022

More information

The Booksie 2022 Short Story Competition

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Start: May 08, 2022

Deadline: September 24, 2022

We’re excited to announce the Booksie 2022 Short Story Competition. We’re looking for most interesting, original stories that will make us laugh, cry and see the world in a slightly different way. The winner will receive the Booksie Short Story Award, which comes with a hefty cash prize, a gold trophy badge, and one week of free Boosts. We also have awards for the runner-ups.

All Genres and Themes

The contest is open to all genres and themes. You can enter a previously posted story on Booksie or post a new one and enter it.

Prize: Grand prize: $500 cash, one free week of exposure, and a gold contest badge. Runner-ups: $100 cash, one free week of exposure, and a silver contest badge.

Is there a word limit on contest entries?

There is no mimimum limit. The maximum length is 5,000 words.

Can I enter as many stories as I want?

Yes, you can enter an unlimited number of stories.

Do I have to be a member of Booksie to enter?

Yes, you must be a Booksie member but membership is free. If you are not a member, you can easily become one as part of the entry process.

WOW! 2022 Flash Fiction Contest

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WOW flash fiction

2022 FLASH FICTION CONTEST

Deadline: 8/31/2022

OVERVIEW:

WOW! hosts a (quarterly) writing contest every three months, and has done so since 2006. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, great writing, and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants. The contest is open globally; age is of no matter; and entries must be in English. We are open to all styles and genres of flash fiction, although we do encourage you to take a close look at our guest judge for the season (upper right hand corner) if you are serious about winning. Please make sure you download our Contest Terms & Conditions PDF below for complete guidelines. Get creative, and let’s have some fun! Remember, we only allow for 300 entries, so enter early to ensure your spot. We look forward to reading your work!

WORD COUNT:

Maximum: 750
Minimum: 250

OPEN PROMPT!

That’s right, this is your chance to shine, and get creative. You can write about anything, as long as it’s within the word count and fiction. If you’re feeling inspired, write something new, or dig out those stories you started way back when and tailor them to the word count.

We’re open to any style and genre. So, get creative, and most of all, have fun.

 

WOW! Women On Writing Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest

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WOW! is proud to introduce our newest essay contest! The mission of this contest is to inspire creative nonfiction and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants. The contest is open globally; age is of no matter; and entries must be in English. Your story must be true, but the way you tell it is your chance to get creative. We are open to all styles of essay—from personal essay to lyric essay to hybrid essay, and beyond! Please make sure you download our Contest Terms & Conditions PDF below for complete guidelines. Get creative and let’s have some fun! We look forward to reading your work!

Deadline July 31, 2022

WORD COUNT:

Maximum: 1000
Minimum: 200

$12 entry fee; critique option for an additional $13. Deadline: January 31, 2020

TOPIC:

OPEN TOPIC!

You can write about any subject you want to explore, as long as it’s within the word count and nonfiction. If you’re feeling inspired, write something new, or dig out those essays you started way back when and tailor them to the word count.

Click to Download the CREATIVE NONFICTION ESSAY CONTEST Terms & Conditions PDF

http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php#EssayContest

Southampton Writers Conference

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Stony Brook UniversitySouthampton Writers Conference

is returning to in-person workshops this summer, July 6-10, 2022.

If you are interested in attending it’s a great community and we’ve got a really wonderful faculty this year: Melissa Bank, Lesa Cline-Ransome, Billy Collins, Matthew Klam, Dawn Lundy Martin, Beth Nguyen, Azareen Van Der Vliet Oloomi, Padma Venkatraman, and Frederic Tuten.

Housing is available.

For application forms and information about admission, fees, funding, deadlines, conference schedule, and housing, contact:

Southampton Writers Conference 
Stony Brook Southampton  
239 Montauk Highway  
Southampton, NY 11968

For more information on the conference and scholarships please visit our website.

New York Book Festival

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2022 New York Book Festival Call for Entries

NY book festivalNew York _ The 2022 New York Book Festival has issued a call for entries to its annual program celebrating books that deserve greater recognition from the world’s publishing capital.

The 2022 New York Book Festival will consider published, self-published, and independent publisher non-fiction, fiction, children’s books, young adult, how-to, poetry, wild card (anything goes!), unpublished stories, science fiction, horror, photography, art, spiritual, business, romance, cookbooks, compilations, anthologies, and biography/autobiography/memoir works.

A panel of judges will determine the winners based on the following criteria: 

  1. The story-telling ability of the author.
  2. The potential of the work to win wider recognition.

Entries can be in English, Spanish, French or Italian and must be published on or after January 1, 2018. Our grand prize for the festival Author of the Year is a $1,500 appearance fee for our annual awards program.

Entry deadline is June 25, 2022. For more information and registration forms, visit our website at www.newyorkbookfestival.com.

Blue — Talky Walky Wibbelty Wobbelty

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Talky Walky Wibbelty Wobbelty: Rhyming Counting from 1 – 10 and Back Again for Toddlers and Preschool
by Xander Blue

Talky Walky Wibbelty Wobbelty
Who says learning can’t be fun?

I want you to ham it up bigtime when reading this book to your little one! So… the writing and rhyming are fun and especially worded to help you enjoy this too.

This book was created to help teach your child to count from 1 – 10 and back again. The full color pictures are varied and compliment the enjoyment of the reading.

Oh, and yes, just be warned.. there is a page where you siiiiiinngg – so get ready!

Purchase at Amazon