Anthology Magazine Short Story Competition

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Writers of short fiction are invited to enter the Anthology Magazine Short Story Competition. Established to recognise and encourage creative writing and provide a platform for publication, it is open to original and previously unpublished short stories in the English language by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. Stories submitted must be on the theme of ‘Memories’ and not exceed the maximum of 1,500 words. Writers can submit as many entries as they wish.

It is not a requirement, but is advisable to refer to Anthology Magazine or purchase a copy before submitting your work, so that you can see the type of material we publish. Subscriptions and single copies are available to purchase through our online shop.

The winner will receive a €500 cash prize and the chance to see their work published in a future issue of Anthology.
The winner will also receive a one year subscription to Anthology Magazine

Submission Deadline & Entry Fees:
Early Bird: 30 April 2021 – €10 per story
Deadline: 31 July 2021 – €15 per story

More information

GCWA November Zoom meeting

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November 2020

Zoom meeting. Directions to follow.

Speaker: April O’Leary
Topic: What Publishing Path is Perfect for You?

April O

Decades ago aspiring authors had only two options secure a traditional publishing deal, or if you couldn’t get one, publish your work yourself for a small fortune. Fortunately, writers have many more publishing paths available to traverse today that include various levels of difficulty. In this presentation, April O’Leary, founder of O’Leary Publishing, will discuss the pros and cons of each path including the amount of time and technology skills required for the author, the upfront cost, the opportunities for distribution and ownership of your work. You’ll walk away with a clear trail guide to help you publish your book with success. See you at the top!

About April
April O’Leary is the founder of O’Leary Publishing, a hybrid book publishing company that serves independent authors who want a book to grow their brand, share a message or build a community. She is the author of six books and the host of the I’m Booked podcast. For more information you can visit www.olearypublishing.com and download The Influencer’s Path to Successful Publishing free today.

Meeting: November 21, 2020, 10:00 AM – 12:00 Noon (Zoom meeting)

Vic Larson

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Vic Larson

Ask me what I DO and I’ll tell you I’m retired. Ask me what I AM and I’ll say that I’m a writer. I’ve been writing either professionally or as a hobby since college at the University of Illinois where I wrote for the school newspaper. If I could do it all over again I’d pursue a degree in Communications or Journalism.  When I became a writer, and then manager, of a Corporate Writing Services department in the Chicago area I joked when interviewing potential employees that I wouldn’t give myself my old job back with my degree in Medical Technology. As I told my wife the day I got my writing position, “I think I just ruined a perfectly good hobby.” And indeed, writing from nine to five is a job like any other. But I fully understood how difficult it is to make a living as a freelancer or novelist.

After twenty-seven years I left that job and moved to Port Charlotte Florida.  I now write daily, developing posts for two of my own blogs. I also post frequent movie reviews to a third site. I am Webmaster for the Port Charlotte Garden Club and Outreach For World Hope, a non-profit that rescues starving Guatemalan children. I enter contests, write reviews for new or favorite local businesses, and currently have a piece being considered for a podcast at Walt Disney World Magazine. Other than that, I live on a steady diet of rejections and M&Ms. You can find my writing at https://viclarson.blogspot.com, and movie reviews at https://www.vixflixreview.com.

2021 FAPA President’s Book Awards

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FAPA

Submissions open September 15, 2020

According to Book Awards Chairman Bruce Ballister, an “Earliest Bird” option will open on September 15th with a substantial discount to $65 per entry. On November 1st, the Early Bird special commences as usual, but the entry fee goes up to $75. This rate will continue to January 15th when we go back up to the standard fee of $95 for non-members and $75 for members. Helping on the Committee this year will be Kome Onokpise and Darryl Bollinger.
Last year’s award-winning books are available in the myFAPAstore .

Enter Today

FOR MARJORIE AT SEVENTY-NINE — Poetry by Joe Pacheco

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FOR MARJORIE AT SEVENTY-NINE

(Inspired by Janis Ian)

No truth to learn at seventy-nine
Except that living on is fine.
So many friends now turned to dust,
Their camaraderie once robust.
A few, surviving faint and frail,
Now faraway as memories fail.
No unlived dream for which to yearn —
At seventy-nine not much to learn,

Except sometimes the past unwinds
And leaves a word or thought behind,
A song or phrase recalls a scene —
The world was old at seventeen
But still too young for “might have been”
Before the births and deaths begin —
Now living on is fine
At seventy-nine.

You’ve got your true love at your side
To share the times we’ve laughed and cried,
Our magic moments still alive
For love has helped them to survive.
“Together” is now a precious word,
The sweetest song we’ve ever heard
And each new day a Valentine
To share together — at seventy-nine.

No need for old age solitaire
Sheltered in places with despair,
No time to waste remembering when
“Remember was” will come again:
The present’s a wide and shining place
For past and future to embrace
And living on is just divine
At seventy-nine.

(FROM SANIBEL JOE AT NINETY)

Rebeca Seitz — Speaker October 2020

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Rebeca Seitz

Rebeca Seitz is a #1 Amazon bestselling writer and the founding President and CEO of 1C Productions, Inc. (justonec.com), a multimedia company specializing in creating thought-provoking stories. 1C’s first scripted dramatic podcast, MAKING THE CUT: The (mostly) True Life Story of a Retired Surgeon, began releasing in May 2020 and is in the top 30% of podcast shows worldwide. Seitz is also a regular contributing writer to Foundr Magazine, writing profiles of successful CEOs around the world and articles regarding the entrepreneurial life. Five novels, three novellas, and three biographies round out Rebeca’s published book-length works. In 2016, she co-wrote the screenplay The Neapolitan with Disney veteran Bob Burris, and co-produced it with Chad Gundersen on location in Naples, Florida.

Seitz is the former President and CEO of SON Studios, a Naples-based non-profit that was founded in 2012 to use stories as vehicles for positive cultural change. Under her leadership, SON helped to bring over two dozen films and books to market while educating more than 2,000 writers in the art of embedding Truth into story. Notables who spoke and taught at SON events include Brian Bird, Josh Nadler, Chad Gundersen, Dan Merrell, Micheal Flaherty, Howie Klausner, Kevin Sorbo, Brent McCorkle, Fred Thompson, and many more. In 2005, Seitz founded Glass Road Public Relations, a literary PR firm that secured coverage for novelists on The Today Show, USA Today, Southern Living, The 700 Club, National Public Radio, Good Housekeeping, BookPage, Moody Radio, and numerous newspapers and radio shows. In its nine years, Glass Road worked with Tyndale, Zondervan, Waterbrook-Multnomah, David C Cook, Charisma, Barbour Books, Baker Books, Howard/Simon & Schuster, Hachette Books, Moody Publishing, Guideposts Books, AMG Publishers, B&H Publishing, NavPress, Worthy Booksand others. Its writer clients populated bestseller lists from the New York Times to USA Today. In January 2014, Seitz donated Glass Road to the nonprofit SON. Rebeca began her career by serving as the first dedicated publicist for the fiction division of Thomas Nelson Publishers, one of the Top Ten Publishers in the World and now a division of HarperCollins Publishers.

Rebeca has been interviewed or featured on NPR, CNN, Huffington Post Live, The Glenn Beck Show, The Blaze, The Washington Times, WorldNetDaily, FOX News, Townhall.com, and others regarding responsible use of mass media. The former University of Tennessee University Scholar holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Political Science. More info is at rebecaseitz.com.

Loose (Ferguson) — Mangrove Madness: Who are You?

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Mangrove Madness: Who Are You?
By J.C. Ferguson (aka Judy Loose)

who are you?An Ernestine “Ernie” Pratt Novel #2

How do you find the family of a girl raised in foster care whose early records have disappeared into a black hole?

The body of a PI found in the Everglades, a stolen car, an illegal children’s group home, kidnapping in the Miccosukee village—are they all related? Erie tries to find the birth parents of a young woman whose life traces back to a group home shut down for child trafficking.

Ernestine “Ernie” Pratt, an almost thirty, independent, computer geek turned PI lives with her mother, Jessica, on an island in Florida. She tries to connect the dots and find the answers with the help of Sherriff’s Detective Jeremy Thorpe and a cast of unruly characters.

Purchase at Amazon

IngramSpark’s FREE Online Book Design Course

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book design course

How to Design A Book

Learn how to design a book cover and interior with the newest course available in the IngramSpark Academy! This course reveals important publishing industry standards to keep in mind for your book design, whether you work with a professional book designer or create your cover and interior yourself.

Take our FREE Book Design Course to learn more about:

The Importance of Book Formatting
The Art of Typesetting
Interior Book Design Tips
Book Cover Design Tips
Recommended Book Design Tools
How to Work with a Book Designer