Writing Contests

Writing is not only enjoyable, it can also be quite lucrative! Even if you never make the bestseller's list there are hundreds of writing contests available to enter with cash prizes, vacations, publication and aggressive marketing of your manuscript, and other prizes.  Check out the New Pages Writing Contests log to keep track of the latest contest opportunities.

Just a few of the current contests include:

Tupelo Press Dorset Prize
Deadline: December 31
$3,000 Cash award, publication, book launch, national distribution with energetic publicity and promotion. Final judge: Tom Sleigh; all finalists considered for publication. Results announced April 2012. Open to anyone writing in English, living in the U.S. or abroad, previously published or unpublished. Translations are not eligible. The contest is competitive. Submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript, 48-88 pages (of poems). Include $28 reading fee, two cover pages (one with contact info), table of contents, and, if applicable, acknowledgments page. Simultaneous submissions are permitted. Multiple submissions are accepted. Read complete guidelines: www.tupelopress.org/dorset.php

Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival Fiction Contest.
Deadline: November 15, 2011
Original short story, up to 7,000 words. Judge: Amy Hempel. Prize: $1500, airfare, French Quarter accommodations, VIP Festival pass ($500 value), publication in Louisiana Literature, reading at 2012 Festival (March 21-25). Deadline: 11/15/11. Entry fee: $25 per submission. Unlimited entries per person. Fiction Contest, 938 Lafayette Street, Suite 514, New Orleans, LA, 70113. Guidelines and online submissions: tennesseewilliams.net/contests

2012 Colorado Prize for Poetry
Deadline: January 14, 2012
$2,000 honorarium and book publication. Submit book-length collection of poems to the Colorado Prize for Poetry by January 14, 2012. Final judge is Elizabeth Willis. $25 entry fee includes subscription to Colorado Review (to US addresses only). coloradoreview.colostate.edu/colorado-prize-for-poetry/

Indiana Genre Writing Groups

Did you know that there are several groups throughout Indiana for writers devoted to different genres?

• Indiana Christian Fiction Writers
• Indiana Horror Writers
• Indiana Poets
• Indiana Romantic Writers
• Indiana Young Writers

Mystery writers have their own national association, the Mystery Writers of America. For female mystery writers, you may want to check out Sisters In Crime.  Western fiction writers would do well to investigate Western Writers of America. Horror writers, in addition to having their own Indiana-based organization, also have a national group.  Science fiction and fantasy writers also have a national group, the SFWA.

Also local to Indiana is The Write Source Studio, located in Franklin, Indiana.

All of these resources offer opportunities to share and hone your craft with other writers who are interested in the exact kind of writing that you do.  Check them out!

The Writer's Center of Indiana

Have you visited the Writer's Center of Indiana website yet?  Their mission is to nurture a writing community, to support established and emerging writers, to improve written and verbal communication, and to develop an audience for literature in Indiana.

They offer classes taught by published writers in fiction, poetry, memoir, non-fiction and more.  Their annual Gathering of Writers and Readers features more than a dozen of Indiana's best writers in a day-long event.  It is coming up Saturday November 12, 2011 at the Indiana Landmarks Center.

The WCI offers E-Newsletters to spread the word about Writers' Center events, as well as other literary happenings.  They have an exstensive collection of recources for writers including information on writers workshops, colonies, conferences, and retreats, and advice on getting published.

The Writer's Center of Indiana website is located at www.indianawriters.org

Monthly Meetings

The Monrovia Writers' Group meets the third Thursday of every month at 6:00 pm in the Monrovia Library meeting room.  It doesn't matter if you've never attended a meeting before, or even if you are new to writing, we want you here! 

Our group supports all kinds of writing: fiction, non-fiction, scriptwriting, poetry, short stories, songwriting, chapter novels, children's writing, and more.  Our group's focus develops and changes with the needs and desires of our active members. For example, some of our members are gearing up to participate in the annual National Novel Writing Month challenge in November.  Other members are in the editing stage of their work, and others still just enjoy sharing their literary voice with our group. All ages and skill levels are welcome.

Feel free to bring along a piece of writing to share with the group if you would like.  We look forward to meeting you!

NaNoWriMo is Almost Here!

NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, starts in November.  NaNoWriMo is an annual internet-based creative writing project which challenges participants to write 50,000 words of a new novel between November 1 and November 30. During the 2010 event over 200,000 people took part - writing a total of over 2.8 billion words.

Writers wishing to participate first register on the project's website, nanowrimo.org, where they can post profiles and information about their novels, including synopsis and excerpts. Word counts are validated on the site, with writers submitting a copy of their novel for automatic counting. Municipal leaders and regional forums help connect local writers with one another for holding writing events and to provide encouragement.

Several of the writers in our group will be participating in this year's event, and will be sharing their work with our group throughout the month of November.

Remember, even if you have never attended one of our writer's groups before you are welcome to join us at any time. Participation in NaNoWriMo is an optional part of being in our group.

Sharing Through Google Docs

At our October 2011 meeting we decided to begin sharing our writing outside of meetings with each-other online through Google Docs.  Google Docs is a free, Web-based office suite, and data storage service offered by Google. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users. Thus, we can upload our writing and other members of the group that we choose to share our documents with can add their own comments and feedback online.

Documents, spreadsheets, presentations can be created with Google Docs, imported through the web interface, or sent via email. Documents can be saved to a user's local computer in a variety of formats (ODF, HTML, PDF, RTF, Text, Microsoft Office [you can view a complete list of file formats supported here.]). Documents are automatically saved to Google's servers to prevent data loss, and a revision history is automatically kept so past edits may be viewed.

1 GB of storage is included for free. Currently additional storage costs per year are: 20 GB-$5, 80 GB-$20, etc. up to 16 TB.

We hope that by sharing documents through Google Docs, we can use this blog for general communication about the writer's group, while still accessing and sharing our writing online with each other in a private setting.

If you have any questions about using Google Docs, please come to our monthly writer's group, which takes place the third Thursday of every month.

Welcome Writers!

Welcome to the blog for the Monrovia Indiana Public Library's Writer's Group.  We are planning to have monthly meetings beginning in September 2011. Our first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 6:00 pm in the Monrovia library meeting room.

By attending one of our regular meetings you can join this blog and begin adding your own writing to our collection for comments, constructive criticism, and support from fellow writers in our community.

Our group will support all kinds of writing: fiction, non-fiction, scriptwriting, poetry, short stories, songwriting, chapter novels, children's writing, and more.  Our group's focus will develop and change with the needs and desires of our active members.  Participating in this group will help to provide you with resources to hone your writing, learn new techniques, and give you guidance for submitting your writing for publication. All ages and skill levels are welcome, and participation in the group writing exercises is encouraged but not required.

You will want to bring along a notebook and pen or pencil to the group meetings to participate in free writing exercises.  If you have any questions about the writers group please contact the Monrovia Library at 317-996-4307 and ask for Natalie.

We hope that you will join us as we explore and discover the literary voice of northwest Morgan County!