James Jones Fellowship Contest

March 13, 2017Contests, Fellowship, LiteraryAuthors, Culture, Determination, Fiction, First Time Authors, From Here To Eternity, James Jones Fellowship, Manuscripts, Monetary Prize, Narrative Distinction, Novel-In-Progress, Prose, Provincetown Arts, Social Issues, United States, Wilkes University, Work In Progress, Writerspdpabst

The James Jones Fellowship Contest is for a novel-in-progress by a United States unpublished author. The award is given annually with a grand prize of $10,000. There are two runner-ups given a prize of $1000 each. A selection from the winning work will be published in Provincetown Arts. In order to enter, the author needs to submit the first 50 pages of the novel-in-progress, a two-page outline, and a $30 entry fee.

According to the web page, the award is intended to honor the spirit of unblinking honesty, determination, and insight into the cultural and social issues exemplified by the late James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity and other prose narratives of distinction. Authors can submit online or via SASE. The deadline for the contest is March 15, 2017. For complete guidelines, please visit the fellowship website. As always, good luck.

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

Operation Awesome: Pass or Pages

March 13, 2017Contests, LiteraryAdult, Agents, Authors, books, Critique, Fantasy, February, Feedback, Fiction, Learning, Literary Agents, Literature, Manuscripts, novels, Operation Awesome, Opportunity, Pass or Pages, Query, Science Fiction, Submissions, Words, Writerspdpabst

PASSORPAGES

Operation Awesome is hosting a Pass or Pages contest finally this year. Woot! For this round, the category is for adult science fiction or fantasy. Submissions are open NOW from February 13-15, 2017. This is an opportunity to get feedback from an agent on your query and first 250 words of you manuscript. Peeps, this is priceless! And as a possible bonus, the agent reserves the right to request your FULL.

The participating agents are:

Lisa Abellera at Kimberley Cameron & Associates
Hannah Fergesen at kt literary
Kirsten Carleton at Prospect Agency

There will be a form for submissions on Operation Awesome when the entry window opens. For complete rules and previous feedback reveals, go here. As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

Himalayan Writing Retreats

March 12, 2017Literary, Writing Conferences & Getaways2017, Authors, books, Creativity, Exercises, Fiction, Fireside Chats, Himalayan Mountains, Himalayan Writing Retreats, Inspiration, Instruction, Long Walks, Manuscripts, Non-Fiction, Retreat, Stories, Writerly Chats, Writers, Writingpdpabst

Want to whisk away to the Himalayan mountains for inspiration while writing your next novel? Then sign up for one of the Himalayan Writing Retreats, or one of the writing weeks (depending on your level of expertise). There is instruction, exercises, fireside chats, long walks, and writerly chats.

If you are looking for advise or simply inspiration for your next book, be sure to check out the Himalayan Writing Retreats/Weeks event calendar. They have more than one to enroll during the year 2017. Have fun and happy writing!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

Academy Nicholl Fellowship

March 10, 2017Awards, Fellowship, Literary2017, Academy Nicholl Fellowships, Deadline, Entry Fee, Feedback, Film, Guidelines, International, Manuscript, Monetary Prize, Oscars, Reader Comments, Screenplay, Screenwriters, Screenwriting, Television, Writingpdpabst

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships in screenwriting is an international screenwriting competition established to identify and encourage talented new screenwriters. And yes, this is a branch of the Oscars!

If you write screenplays and haven’t earned more than $25,000 for writing fictional work for film or television, then this contest is for you. Up to five fellowships for $35,000 are awarded each year. Please read the entire guidelines and obligations before submitting. There is a small entry fee, with an option to also purchase reader comments. And who doesn’t love feedback? Although there are three separate deadlines, the final entry deadline is May 1, 2017.

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

10 Minutes With An Expert via Manuscript Academy

March 9, 2017Critiques, Literary, Mentor Program, Uncategorized10 Minutes With An Agent, Adult, Agents, Answers, Authors, books, Editing, Editors, Feedback, Fiction, First Page, Insider Knowledge, Inspiration, Manuscript, Manuscript Academy, Marketing, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Opportunity, Pitch, Projects, Publishing, Query, Questions, Writers, Writing, Young Adultpdpabst

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If you’ve ever wanted to sit down with an agent or editor? Well now you can! Manuscript Academy has put together a day for authors to chat with the professional’s of the publishing world called 10 Minutes With An Expert. The time can be used to:

Pitch your project
Get instant feedback on your query or first page
Ask about your unique publishing situation
Ask any publishing question!

Meetings last 10 minutes and are first come first served. The cost for this invaluable access is $49 (US). To make the most of your time, have your questions ready. And have fun learning!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

Write Away Greece Writing Retreat

March 8, 2017Literary, Writing Conferences & Getaways#amediting, #amwriting, Adult, Antiparos, April, Authors, Boat Trip, Characters, Critique, Dinners, Feedback, Fiction, Greece, Horseback Riding, Inspiration, June, Manuscripts, Massages, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Paros, Private Boat, Retreat, Spring, Stories, Summer, Tours, Vacation, WIP, Write Away Europe, Write Away Greece, Writers, Yoga, Young Adultpdpabst

Who’s up for another retreat to stimulate the writerly mind? Then you’ll want to check out Write Away Greece in Paros, Greece! Spring session is April 22-29, 2017 and has limited places remaining. If you can’t make this session, no worries. There will be a summer session June 4-14, 2017. Yes, two opportunities to attend a place of inspiration.

Spend the time writing your latest WIP in workshops and mentoring sessions. Mingle with other authors, talk over group dinners, and chat on the weekend social occasions. Of course, you can also purchase extras such as tour of Paros, boat trip to neighboring island of Antiparos, horseback riding, guided hikes, yoga, private massages, and private boat tours. For more information, or to see all the Write Away Retreats in different countries, go to Write Away Europe website.

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

National Endowment For The Arts Grant

March 7, 2017Awards, Contests, Literary2018, Applications, Art Works, Authors, Career Advancement, contest, Creative, Fiction, Financial Support, Government, Grant, Manuscripts, Monetary Prize, National Endowment for the Arts, Non-Fiction, Published, Published Author, research, Stories, Support, Travel, Winners, Words, Writer, Writingpdpabst

Image result for national endowment for the arts

This is a grant for published writers to help them set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement. The grant awards $25,000 to the winners. The deadline to submit your application is tomorrow, March 8, 2017.

This year applications are for fiction and creative non-fiction. The winners won’t be announced until around December, 2017. Their support of a project will be anytime between January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2019.

If you write poetry, applications will be taken early 2018 for a 2019 winning and support. As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Writer and blogger of MG/YA fiction.

Ninth Annual Read a Book Week

March 6, 2017Literary#ebookweek17, Adult, Authors, Bestsellers, Book Catalog, books, Catalog, Category, Celebration, Discounted, eBooks, Fiction, Free, Genre, Marketing, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Promotion, Publishers, Readers, Reading, Smashwords, Stories, Twitter, Word Count, Young Adultpdpabst

Each year, tens of thousands of Smashwords authors, publishers and readers participate in this global ebook celebration which offers FREE and deep-discounted ebooks. The event is live and ends March 11, 2017. You can find the promotional catalog on the Smashwords home page (or just go here). The special home page catalog enables readers to browse by coupon discount and filter by category, bestseller status, word count and multiple other factors.

And remember, check back often because thousands of new books will join the promotion during the week. You can also keep up with announcements using Twitter hashtags #Smashwords and #ebookweek17.

Have fun reading!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

Son of a Pitch Twitter Party

March 5, 2017Contests, Literary#SonofaPitch, Adult Fiction, Age Category, Editors, Favorites, Fiction, Genre, Hashtags, Katie Hamstead Teller, Manuscripts, Middle Grade, Pitch, Publishers, research, Small Publishers, Twitter, Young Adultpdpabst

There is a twitter party for #SonofaPitch tomorrow hosted by Katie Hamstead Teller. There are a few reputable small publishers that will be perusing the feed, but I don’t think agents will be attending. However, tweet regardless (only once per hour per manuscript) because you never know who’ll show up to favorite your pitch. With that said, remember to ALWAYS research before submitting your book baby. Just because you get a favorite, doesn’t mean you have to send.

The site says the contest goes all day, but Katie mentions not monitoring early tweets because it’ll be 5am where she’s at. I’m not sure what that means about the start time though. But, it you plan on pitching, be sure to include the hashtag #SonofaPitch, the genre, and age category. As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren

March 4, 2017Literary, ReviewsApril, Author, Author Debut, Betrayal, Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury Children, Book, Bow And Arrow, Childrens Books, Deception, Demidova, Female Character, Five Stars, Katniss Everdeen, Life, Pre-Order, Prison, Prison Walls, Prisoner of Ice and Snow, Reading, Royal Family, Ruth Lauren, Story, USA, Valor, Winterpdpabst

Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren is available for preorder and will be released by Bloomsbury Children’s Books USA on April 4, 2017. And yay, I received an ARC for my honest opinion. First, check out the cover! Who doesn’t like a strong female character holding a bow-and-arrow? My mind instantly went to the success of Katniss Everdeen. And when I learned that this young female character named Valor intentionally got herself thrown into prison, I was like “What? Who does that?” and HAD to read the story to see how she conducted herself within the prison walls.

Ruth Lauren wove a great tale of deception that kept me guessing. The story is fast-paced with a character full of courage. Valor vows to break her sister out of Demidova’s prison where no one has escaped in centuries! Oh yeah, I should mention her sister’s serving a life sentence for stealing from the royal family. I frequently cringed when Valor talked to another prisoner, worried she’d be exposed for her plans to escape. Punishment within Demidova’s prison were beyond harsh, often ending in a prisoner’s death. And oh my goodness, Ruth painted such a wintry picture of the prison, I stayed bundled in my quilt while reading. Seriously, this is a great read that’ll leave you rooting for Valor and her sister to escape Demidova! (And hoping she’ll wallop a few heads on her way.)

Ruth Lauren lives in a Victorian house in the West Midlands in England with her partner and a lot of children and cats. She likes chocolate, walking in the woods, cheese, orchids, going to the movies, and reading as many books as she can. She’s been a teacher and worked in lots of different offices, but she likes writing best. Prisoner of Ice and Snow is her debut novel. Find her at www.ruthlauren.com or on Twitter at @Ruth__Lauren

Pre-Order Now! Amazon , Bloomsbury , Kobo , BN , Google Play , Target , BAM! , Goodreads

HAPPY READING!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA Fiction

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