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October is jam-packed with conferences for writers. You will find everything from author readings, craft workshops, private consultations and critiques from professionals, and pitch sessions with agents and editors. Several state and national writing organizations are holding conferences this month, offering excellent opportunities for writers to meet the leaders in their genres. Related posts : Valuable Tips for Pitching to an Agent or Editor Getting an agent: Schmooze or you lose  (How to find conferences in your area) ____________________ American Medical Writers Association Annual Conference , Sept 30 - Oct 3, San Antonio, TX. Workshops in medical writing, designing materials for patients, analysis, clinical reports, and more. St. Augustine Writers Conference , October 1 - 6, St. Augustine, Florida. Focus on fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry with special sessions on publishing. Faculty includes Sascha Feinstein, Connie May Fowler, Parneshia Jones, and Laura van den ...

There are some eye-catching calls for submissions coming up in October. (Many have deadlines of October 1, so don't wait to check this list.) Of special interest are: an anthology about rescued cats - told from the perspective of the cats , adventure cycling, the feminist take on pop culture, earth science, and, of course, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. All of these are paying markets. Payments range from 2 to 50 cents a word. _______________________ Myriad Lands: An Anthology of Non-Western Fantasy , Published by Guardbridge Books "Beyond the familiar tropes of knights and dragons, there is a whole world of possibilities for fantasy literature. This collection seeks to explore the stories available in non-traditional fantasy. We are looking for secondary world fantasy, where the world building and story telling is based on sources other than medieval Europe." Genre : Speculative fiction Length : 1000-6000 words. Query first for longer works. Payment : £0.03/w...

October welcomes writers with a bumper crop of writing contests. One of the most prestigious awards for English language novels, the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, has its deadline this month. In addition, there are contests for essays, poetry, short stories, emerging writers, established writers, students, and mature writers. The most prestigious contests offer substantial prizes, but even a modest prize comes with the distinction of having won an award. Good luck! _____________________ CSO One City, One Symphony Freedom Poetry Contest  is sponsored by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.  Restrictions : Open to legal residents of the states of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana enrolled in grades 9-12 or adults age 18 or older at time of entry.  Genre : Poetry.  Prize : $2,500 Grand Prize in each of two categories (Grades 9-12 and Adults 18+).  Deadline : October 1, 2015. Read details  here . The Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry , sponsored by th...

Whenever the economy contracts -  and ours has definitely suffered a downturn - industries attempt to maintain their level of profit by any means necessary. That usually boils down to squeezing as much as possible out of their employees, while offering less in return. (After all, what CEO wants to give up their private jet?) "Let them eat cake" Squeezing employees - that is, requiring more output while reducing their pay and benefits -  has been the standard response to economic "corrections" since time immemorial. And, while writers may not feel that they fall in the category of "employee" they are certainly a resource that can be squeezed. In their most recent survey, the Authors Guild reports that since 2009 authors are feeling the crunch; 56% are now earning below the poverty line. For a single person, the Federal Poverty Level is $11,770. For a household of two, it is $15,930, and for three it is $20,090. Most of the authors who answered the survey w...

Updated 2/4/22 Copyright is one of the few legal protections offered to authors, yet surprisingly few writers take advantage of this safety net. Many writers assume that once they have written something it is automatically copyrighted. Technically, that assumption is correct. Anything you create is copyrighted, but unless you register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office you will never be able to defend your claim. If someone steals your work, you are free to take legal action, but judges like to see formal proof of intellectual property rights. As far as the courts are concerned, simply claiming ownership does not confer it. Sending yourself a manuscript in the mail, and leaving it unopened, does not qualify as proof that you wrote it. It only proves that  someone  wrote it. What is copyright? Copyright is legal protection for any expressive work, published or unpublished, that appears in tangible form: books, articles, screenplays, dramatic works, poetry, images, songs, ...

Updated 2/3/22 Among the dozens of awards for self-published books, there aren't many that are worth winning. The majority of self-published book awards don't confer any benefit to the author, other than a seal that winners often must pay for. And many of these contests are run by media groups that use them as a way to drum up business. That being said, there are a few contests that are not only prestigious, but offer considerable prizes to the winners, either in terms of cash or publicity. I have listed 11 of the most worthwhile below. With two exceptions all of these contests charge a fee, although in most cases the fees are reasonable (under $100). While cash awards are always appreciated, as is the publicity generated by awards ceremonies, these benefits are fleeting. Before you enter any contest, make sure you have a long-term plan in place - just in case you win. How will you make good use of your award? Will you order gold seals to affix to your book cover (if it is in p...

1. GREAT PLAINS THEATRE CONFERENCE Deadline: Oct 15th website: www.mccneb.edu/gptc/CallforPlays.asp The Great Plains Theatre Conference offers playwrights the opportunity to interact with and have their work seen by top writers, directors and actors from across the country. In addition, playwrights work directly with these professionals in hands-on writing and industry workshops, participate in daily panel discussions and attend evening performances with master playwrights and theatre practitioners. Past panelists, workshop leaders and respondents include: Edward Albee, Doug Wright, Emily Mann, Mac Wellman, Arthur Kopit, Marshall Mason, Mark Lamos, Theresa Rebeck, Constance Congdon, Erik Ehn, Will Eno, Lee Blessing and David Lindsay-Abaire among others. Plays submitted are reviewed by a 100% blind reading process and considered for the following categories... THE MAINSTAGE SERIES Five plays are chosen for the MainStage Series and recognized with the Holland New Voices Award. For the pl...