One Piece

Houston writers huddling together for warmth. February is a brutal little month, and this year it's going to be one day longer. Why not brighten the dark days with a stimulating conference? There are nine conferences this month - all conveniently located in warm parts of the country. As usual, these conferences are jam-packed with opportunities to pitch your novel, hone your craft, and hobnob with industry professionals. Make sure you read these tips first: Valuable Tips for Pitching to an Agent or Editor   ____________________ Writing Conference of Houston , Feb. 6, 2016, Houston, TX. A full-day of “How to Get Published.” Attending agents: Paul S. Levine (Paul S. Levine Literary); Patricia Nelson (Marsal Lyon Literary); Rachel Brooks (L. Perkins Associates); Tricia Skinner (Fuse Literary); and Eve Porinchak (Jill Corcoran Literary). The Writers Studio , sponsored by the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, February 11- 14, 2016, Los Angeles, CA. The conference offers workshops in fict...

  I could vote for Hillary Clinton. I could vote for Bernie Sanders. Both are reasonably sane Dems. I agree with both on most issues. I think Hillary would be the most ready on the first day and able to deal with the broken system. I think Bernie would try to change the broken system. The idealist in me knows that a fundamental shift is necessary in how we frame our debates. That is what Obama's campaign had as an underlying plan. What ended up happening was the 'change politics' dream was buried in favor of a 'get stuff done now' utility. Not great, not what most young people were voting for, but President Obama completed almost all the concrete promises that candidate Obama made while not quite fulfilling the need for shifting the debate. And so the pragmatist in me fears that Dems should just go for the politician who can squeeze things by the rubble of incompetence and partisan hatred that's blocking the path of normal progress...aka Hillary, who has been de...

Here are 29 magazines that want your work - essays, short stories, flash fiction, humor, science fiction, poetry, complaints, fantasy, creative nonfiction, mythology - you name it, they want it! All of these are paying markets. _________________ Bitch Magazine: Pitches wanted for 'Kids These Days' Issue "This issue's goal is to explore childhood as more than just a rite of passage or a target market. We want to hear about parenting, youth culture, and generational crossover today. What does it actually mean to be an '80’s, '90s or 2000s kid, and what does our collective nostalgia say about us? We also want to look across generations—what can kids these days learn from the past, and vice versa? How have cultural products from Sailor Moon to Netflix influenced the framework of our world? What does the evolution of writing—from the elimination of cursive to the universe of emoji—mean for the future of language and understanding? This issue will look last everythin...

Updated 2/15/22 Here are three agents seeking clients. Alexa Stark’s interests are wide-ranging, but she is particularly drawn to literary fiction, upmarket commercial fiction, young adult, memoir, narrative nonfiction, popular science, cultural criticism and women’s issues. Leigh Eisenman seeks submissions in the areas of literary and commercial fiction for adults, and foodie/cookbooks, health and fitness, lifestyle, and select narrative nonfiction. Mitch Hoffman is actively building a client list of authors writing across the spectrum of fiction and nonfiction, including thrillers, suspense, crime fiction, and literary fiction, as well as narrative nonfiction, politics, popular science, history, memoir, current events, and pop culture. ALWAYS check the agency website before submitting. Agents may switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements may change. If these agents do not suit your needs, you can find a comprehensive list of new and established agents seeking ...

Updated 2/13/22 There is nothing quite like having your work published, especially after you have spent months sending your stories or poems to magazines that take forever to respond. Sadly, the elation you feel when you have finally seen your work in print may be short-lived. Most stories and poems that make their way into literary journals have only a brief shelf-life. After readers have read your work and the issue has been archived, now what? One good way to extend the life of your story is to send it to literary magazines that accept reprints. Fortunately, there are a lot of literary magazines willing to accept stories that have already been published. Very few of them pay, because reprints have little value in the literary marketplace. (Only the first magazine that publishes your work will be credited.) However, some venues, notably podcasts, pay competitive rates for work that has been previously published. All of these markets are currently accepting reprints and all allow simu...