Library of Virginia Literary Awards

The Library of Virginia and the Library of Virginia Foundation is currently accepting nominations for the 2008 Library of Virginia Literary Awards for books published in the calendar year 2007. These awards honor outstanding Virginia authors and books about Virginia in the areas of fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

Here are the 2007 winners...

Deborah Eisenberg for Twilight of the Superheroes (Fiction)

Scott Reynolds Nelson for Steel Drivin’ Man: John Henry for The Untold Story of an American Legend (Non-fiction)

Elizabeth Leigh Palmer Hadaway for Fire Baton (Poetry)

Tom Wolfe received the lifetime achievement award.

Past winners include Donald McCaig, Eric Pankey, Suzanne Lebsock, Carrie Brown, Charles Wright, Richard Bausch, Ruth Stone, Melvin Patrick Ely, and Edward P. Jones. View a complete list of past Literary Awards finalists and winners here. The winners in each category received a $3,000 prize and a handsome engraved crystal book.

The 2008 finalists will be honored and the winners announced at the 11th Annual Library of Virginia Awards Celebration Honoring Virginia Authors and Friends, to be held on Saturday, October 18, 2008.

To nominate a book, please visit the Library of Virginia.

Would You Like To Be A Book Critic's Critic?

Recently, I have found myself very interested in the reviews of book critics that I sometimes criticize some of their views and opinions. Most times I wonder their criteria for choosing the books they write reviews about. I am talking about full-time book critics of The New York Times.

Despite being immersed in books they find appealing, as the nearly 300 books chosen for the daily reviews in The New York Times have been culled from tens of thousands of volumes published each year, these critics acknowledge that their favorites meet criteria that any reader will recognize. They are books that are disappointing only because they have to end. They’re the ones they mention to friends. They’re the ones worth taking on vacation, and they are well executed, whatever their genre or subject matter.

The NY Times critics present their own favorite lists based on their own reviews published in 2007 as found in this article.

Review these lists and maybe you can be on your road to becoming a book critic's critic! Here are more lists in the NY Times 100 Notable Books of the Year and more here in the NY Times 10 Best Books of 2007.

Update: View more reviewer favorite's here.

Enjoy:-)

Photo Credits: Lars Klove for The New York Times

Scholastic Plans "The 39 Clues" to Succeed Harry Potter

Scholastic, publisher of those wildly successful books by J. K. Rowling is moving forward with what it hopes will be its follow-up blockbuster series after completing the Harry Potter series. Called “The 39 Clues", this series will feature 10 books - the first of which is to go on sale next September - as well as related Web-based games, collectors’ cards and cash prizes.

The series consisting of mystery novels telling the story of a centuries-old family, the Cahills, who are supposed to be the world’s most powerful clan will be aimed at readers 8 to 12. According to the books, famous historical figures ranging from Benjamin Franklin to Mozart were members of the family. The plots will revolve around the race by two young Cahills, Amy, 14, and Dan, 11, against other branches of the family to be the first to find the 39 clues that will lead to ultimate power.

The organisation is hoping to attach the books to an Internet game that could help recruit new readers amongst youngsters, since some kids generally prefer games to books. Thus, they could have fun while learning. The project demonstrates Scholastic’s acknowledgment that as much as the publisher heralded the renewed interest in reading represented by the Harry Potter books, many children are now as transfixed by Internet and video games as they are by reading.

It was also reported that writer Peter Lerangis who created the Spy-X and the Watcher series and wrote all the books in them, is to write the third book in this new series.

[Via] The NY Times

How's Life After NaNo?

Now that the mayhem of NaNoWriMo is over, what are you doing with your life? For veteran Nanos, getting back to the real life might not be much of a big deal. But, how about 'Baby NaNos'?

Of course, it may be difficult to get over the post-NaNo blues, which veteran participants feel it lasts within a couple of days up to eleven months after NaNoing. But as tempting as it is to try and keep the blues at bay by tackling another huge writing project right away, what your body and brain would really need at this point is rest. Besides, the holiday is just here again!

Even if some of the greatest novelists like John Grisham had to squeeze in time before going to the law office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel, duh, you'd be doing yourself a lot of good, if you could gradually start working on your first novel now (based on your NaNo project - except it sucks - haha) instead of participating in any other writing contests.

Some NaNo participants like Writer-Mommy even confessed that starting up a blog and Nano-ing during the same month is not the best idea. Without doubt, NaNoWriMo writing contests could make you a good writer, so to get the writerly ball rolling again after your hangovers, you could explore the December and Beyond forums, dedicated exclusively to life after NaNo. There's always room to network!

There are also NaNoFiMo, JaNoWriMo, NaNoEdMo, JulNoWriMo amongst others, if you are interested in firing up your passion for writing.

Red Room Raises More Funds

The social network site for authors, The Red Room, has raised $1.25 million from angel investors, including Craig Newmark, author Rober Mailer Anderson and Nion McEvoy, CEO of Chronicle Books. With a small army of authors already supporting The Red Room, its social network looks to be going in the direction of a promotional hub for writers.

The site offers tools, such as blogs and book tour calendars for writers to promote themselves and connect with their fans. Thus, we can say that it serves authors the same way MySpace serve bands. Red Room(mates), Alice Walker and Amy Tan are just some of the high profiled authors that have pages on The Red Room.

As the social networking fever is gripping web enthusiastes, it is not surprising to see a growing trend for authors seeking networking and promotional tools on the web. Meanwhile, sites like Helium, StoryLink,TurnHere, BooksConnect , BookTour, Shelfari, amongst others continue to create online spaces for writers and authors to promote themselves with more web 2.0 tools.

The founder of The Red Room, Ivory Madison, also started the Red Room Writers Society - a place for writers to work on their projects and take part in seminars and workshops.

Writer's Ultimate Resource Guide 2008

Writer's Digest, the world's leading magazine for writers is maintaining it's trademark as the world's best writers' resource online. Founded in 1920, the online resource for writers is offering 65 pages of the best information available for working writers, from the hottest markets to the coolest websites—all piled into a single disc!

The disc's enhanced PDF format provides bookmarks that allow for easy navigation, hundreds of active links to take you straight to the Web, and easy keyword searches that make research faster and easier.

In addition to the new writing software, writing contests and more than 400 writing organizations, the site offers features such as "101 best websites for writers", "100 top markets for books and magazines", "22 agents who want your work" as well as answers to common and compelling writing questions.

Order The Writer's Ultimate Resource Guide 2008 here!

Dylan Days Announces 2008 Creative Writing Contest

Dylan Days has called for new entries for the 2008 Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest. The contest will accept poetry, short stories and one-act plays.

The poetry and short fiction categories is open for all writers and for anyone currently enrolled in high school or an undergraduate college or university. There will be first, second and third place prizes of $100, $50 and $25 respectively and all winners will be invited to read their poems or stories at the Dylan Days Literary Showcase on May 24, 2008.

The one-act playwright competition (a new feature this year) will showcase all playwrights and eventually a winner will be selected. Thus, the winning play will be presented on stage during the 2008 Dylan Days Literary Showcase under the direction of award-winning Hibbing Community College theater director Michael Ricci.

The deadline is Feb. 28, 2008. Click here for instructions on entering the contest online.

NaNoWriMo Contest Ends Today!

Today, November 30 is NaNoWriMo Day as I'd like to call it. Yeah, today is the last day of the November Novel Writing Contest. Read about it here and here. With less than two hours away from this year's NaNoWriMo contest some participants have finished the race before the writing competition closes at 11:59:59 PM local time.

I started out on the race, but couldn't beat the pace. Luckily, there's another NaNoWriMo contest next year, so I'd be prepared for it. For those who have almost given up on this race because they can't make up the 50, 000 word novel, an announcement on the NaNoWriMo site by Chris Baty might be a relief. So if you have written up to 45, 000 words, 'gravity' as he calls it will help with the rest 5,000 words.

So, what are you waiting for? Validate your novel now!

Tick...Tick...Tick...

10 Best Books of 2007 by The New York Times

As was promised, the New York Times has released its 10 best books of 2007. Earlier this week, it released the 100 Notable Books Of the Year which I reported on this blog on 25 November.

The 10 best books of 2007 which has Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas on top of the list will be published in the Dec. 9 print edition of the Book Review. View the 10 Best Books of 2006 here

This makes me wonder what the criteria is for determining the best books of the year. As curious as I was and given that I hadn't read any of the books, I read a review of Man Gone Down especially to see why it had to be the best book of 2007.

Thomas tells the story in the first person, narrating the events of four days and the troubled lifetime that’s led up to them. A story about a Boston-bred black man living in Brooklyn and struggling to write while supporting his blue-blooded white wife and their three children. One of the bigger questions posed by the novel is how to pursue the American dream and perhaps other dreams in a clash of race and color. Read more here

A Boston-bred African-American writer who lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their three children, Thomas seems to be writing what he knows best. But more than anything else, he knows why his "man" went down. Read the First Chapter of Man Gone Down



Click here to buy Man Gone Down online

Photo Credits: Design by Paul Sahre; photograph by Tony Cenicola
The New York Times

Writing, Editing and Publishing program at UQ

Becoming a writer requires strong communication skills and in order to succeed both in the corporate and academic worlds, a writer needs to be skilled enough to communicate. Being aware of the demand for professionally trained writers and editors, the University of Queensland's School of English, Media Studies and Art History (EMSAH) is offering a specific Writing, Editing, and Publishing program.

Whether you are a doctor, lawyer, vet or an English teacher, economist, etc or you are an aspiring writer, the UQ Writing, Editing and Publishing program is unique in that it covers academic, corporate and creative areas.

For further information on the Writing, Editing and Publishing program, visit the website here.

WGA Resume Talks Today

As the Writer's Guild of America strike enters it's fourth week, both parties involved in the negotiations are set to resume contract talks today. The WGA went on strike Nov. 5 over payment for TV shows and films being sold on Internet sites such as Apple Inc.'s iTunes.

Striking TV and movie writers kept up the pressure on studios by picketing and intensifying an Internet campaign that uses the very medium at issue in the contentious negotiations. On the other hand, studios, networks and producers, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, say it is too early to know which business model will succeed on the Web. They want flexibility to experiment without having to be locked into payment formulas.

For the past three weeks, writers use social networking sites, including MySpace, Facebook and YouTube, to communicate among themselves, post short videos, create blogs etc

One of the most popular efforts has been the video "The Office is Closed," which was shot on the picket lines by Peter Rader. The video features the show's writer-producer Greg Daniels and cast members belittling a TV network claim that reuse of episodes on the Web is merely "promotional". That video as shown below was posted on YouTube and has been viewed more than 520,000 times.

Update: The next United Hollywood Live broadcast will be today, November 26th, from 12-1:30 p.m. Covering all aspects of the WGA strike, the interactive show will include interviews, live reports from the various picket lines and video clips. Visit United Hollywood for more details.

Editorial Intern Jobs at Brijit

Brijit is currently seeking editorial interns in their Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C office. Brijit, Inc, is a privately-owned, angel-financed online media startup founded in 2006 with teams based in Washington, DC, Silicon Valley and Beijing.

The ideal candidates should have some writing and editing experience both online and offline, be driven by curiosity, and respect people's time (including their own). Brijit's editorial interns work directly with their section editors, writing abstracts covering a range of sources and topics, and helping to manage their freelance content management system. Editorial interns also work directly with the editor-in-chief and managing editor on long-term planning and research projects.

Foremost, the right candidates will have the desire to work in a startup environment, helping shape the future of journalism at the nexus of traditional and new media.

Requirements:
* Bachelor's Degree (or current pursuit of one)
* Ability to work on deadline
* Understanding of Web-based media
* Strong command of language and a sharp sense of humor

If you are interested in a career at Brijit, email: team@brijit.com

Career in Filmmaking and Screenwriting at NY Film Academy

Are you interested in joining the next generation of filmmakers and actors in one of the most innovative and dynamic film schools and acting schools in the world? The New York Film Academy welcomes that generation.

With intensive, hands-on filmmaking, screenwriting, computer animation, and acting for film programs, the academy welcomes students from all over the world who develop an invaluable network of classmates that often provide opportunities for future work in the film industry.

Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers and stars such as Steven Spielberg, Susan Sarandon, etc have chosen to send their children to the film schools and acting schools of the New York Film Academy. Yet, some of the best projects to come out of the New York Film Academy are from students with no connections to the industry.

The following clip is from "Danny and the Ocean", a film written, directed by a New York Film Academy student named Abraham Heisler.

The Academy has film and acting locations in New York, London, Florence, Paris, Shangai, Bilbao, Milan, Abu Dhabi, Seoul, Budapest, Sardinia, Havard University, Universal Studios in Hollywood and Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.

Stop Sulking...Go Gather!

Starting a career in writing might just need a little nudge, a challenge or better still a passion. Today, online writing contests allow unpublished writers to showcase their talents in writing.

Recently, two aspiring romance novelists, one a 28-year-old doctorate student, the other a 56-year-old horse farmer, won the First Chapters Romance Writing Competition via the social media site Gather.com and will have their books published next year by Simon & Schuster.

Gather held a contest for unpublished writers to post the first two chapters of their romance novels on the Web site and have site users and a panel of editors vote on which works were best.
Gather is a place for you to connect with people who share your passions. It's a place where you can contribute thought, art, commentary, or inspiration.

Grand prize winner Meredith McGuire, currently working on a social science Ph.D at the University of Chicago, received a $5,000 advance for her novel 'The Shadow's Kiss' and Runner-up Starr Toth, who raises horses in Ortonville, Michigan, received $3,500 for 'Trust Me.'

So if you are an aspiring writer and doubt that you might not get published, stop sulking and start your writing career with online writing contests.

You never know:-)

Are NaNoWriMo writers on pace?

I have called this month, "Novel November" in my earlier post about the National Novel Writing Month - an annual event that invites aspiring writers to create a 50,000-word novel, about 175 pages during the month of November.

Actually, I was dared by this challenge and started out from the first of November, but couldn't keep up with my writing. What a shame! Yeah, I'd be better prepared next year:-) But, with 18 days into this year's contest, some writers are almost there though others are yet to go halfway.

I've been opportune to read a few excerpts from some writer's novel. One participant says, "Somewhere in the book, I am going to have to probably kill off one of the characters. That sucks, because I like my characters, and seeing as how I based them around people I actually know, it's even harder". Yeah, that's really some challenge, huh? Being a writer isn't easy, but being a murderer in your book? You'd get the cops on your trail!

Well, as the race becomes radical and the pace becomes powerful, we'd wish all participants of the NaNoWriMo to keep their eyes on the tracks.

Job at Brijit as Section Editor

Brijit, Inc, is a privately-owned, angel-financed online media startup founded in 2006 with teams based in Washington, DC, Silicon Valley and Beijing. Brijit is currently recruiting Section Editors on full-time basis in their Dupont Circle, Washington D.C. office.

The ideal candidates should have writing and editing experience both online and offline; driven by curiosity, and can strip an idea down to its essence in no-time flat. They should also have subject area expertise in at least one, and preferably two, of the following, broadly defined: Politics, Business, Science & Technology, Food/Wine/Travel, Sports.

Section editors are tasked with executing Brijit's coverage of their subject areas. They'll work with the editor-in-chief and managing editor to constantly improve the company's source lists, and help manage the distributed network of freelancers, to produce tens of thousands of abstracts per year.

Requirements:
* Bachelor's Degree (preferably related to your subject area
expertise) from a top school
* 2+ years editorial experience
* Ability to work on deadline
* Deep understanding of Web-based media
* Uncanny command of language and a sharp sense of humor

For more details, email: team@brijit.com

Mommying and Writing at MWLM

Writing is not an easy task! In my experience, I've had to juggle with other activities while keeping up with the research, writing and editing of my book. But how about mommying and writing? No small feat!

Firstly, I'm not a mother! I'm not even a woman:-) But, having read articles and books from mom writers (mothers who are writers), it just makes me respect them more.

As a mother and writer, (mom writer, if you like) Paula Schmitt, founder of Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine has shown remarkable strength in being an editor and publisher. Her award-winning book, Living In a Locker Room: A Mom’s Tale of Survival in a Houseful of Boys is a fast, light and funny tale of the life of motherhood particularly raising boys.

Founded in 2005, Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine is a publication written by moms for moms across the globe who come together to share their stories. The online magazine publishes creative nonfiction essays, fiction, columns, book reviews, profiles about mom writers and visual art.

If you are a mom writer and interested in submitting a material for consideration, click here for guidelines.

Online Community for Writers at Helium

Helium is an online community of fellow writers who have a career in marketing but know more about killing crabgrass than anyone else; people who work in the post office but have raised five honors students; ex-teachers who love to write and writers who love to teach.

At Helium.com, writers can connect with other writers who have similar interests or mentor a new writer. Members can join a moderated discussion forum, in order to discuss trends in writing or improve their writing in the Writers’ Workshops or ask questions of a Team Helium member or just share their thoughts.

Helium’s Marketplace is the only place on the web where publishers are posting the titles they need articles for right now. Helium's partner publishers pay from $20 to $200 for each selected article, so writers can earn more when their article is the one picked by the publisher.

Members can also participate in fun and interesting writing contests at Helium which inspire writers to greater heights and increased earnings.

Does video game violence cause it in real life? Should smoking be allowed in public places? Who would win in a fight: Superman or Batman? Whatever the subject, Helium brings civility back to the Internet. Pick your side in a debate, write a compelling article and compete with others for the best argument.

Sign up and start having fun!

Are you America's Next Top Novelist?

In celebration of the National Novel Writing Month (November 1st-30th), The Editorial Department, America's oldest independent book editing company, is hosting a nationwide contest to find and help perfect the next great American novel.

The grand prize winner will win a complete manuscript evaluation and line-editing package from The Editorial Department and have the opportunity to work directly with Renni Browne, co-author of the bestselling Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, and one of publishing house most experienced and highly respected fiction editors.

The contest is limited to completed fiction manuscripts of any genre between 50,000 and 110,000 words. Published and unpublished authors alike are encouraged to enter, but submitted manuscripts must be unpublished and not under contract at time of submission.

Contest participation is on a first-come, first-served basis with a 500-submission limit.

For more contest guidelines and further details, click here

To register for the contest, click here

Writers Guild Strike: Any Effect Yet?

Just one week into the Writers Guild of America strike (prompted by a disagreement over royalty payments) it has yet to send shivers down the spine as was expected. No doubt, the strike is bad news for all the small businesses that depend on Hollywood to keep running, but no one seems to care.

The American TV viewers are getting through the situation in one way or the other, as most of them haven’t even finished watching the DVDs of Sex and the City, let alone 24 or Desperate Housewives. Instead of being a cause of alarm, the strike has given TV viewers a rare opportunity to catch up with past episodes.

But it seems like there is light at the end of the tunnel as California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, claims to be on the case who of course has some Hollywood experience:-)