Author Visit - Victoria Houston

Wisconsin mystery author Victoria Houston will speak at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 11, in the lower level meeting room of the Oshkosh Public Library. She will present her latest title of the Loon Lake Fishing Mystery series, "Dead Hot Shot."

Writer's Digest Competitions

Writer's Digest magazine offers several writing competitions throughout the year; those with deadlines in late 2008 are listed below but a complete list (with entry fees, deadlines, submission guidelines, previous winners and other information) can be found here.

Popular Fiction Awards
Deadline: 11/3/2008

Poetry Awards
Deadline: 12/19/2008

Short Short Story Competition
Deadline: 12/1/2008

Writing Prompt - Aug. 2

The writing prompt for the Saturday, Aug. 2 meeting is: He/she never imagined this would happen to him/her.

Enjoy!

Author Visit - Lynn Spencer

Lynn Spencer, author of "Touching History: the Untold Story of the Drama that Unfolded in the Skies over America on 9-11," will do a presentation and booksigning Monday, July 28, 7:00 p.m. at the Oshkosh Public Library. The event is free and open to the public.

Book Description: The story of the astonishing drama that played out in the skies and in the military installations and air traffic control towers on 9/11 has never before been pieced together and portrayed in a vivid moment-to-moment drama.

Glass Woman Prize

Submissions are now being accepted for the fourth annual Glass Woman Prize. It will be awarded for a work of short fiction or creative non-fiction (prose) written by a woman.

Submission length is between 50 and 5,000 words.

The top prize is $600 and possible (but not obligatory) online publication; two runner up prizes of $100 each and possible (but not obligatory) online publication.

Subject is open, but must be of significance to women. Entries will be judged on passion, excellence, and authenticity in the woman’s writing voice. Previously published work and simultaneous submissions are OK. Copyright is retained by the author.

There is no reading fee.

Submission deadline: September 21, 2008 (receipt date; anything received after that date will be considered for a future prize). Notification date: December 21, 2008.

Call for Submissions - Sci Fi/Fantasy

Jim Baen's Universe is a professional science fiction and fantasy magazine which is published on-line and bi-monthly. Pays 25 cents a word for the first 5,000 words; 15 cents a word thereafter.

Click the links below for more information:

Submission Guidelines

Current Issue

Writers Club Documentary

Jim S. was kind enough to do a short documentary on the Oshkosh Area Writers Club, which includes basic club information as well as interviews with numerous members. After much labor, the film is complete and will be broadcast on the Oshkosh community access channel, CATV 2, beginning the week of June 30.

The 30-minute documentary will air at:
11 p.m. Monday, June 30
10 p.m. Wednesday, July 2
10 a.m. Saturday, July 5
8:30 p.m. Sunday, July 6

If you know someone who might be interested, please share with a friend :)

For a complete programming schedule of CATV 2, click here.

UPDATE: Wisconsin Regional Writers Conference

The Wisconsin Regional Writers Association's fall conference will be held September 26–28, 2008 at the Plaza Hotel & Suites in Wausau. Jim S. is going and there is room for three more passengers. Check your calendar and let Jim know if you're interested in going; a second carpool can be formed if interest warrants.

UPDATED: Screenwriting Class

The Screenwriting Class in August is now being offered for FREE. Details below:

Love Movies? Want To Learn How To Write One?

***INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING***

Taught by Vermont’s Goddard College

MFA Screenwriting Candidate MATTHEW J. FORSS, BA, MS

2-DAY SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP
(AUG. 15th & AUG. 16th, 2008)

Learn:
• Formatting
• Dialogue/Character Development
• Act Structure
• Rewriting
• Selling Your Script and more!

Time: 9AM-4:30PM BOTH DAYS
Breaks Provided – Bring Lunch/Eat Out

Location: Faith Lutheran Church
1745 Ohio St.
Oshkosh, WI

Limited Enrollment. Cost $FREE$ Sign-Up Before JULY 25, 2008 By Phone: 920-966-0325 or Email: worldmusicman2002@yahoo.com

***Certificate Upon Completion**

Green Lake Christian Writers Conference

The 2008 Green Lake Christian Writers Conference will be held Aug. 17-22 at the Green Lake Conference Center, WI.

Writing Prompt for July 19

There is no meeting July 5th; the writing prompt for the July 19th meeting is: "She shakes her glass leg." Use it in a poem, essay, story or sketch. Best of luck!

Peninsula Pulse Contests

Peninsula Pulse’s Annual Writing and Photography Expose is accepting submissions of poetry, prose and photographs until July 4th for the Hal Grutzmacher Award for Literature. Selected winners will receive cash prizes and appear in the Aug. 1, 2008 issue of the Pulse.

Materials should be submitted via email or on CD; email address is letters@ppulse.com

Prose should be double-spaced, 12-point font, not more than 2000 words and no more than 3 submissions.

Poetry is limited to 3 poems; 1 per page.

Up to 5 photo prints between 4x6 and 8x12 may be submitted (photos will not be returned).

Send entries to:
letters@ppulse.com

or mail to:
Peninsula Pulse
c/o Contest Entries
P.O. Box 452
Sister Bay, WI 54234

Include your name, address, phone and email, plus 25-50 words about yourself.

For more information call (920) 854-9342.

Writing Prompt for June 21

The writing prompt for June 21 is: It was round and sweet.

Use it in a poem, essay, fiction or sketch - it's up to you!

Character Checklist

Author Star Davies has created a check list that she uses when developing her characters, focusing on the character's inner workings that reveal what the character might do in any given situation. You can view the article here.

WRWA Fall Conference

The Wisconsin Regional Writers Association's fall conference will be held September 26–28, 2008 at the Plaza Hotel & Suites in Wausau.

Speakers include:

Ralph Sharp (Internet Content Developer)
“Authors and the Internet–
Make a Splash on the World Wide Web”

Nancy Christie (Professional Writer)
“Making Money with Words–
Corporate Writing Opportunities”

Joanna MacKenzie (Literary Agent)
“The Author-Agent Relationship: What You Need to Know About Finding Representation; Building a Platform and Getting Published”

Lamoine MacLaughlin, Jane Osypowski, (poets)
“Poetry and Our Youth”

Rosanne Bittner
(Established Novelist, ten million books sold)
“The Measure of Success”

You can attend one or both days ($45 for one day, $65 both; members receive a discount).

For more information, visit their website.

Author Visit

Denis Guillickson, author of "Vagabond Halfback: The Life and Times of Johnny Blood McNally and Before They Were The Packers," a historical account of the Packer's football baginnings from 1895 through 1921, will do a discussion and booksigning at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 21 at Barnes and Noble Store, Grand Chute. For more information, call 920-831-7880.

Literary Magazine Give-Away

Hope S. has donated sample copies of popular U.S. literary magazines that feature fiction, essays and poetry. Experts recommendation authors look at sample issues before submitting work for publication; most sample copies are $5 or more but you can get free copies at the next meeting on Saturday, June 7th.

Summer Reading Program

The Oshkosh Public Library adult summer reading program has begun. Register at the 1st floor Information Desk or online at www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org.

Participation is easy; for every 20 minutes you read, check off a box on your reading ticket. When the ticket is full, turn it in to the Information Desk. Every Friday, tickets are randomly drawn for prizes. For more information, call 236-5202.

Author Visit

Jamie Miller, local author of the nationally popular “Make It Your Own” cookbook, will be at Apple Blossom Books, downtown Oshkosh, at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 7th.

Jamie was born in 1963, in Okinawa, Japan, to American parents, and grew up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. When not working on recipes for her cookbooks, Miller is trying out recipes she's developed for cooking contests. She's won more than $80,000 in cash and prizes over the past eight years.

Don’t miss this delicious treat to meet Jamie and get your cookbook signed by the author!

Screenwriting Class

Love Movies?
Want To Learn How To Write One?

***INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING***

Taught by Vermont’s Goddard College

MFA Screenwriting Candidate

MATTHEW J. FORSS, BA, MS

2-DAY SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP
(AUG. 15th & AUG. 16th, 2008)

Learn:
• Formatting
• Dialogue/Character Development
• Act Structure
• Rewriting
• Selling Your Script and more!

Time: 9AM-4:30PM BOTH DAYS
Breaks Provided – Bring Lunch/Eat Out

Location: Faith Lutheran Church
1745 Ohio St.
Oshkosh, WI

Limited Enrollment. Cost $25.00. Sign-Up Before JUNE 23, 2008 By Calling 920-966-0325

***Certificate Upon Completion***