Opportunities

Drum roll, please. It is time to announce the person whose name I drew for copy #1 of Publish Your Nonfiction Book. In my last post, I wrote that I didn't know anything about Doris except that she has a beautiful smile. Well, I guess the smile worked. I drew her name. Congratulations, Doris.

That's not all. Doris is a writer, traveler, and photographer who lives in China at the moment. She keeps an active web page at Doris Gallan . Her latest post on crossing a busy street in China is an adventure in itself. As an armchair traveler, I intend to visit Doris' site often.

Remember that two additional copies of Publish Your Nonfiction Book will be given away to members of this community (e.g. followers of Calling All Aspiring Writers of Nonfiction Books). I will draw a name for the next copy at the end of June. Everyone who has not already won a book this year is eligible.
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While I was exploring various web sites, this past week, I found four opportunities that I want to share with you.

1. Here's a heads-up alert about another nonfiction agent that I've added to our list. The agent's name is Regina Ryan of Regina Ryan Publishing Enterprises. Guide to Literary Agents Blog has an interesting interview with her.
This is her advice on making a positive impact with a proposal:
"1) Say what your book project is right away on one or two sentences, without a big preamble; after that, you can explain it more fully. 2) Do a careful, thoughtful, sharp analysis of the competition. It would be good to include Amazon sales figures with your analysis. Figure out why your book is different and better than each, and articulate that fully. It's a key to selling your proposal and book."
Link to the complete interview, here.

2. Narrative Magazine has a spring contest you might want to explore. The contest is open to nonfiction as well as to fiction. The list of possible entry types is impressive. This is their lead:
"Our spring contest is open to all fiction and nonfiction writers. We're looking for short shorts, short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, all forms of literary nonfiction, and excerpts from longer works of both fiction and nonfiction. Entries must be previously unpublished, no longer than 15,000 words, and must not have been previously chosen as a winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest."
First prize is $3,250, entry fee is $20, and the submission deadline is midnight PDT on July 31, 2010. To review complete details, link here.

3. Carpe Articulum Literary Review has a June special for their revolving contest. From the Winning Writers Newsletter, comes this information: "Carpe Articulum Will Accept Free Contest Entries During the Month of June! We're looking for short fiction, essays, poetry, novellas, and photography. Email your entries with your contact information and a cover sheet to editor-in-chief@carpearticulum.com. Please include code FREEJUNE1WW on the cover sheet."
Visiting their web site and following the detailed instructions is the best way to enter the contest. Link here. Remember to include FREEJUNE1WW on the cover sheet.

4. The editors of Cup of Comfort books has put out a call for submissions for their newest volume: Cup of Comfort for Christian Women. Their request:
"For this anthology of 40-50 inspirational true stories, we are looking for narrative personal essays (creative-nonfiction short stories) written by and for Christian women that reveal how one's faith has provided (provides) insight, guidance, comfort, and joy in navigating one's life."
Compensation is $50 + one copy of the book for each story published. Submission deadline is August 15, 2010.
For complete submission guidelines, link here.

Next time, look for an update from David Nicholls about Lebrary.com.