SUCCESSFUL PUBLISHING NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2024
Content of this newsletter
- WRITING CONTESTS
- WRITERS RESIDENCIES, FELLOWSHIPS, & GRANTS
- FREELANCE WRITING
Erika Verillo wrote about this month: “August is affectionately known as the “dead month” in the publishing industry. During August all work comes to a virtual halt as editors, agents, proofreaders, typesetters, CEOs, dog walkers and everyone else on the planet takes a much-needed vacation. If your manuscript is ready to go, you have several choices of what to do during the dead month. You can head to the beach, you can write your next novel … or you can do research! Some of this is Readers Digests useful article (see below in the chapter Freelance).”
WRITING CONTESTS
ScotiaBank Giller Prize
Open to books published in Canada in English between July 1, 2024, and September 30, 2024. Must be nominated by a publisher. Genre: Fiction. Full-length novel or collection of short stories published in English, either originally, or in translation. Prize: $100,000 to the winner and $10,000 to each of the finalists. Deadline August 16
https://scotiabankgillerprize.ca/important-dates/
RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction
The writer must be a resident of the UK or the Republic of Ireland or have been a resident in the UK or ROI for the past three years. Genre: Nonfiction book. Prize: Two awards – one of £10,000 and one of £5,000 – are offered to support writers to complete their first commissioned works of non-fiction. Deadline: August 30
https://rsliterature.org/rsl-giles-st-aubyn-awards-for-non-fiction/
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MSLEXIA Novel Contest (Children and Young Adults)
Submit the opening 3,000 words of your novel for children or young adult readers. Your novel must be at least 20,000 words, and our competition is open to women who are not yet published as novelist - self-published authors are eligible providing you've had fewer than 500 sales. First prize £5,000.
£26 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 23
https://mslexia.co.uk/competitions/childrens-and-ya-novel/
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GRANTS & RESIDENCIES
Aureus-WIELS Residency 2025
WIELS calls for applications from Canadian artists (Canadian nationals, or those living and working in Canada) for a 6-month residency at WIELS, January through June 2025. The application deadline is Monday 19 August
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FREELANCE
No matter if you apply for a freelance job or if you want to convince an agent or publisher to read your book manuscript, you need to get your foot in the door by writing a great query. Writers Digest offers help.
How to Write Successful Queries for Any Genre of Writing: What elements go into a query letter and 39 real examples of query letters that have worked for writers with commentary from their agents
https://www.writersdigest.com/publishing-insights/how-to-write-successful-queries-for-any-genre-of-writing
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Chicken Soup - Changing Habits
Looking for true stories about how you realized a certain habit or attitude was detrimental to you, what you did to change that, and the difference it made in your life. Submit no more than 1200 words in the first person. If accepted, receive $250 and ten copies of the book.
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ENROUTE
Air Canada enRoute is a travel magazine with a Canadian perspective that speaks to an international readership. Outline your story idea and your approach, writing your pitch in the same tone that you’re proposing for your piece. Please make it specific, with a strong sense of place rather than a travel–guide–style roundup of attractions (restaurants, shopping, hotels, etc.). Pays at least 30 cents/word.
https://enroute.aircanada.com/en/article/contributors-guidelines/
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FOOD52
A pitch is a paragraph-long explainer of a piece you'd like to write. It should include a brief overview of what you intend to achieve, as well as interviews you plan to conduct with sources, and any other relevant details. We pay flat rates, versus per word, based on the anticipated length and amount of work. This ranges from $200 for a short article or standard recipe (plus up to $50 in ingredient reimbursements) to $500-plus for bigger projects.
https://food52.com/p/how-to-pitch-food52
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TRAILS
The focus of Trails is on backpacking and other human/naturally-powered means of sleeping outdoors: bike-packing, canoe camping, even things like rafting or mountaineering are fair game (feel free to be creative with those criteria—we covered “skate-packing” in Issue One). Payment is a minimum of 50 cents/word.
https://trailsmag.net/pages/contributor-information#now
Woodworks
Canada: Open to BC and Yukon writers. Genre: CNF and memoir. "In this issue, we’ll explore how point of view, setting, description, dialogue, and other narrative techniques can be used to tell the truth in new and engaging ways. Whether your subject is history, science, nature, travel, or your own life, we would love to hear from you if you work in creative nonfiction." Payment: $125 for articles of 400–550 words and $250 for articles of 800–1,050 words. $50 for selected reprints.$100 for cover art and $25 for other interior illustrations.
Deadline July 19. Accepts reprints. https://www.bcwriters.ca/submit/
August:
Often a time of transition from summer to fall can symbolize seasons of change and renewal in our lives. August, the eighth month of the Gregorian calendar, it was named for the first Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar.
Famous writers born in August: David Baldacci, Suzanne Collins, and Danielle Steel.
Have a wonderful month ahead.
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