Five other writers will be selected as runners-up; they will also be published on the website and collect $100 each.

Only previously unpublished writers are eligible to enter. Each written piece must contain 1,500-5,000 words. Those who enter will have to pay a $10 entry fee. A deadline has been set for 11:59 p.m. EST on July 1, 2013. Follow this link to read all the rules and learn all the details about this contest.

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Vonnegut advised his son (author Mark Vonnegut) “to carry on without an advance” while working on his first book. You can read the complete letter he wrote to his son in the new Kurt Vonnegut: Letters collection, but we’ve posted an excerpt below:

I have mixed feelings about advances on first books. They are hard to get, for one thing, and are usually so small that they tie you up without appreciably improving your financial situation. Also: I have seen a lot of writers stop writing or at least slow down after getting an advance. They have a feeling of completion after making a deal. That’s bad news creatively. If you are within a few months of having a finished, edited manuscript, I advise you to carry on without an advance, without that false feeling of completion, without that bit of good news to announce to a lot of people before the job is really done.

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Throughout Maberry’s career, he has won multiple Stoker Awards for his horror work. Last month, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers released the third installment of the Rot & Ruin series, Flesh & Bone.

He has written for Marvel Comics and published multiple novels for both adults and young-adults. As a nonfiction writer, Maberry has examined topics ranging from martial arts to zombie pop culture. Check out the highlights from our interview below…

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Each trading card is inspired by a banned book or author. There is one for each day of the week.  The week kicked off with an homage to George Orwell‘s Animal Farm (pictured right) created by artist Barry Fitzgerald, followed by an homage to Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, drawn by Kent Smith. Today’s card by an artist known as Webmocker, celebrates John Updike’s Rabbit, Run.

Here is the artist’s statement: “Burning and otherwise destroying books being a favorite activity of censors, deconstruction seemed an appropriate approach to this tattered (literally falling apart as I read it) copy of Rabbit, Run.  Coincidentally, this book was purchased at the Friends of the Lawrence Public Library book sale.”

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John Vitale

Here’s more from the company memo: “John joined the company in April 1977 when Harper & Row acquired Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. In 1978, he was named Production Director for the Children’s Division. In 1998 he was promoted to Vice President of Book Production, where he added the Adult Trade Group to his existing responsibilities of Children’s and Audio.”

The publisher will promote Tracey Menzies to VP of production and creative operations to replace Vitale.

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According to the publisher, the novelist tried to sell the novella to The Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s in the 1940s. His children acknowledged that the story was autobiographical.

Check it out: “Written to be sold under the pseudonym of ‘Mark Harvey’—Vonnegut was working in public relations for General Electric and used pseudonyms to protect himself from the charge of moonlighting—BASIC TRAINING is the story of Haley Brandon. The adolescent protagonist comes to the farm of his relative, an old crazy who insists upon being called The General, who means to teach Haley to become a straight-shooting American. Haley’s only means of survival will lead him to unflagging defiance of the General’s deranged values.”

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To celebrate National Novel Editing Month, we’ve reprinted a writing tool from a great novelist. In a tribute to Kurt Vonnegut, blogger Derek Sivers reproduced a series of story grids that the great novelist made during a New York City lecture.

Follow this link to see all the charts. These story grids are invaluable tools during the editing process.   Writers can chart their manuscript against popular and successful story arcs–deciding how much they want to deviate from a classic structure.

Here’s more about the “Cinderella” grid embedded above: “It starts with her awful life with evil stepsisters, scrubbing the fireplace. Then she get an invitation to the ball! Things look up. Then the fairy godmother makes her a dress and a coach. Even better! Then she goes to the ball, and dances with the prince! This is great! But then it’s midnight. She has to go. Oh no. Sadness. Back to her humdrum life scrubbing the fireplace. But it’s not as bad as before, because she’s had this encouraging experience. Then, the prince finds her, and the happiness factor is off the chart! Happily ever after.

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Mark Vonnegut

Charles Shields just published an authorized biography of the late novelist, And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life. Mark Vonnegut wrote an email to io9 defending his late father and criticizing the work of biographer Charles Shields.

Here’s an excerpt from the letter: “Shields spent very little time with a much diminished 84 year old who right up to the end showed more flashes of brilliance and warmth than most. There’s a ton of evidence, including his art and writing that he fought hard and largely succeeded to overcome PTSD from WWII and a quirky, but not altogether unloving childhood to have mostly loving and supportive relationships with his siblings and children and even his allegedly distant father. Shields had to ignore most of what I and other people who knew Kurt and most of what he read in the letters to come up with these shocking truths about a beloved writer.”

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The school board voted to ban Kurt Vonnegut‘s book from the high school library along with Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. If you believe in this cause, the museum is asking for donations to help pay for shipping for the books. Follow this link to donate. 

Here’s more from the museum: “If you are a student at Republic High School, please e-mail us at i…@vonnegutlibrary.org to request your free copy of the book. Please provide us with your name, address, and grade level. We have up to 150 books to share, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor. We think it’s important for everyone to have their First Amendment rights. We’re not telling you to like the book… we just want you to read it and decide for yourself. We will not share your request or any of your personal information with anyone else.” (Via Reddit)

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Ockler responded in a proud blog blog post this week: “Banned, but Never Shamed.” She’s already earned over 60 comments from readers around the country. What do you think about the controversial school board decision?

Check it out: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million times more. I get that my book isn’t appropriate for all teens, and that some parents are opposed to the content. That’s fine. Read it and decide for your own family. I wish more parents would do that — get involved in their kids’ reading and discuss the issues the books portray. But don’t make that decision for everyone else’s family by limiting a book’s availability and burying the issue under guise of a ‘curriculum discussion.’” (Via Reddit)

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Last year, Missouri State assistant professor Wesley Scroggins attacked the books at a a school board meeting and wrote a newspaper column for the Springfield News-Leader (“Filthy books demeaning to Republic education“). This GalleyCat editor will never forget the joy of discovering Vonnegut in his own high school library and can’t imagine missing that experience.

Here’s how Scroggins described Slaughterhouse-Five: “This is a book that contains so much profane language, it would make a sailor blush with shame. The ‘f word’ is plastered on almost every other page. The content ranges from naked men and women in cages together so that others can watch them having sex to God telling people that they better not mess with his loser, bum of a son, named Jesus Christ.” (Via Reddit)

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The list features people who have acquired highly elaborate tattoos paying homage to titles such as Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs.

According to an interview we did with tattoolit bloggers Justin Taylor and Eva Talmadge, authors Kurt Vonnegut, e.e. cummings, and William Shakespeare enjoy great popularity amongst tattooed readers.

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Here’s more from the press release: “Daniel Pinkwater, Annie Barrows, Tom Lichtenheld, Calef Brown, Peter Reynolds, Eric Carle, Jon Scieszka, Mo Willems, and Lydia Bastianich all agreed to create unique doodles for the auction. Doodles can be viewed at doodledayusa.org until the launch of the eBay auction on May 12.”

Some authors, like Kurt Vonnegut, have attracted as much fame for their doodles as they have for their writing. Reportedly, this is the first year publishers have participated in National Doodle Day. The publishers will host public events on that day in the following cities: Chicago, Salt Lake City, and Sausalito.

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In a tribute to Kurt Vonnegut, blogger Derek Sivers reproduced a series of story grids that the great novelist made during a New York City lecture. These story grids are invaluable tools during the editing process.

Follow this link to see all the charts.  Writers can chart their manuscript against popular and successful story arcs–deciding how much they want to deviate from a classic structure.

Here’s more about the “Common Disaster Story” grid embedded above: “It’s an ordinary day in an ordinary town.  But something horrible happens!  A child falls down a well!  The whole town gathers to save her … ‘People LOVE that story! This story arc has been written a thousand times in a thousand tales. And because of it, people think their lives are supposed to be like this.’”

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Flavorpill

The drawings ranged from insect portraits to nightmare images. Wallace drew one of the funnier pieces, doodling glasses and fangs on a photo of Cormac McCarthy.

Vonnegut (pictured with his artwork, via) incorporated many of his drawings into his books. He even had his own art gallery exhibitions. What author should illustrate their next book?

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