We could all use $3,000--and how often is it that you get rewarded for doing less instead of more? If you've written something amazing that's under 1500 words, you could be a winner. Details here.

I received the following announcement--so it's not an endorsement per se but it IS free to enter:

This Saturday, August 5th, the New York Television Festival is holding a special event at the Gotham Comedy Club as a part of its nationwide pitch contest. From 10 AM to 4 PM, you will have the opportunity to give a live, one-minute pitch of an original TV show, which will be entered into the 2006 NYTVF Pitch Contest for a chance to win $8000 from the Independent Film Channel and Rainbow Media. For more details about this competition, please visit the official site.

A video clip of your one-minute pitch will entered into the nationwide pool of entries received by the NYTVF Pitch Contest. From this pool, 50 entries will be selected as semifinalists, and their pitches will be placed on MSN TV starting the week of August 21st for viewers nationwide to watch and vote on. After all votes are tallied, ten lucky finalists will be invited to participate in a Final Pitch event live at the 2006 NYTVF. At this event, you will pitch your idea to a panel of network executives, and one winner will take home $8000 to finance a pilot of their original idea.

To reserve a spot to pitch your idea on Saturday, call 646-429-1423. If you have questions, email jeff@nytvf.com. Good
luck, and be creative!

For you science writers, get your submission in the mail today or tomorrow! You could win $3,000. You could use $3,000, couldn't you?

This is your last chance to submit your entry for the 2006 AAAS Science Journalism Awards.

Submissions must be postmarked by or on TUESDAY,
1 August.

The contest year is 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006. There is
no entry fee.

Each category winner will receive $3,000, to be presented
at the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Annual Meeting in February 2007 in San Francisco, Calif.

To download a brochure and entry form, or to read the
most frequently asked questions, please go here

I just read the following from Dan Wickett, of the Emerging Writers Network. I couldn't find word on whether Avery pays so this might be more for writers looking to get their first anthology publication than those looking to pay the rent:

I just stumbled upon a new publisher recently. They plan on publishing two anthologies per year and are looking for submissions, donations (they are a 501(c)3 not for profit entity), and other fun. Their website describes where they see the difference between the anthology and the literary journal, and while it might be a pretty fine line, it's an interesting concept. The first collection is going to have an excerpt from Stephen Dixon and a new story from Ander Monson. Here's a note from their editors: "Avery, a new anthology of previously unpublished fiction, is currently accepting stories for its first edition. Avery 1 will include stories from Stephen Dixon and Ander Monson, and will be shot through with sharp fiction from promising new writers, young and old. Avery calls itself an anthology rather than a literary magazine because it is a book that wants to be read, rather than a repository for stories by writers waiting to be published elsewhere. Avery is an end, not a means. For more information on submitting, donating, and subscribing, please visit www.averyanthology.org." So there you have it writers, one more place to submit, and readers, one more to subscribe.

"Ready to submit work to literary magazines, but feeling overwhelmed? Though the journals below are well-respected, many of them contributing to prize anthologies such as "Pushcart" and "Best American," they are also open to new writers. Most literary magazines can be found in your local bookstore or ordered through the journal's website, making it easy to familiarize yourself with the market." (About)

Via the Written Road:

inTravel Magazine is a new online travel magazine and forum currently looking for freelance submissions on topics ranging from romantic places and unique cultural experiences to travel book reviews. They're also looking for photos and longer features on personal travel experiences. They're paying in t-shirts, but the site has a slick look and a fun-loving tone. In fact, they're currently looking for entries in a "Funniest Travel Stories" contest, with unspecified prizes.

The deadline for the next issue is July 31st. Find submissions guidelines here.

The site also mentions a place called Pology that's looking for submissions (unpaid but maybe a nice place to build up clips for beginners), plus a plug for Book Passage's 2006 Travel Writers & Photographers Conference.

I got a tip from writer Wendy Lyons Sunshine about the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference of the Southwest when she discussed it on the Freelance Success Board:

I can't say enough about how terrific it was. Before I went I thought the $275 fee was excessive - in retrospect it seems low for the quality they offered. Lineup was unbelievable - Pulitzer prize winners everywhere, with Gay Talese as the headliner (he was outstanding, and incredibly gracious). This is only the second of these conferences - last year's was headlined by Susan Orleans. So for those of you interested in writing craft, outstanding reporting, and visiting Texas in July (!) - check it out for next year.

I asked her about what she learned from the conference and she shared thusly:

A few take-home lessons from this event:

Journalists don't have to be just broadcasters of facts, they can be storytellers with passion and conviction. I was personally reassured that the process of thoughtful writing is *not* linear for many authors, and can be riddled with self-doubt and frustration. While some authors have assistants to keep documents organized or do limited research, on the whole, there are few shortcuts in pursuit of topnotch narrative nonfiction. Many speakers had exceptional commitment to their projects, often pursuing stories at personal risk over many years. Kurt Eichenreich emphasized that it's too daunting to sit down to write a whole book, but it's not hard to sit down and write a sliver (ex: 3 pgs/day). Eventually those slivers add up.

This conference will be a jolt of caffeine for anyone who appreciates and aspires to the highest levels of nonfiction writing craft.

There's a new contest over on the Renegade Writer Blog:

The Renegade Writers have a new contest: Write the query letter you'd love to write but would never send -- for example, a query for Dog Fancy about 10 ways cats rock out over dogs, or a query for Ms. magazine on how to make your floors sparkle. Make up sources, make up quotes. Make us laugh! We'll post our favorite three here on the blog and let you vote for your favorite. The winner will get a free, signed copy of The Renegade Writer's Query Letters That Rock when it's released in November.

Editors, you can get in on the game, too! Send us the rejection letter you'd want to send...if you want to be anonymous, that's fine. The writer of the best, funniest rejection letter will win a copy of The Dimwit's Dictionary, a Marion Street Press book about misused words and phrases.

More details here.

I was sent this by Eric Butterman, former editor for Folio: and Travel Agent. Eric Butterman has written for Glamour, Men's Fitness, ESPN.com and numerous others and been a magazine writing instructor for everyone from staff editors of O, The Oprah Magazine and Country Living to talented hopefuls looking to change fields. He wanted me to spread the word of his generous scholarship--so pass it on to any interested potentials.

Fact: Every year, college students from around the country are limited in the New York City summer internships they apply for or don't apply for any due to financial difficulty. Because internships are vital to securing jobs after graduation, this disadvantage is more than unfortunate-it can stall a promising magazine journalism career right in its tracks. Consider this a "de-stalling."

Announcing the 2007 Eric Butterman Internship Scholarship, a $1,000 offering to be strictly used for a New York City magazine summer internship. Here are the rules:

continued...

I received the following news from a little press release I got, so I haven't been able to check out this program extensively myself but it sounds interesting:

Gather.com is featuring a new short-form writing contest and the winners will have will be given the opportunity to have their stories sold on Amazon.com through the Amazon Shorts program.

Amazon Shorts is a year-old program offered on Amazon.com, where authors with previously published works are able to sell short stories of 2,000 to 10,000 words. On the site, located at www.amazon.com/shorts, writers can sell their shorter works for $0.49. The buyer receives a digitally downloaded copy of the story to read whenever they're ready - it doesn't expire. Visitors to the Amazon Shorts site can find short stories in all genres. Before today, authors who had not published works (currently for sale on Amazon.com) were not eligible to sell their works in the Amazon Shorts program.

Through their new contest, unpublished writers (published writers are also eligible) can submit their short form work to Gather.com and compete to have their story sold on Amazon Shorts alongside bestselling authors. Each month (through September 2006) they will select 4 winners - 3 members' choice, based on audience votes, and 1 editors' pick.

Why are they doing this? "Just like last fall when we introduced our first Short Fiction Contest, we continue to look for ways to help writers gain visibility on the site, provide contributors some benefit from their writing activity on Gather, and engage our audience with great content.

We also believe that user-generated content is changing the landscape for publishing text - in much the same way eBay empowered individual sellers or MySpace helped change the music business for indie bands. Amazon Shorts is a great example of this, where writers can test a new story and see if the market is interested. Think of this collaboration as a way to see if 'independent' writers are able to sell their work as well. Writers can test their efforts with peers, rather than with the busy editors at publishing houses. The ability to easily download and read these stories will increase interest in them, reach new audiences, and benefit the sale of the content. We believe this will help Gather members who have not gotten a book published to compete with those who have - a major step forward for the publishing profession in this digital era."