ArtAscent Figures International Art Competition – Call For Writers

The competition theme is Figures. Human beauty, creature shadows, unexpected forms. Reveal the figures you have imagined. Submissions including diverse interpretations of the human figure will be considered.

Entries may include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, short stories and other written explorations (up to 1000 words). Previously published or unpublished are eligible. Writers retain copyrights.

$50 cash prize for gold winner. At least 3 prizes of publication in ArtAscent Art and Literature Journal including links to your website, promotion on ArtAscent website writer directory, and exposure in social media.

Submission deadline: August 31, 2013
Entries are $7

See www.artascent.com for submission details and to enter.

Call For Writers Deadline June 30, 2013 – Mother Earth International Literature Competition

$50 cash prize for gold winner. 3 prizes of publication in ArtAscent Art and Literature Journal including links to your website, promotion on ArtAscent website writer directory, and exposure in social media.

The competition theme is Mother Earth. The concept evokes visions of environmentalism, spirituality, wellness, cultural unity and responsibility. Who is Mother Earth to you? What needs to be expressed about Mother Earth?

Entries may include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, short stories and other written explorations (up to 500 words).

Submission deadline: June 30, 2013
Entries are $7
See www.artascent.com for submission details and to enter.

Call For Writers Deadline April 30, 2013 – International Writing Competition

Three prizes of $50, publication in ArtAscent Magazine including your name a link to your website, as well as exposure in ArtAscent website and social media.

The competition theme is Emergence. Emergence can mean the gradual beginning or coming forth; the event consisting of the start of something; a growth in strength or number or importance; the becoming visible. How you interpret it – literally or symbolically – is up to you.

This call for entries may include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, short stories and other written explorations (up to 500 words). Your submission may be previously published, but must be your original creation. Non-winning entries will not be published. You retain rights to your work.

Submission Deadline: April 30, 2013
Entry $7

See www.artascent.com for submission details and to enter.

Bocas Lit Fest- 25 to 28 April 2013, Port of Spain, Trinidad

This year’s NGC Bocas Lit Fest promises to be chock-full of activities and events, a true whirlwind book lover’s paradise of people to meet and any number of happenings to attend. If you haven’t yet, do stop by our official programme page, www.bocaslitfest.com where you can find an overview of highlights, as well as a detailed schedule for each day of the festival. Here’s just a cross-section of what you can expect from the 25th to the 28th of April:

The Edinburgh World Writers Conference makes its long-awaited stops at the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, bringing together authors from around the globe to engage in pertinent, button-pressing topics on reading and books

A line up of immersive, engaging workshops, for a nominal fee — full list of registration details available on our official workshop tab at www.bocaslitfest.com

The launch of CaribLit, an integrated platform of resources for Caribbean writers, publishers and all members of the conversation on regional reading and writing, the brainchild of the Caribbean Literature Action Group

The New Talent Showcase, which shines a spotlight on some keen literary up and comers;
The KFC Children’s Bocas Lit Fest, a veritable festival within the festival itself, a series of readings and interactive sessions devoted to fostering an appreciation for reading and writing in even the youngest bibliophiles amongst us

The second annual NGC Bocas Lecture: this year’s speaker is neuroscientist Professor Ian Robertson, who will elaborate on his paradigm-altering publication, The Winner Effect — How Power Affects Your Brain.

A hearty salute to spoken word: The Verses Bocas Poetry Slam, co-hosted by the 2 Cents Movement, wherein the fiercest, freshest voices in spoken word battle it out for cash prizes and glory!

Appearances, talks, panels and discussions from a plethora of Caribbean and Caribbean-based writers, as well as special international guests: just a sampler of the list includes Olive Senior; Oonya Kempadoo, Hannah Lowe; Teju Cole; Irvine Welsh; Ian McDonald; Marlon James; Vahni Capildeo — and many others. For a full list of participating authors, have a look at the official participants page www.bocaslitfest.com

The announcement of the winner of the 2013 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, from our distinguished shortlist, which features the category-winning work of Monique Roffey for fiction (Archipelago); Kendel Hippolyte for poetry (Fault Lines) and Rupert Roopnarine for non-fiction (The Sky’s Wild Noise).

The inaugural announcement of the Hollick Arvon Prize winner, an award presented to one emerging Caribbean writer in the interests of helping her/him complete a manuscript in progress, awarded this year for fiction work.

Further details of the 2013 NGC Bocas Lit Fest programme, a full list of participants, and a comprehensive breakdown of information is available right here at www.bocaslitfest.com — so feel free to peruse the site, as well as our frequently-updated Facebook and Twitter pages.

The four-day 2013 NGC Bocas Lit Fest is principally sponsored by The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago, with supporting sponsorship from One Caribbean Media and KFC. Other sponsors include First Citizens, Courts, and Flow.

Workshops on Creative Writing With David Chislett

WITS Writing Centre is pleased to announce a 4-session series of workshops with David Chislett. David has published 6 books since 2001, both through publishers and independently. In this 4-week programme with WITS Writing Centre he shares his knowledge and experience in a series of 2-hour sessions.

The 4 sessions run from 4pm to 6pm as follows:
March 19 Basic intro to Creative writing: where does it come from?
April 9 Planning a book… some structural tips
April 16 Dealing with Publishers: Where are you at?
April 23 Marketing yourself as an independent

The series of seminars will run on Tuesday evenings from 16:00 to 18:00 at the WITS Writing Centre, Ground Floor, The Waternweiler Library, WITS East Campus. Attendance of the seminars is FREE but seating is limited. To pre-book your place please email a sample of your work to Pamela.Nichols@wits.ac.za and we will respond with a seat confirmation

“The sessions are not intended as writing master-classes per se,” Explained David of the events, “But rather to help equip writers with structural and procedural know-how that will help them leverage their writing by understanding their own processes and the way the industry works.”

Issues covered will include:
• So I have an idea, where do I start writing?
• How do I approach a publisher?
• I am good, but nobody knows my work
• How can I tap into my creativity to write more consistently?
• How do I know where to take my story next?

David won the Ernst Van Heerden Prize for creative writing in 1998 and began his career in publishing in 2001 with the release of Urban 1, a collection of short stories for previously unpublished writers that he compiled and contributed to. This series ran to 3 volumes before being discontinued. Then in 2009 he released his debut solo volume of short fiction entitled, A Body Remembered. In 2010, the music industry textbook, 1,2,1,2: A Step By Step Guide To The SA Music Industry and in 2012, For You Or Someone Like You, his debut collection of poetry.

In addition, Chislett has worked in all facets of the South African media and ran his own PR agency for four years. In these sessions he combines his craft and practice in writing with his knowledge and experience in marketing, publishing and creativity to bring a 4 part series of sessions together that will equip any aspiring writer to not only write better but also to navigate the challenges that come before and after writing.

Attendance is not limited to students and is open to the public and is FREE but seating is limited. Please pre-book your place by sending an email with your query and a sample of your work to Pamela.Nichols@wits.ac.za and we will respond with a seat confirmation.

The 2012 NGC Bocas Lit Fest-26 to 29 April 2012, Trinidad and Tobago

The 2012 NGC Bocas Lit Fest programme overflows with readings, discussions, performances, workshops, and more — over eighty events in all. Highlights include:

• The announcement of the 2012 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, a major regional award recognising Caribbean writers of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction.

• The announcement of a new annual award to support an emerging Caribbean writer in completing a manuscript and making connections in the international publishing world.

• The televised OCM Bocas Debate. This annual high-level discussion of burning public-interest topics will address the legacies of Independence over four mornings on TV6’s Morning Edition programme.

• The first annual NGC Bocas Lecture: the Big Idea, delivered by distinguished geneticist Professor Steve Jones on the provocative topic “How Different Are Human Races and Should We Care?”

• The world premiere of The Old Yard: Carnival Portraits from Trinidad, written for strings, winds, and percussion by Adam Walters and inspired by traditional characters such as the Moko Jumbie and Dame Lorraine.

• Screenings of films based on Caribbean novels and poems — see how our literature translates to the big screen.

• The launch of the Caribbean Literature Action Group, a new partnership between the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, the British Council, and Commonwealth Writers, aimed at supporting the development of Caribbean writing and publishing.

• A Pigeon Point Bocas Lit Lime in Tobago, in March, to open the 2012 Festival.

Plus readings by celebrated Caribbean authors, discussion panels, workshops, performance poetry and open mic sessions, film screenings, music, a full programme of events for children, and more.

Commonwealth Book and Short Story Prize

Commonwealth Writers final call for entries:

Last few weeks remaining to enter the new Commonwealth Book Prize and Commonwealth Short Story Prize. The prizes are part of a new initiative, Commonwealth Writers, an online hub to inspire, inform and create a community of writers from all over the world. Together with the prizes, Commonwealth Writers unearths, develops and promotes the best new fiction from across the Commonwealth.

Commonwealth Short Story Prize: Wednesday 30 November 2011 (5pm GMT)
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction in English (2000-5000 words). Regional winners receive £1,000 and the overall winner receives £5,000.

Commonwealth Book Prize: Friday 9 December 2011 (5pm GMT)
Awarded for best first book, the Commonwealth Book Prize is open to writers who have had their first novel (full length work of fiction in English) published between 1 January and 31 December 2011. Regional winners receive £2,500 and the overall winner receives £10,000.

Enter online at www.commonwealthwriters.org.

The Bocas Lit Fest:The Trinidad and Tobago Literary Festival

When:
Thursday 28 April to Sunday 1 May, 2011, with readings, performances, workshops, and discussions all through the day. Plus events every weekend during April.

Where:
Trinidad and Tobago, at the southern end of the Caribbean.
Main venues: National Library and Old Fire Station, downtown Port of Spain

April weekend events: • Mayaro/Rio Claro • Scarborough, Tobago • San Fernando • Chaguanas • Arima • Toco/Sangre Grande • Cedros/Point Fortin • Penal • Princes Town

Why:
to celebrate the Caribbean’s literary achievements in a festive atmosphere
to broaden our cultural capital into an area in which we have already excelled, and to which
many aspire
to foster interest in reading and writing
to help demystify books and improve literacy
to help sustain the book industry, which supports this
to expand our idea of literature by including performance poetry and rapso
to exploit and enhance our presence on the world stage
to launch an annual prize for literature (http://www.bocaslitfest.com/ocm-bocas-prize.html)

http://www.bocaslitfest.com/