Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Free Online Writing Classes!

This, you can't afford to miss: 10 Universities Offering Free Writing Courses Online

Enjoy the rest of your week!

~BabyBlogger

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

THIS JUST IN

Received this in my inbox today and thought some of you may be interested:tain Arts®

Happy New Year, and welcome to the winter edition of the Blue Mountain Arts Editorial Department newsletter! You’re receiving this because you’re part of the select group of writers who have participated in our market review process in the past 24 months. We receive thousands of poems every year, and less than ten percent are chosen for inclusion in our market review, so just making it to that stage really is an accomplishment. It shows you can write the kind of material we’re looking for -- words that connect with people on deeply emotional and intellectual levels and enable them to convey to their friends, family, and loved ones the feelings they themselves can’t always express.

This issue includes a special announcement about one of our new projects and reminders about our upcoming deadlines. Enjoy!

Be Part of Our New Inspirations Series

Blue Mountain Arts is working on a new book series, and the editorial staff needs your writing talent! Each book in the series will include inspirational stories and wisdom relating to different regions of the U.S. , countries, and cultural groups. We are interested in your non-fiction essays that capture each heritage or region -- stories that only could have happened in the South, for example, or stories that reflect an important value of the French lifestyle. Maybe you have fascinating stories your grandma told you about her childhood in Ireland , or a funny anecdote about your hometown in Indiana that made you say, “Only in the Midwest !” If so, please submit them!

Entries should be between 225 and 375 words long and should end with a pithy saying that sums up the inspirational message. Examples of these sayings might include: “A good attitude is like kudzu -- it spreads” (Southern Inspirations) or “When a problem arises, it’s wise to take the bull by the horns” (Midwestern Inspirations) or “There’s no luck like the luck of the Irish” (Irish Inspirations) or “Everything has an end; only sausages have two” (German Inspirations).

Planned Titles:

  • Heartland Inspirations (the Midwestern United States )
  • Southern Inspirations (the Southern United States )
  • Irish Inspirations
  • French Inspirations
  • German Inspirations
  • Native American Inspirations

If your story is selected for inclusion in this book series, you will receive a one-time payment of $50 for anthology rights upon publication.

Please submit your writings by e-mail to write4us@sps.com by February 15, 2008. Be sure to put the title of the book for which you are submitting in the subject line. There is no limit to the number of essays you can submit!

Calendar

  • January 28, 2008 Mother’s Day poetry submissions deadline
  • February 15, 2008 Inspirations series essay submission deadline
  • March 10, 2008 Father’s Day poetry submissions deadline
  • June 30, 2008 Next poetry contest deadline (see

http://www.sps.com/poetry/index.html for

details)

Words of Inspiration for Writers

There are two worlds: the world that we can measure

with line and rule, and the world that we feel with

our hearts and imagination.

-- Leigh Hunt

A poem is a thought so passionate and alive, that,

like the spirit of a plant or an animal, it has an architecture

of its own, and adorns nature with a new thing.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

To write well is to think well, to feel well, and to render well;

it is to possess at once intellect, soul, and taste.

-- Comte de Buffon

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The editorial staff of Blue Mountain Arts would like to thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. We’d love to hear your questions, comments, suggestions, or ideas for future issues, so please feel free to write to us at write4us@sps.com. You can also e-mail us to request previous issues of our newsletter or if you’d like us to remove your name from this mailing list.

Copyright © 2008 Blue Mountain Arts, Inc. All rights reserved.



Happy New Year and Happy Writing, Everyone!

~BabyBlogger