British Author and writing coach Jo Parfitt posts a video of part of her  lecture comparing what she’s learned about writing to her early diaries. She reminds us about the failure of editorial words: http://www.joparfitt.com/

Mary Alice Long, PhD is the new Seattle work-life balance examiner for Examiner.com. Mary Alice is a Jungian therapist, play consultant, and writer. She is also a long time Writing It Real subscriber looking for avenues to write, read, publish, and assist other writers to take action and make hay! The time is now to publish you work and bring a sense of balance into your life as a writer.

http://facebook.com/playequalspeace

http://www.examiner.com/x-17700-Seattle-WorkLife-Balance-Examiner~y2009m7d22-Prioritize-and-schedule-time-to-play

This week, another exchange between Sheila and student Kathy Lockwood centers on how we must not separate our lives into the one that is a distraction to poem making and the one that is about poem making. The article also offers a reading list for those who want to consider “why poetry matters” to them.

If you have something to add about ways to see poetry  in our lives or books to add to the must-read list, please comment here.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jul/04/poetry-slow-language-movement

The 2009 New England Book Festival has issued a call for entries for its annual program celebrating the best books of the holiday season. Deadline for submissions is November 25, 2009.

The New England Book Festival will consider non-fiction, fiction, biography/autobiography, children’s books, teenage, how-to, cookbooks, science fiction, audio/spoken word, photography, art, poetry and spiritual works published on or after Jan. 1, 2000. All entries must be in English.

TO ENTER: Entry forms are available online at www.diyconvention.com or may be faxed/e-mailed to you. Please contact our office at 323-665-8080 for fax requests. Applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable entry fee of $50 in the form of a check, money order or PayPal online payment in U.S. dollars for each submission. Multiple submissions are permitted but each entry must be accompanied by a separate form and entry fee.
CONTACT: NewEnglandBookFest@sbcglobal.net
323-665-8080

Libby Grandy’s website has some useful articles for writers. My favorite is on researching and finding agents. It’s succinct and gives you the info you need:  http://www.libbygrandy.com/id42.html

Enter the only WD competition exclusively for poets, the
Writer’s Digest Poetry Awards! Regardless of style—rhyming,
free verse, haiku and more—if your poems are 32 lines or fewer,
we want them all. Submit your entries by the December 15, 2009
deadline … and your words could be worth cold hard cash!

First Place: $500
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $100
Fourth Through Tenth Place: $25
Eleventh Through Twenty-Fifth Place:
$50 gift certificate to Writer’s Digest Books

Plus, the names and poem titles of all First- through Tenth-Place
winners will be printed in the August 2010 issue of Writer’s Digest,
and all winners will receive a copy of the 2010 Poet’s Market.

What’s Your Favorite Wedding Story?
Mention weddings and everyone has a memory or story to share. Choice Publishing Group (CPG) is collecting these stories and memories about weddings for their new book Patchwork Path: Wedding Bouquet.
CPG is looking for original stories and essays from 250 to 2000 words about weddings. Each submission will be reviewed and considered based on creativity, originality, concept, and style. Reading will be continuous and submissions will be considered as they arrive. Not all works will be accepted. There is NO Entry or Reading Fee. The deadline for submissions is August 31, 2009.
Submissions will be selected for publication in Patchwork Path: Wedding Bouquet by Choice Publishing Group president Tena Beth Thompson and bestselling author Gregory A. Kompes.
The Patchwork Path story collection titles are all based on quilt block names and the book covers have quilt and quilter themes. In addition to Wedding Bouquet (to be published summer 2010) other titles include Grandma’s Choice (November 2008), Dad’s Bowtie (June 2009), Friendship Star (2009), and Treasure Box (2010). Additional titles are added each year.
Miss Thompson writes about her life experiences with humor. “If I can put a smile on one person’s face for a second, easing their pain, I will consider my book a huge success,” she says with conviction. Thompson’s book, Separation Survival Guide: When Your Marriage Catapults into Limbo, will be available in 2009.
Mr. Kompes holds a degree in English literature from Columbia University, New York, and is the author of the bestselling 50 Fabulous Gay-Friendly Places to Live (Career Press). He is editor of The Fabulist Flash, a newsletter for writers; creator of Eighteen Questions, a Writer’s Digest “101 Best Website for Writers” 2007, 2008 & 2009; and, the Patchwork Path Production Director.
Choice Publishing Group (CPG) publishes books that touch people’s lives and offer a respite from everyday pressures. CPG books inspire readers to view life with a positive attitude, count their blessing or make them laugh.
For more information, including complete submission guidelines, visit Patchwork Path: Piecing Together Our Lives visit http://www.PatchworkPath.com.
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The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs is accepting applications for the 2010 CityArtists Projects program that supports Seattle-based individual artists working in visual, literary and film/media arts. Deadline: 08/11/09.
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Applications for the 2010 Denali National Park Artist-in-Residence Program are now being accepted. The Artist-in-Residence program at Denali National Park began in 2001, and offers artists the opportunity to pursue their work amidst the natural splendors of Denali Park. The park currently provides the use of the historic East Fork Cabin for ten-day periods from June through August. Deadline: 10/31/09
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From Calyx Press:
Calyx Press is holding Sarah Lantz Memorial Poetry Book Prize contest for Oregon women writers. Submission period is September 1-31, 2009. Send a complete unpublished book manuscript (75-125 pages) with biographical data and a $25 entry fee (payable in check or MO) to Calyx Poetry Book Prize, PO Box B, Corvallis, OR 97339. Do not put your name and address on any pages, only on a separate cover letter. Winning manuscript will be announced in February 2010. Winner receives a Calyx Books contract for publication of the manuscript in Fall 2010 and a $500 award. More information at http://calyxpress.org. Contact calyx@proaxis.com.
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FROM THOMAS WALTON, EDITOR:
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS TO PAGE BOY MAGAZINE
Poetry, prose, essays. Stylistic concerns are unimportant. Preference given to works that are strangely lovely, inexplicably beautiful, musical much more so than moral, logical or ‘straight.’ Confessional, Sentimental, Angry work not accepted. No deadlines, no entry fees. We pay a couple of contributor’s copies. I’ve never liked the idea of poets having to pay other people to read their work.
Send 3-5 poems, prose 10 pages or less, essays on any subject to pageboymagazine@hotmail.com.
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Marion Blue of Whidbey Island Writers’ Association shares these opportunities:

SOUNDING REVIEW’S annual Critique Mania fundraiser is underway again. Just $25 to receive a response to your short work from an author or editor. You can find guidelines and a list of participating authors at either www.writeonwhidbey.org or www.blueudewritersservices.com
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Of course Soundings Review is also welcoming submissions. We didn’t have a March 2009 issue (time constraints), but we’re working on the September issue now and planning the March 2010 issue. Because we’ll be reading constantly, we’re lifting deadlines for issues, and every issue will include a Founders’ Circle and a First Publication award, as well as the Readers’ Choice award, so you can submit to those any time as well. If your submission arrives before we stop reading for an issue (which is usually six to eight weeks before publication), we’ll read it for that issue; if not, we’ll hold it for consideration for the next issue. Check out guidelines at www.writeonwhidbey.org.
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ROTTEN VACATIONS: a new annual anthology, edited by travel writers John M. Edwards and Bruce Northam, wants your very best “bad trip” essays. Send manuscripts + 100-word bios via snail mail to: John M. Edwards, “Rotten Vacations,” 250 W. 50th St., #15L, New York, NY 10019. Phone: (212) 219-8126. E-mail: pigafet@earthlink.net.
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Bear Deluxe Magazine
Doug Fir Fiction Award
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Bear Deluxe Magazine is given annually for a short story about the natural world, sense of place, or environmental issues. Jon Raymond will judge. Submit a story of up to 5,000 words with a $15 entry fee, which includes a copy of the prize issue, by September 8. Call, e-mail, or visit the Web site for complete guidelines. (See Recent Winners.) Bear Deluxe Magazine, Doug Fir Fiction Award, P.O. Box 10342, Portland, OR 97296. (503) 242-1047. Jess Dolan, Senior Editor. bear@orlo.org
www.orlo.org
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Raven Chronicles Submission Deadlines for 2010:
Volume 15, No 2: Theme: The Family Corvidae: Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, and other Corvids. Send us your photos, drawings, stories, myths, fables, or encounters with this cosmopolitan family of birds. Deadline for submissions: January 1 through March 1, 2010. Do not send submissions before January 1, 2010. Volume 16, No 1: Theme: Matters of the spirit: religious belief, faith, the nature and meaning of life. Deadline for submissions: May 1 through July 1, 2010. Do not send submissions before May 1, 2010. Upcoming Publications: Raven Chronicles, Volume 14, No 2: Architecture In Literature: Doors, Windows & Walls
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FOURTH GENRE: Explorations in Nonfiction is seeking submissions for the Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 issues. Reading period: August 15–November 30. All manuscripts must be received by November 30. Submit manuscripts to Marcia Aldrich, Editor; Fourth Genre; Department of English; Michigan State University; 201 Morrill Hall; East Lansing, MI 48824-1036. For complete guidelines, visit www.msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg. Submissions not accepted at MSU Press. Subscriptions: $35/ yr (2 issues). Sample copy: $18. To subscribe, contact MSU Press, Journals Division: journals@msu.edu; phone (517) 355-9543 x101; fax (517) 432-7484.
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13th Moon Poetry and Fiction Contests
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in 13th Moon will be given annually for a poem and a short story. Judith Johnson will judge. Submit up to three poems, totaling no more than 500 lines, or a short story of up to 25 pages with a $20 entry fee, which includes a one-year subscription to 13th Moon, by September 8. Send an SASE or visit the Web site for complete guidelines.
13th Moon, Poetry and Fiction Contests, 8 Woodmont Road, Montclair, NJ 07043. Judith Johnson, Editor.
www.13thmoon.net
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HAPPINESS: Seeking submissions of creative nonfiction short stories, memoirs, essays, or poems with a happiness theme for an anthology. What fills your heart with happiness? Is it a person, place, pet, overcoming a hardship, surviving a tragedy, a life-changing event? Limit 500 to 1,200 words. Deadline October 1. Send to ITS, Inc. P.O. Box 8607, Delray Beach, FL 33482.

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American Literary Review
Literary Awards
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in the American Literary Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. The winning works will appear in the Fall 2010 issue. Submit up to three poems, a short story of up to 8,000 words, or an essay of up to 6,500 words with a $15 entry fee by September 1. Send an SASE or visit the Web site for complete guidelines. (See Recent Winners.)
American Literary Review, Literary Awards, P.O. Box 311307, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203-1307. www.engl.unt.edu/alr/contests.html

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Read what Writing It Real subscriber and conference attendee Jan Coad has to say about her work and recent success: http://www.iresolveto.com/