Saturday, December 4, 2010

Daphne Kalotay: Triumph after Rejection

Daphne proves that saving the Ghost of Rejections Past isn't a masochistic act. Keeping track of where we've traveled can pave the way to publication.

Your turn will come if you persevere. My Christmas Wish is that the New Year herald in book publication for all of us.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

HELP a SEMI-STARVING ARTIST

Please vote for my nephew, Chris Wiley, an actor/writer/swordsmanship instructor (in this economy, ya gotta diversify to pay the rent), currently in second place in the Dunkin' Donuts Create America's Next Donut Contest. Chris dubbed his donut creation, S'morgasbord, in the essay that landed him a spot in the finals. The 1st Place Winner will receive a year's supply of donuts, have their creation added to the DD menu, and be awarded $12,000 (writers can't live on donuts alone).

You can vote once a day, every day, from now through Monday May 3, 2010 at: https://www.dunkindonuts.com/donut/

Read more about Chris at these links:

Medford Man Goes for Dunkin' prize:
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/medford/2010/04/medford_man_a_finalist_in_donu.html

Three from Mass. Finalists in Dunkin' Donuts Contest:
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view/20100429three_from_mass_finalists_in_dunkin_donuts_contest/srvc=home&position=recent

Born in Birmingham, AL, Chris left the foothills of the Appalachians for Georgia, where he graduated from LaGrange College, and then headed for the footlights, becoming a company member of Atlantis Playmakers based out of Billerica, MA.
http://www.lagrange.edu/academics/theatre-arts/alumni.htm

He also had a non-speaking role in Indiana Jones IV (Crystal Skull), appearing most visibly when standing in front of a big oak that Indiana rides by during the motorcycle chase scene. Keeping his lips sealed required tremendous acting flair because Chris is descended from a long line of witty motor-mouths (on both sides of his family tree).

Anyway, the movie premiered two years ago and Chris cashed the check way back then. Did I mention even semi-starving artists can't subsist on donuts and witty essays alone? Please vote and vote and vote again for Chris W. so you can experience his S'morgasbord (based on the campfire treat s'mores) at a Dunkin' Donuts near you.

Thanks!!!
Janice Wiley-Dorn, aka the Doting Aunt
http://www.janicewiley-dorn.com/contests.html

SCN Novel Pitch & 1st Five Pages Contest Winners

SMOKE CITY NARRATORS
NOVEL PITCH & 1ST FIVE PAGES CONTEST

2009 WINNERS

1st Place - $150: SECOND CHANCES … Theresa J. GRANT … Newaygo, MI

Pitch: Four dead girls, three years in hiding, two men with secrets; for forensic anthropologist Jo Birch, one second chance. 

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2nd Place - $75: CHIN LEE'S PLACE … Vance H. WHITE … Niceville, FL 
Pitch: Reporter Robert Gage turns detective in this hard-boiled thriller set in San Francisco on the eve of World War II. 
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3rd Place - $40: The BODY of HELEN … Tracy KORETSKY … Berkeley, CA  
Author hasn't given permission to post their pitch. 

2009 Honorary Mentions
HM #1: MY NAME is SADIA 
             
by Erika Dusen TAMINDZIJA … Arlington Heights, IL

Pitch: A young slave navigates the 16th century Islamic World and struggles to regain her family.                       _____________________________________________________
HM #2: In the SHADOW of the LONE STAR
             
by B. J. BATEMAN … Damascus, OR
Pitch: In 1938 Texas, a runaway white girl finds work and love in a colored nightclub, cultivating friendships and inciting violence.

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HM #3: The THIRD STEP
             
by Ginger MARCINKOWSKI … Pella, IA 

Pitch: Two countries, two rivers, and her father's funeral cause a woman to confront the incestuous past that's haunted her life. 
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HM #4: KILLING RABBITS
             
by Mary Ann KOHENSKEY … Maryland Heights, MO
Pitch: Joe Detrie runs away from an abusive family but returns to rescue his younger brother and kill their father.  

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JUDGE'S COMMENTS on SCN WEBSITE:

Saturday, January 30, 2010

NOVEL PITCH & 1ST FIVE PAGES CONTEST: SEMIFINALISTS

Novel Pitch & 1st Five Pages of a Novel Contest
Sponsored by Smoke City Narrators

2009 SEMIFINALISTS by TITLE ONLY (alphabetically)

The BODY of HELEN
CHIN LEE'S PLACE
The END of ALL ROADS
The FIRST YEAR
IN and OUT of MADNESS
IN the SHADOW of the LONE STAR
INVISIBLE VAMPIRE
KILLING RABBITS
LETTERS from the DEAD
MY NAME IS SADIA
NO LIFE but THIS
RISEN
SECOND CHANCES
SHADOWS of the COMANCHE
SOMEWHERE HOME
The SOUND of INK
THICK and THIN
The THIRD STEP

Winners notified by end of the first week of February. A list of the winners posted by mid-February, along with a few comments by the final judge and contest director highlighting how the winners grabbed our attention.

We'll also give general pointers on how the entries that didn't reach the semifinalist level can be improved. We hope this will help writers find success when entering future contests or submitting their fiction for publication.