Thanks to Kristin “Two I’s” Netterstrom for this heads up:
2011 Arkansas Literary Festival Offerings Include Argenta Venues and Writing Contests
Participants at the 2011 Arkansas Literary Festival will be able to attend programs on both sides of the Arkansas River during this year’s Festival, April 7-13. Laman Library has joined the Festival as a sponsor and will host programs in the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock. Programs will include sessions, panels, and workshops by authors as well as other activities.
Two creative writing projects will be included in this year’s Festival. Telling Tales: A Literary Memoir Writing Contest will recognize three top stories and The Thea Foundation will award two creative writing scholarships.
The Thea Foundation will offer two creative writing scholarships to be awarded as part of A Prized Evening, the awarding of the Porter and Worthen Literary Prizes on Friday, April 8, 2011. Arkansas senior high school students are eligible to submit an original short story, based on Thea Leopoulos’s artwork. Entries must be registered online, and received online or postmarked by Friday, February 25, 2011. Judging is by five professionals working within the field. Complete submission guidelines are available at www.theafoundation.org.
Starving Artist Café hosts “Tales from the South”, an internationally-syndicated radio show which will feature Telling Tales: A Literary Memoir Writing Contest. The authors of the top three stories will receive $100 each, and writers will read their winning story at an event on Tuesday, April 12, 2011. Stories may be submitted through Sunday, March 13. Judging is by a panel of writers, professors, and editors. Complete submission guidelines are available at www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org. More information on Tales from the South” can be found at www.talesfromthesouth.com.
The Festival is a project of the Central Arkansas Library System, and is the premiere gathering of writers and readers in Arkansas. The Festival provides a schedule for children and teens, including hands-on activities, visits from costumed characters, poetry contests, and presentations by authors. Adults also enjoy author presentations, are able to stretch their practical literary skills through workshops, and socialize with the authors at special evening events. Authors with internationally or nationally recognized work are presented alongside authors just completing their first novels. A complete listing of authors will be announced on Tuesday, February 15.
Thea Foundation Creative Writing Scholarship Submission Guidelines
1. Students must register online before mailing or emailing their short storywww.theafoundation.org
2. Title of short story must be original. Title of piece must be on the top of each page. Each page must have a page number.
3. Submission must include name, mailing address, phone and title of the piece.*Include this information in the text of your email or on a separate piece of paper included with your hard copy. Do not include this information on the short story. Identifiers on short stories other than the title and page number will be result in disqualification.
4. Submission Deadline: February 25, 2011. Students must register online before mailing or emailing their short story. Everyone must register online After filling out the online form, works may be submitted via email to: sarah@theafoundation.org
Or mail hard copy to: Attn: Short Story Scholarship, THEA Foundation Center for the Arts,401 Main Street, Ste. 100, North Little Rock, AR 72114. *hard copies must be postmarked by Feb. 25.
Telling Tales: A Literary Memoir Writing Contest Submission Guidelines
1. Writers must currently live in the South (currently limited to Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama) or be from the South originally.
2. Stories must be true and told in the first person–recounting things that happened to you, not someone else, and they must be literary memoirs–not editorials, poems, top-ten lists, essays, or general statements of personal belief. There must be a clear narrative structure (not just chronologies: something must happen). We’re looking for rising action building to a climax/epiphany. Literary memoir, not personal essay, is what we are looking for. See #5 for contest topic information.
We also highly suggest you listen to past shows:
www.talesfromthesouth.com/listen.html
3. If accepted, writers must read their own stories and be available to record in front of a live audience at Starving Artist Cafe’ in the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock, Arkansas, on Tuesday, April 12, 2011. Lodging provided for writers outside of the Central Arkansas area.
4. Stories must be between 1000-1200 words.
5. TOPIC: The topic for this contest is your literary memoir based on this quote: “Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.” –Jorge Louis Borges So, what was this moment for you? Were you a child, a young adult, an old man/woman? What was the exact experience that shows us this moment? Write it out in scenes (not summary), using sensory details to put the listeners there with you. Stay away from commentary and just let the story show us this moment and how you found out who you are. Your true story in short story form.
6. Literary devices and techniques highly encouraged.
7. Material should be G- or PG-rated. No profanity, explicit sexual content, or scatological references. Material that is overtly critical of a particular race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation will not be accepted. The FCC is very strict, and you should take this into consideration when submitting.
8. KUAR/KLRE will acquire the rights for broadcast and simultaneous live audio streaming over the facilities of KUAR/KLRE in perpetuity. Archived shows are broadcast on ITunes, the NPR website, the KUAR website, and rebroadcasted on WRN Internet and Satellite Radio. We are currently negotiating additional broadcast stations nationwide, as well as additional Internet and Satelite stations, and the Release Form will reflect any changes. You (the writer) retain all publication rights, both hardcopy and electronic.
9. Stories will be eligible to be included in yearly collections published by Temenos Publishing, as long as the author owns all copyrights. Anthology stories will be chosen by the Editor and a panel as the “year’s best.” Authors may choose to not be included in the anthology.
10. Winners will be notified via email and will be given editorial suggestions to adhere to the format of the show.
11. To submit: 1) In the subject line, put LIT FEST and the name of your story, the word count, and your name: EX: LIT FEST “Mockingbird” 780 words by Paula Morell, 2) Paste your submission into the body of your email (we will not open any attachments), 3)Include a brief bio, and 4) email to: talesfromthesouth@hotmail.com (If you do not include “LIT FEST” in your subject line, we will not know that you are entering the contest, and your story will be filed with our regular submissions.) We do not accept mailed submissions. Email submissions only.
12. Submission deadline is 10 p.m. Sunday, March 13, 2011.
For more information contact Brad Mooy at 918-3098.