Colorado authors listen up

The 2010 Author Fest of the Rockies is now taking call for proposals from authors, editors, agents, poets, and publishers. Deadline has been extended to May 15. Hard copies of the application are available at Black Cat Books and the Manitou Springs Public Library or you can access the online application at www.authorfestoftherockies.org. Don’t put this off... get your proposal in today!

"Love in a Time of Homeschooling"

That's the title of LLLer Laura Brodie's new memoir, just published by Harper. In case you missed the article about Laura and her book in last Thursday's Washington Post, click here to read all about it.

Next Saturday, April 17th, at 11 A.M., Laura will appear at the Charlottesville Barnes & Noble for a book chat, and she'll happily sign your copy of her book.

Denver's New Social Secretary

At a very well-attended lunch at Bombay Clay Oven on March 4th, LLL cofounder Bella Stander passed the baton (a handy sunglass case) to new Denver Social Secretary Carleen Brice. Long may she wave!

At the end of March Bella is returning to her native New York. She will reside in a 1950s ranch house, complete with pink-and-black bathroom, in scenic Rhinebeck.

Stay tuned for the first Hudson Valley LLL!

Malicious Parrot Memoir Hits the Shelves

News from Jenny Gardiner:

My memoir, Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me (Simon & Schuster's Gallery Books) --think David Sedaris meets Marley & Me, with a deadly beak--will appear in bookstores next Tuesday, March 16th.

I'll be speaking and signing at the Virginia Festival of the Book on Sunday at 3 pm at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports at Barracks Road Shopping Center.

(Me, the woman who can't control her pets, along with three people whose professions are all about controlling their pets.)

Feel free to stop by. Thanks!

Laura Brodie's Homeschooling Memoir

We have news from LLLer Laura Brodie, about her latest book:

"My memoir, Love In a Time of Homeschooling, is being published by Harper on April 6, and I'm giving a talk at the Charlottesville Barnes and Noble on Saturday, April 17 at 11:00. Everyone is welcome.

This isn't a standard homeschooling book so much as a mother-daughter memoir that looks at how public school families are using homeschooling to supplement their kids' educations."

Extra! Extra! LLL is News in New West

Writers, Literary Agents, and Publishing Pros Lunch in Denver

A group of female publishing industry professionals meets monthly in Denver.





CO LLLers Doreen Orion & Carleen Brice,
who have also attended the VA LLL.

The Faulkner-Wisdom Competition: A Great Place to be Discovered

A hot tip from new LLLer Laura Brodie, author of the just-released novel The Widow's Season:

Here is a contest that all literary ladies should know about: The Faulkner-Wisdom Competition, sponsored by the Pirate's Alley/Faulkner Society of New Orleans. This annual competition welcomes entries from around the country (and internationally) in seven categories: Novel, Novella, Novel-in-Progress, Short Story, Essay, Poetry, and Short Story by a High School Student.

In the past, prizes have ranged from $7000 for Best Novel, to $1500 for Best Short Story by a High School Student. Winners are flown to New Orleans in November for the society's annual conference, called Words & Music, a Literary Feast in New Orleans, which features panels with famous authors, meals at great restaurants, and brief manuscript consultations with an editor and agent.

The festival is open to all members of the public, and anyone can have a manuscript excerpt read by an agent and/or editor, followed by a consultation (usually about ten-fifteen minutes) for a fee. Each year a few writers sign with agents, often writers who never entered the contest-so it does happen!

I learned about this contest after two VMI English professors, David Rachels and Kurt Ayau, won Best Novel for their jointly-authored manuscript. I won Best Novel-in-Progress in 2005, and that category only requires that you offer 50 pages of a novel, and a synopsis of the rest. Check out the website Faulkner-Wisdom Competition for more information and contest deadlines. Usually the deadline comes in late March or April, but last spring the deadline was extended until June 1. Good luck to all!