International Writing Round-up

Expats Blog is hosting a writing contest this month. Every two weeks there is a new topic. Entries must be previously unpublished. Topics include Education & International Schools, Working Abroad, and more. The winner of each topic receives a $200 Amazon gift voucher.

The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment is seeking poetry and creative nonfiction, written by women and inspired by the natural world. 

Canadians or expats living in Canada are invited to submit stories for a new Chicken Soup for the Soul book called, Oh Canada, The Wonders of Winter. Deadline is June 15. Chosen stories receive $200. 

The New York Times had an interesting article on why even Pulitzer-Prize winning authors are choosing to self-publish.

The Glimpse Graduate Program at MatadorU is looking for talented writers, photographers, and filmakers who are living abroad. The application deadline is July 31st. There is a processing fee of $25.

Call for Submissions: Anthologies and Magazines

Looking for some publications to submit your stories to? Writer Abroad has some ideas.

Chicken Soup for the Soul is looking for stories that inspire other writers. Submissions should be no longer than 1,200 words. Pieces must be previously unpublished. Pay: $200, plus 10 copies of the book. Deadline: June 30, 2012.

The University of Notre Dame's Department of English is planning a one-day event with fiction/poetry/film/music. The event will include readings of stories and poems published in Paragraphiti. The publication is now accepting submissions of fiction and poetry by non-American authors. There is no word limit. There is also no pay, but authors keep their copyright.

Sibling Rivalry Press is looking for submissions for an anthology called: This assignment is so gay: LGBTIQ Poets on the Art of Teaching. Poets can submit up to five previously unpublished poems. Deadline: June 1, 2012. There is no mention of payment.

Adventum Literary Magazine is now accepting submissions for their 2nd annual Ridge to River Contest for an outstanding work of outdoor creative nonfiction. The winner will receive $500. Entry fee: $15. Deadline, May 15, 2012.

Travelers' Tales is looking for travel stories for their "30 Days in" series for the following destinations: Baja, Caribbean, England, Himalayas, Japan, New Zealand, North Africa, Panama, Switzerland. Deadline for submission: open. Payment: $100, plus 1 copy of the book.

Anyone else know of any publications looking for submissions or have experience with any of these? Leave a comment or send me a message.

International Writing Round-up

Andrew Richardson, a writer from the UK and an October attendee at the Zurich Writers Workshop, just published his first novel, Innocence Unbound. As one of the co-founders of the workshop, I’m always thrilled to hear about the success of our participants. Congrats to Andrew.

The Society of Women Writers & Journalists has announced its Life Writing competition. Submissions are by email only and the entry fee is £7. The writers retain all copyrights to work. First prize is £3000. However, only the top three winners get prize money, but all shortlisted entries are included in an anthology and there is no mention of payment for this.

Over on the Urban Muse, there’s a nice post on where to find freelance jobs.

I’m not a big short story reader, but “The Accident”, by Andrew Roe, in The Sun this month was simply stunning. What a fantastic writer. I highly recommend it.

In other news, the dollar has reached a new all time low against the Swiss Franc at 1 USD only being worth CHF .79, which means I’m not exactly motivated to write for U.S. publications right now. Has the currency situation where you live affected your writing from abroad?

Writing Conferences, Competitions, and more

There will be a lot going on in the writing world this spring. So without further ado, here's the latest international writing round-up.

The Zurich Writers Workshop will be announcing its spring writing conference next week. To be the first to find out the details, join the mailing list.

The Bridport Prize, an international creative writing competition for poetry, short stories, and flash fiction is now open for entries.

The American Women’s Club of Zurich will be hosting a workshop week from March 21-26 and Writer Abroad will be teaching a two-hour seminar on, what else, How to Make a Living as a Writer Abroad. The class will be held on Saturday, March 26 from 10:30-12:30. Stay tuned for registration details.

Brighton Cow (COW stands for "community of writers") will run four short story competitions in 2011. The next deadline is the end of February. Entries cost 4 pounds.

If you’re interested in how to go pro as a blogger, Writer Abroad was interviewed in the article Expat Bloggers are Going Pro over on Expat Women.

Great post by writer and journalist Alexis Grant a few weeks back on how to write a press release for your book.

It's not too late to register for the Amsterdam Creating Writing Weekend, held April 15-17, led by Amal Chatterjee, Fiction Tutor at the University of Oxford.

Writer Jenny Rough posts personal essay markets on the final Friday of every month on her blog, Roughly Speaking.

Paris Literary Prize for a Novella

One of the reasons Writer Abroad likes workshops is that she learns about opportunities. This past weekend, at the Zurich Writers Workshop, she learned about the 2011 Paris Literary Prize.

As part of this contest, writers are invited to submit their initial 3,000 words and a synopsis via ParisLiteraryPrize.com by December 1, 2010. The submission fee is 50 Euros. Shortlisted entrants will be required to submit their full novella (20,000-30,000 words) by mid-March 2011. The winner will be announced on June 16, 2011.

The prize is 10,000 Euros, a weekend in Paris, and a reading at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore.

The contest is open to writers who have not published a novella or full-length book. There is no limit to the subject matter.

Contests, Workshops, and Alphorns

It’s been awhile since Writer Abroad did an international writing round-up, but you’ll have to excuse her. Frau V, concerned neighbor, has been doing Writer Abroad's gardening in her high heels. Again. But now that Writer Abroad has survived Swiss Gardening Boot Camp, Part II, she’s had time to gather some thoughts unrelated to her Katastroph of a garden.

Paris-based writer Laurel Zuckerman just announced a contest for the Best and Most Delightful Stores about Paris. All authors are welcome to submit. There's a 10 Euro entry fee. Deadline: November 30, 2010.

Author Philip Graham writes about how reading books on vacation is an escape from an escape. He welcomes your comments on the Companionable Presence of a Book.

The Zurich Writers Workshop has announced its guest instructors for its October workshop: Coming to Zurich will be New York Times Bestselling Author Susan Jane Gilman and University of Oxford Fiction Tutor Amal Chatterjee.

Looking to connect with writers working on travel memoirs? Join Alexis Grant’s Travel Memoir Writers twitter list.

Finally this post wouldn’t be complete if Writer Abroad didn’t toot her own horn. Yes. She went to Swiss Alphorn School and wrote a feature story for swissinfo.ch, on the growing popularity of the alphorn in Switzerland. She gives the alphorn students credit. It’s a hard instrument to play. But one note will get you a loyal audience. The cows love it.