Speakeasy

Well, now you can make a living from it too… Check out Jobs.Problogger, a jobs board where companies and jobbing bloggers can meet… There seems to be a lot of opportunities on there though it might not start off as the most lucrative of career choices with ’salaries’ ranging from just US$4 per blog (1 a day required), to $100 a month, to a percentage of ad sales for your blog page….

But if you’ve got a passion for er, tomatoes or tea (currently listed) there could be the perfect opportunity for you…

Just came across this very interesting site from by the BBC. The WritersRoom ’identifies and champions new writing talent in film, television, radio and theatre.’ To do this, they seem to survey theatre companies, writing competitions and events, as well as accept unsolicited scripts. According to the success stories on the site, Writersroom has placed new talent on shows like Eastenders, Waking the Dead, and even Doctor Who, and sorted out a couple of theatre residencies and writer-in-residence programs. The website also has links to training and development courses, free script templates, examples of successful scripts that have come through the program, and interviews with a bunch of TV writers.

Ain’t that fab? What a great idea - an organisation with as much clout as the BBC actively scouring the crop of wannabe writers in the UK, picking out the best ones, and actually giving them jobs. It just seems really exciting, doesn’t it?

Of course, the BBC was probably getting a tonne of unsolicited scripts every week anyway, and developing a single website, and a single point of contact for all those unsolicited scripts, totally makes sense. A one-stop-shop telling writers exactly what to do and exactly where to go? We’re fond of that sort of thing, here at AWM.

Do you know what the best news is? The Beeb is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, and they want fresh talent.

And they take submissions from overseas writers.

This is something that we blogged about back in October and now the NY Times has written about the Japanese mobile phone novelists as well. It seems to be pretty big news at the moment and 5 of the Top 10 bestseller novels in Japan last year were orginally cellphone novels, with the Top 3 all being written by 1st time cellphone novelists.

There’s a real buzz around this format which is basically just an extension of blogs becoming books, and in a technology-focused country such as Japan it was probably inevitable that this kind of instant novel would evolve - whether those in more literary circles like it or not.

We then came across this great blog about it - complete with an English translation of a passage of text from one of the ‘novels’ - so you can see what all the fuss is about! Can’t say it has left us exactly gagging for more but you can see the appeal (I think) - although it may be a bit longer before it catches on in the rest of the world…

This has been sent out by the nice folks over at Articulate:

The ABC’s arts weblog Articulate (http://blogs.abc.net.au/articulate) is calling for pitches for a new opinion section, the Soapbox.

Please send your one-sentence pitches to Gary Kemble, via: http://blogs.abc.net.au/articulate/contact-us.html

They’re not exactly books blogs, but we’ve tracked down a couple of blogs on marketing, economics, and tips to help you out with the publicity side of things. Some of them are also great examples of how to manage a companion blog for your book, and you can see how these authors have used a free blog to increase the exposure of their work, and just add an extra element for their audience.

Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog This one’s on ‘Robin Hood’ marketing - what the writer calls stealing corporate marketing techniques to sell charities, fundraising efforts, moral causes, and a bunch of other worthy stuff. Ideas include Online Fundraising, studies on non-profit organisations, and larger discussions on daily modern life, what connects us, and why we feel disconnected from each other. With a bit of creativity, some of these ideas could be adapted for use in your own marketing endeavors.

The Freakonomics Blog is now hosted by the New York Times, but these guys started out with just another blog. See how they have a big "Buy My Book" section? A good idea if you’re a writer putting a blog together. The frequent updates are a good idea, as well, and who knows - you may end up in the New York Times as well.

And Rule The Web is a great example of how a blog can promote a book very nicely. The picture of the cover is prominent, and Mark actually posts bits of his book onto the blog. And besides that, the book (and blog) is about using the web to search, share and manage information, create and manage your own website, and market your stuff online. This is one quality resource!

Print Is Dead and The Book Is Dead are two separate blogs that talk about publishing in the digital age, with companion books available for purchase. (The Book Is Dead belongs to Sherman Young, a recent guest on our forum).

So, going on the above blogs, you should post bits of your book, talk about relevent issues and link to related articles and websites. Update frequently. Put a picture of your cover in a prominent place, and have a link to your bookseller. Your readers will appreciate the chance to comment, and love it when you respond.

The Age is taking submissions for its Short Story Competition. First prize is $3,000.

Entries should be 3,000 words or less, and must be previously unpublished. Stories for children are not eligible for this competition.

For more info, see the How To Enter article on the Age website.

The NSW Writers’ Centre and New Holland Publishers have announced their inaugural genre fiction award. ‘A Novel Idea’ is open to all published and unpublished popular fiction adult writers resident in Australia.

  (more…)

Blue Dog: Australian Poetry is looking for poems, articles and reviews - and all accepted are paid. Submission details can be found here.

Also a reminder that The PAF Reviewing Competition closes on 31st March, 2007 (1st prize $2,000, all reviews published get $100).

From GalleyCat on Monday 13 November

US Literary magazine Opium has just announced the Shya Scanlon Seven Line Prose Award, a US$1,000 award for a the best story written in seven lines. The entry fee is US$7, and the deadline is 7 December, 2006.
See the Opium website for more details.

The Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History closing date has been announced - 5.00 pm on 17 November 2006.

The prize is “for an outstanding publication or body of work that contributes significantly to an understanding of Australian history”. The prize money is $100,000 and may be awarded to an individual or a group.

According to the government, applicable “works” include, but are not limited to:

• historical events;
• historical figures (including biographies); and
• work covering a particular subject.

Books, documentaries or multimedia are eligible. For more information and the guidelines visit DEST’s site.