2008 Bram Stoker Award winners

Superior Achievement in a NOVEL-DUMA KEY by Stephen King (Scribner)
Superior Achievement in a FIRST NOVEL-THE GENTLING BOX by Lisa Mannetti (Dark Hart Press)
Superior Achievement in LONG FICTION-MIRANDA by John R. Little (Bad Moon Books)
Superior Achievement in SHORT FICTION-“The Lost” by Sarah Langan (Cemetery Dance chapbook)
Superior Achievement in an ANTHOLOGY-UNSPEAKABLE HORROR edited by Vince A. Liaguno and Chad Helder (Dark Scribe Press)
Superior Achievement in a COLLECTION-JUST AFTER SUNSET by Stephen King (Scribner)
Superior Achievement in NONFICTION-A HALLOWE’EN ANTHOLOGY by Lisa Morton (McFarland)
Superior Achievement in POETRY-THE NIGHTMARE COLLECTION by Bruce Boston (Dark Regions Press)

Macavity Award Nominees

Mystery Readers International awards the Macavity for works published in 2008. The awards will be presented in October at Bouchercon in Indianapolis. And the nominees are:

Best Mystery Novel:
Trigger City by Sean Chercover (Wm. Morrow)
Where Memories Lie by Deborah Crombie (Wm. Morrow)
The Dying Breed (UK)/ The Price of Blood (US) by Declan Hughes (John Murray/ Wm. Morrow)
The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason (Minotaur)
Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster)
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
The Fault Tree by Louise Ure (Minotaur)

Best First Mystery:
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet (Midnight Ink)
Calumet City by Charlie Newton (Simon & Schuster)
An Innocent Client by Scott Pratt (Onyx)
A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley (Harper; Headline)
The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell (Minotaur)

Best Nonfiction/CriticalAfrican American Mystery Writers:
A Historical & Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey (McFarland)
Hard-Boiled Sentimentality: The Secret History of American Crime Stories by Leonard Cassuto (Columbia Univ.)
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson (Perseverance Press)
Scene of the Crime: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction by David Geherin (McFarland)
Edgar Allan Poe : An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories by Harry Lee Poe (Metro)The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale (Walker)

Best Mystery Short Story:
"The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron (Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin)
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" by Sean Chercover (Hardcore Hardboiled, ed. by Todd Robinson, Kensington)
"Keeping Watch Over His Flock" by Toni L. P. Kelner (Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin)
"Scratch a Woman" by Laura Lippman (Hardly Knew Her, Wm. Morrow)
"Between the Dark and the Daylight" by Tom Piccirilli (EQMM, Sep/Oct 2008)

Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery:
A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
Stealing Trinity by Ward Larsen (Oceanview)
The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss (Thorndike/ Random House UK)
Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson (Minotaur)
Company of Liars by Karen Maitland (Michael Joseph/ Delacorte)
Nox Dormienda by Kelli Stanley (Five Star)

Congratulations to all the nominees!

2008 Shirley Jackson Award Ballot

1. 
   The Shirley Jackson Awards will be presented on Sunday, July 12th 2009, at Readercon 20, Conference on Imaginative Literature, in Burlington, Massachusetts. Elizabeth Hand, Readercon Guest of Honor, and author of Generation Loss, which won the 2007 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel, will act as host.
2. 
   NOVEL
   Alive in Necropolis, Doug Dorst (Riverhead Hardcover)
   The Man on the Ceiling, Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem (Wizards of the Coast Discoveries)
   Pandemonium, Daryl Gregory (Del Rey)
   The Resurrectionist, Jack O’Connell (Algonquin Books)
   The Shadow Year, Jeffrey Ford (William Morrow)
   Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
3. 
   NOVELLA
   Disquiet, Julia Leigh (Penguin/Hamish Hamilton)
   "Dormitory," Yoko Ogawa (The Diving Pool, Picador)
   Living With the Dead, Darrell Schweitzer (PS Publishing)
   The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti, Stephen Graham Jones (Chiasmus Press)
   "N,", Stephen King (Just After Sunset, Scribner)
4. 
   NOVELETTE
   "Hunger Moon," Deborah Noyes (The Ghosts of Kerfol, Candlewick Press)
   "The Lagerstatte," Laird Barron (The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Ballantine Books/Del Rey)
   "Penguins of the Apocalypse," William Browning Spencer (Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy, Subterranean Press)
   "Pride and Prometheus," John Kessel (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 2008)
   The Situation, Jeff Vandermeer (PS Publishing)
5. 
   SHORT STORY
   "68° 07’ 15"N, 31° 36’ 44"W," Conrad Williams (Fast Ships, Black Sails, Night Shade Books)
   "The Dinner Party," Joshua Ferris (The New Yorker, August 11, 2008)
   "Evidence of Love in a Case of Abandonment: One Daughter’s Personal Account," M. Rickert (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Oct/Nov 2008)
   "The Inner City," Karen Heuler (Cemetery Dance #58, 2008)
   "Intertropical Convergence Zone," Nadia Bulkin (ChiZine, Issue 37, 2008)
   "The Pile," Michael Bishop (Subterranean Online, Winter 2008)
6. 
   COLLECTION
   A Better Angel, Chris Adrian (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)
   Dangerous Laughter, Steven Millhauser (Knopf)
   The Diving Pool, Yoko Ogawa (Picador)
   The Girl on the Fridge, Etgar Keret (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)
   Just After Sunset, Stephen King (Scribner)
   Wild Nights!, Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco)
7. 
   ANTHOLOGY
   Bound for Evil, edited by Tom English (Dead Letter Press)
   Exotic Gothic 2: New Tales of Taboo, edited by Danel Olson (Ash-Tree Press)
   Fast Ships, Black Sails, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer (Night Shade Books)
   The New Uncanny, edited by Sarah Eyre and Ra Page (Comma Press)
   Shades of Darkness, edited by Barbara and Christopher Roden (Ash-Tree Press)

Writer's Digest Annual Writing Contest

For 78 years, the Annual Writer’s Digest Competition has rewarded writers just like you for their finest work. We continue the tradition by giving away more than $30,000 in cash and prizes!
Win a trip to New York City !
GRAND PRIZE: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with editors or agents.Writer's Digest will fly you and a guest to The Big Apple, where you'll spend three days and two nights in the publishing capital of the world. While you're there, a Writer's Digest editor will escort you to meet and share your work with four editors or agents! Plus, you'll receive a free Diamond Publishing Package from Outskirts Press.
Entry Deadline: May 15, 2009.
For entrants paying with a credit card, we will accept manuscripts submitted online. Manuscripts in the script categories must be submitted via regular mail.

Compete and Win in 10 Categories!
Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
Memoirs/Personal Essay
Magazine Feature Article
Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
Mainstream/Literary Short Story
Rhyming Poetry
Non-rhyming Poetry
Stage Play
Television/Movie Script
Children's/Young Adult Fiction
Entry Fee: Poems are $15 for the first entry; $10 for each additional poem submitted in the same online session. All other entries are $20 for the first manuscript; $15 for each additional manuscript submitted in the same online session.
Add $5 per manuscript to all entries postmarked after May 15, 2009. Entries postmarked after June 01, 2009, will not be accepted.
PRIZES RULES JUDGING & NOTIFICATION QUESTIONS PRIVACY PROMISE FAQs ENTRY FORM
PRIZES
Grand Prize: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with editors and agents.
You'll spend three days and two nights in NYC and a Writer's Digest editor will escort you to meet with four editors or agents of your choice! (Includes airfare within the U.S., meals, transportation and related expenses.)
First Place: The First Place Winner in each category receives $1,000 cash, a manuscript critique and marketing advice from a Writer's Digest editor or advisory board member, and $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books.
Second Place: The Second Place Winner in each category receives $500 cash, plus $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books.
Third Place: The Third Place Winner in each category receives $250 cash, plus $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books.
Fourth Place: The Fourth Place Winner in each category receives $100 cash.
Fifth Place: The Fifth-Place Winner in each category receives $50 cash.
Sixth through Tenth Place: The Sixth- through Tenth-Place winners in each category receive $25 cash.
First through Tenth Place Winners also receive a copy of the 2010 Writer’s Market Deluxe Edition and a one-year subscription (new or renewal) to Writer’s Digest Magazine.
11th through 100th Place: All other winners receive distinctive certificates honoring their accomplishment.
For entrants paying with a credit card, we will accept manuscripts submitted online. Manuscripts in the script categories must be submitted via regular mail.
Entry Deadline: May 15, 2009
Late Entry Deadline: June 01, 2009 (Add $5 per manuscript or poem to Entry Fee(s))
78th Annual Writer's Digest WRITING COMPETITION COLLECTION Sponsored by Outskirts Press
The Grand Prize manuscript, the First Place manuscript in each category, and the names of the top 100 winners in each category will be printed in a special competition collection, published by Outskirts Press. Use the coupon on the entry form to order your copy or purchase a copy online using a credit card. (Publication date: November 2009. You are not required to purchase the collection to enter the competition.)
RULES
The Categories:
You may enter as many manuscripts as you like in each of the following categories:
Memoirs/Personal Essay, Magazine Feature Article and Children's/Young Adult Fiction: 2,000 words maximum.
Mainstream/Literary Short Story and Genre Short Story: 4,000 words maximum.
Inspirational Writing: 2,500 words maximum.
Rhyming Poem and Non-rhyming Poem: 32 lines maximum.
Stage Play Script or Television/Movie Script: Send the first 15 pages in standard script format, plus a one-page synopsis. Complete scripts are not eligible. Scripts—original or written for any series in production on or after January 1, 2009—are eligible; adaptations will not be accepted.
Preparing Your Entry:
If you are submitting your entry via regular mail, the entry must be accompanied by an Entry Form, and the required entry fee (credit card information, check or money order made payable to Writer's Digest). If you are entering more than one manuscript, you may mail all entries in the same envelope and write one check for the total entry fee; however, each manuscript must have its category indicated in the upper left-hand corner.
Your entry must be original, in English, unpublished* and unproduced, not accepted by any other publisher or producer at the time of submission.Writer's Digest retains one-time publication rights to the Grand Prize and First Place winning entries in each category to be published in a Writer's Digest publication.
* Entries in the Magazine Feature Article category may be previously published.
If you are submitting your entry via regular mail, the entry must be typed on one side of 8-1/2 x 11 or A4 white paper. Scripts and poems may be either double-or single-spaced; all other manuscripts must be double-spaced. Online entries may lose double-spacing. This WILL NOT result in disqualification. Your name, address, phone number and competition category must appear in the upper left-hand corner of the first page—otherwise your entry is disqualified.
BE SURE OF YOUR WORD COUNT! Entries exceeding the word or page limits will be disqualified. Type the exact word count(counting every single word, except the title and contact information) at the top of the manuscript.
Mailed entries must be stapled

JUDGING & NOTIFICATION
Every entry will be read by the judges. Judges' decisions are final. Judges reserve the right to re-categorize entries.
Entries must be postmarked by June 1, 2009. We cannot return submitted manuscripts so keep a copy for your records. To receive notification of the receipt of your manuscript, send a self-addressed stamped postcard along with your entry. Please note that it may take up to 30 days after the deadline for all entries to be opened and sent to the judges.
The Grand Prize Winner and a guest must agree to travel (flying from the same city) during March, April or May 2010. The editors or agents who meet with the Grand Prize Winner are under no obligation to read, buy or represent the Grand Prize Winner's work. For more information on the free Diamond Publishing package from Outskirts Press, visit http://www.outskirtspress.com/diamondpublishing.php.
The following are not permitted to enter the contest: employees of F+W Media, Inc., and their immediate family members; Writer's Digest contributing editors and correspondents as listed on our masthead; Writer's Online Workshops instructors; and Grand Prize Winners from the previous three years.
Top Award Winners will be notified by mail before October 19, 2009. The top 10 winners in each category will be listed in the December 2009 issue of Writer's Digest. All 1,001 winners will be listed in the 78th Annual Writer's Digest Competition Collection (published by Outskirts Press) and at www.writersdigest.com after the December issue is published. Prizes/awards certificates will be mailed by November 9, 2009.
QUESTIONS?Please review the competitions FAQs. For additional questions, contact Writer's Digest Competitions at (715) 445-4612 x13430 or email writing-competition@fwpubs.com.
PRIVACY PROMISE
Occasionally we make portions of our customer list available to other companies so they may contact you about products and services that may be of interest to you. If you prefer we withhold your name, simply send a note with your name, address, and the competition name to: List Manager, F+W Media, Inc., 4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236.
FAQs
Q: Is it okay to have illustration pictures on the cover?A: Please send the text only
Q: If there is a word count, how many words per page am I allowed?No preference
Q: How large of print is allowed?No preference
Q: Are pen names allowed?Pen names are fine. Write your pen name on all forms etc. so there is no mistakes on credits. Please be advised that we only need your real name if you are chosen as a winner (in order to issue prizes).
Q: What if I am not a U.S. resident?WD writing competitions are open to non-U.S. residents as well. Please refer to the entry form and guidelines. All entry fees are due in U.S. Dollars.
Q: Is there an age limit for entrants?No
Q: What if I wanted to submit only part of my novel into the competition ( to stay with in the maximum number of words)?If you submit a portion of a novel please understand that it will be judged as a complete story, not part of another work, so it needs to a complete story in and of itself.
Q: Can the same title be entered in multiple categories of the WD Annual?Yes, it can
Q: When will winners be notified?Top Award Winners will be notified by mail before October 1, 2009. The top 10 winners in each category will be listed in the December 2009 issue of Writer's Digest. All 1,001 winners will be listed in the 78th Annual Writer's Digest Competition Collection (published by Outskirts Press) and at www.writersdigest.com after the December issue is published. Prizes/awards certificates will be mailed by November 9, 2009.
Q: What are the word count requirements for each category?Memoirs/Personal Essay, Magazine Feature Article and Children's/Young Adult Fiction: 2,000 words maximum.Mainstream/Literary Short Story and Genre Short Story: 4,000 words maximum.Inspirational Writing: 2,500 words maximum.Rhyming Poem and Non-rhyming Poem: 32 lines maximum.Stage Play Script or Television/Movie Script: Send the first 15 pages in standard script format, plus a one-page synopsis. Complete scripts are not eligible. Scripts—original or written for any series in production on or after January 1, 2009—are eligible; adaptations will not be accepted.
Q: What are possible category definitions? Genre Fiction: Stories that fit into a specific classification such as mystery, romance, science fiction, horror or fantasy.
Mainstream/Literary Fiction: Serious, non-formulaic fiction that does not fit into a genre.
Personal Essay: This is an article that is distinguished by and draws its power from its personal viewpoint. In such pieces, the author examines an issue, event, experience, place or idea and offers an opinion or some other reaction to it. The goal of an essay may be to explain, justify or persuade. The last is most often the goal of newspaper op-ed essays. Examples of other types of essays may be found in such magazine columns as Redbook's "A Young Mother's Story" or Writer's Digest's "Chronicle".
Feature Article: This is an article that is "reported"—the writer has researched a topic and explains the topic to readers. Often there is a "service" angle—a clear benefit that readers can take away from the article. There are many types of feature articles: how-to articles, personality profiles, Q&A's, informational pieces, travel articles. They may include events drawn from the author's personal experience, but the focus of the article is on providing readers with information. Features make up the bulk of most magazines' editorial offerings.
Inspirational: An article, essay or story with an explicitly religious, spiritual or otherwise inspirational focus. An article that's suitable for Guideposts or St. Anthony Messenger, for example, would be inspirational. An essay on how the power of Christ, (or Buddha, or Allah or Vashti) touched your life would be inspirational. A story about the power of religion, the power of prayer, or the power of the universe would be inspirational.
Rhyming Poetry: When the last word of some or all lines rhyme with each other. Ask yourself: What is the rhyme scheme of my poem? If you don't understand what that question means, your poem is probably non-rhyming. Most formal poetry is considered rhyming poetry (such as sonnets or ballads).
Non-rhyming poetry: When there is no recognizable or purposeful rhyme scheme or structure. Free verse falls under this category.
*Judges reserve the right to re-categorize entries.
Q: How do I order books published by F+W Media?www.fwbookstore.com/category/writers-digest
Q: How do I subscribe to Writer's Digest?visit www.writersdigest.com and click on the link
Q: Are there other writing competitions?Yes! Visit www.writersdigest.com/competitions for other competitions for writers
ENTRY FORM
To submit your entry online, visit our secure online entry form.
To enter via regular mail, use the printable form, and send it with your manuscript and entry fee to:
78th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition 700 E. State Street Iola, WI 54990

Little Bitty Book Bytes

Little Bitty Book Bytes is a brand new publishing company looking for authors of great short stories. We are looking to publish 3,000 - 5,000 word stories on a new website we are launching this summer. We are interested in stories of different genres, focusing on thrillers, mysteries, romance, fantasy and humor. No erotica, please. We are paying flat fee of $0.05 / word for publishing online. At the end of every year it is our plan to publish an anthology of the best short stories from our site that year and if an author's work is selected for that, further payment will be determined. If you think you have a well written short story, please send an introductory letter and your story to info@littlebittybookbytes.com

2010 Pen To Press Writer's Retreat

Announcing the 2010
Pen to Press Writers' Retreat!
This is a one of a kind writers' retreat you simply can't pass up! Come excited and leave inspired, ready to improve your writing and get that manuscript published!
Pen to Press Retreats are five intense, hands-on, inspiring days that teach participants how to shape and present a saleable manuscript. You'll learn in a variety of settings, from workshops to one-on-one mentoring sessions to seminars. To that end, you will write and revise, have portions of your manuscript critiqued, and revise some more. This is a remarkable opportunity to transform your writing!
To top it off, throughout the last two days of each retreat, all of our participants are given exclusive, one-on-one time with agents and editors to whom they can pitch their work.
With this retreat under your belt, who can stop you?
ActivitiesParticipants will be assigned to a class of 20 and a team instructor. (Our instructors are all successfully published authors, many New York Times and U.S.A. Today Best-sellers, award-winners, and all are excellent teachers.). With this group, you will spend five days working on specifics to improve your manuscript. During classes and panel discussions, you'll learn details about characterization, plot, dialogue, pacing, voice, marketing, pitching, contract negotiations, etc., all of it geared around your specific work.
Agents and editors will be on hand the last two days of the retreat, and they'll be there to spend one-on-one time with you, our participants . . . writers who now have a polished pitch for a promising work!
We've even established a payment plan to help participants who are accepted into the 2010 program stretch the cost of the retreat out over time.
Join Us
The dates for the 2010 Pen to Press Writers Retreat are May 25-29, 2010, and the location will be in beautiful downtown New Orleans, Louisiana.
Interested writers must submit a two page synopsis of a completed novel or novel in progress along with the first five pages of that novel. From those submissions, a maximum of 160 participants will be selected.
To find out more about the 2010 Pen to Press Writers' Retreat, visit our website at www.pentopressretreat.com. There you'll find in-action videos and testimonials from past participants. So jump on over to the website and have a look. And we hope to see YOU at the 2010 PPW Retreat!
WWW.PENTOPRESSRETREAT.COM

Write Your Novel In Nine Months!

Jonathan Maberry's WRITE YOUR NOVEL IN NINE MONTHS

DATE/TIME: Begins Thursday, May 14; 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Nine 2-hour sessions meeting once per month, plus reserved monthly peer critique group

FEE: $200.00

LOCATION: The class will meet in the coffee shop at the Borders Bookstore in Valley Square Shopping Center (on Route 611 just north of Street Road/132 in Warrington). The store is in the center of the mall.
DESCRIPTION: This writing-intensive program takes that idea that's been knocking around in your head all these years and gets it onto the page. This 9-month course covers every aspect of writing and developing the novel, including: Building your platform; Creating a flexible book outline; Creating Real Characters; Developing the story idea; Developing various versions of the storyline synopsis; Writing and Finishing the First Draft; Identifying Your Market; Insider tips on the writing business; Learning how to find an agent and/or publisher Outline the Novel; Preparing for Revisions; Preparing for Revisions; Publicity; Searching for Agents and Publishers; Setting a Practical and Possible Daily Word Count; The writing contract step-by-step; Time management for writers Working the markets; and much more.
BONUS is that both a literary agent and a film agent will be scouting the finished books for potential clients!

INSTRUCTOR: Jonathan Maberry is a multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of PATIENT ZERO, GHOST ROAD BLUES, BAD MOON RISING and several other novels including the official movie adaptation of the Benecio Del Toro & Anthony Hopkins remake of THE WOLFMAN. Jonathan writes for Marvel Comics, Universal Pictures, ABC Disney, among others. He is also the author of numerous short stories, nonfiction books, plays and over 1200 feature articles for major magazines.

TO REGISTER FOR THIS PROGRAM: Contact Jonathan via e-mail at jonathan_maberry@yahoo.com, or via phone at 215-808-0945 to reserve your spot today. If responding by e-mail include the name of the program in the subject line, and provide us with your contact information.

CHECK/MONEY ORDER: Payable to: Jonathan Maberry — PO Box 84 — Southampton, PA 18966

PAYPAL payments can be made to cryptopedia07@yahoo.com

CASH: During class only; please don't send cash via mail.