It’s time to submit entries to the eighth annual Austin Writers’ League and Barnes & Noble’s Violet Crown Awards with the June 30 deadline a month away. Three $1,000 awards will be given in the following categories: fiction, nonfiction, and literary fiction (aka poetry and essays, but not limited to those forms, which is a slight change from previous years; it’s meant to distinguish commercial fiction from not-so-commercial fiction. Entrants, however, not the League, decide whether their work falls under the “literary fiction” or “fiction” category.) Last year, D. Marion Wilkinson‘s Not Between Brothers, a historical novel about Texas, won the fiction category and Lisa Sandlin‘s A Message to the Nurse of Dreams won the literary fiction category. Another change from last year is that anthologies that include works of several authors will not be eligible. Other guidelines stipulate that entrants must be AWL members but may join when the entry is submitted. The book must have been published between August 1, 1997 and June 30, 1998. A fee of $10 and two copies of the book must accompany the entry. Publishers may pay the membership fee for the author. Membership categories are $40 regular, $35 student, and $60 family. Call 499-8914 or write Austin Writers’ League, 1501 W. Fifth St., Ste. E-2, Austin, TX 78703 for info.
Virgin Fiction
Courtney Saunders graduated this month from the Michener Center for Writers with an M.F.A. in screenwriting but from now on she thinks she “might write more fiction.” That’s partly because of her success in being chosen as a contributor to a new collection of short stories from Rob Weisbach Books, which is an imprint of William Morrow and Company. All the contributing authors are previously unpublished. The name of the book is Virgin Fiction.
What a wonderful collection that suffers from what must be the lamest cover in all of publishing history. The cover, which of course has the words Virgin Fiction on it, also has a cherry. Isn’t that cute. Oh, what I would have given to be the invisible man at that cover conference.
But don’t let that deter you from the anthology’s noble intention, which is to buck the publishing industry trend which dictates to new writers that they won’t be published until they’ve been published already. Well, how the hell do you surmount that? This annual collection attempts to change all that. Guidelines for the 1999 anthology: Every selected winner receives a $500 contributor’s fee. The deadline is October 1, 1998. Entries are accepted only from writers who will be under 35 by June 1, 1999. Entrants must not have been published in a book or national periodical. One short fiction – no novels, nonfiction, or poetry – is accepted. All stories must be under 7,500 words and double-spaced. Winners will be notified by January 4, 1999. Write: Virgin Fiction Contest Rules, Rob Weisbach Books, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019…
Blinking Yellow Books author Erik Kongshaug reads from his striking new novel The Path at Barnes & Noble Guadalupe Friday, May 29, 7pm. The Path follows, sometimes intimately, the poignantly awkward lives of four preteens edging their unsure ways into adulthood. Kongshaug is the editor of the San Pedro, California-based Random Lengths: Harbor Independent News.
This article appears in May 29 • 1998 and May 29 • 1998 (Cover).