May 25, 2011, the culminating ceremony for the Area 17 Chicago Young Authors celebration was held at the Dr. Alexander Bouchet Math & Science Academy, and I was there as a guest of the coordinator, Tina Franklin-Bertrand. Author B. A. Binns and Area 17 Youth Authors Coordinator Mrs. Franklin-Bertrand Many of the winners were stories […]
Young Chicago Authors – the Area 17 ceremony Read More »
I\’m in the final stages of being contest coordinator for my RWA chapter\’s writing contest – I know, I did it before and you\’d think I would learn, but for some reason I agreed to do it again. We have an all-electronic contest now – last time we tried to allow people to submit either
Things I learned from being a contest coordinator Read More »
I spent today in Chicago judging at the annual Young Chicago writers competition, that includes poetry, fiction and instructional stories by kids from first grade through 8th. I am amazed at the quality of some of the writing there. My very first read – a book of poetry of all things (I am not usually
Young Chicago Authors are GREAT writers Read More »
I just read an interview of Lisa Cron, a story consultant and agent, in the January 2011 issue of The Writer. She recommends reading bad books, and I thought, why on Earth would anyone waste their time on that? Then I read her reason. \”Because you don\’t really know what your expectations are until they
My life as a romance writing contest judge Read More »
Today I am going to shill for a contest. Don\’t worry, I won\’t be offended if you stop reading right now. Still here? Good. A few months ago I did what people always tell me not to do, I voluntered for something. Now I need to follow through. I am the 2011 contest coordinator for the 13th
I have served as both judge and contest coordinator in numerous RWA contests for the past three years. I’ve also entered almost a dozen contests. Won two, including the one that brought with it my agent, Andrea Somberg. And was a finalist in two others, including the 2010 Golden Heart. To me, contest judging, and
Things I learned from contests Read More »