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Women who write, literary ladies, fabulous feminine fablers, wizened women with words of wisdom, Penelope with a pen, Priscilla at the printer, Kaila at the keyboard, Alice with aspirations... this is your website. With a chance to win some money for your writing and have your work read and critiqued by wonderful women wordsmiths!


OUR WEBSITE CONTAINS WRITER'S TIPS, INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EDITING SERVICES, LINKS TO OTHER SALUTORY SITES, SHAMELESS ADVERTISING FOR OUR OWN CREATIVE PROJECTS AND A WRITING CONTEST THAT INVITES YOU TO SURPRISE US, PLEASE US, AND TICKLE OUR LITERARY FANCY--WITH CASH PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS!

AWW News

The Good Read novel competition has its 2011 Winner!

We had a fantastic round of entries with an international flavor for the Good Read competition in 2011. Deciding the winner was no easy matter.  So we’ve selected the grand prize winner, and two writers who merited an Honorable Distinction.

This year the grand prize for a Good Read goes to Australian Kate Pascoe, who has written an evocative novel about a slum neighborhood, Frog Hollow , and the eccentric people who live there. This snippet provides a flavor of the literate expressiveness and human touch of which Kate is capable:

For a moment, quite out of the blue, an old fear stirred in her, a bedtime story told long ago from the Children’s Bible, about Noah and the great flood.  Forty days and forty nights teeming rain and the world washed away.  It had set a terror in her as a child.  Back then when hard rains had fallen, Emma would run to her room and hide under the bed, and although she could hear the voices of other children out in the street, laughing and shouting as they kicked water at each other and sent paper boats spinning down the gutters, it did nothing to quell her fear.  Emma learnt to count the distance between the thunder strikes, the higher the count – the further away the storm. 

Looking back Emma couldn’t say if it had been just one summer or many, she’d known that dread.  She remembered a school day when a storm was brewing and Sister Mary Joseph had found her pale and trembling, alone in the music room.  In a quivering voice she’d tried to explain it, how she saw the world filling up with water till there was no space left to breathe between the land and the sky. 

Sister Mary Joseph, quick to lay the child’s fears to rest, explained God’s promise never to curse the ground again by flood. “God gives us the rain so that all things may grow and prosper. Do not be afraid of it,” she said.  She put her arm around Emma’s shoulders and gave the child an affectionate squeeze.  It was a clumsy moment; their heads knocked together and Sister Mary Joseph’s glasses were pushed up.  In that split second, Emma saw her differently.  Younger, smooth skinned, motherly.  After that she saw the rain differently too.

Kate has this to say about herself and about A Woman’s Write:

“I've lived in Sydney all my life and began writing at a very young age.  Some of my poems were published in the junior comic section of the Sunday newspaper and this would fill me with pride and encourage me to keep writing, much the same as the Good Read competition as done for me now. I am very much interested in local history; I find there is a never ending supplier of stories and characters to be dug out of old newspapers, diaries, and letters held in the city's archives, and from these I like to spin tales and place them in more contemporary settings, as I like the contrast of the old mixed in with the new.

“I have nothing but praise for A Woman’s Write and the Good Read Competition.  It's rare to find a competition that offers to critique the work it receives. This is valuable feedback for budding writers, and can give them new eyes through which to see their work… AWW goes a long way to empower women to write and we need more of that in the world today.”

We’re betting that Kate Pascoe will soon be a published novelist.

Two of our entries won Honorable Distinction awards and will have their entry fees refunded:

  • American physician/author Jennifer Frank has a passion for chick-lit. She sent us Alison’s Big Do-Over, the farcical adventure of a woman who’s trying to change her life by moving up in her profession, but discovering that the pitfalls of ambition can be as complex as the woes of being stuck in place. Frank has a talent for making life’s little annoyances seem like hugely hilarious cosmic catastrophes. We wish Jennifer well in her own new career well started.

  • Eugenia Cosinschi wins Honorable Distinction for her novel, The Plan , a breezy, zany saga of what can go awry when a young woman decides to quit her job and see what happens next. When she comes up with what seems like a reasonable a plan for survival, everything, including her love life, begins to come unglued. Eugenia writes in a pleasant, idiomatic style belying the fact that English is her second language. Seems like a formula for future success.

As you can see, we are welcoming international writers (women 18 or older, writing in English). All entrants receive, in a timely manner, one of our invaluable critiques (we’ve been told that the help that we offer to new writers through our critiques is worth far more than the cost of the entry fee). Some of our entrants may later seek our editing services, which are refreshingly inexpensive and carried out with professionalism and a personal interest in making good books better.

Our new submission year for the Good Read novel competition begins January First annually. By submitting earlier in the year, writers have a chance to resubmit their work based on the editorial suggestions of our reader/editors. It’s one of the unique features of the competitions at A Woman’s Write that is much appreciated by our participants.

Don’t forget – if you have a memoir or other non-fiction book in the works, you can submit it to our Truth to Tell competition currently accepting entries.


 Another Good Read author success, and a reminder about our review services....

The Road to Aradell is an enchanting modern love story about a mega-star and his pursuit of an older, wiser woman, written by Felicia Rose Levitt, who contributed the novel to our Good Read Competition in 2010. Though the book did not win our prize, it was a well-written effort and when I critiqued it, I let Felicia know she had done an excellent job with her first book.

This year The Road to Aradell is in publication, and Felicia asked me for a review; as it turned out, I wrote two reviews for this book, one for Amazon and another for Curled Up with a Good Book (see http://www.curledup.com/road_to_aradell.htm). As time passes I write more and more reviews for Curled Up, Book Reporter, and some especially for new authors for the ForeWord and ForeWord Clarion magazine/site. It is a part of my writing work I especially enjoy because it encourages others to get their work out and ready for the world to see.  Because of our experience at A Woman's Write composing thorough, thoughtful critiques for all our contest submissions (Good Read fiction and Truth to Tell non-fiction/memoir) we have developed a kindly view of new works that does not preclude a strict word here and there when required but gives the author encouragement and the will to “write on”!

If YOU have a book ready for publication, or recently published, please feel free to request a review. All I require is $25.00 and a copy of the book for AWW authors (if you have submitted any work to our contests); $35.00 and a copy of the book for other authors


Truth to Tell Has Its 2011 Winner!

Cyndy Drew Etler is the winner of our first annual Truth to Tell non-fiction book prize. Her harrowing memories of life as a teen held captive in a rehab facility is the basis for her current work with troubled teenagers. Her book Straightling is part of that endeavor. Cyndy writes:

I never was a badass, actually. Or a slut, a junkie, or a stoner, like they told me I was. I was just a little kid looking for something good: a grownup with some love to spare or a place, a safe place, to hide. I was a wannabe in a Levis jean jacket; anybody could see that. Except my mother. And the professionals at Straight.

“So begins Straightling, my young adult memoir about Straight, Inc, a cult masquerading as a drug rehab. With a fourteen-year-old’s voice, the book takes readers on a first-person rollercoaster ride. It rips through my wide-eyed childhood, then on into my sixteen months locked in a building, singing preschool songs and being spit on by a hive of troubled teens.

“As I slog through the process of submitting to agents—fidgeting through lag time and gnashing through heartbreak—this award from A Woman’s Write serves as glorious validation. What a boost for a striving author.

“To learn more about Straightling, and to receive a free sample chapter, please go to www.straightling.com.”

The Truth to Tell (non-fiction book) competition runs annually with a close-out date of August 31st each year. The Good Read Novel (fiction book) competition has a yearly close-out date of Novemeber 30th. Contestants in both competitions receive a swift, thorough and thoughtful critique and the chance to re-enter before the contest closes. Please read our rules and send your submission!

>> Get the details on our RULES page.


NEW Editing Site Launched: TheBookMD.com

A Woman's Write Editor Barbara Bamberger Scott now hosts a new site for ALL writers (male and female, 18 and over) -- an opportunity to receive a fair, thought-provoking, professional analysis of your book, fiction or non-fiction, memoir -- any prose book including works-in-progress. Many of our AWW participants have asked for this service, and here it is: www.thebookmd.com
 
Throughout the year 2010, all former AWW entrants will be given a 10% discount for a Book MD critique. This is a perfect way to prepare your creative project for competition or publication, with proven professional assistance.


We have a winner!

Our Good Read winner for 2010 is Margaret Rodenberg, whose novel, Little Song, tells a twisty tale of a rogue ex-husband who returns, spends a week living with the heroine and her new husband, and gives everybody a chance to get some serious thinking done about the distinctions between love and romance:

…My whole life, my best friend was that boy next door, big blonde Sammy Bear.
"You shoot him, and I'll cut off his ears," Sammy said whenever one of Momma's men got near me. Then we'd get to planning how we could bury the man in the woods, covering up the fresh dirt with hemlock branches. Even picked out the best spot on Vancouver Island, at the base of an old-growth cedar that's been there a thousand years and more. The Grandmother Tree, they call it, because it's surrounded by its children's children. But, though Sammy Bear had his nasty side and liked to catch things that squealed—squirrels, weasels, cats, an otter now and then—he never did help me kill any of Momma's men.


Grandma said the Bears had long been trouble—bad blood will out, don't you know?—and she told tales of banishment and crimes. As time passed, and Sammy and me got skin-close, her tales grew more horrific, her charges touching sacred taboo and ancestral sins. I heard bedtime stories of moons stolen, whale-women raped, cedar spirits felled against their will, dancing masks cursed, and, inevitably, intercourse with all the wrong sorts of bears.


But, though my face looked a lot like Grandma's, our brown eyes didn't see the same when it came to Sammy, so it wasn't a surprise when I married him right after high school. And, if you knew Sammy and his wandering ways, it wasn't much of a surprise when he took off eight months after our son Josh was born. The surprise came when he showed up sixteen years later…


Margaret says: "This work--the characters, story, setting, and words--are close to my heart so I deeply appreciate the recognition this award brings. I hope A Woman's Write continues giving encouragement to emerging women writers for many years to come."

We congratulate Margaret, who won our Good Read prize in a field of excellent competitors, and we thank all of you who contributed and expressed your faith in A Woman's Write for another creative year. Now it's time to start polishing up your entry for the 2011 contest!


New Competition for Non-Fiction Books at AWW!
"Truth to Tell" begins 2010-2011

In response to your continued interest, dear AWW fans and loyal entrants, and in addition to our Good Read annual fiction book contest, we are launching a new competition called “Truth to Tell” – this is your chance to send us a book-length memoir, family history, biography, philosophical treatise, religious experience, essay collection – any non-fiction work that conforms to our contest rules. The annual year for Truth to Tell begins October 1, and entries must be received by August 31 annually. For the initial year, to gauge response, we are offering a $300 prize for the best non-fiction book submitted to the AWW Truth to Tell competition.

>> Get the details on our RULES page.


NEW Editing Site Launched: TheBookMD.com

A Woman's Write Editor Barbara Bamberger Scott now hosts a new site for ALL writers (male and female, 18 and over) -- an opportunity to receive a fair, thought-provoking, professional analysis of your book, fiction or non-fiction, memoir -- any prose book including works-in-progress. Many of our AWW participants have asked for this service, and here it is: www.thebookmd.com
 
Throughout the year 2010, all former AWW entrants will be given a 10% discount for a Book MD critique. This is a perfect way to prepare your creative project for competition or publication, with proven professional assistance.


Another AWW Winner Gets Published

Alice Loweecey, AWW Good Read Winner in 2007, wrote to us:  “I can't repeat enough the boost winning the Good Read competition gave to my writing. I'm happy to tell you that while that book is awaiting rewrite, my terrific agent got me a three-book deal with Midnight Ink Books for my ex-nun PI mystery series. The first book, Force of Habit, hits stores in February. It's already up for pre-order on Amazon. That was the moment I finally admitted to myself that it all was real--you can't argue with an Amazon listing!”

>> See other published AWW winners on our SUCCESS STORIES page.


The Good Read Novel Competition Enters A New Year

At A Woman's Write, we want to give new or as yet unrecognized writers a chance to have their work read and analyzed, along an a opportunity to win a significant cash prize to assist in furthering their creative ambitions.

Here's how it works:

Submit the first 75 pages of your unpublished novel to our Good Read competition, along with a $40 fee. Within a few weeks you will receive a thorough, thoughtful critique with editing comments and corrections. You will be given an opinion about character and plot development.

You then have the option to resubmit the entire novel, having applied changes based on our comments and suggestions. This resubmission will be accompanied by a $20 reading fee and represents your final entry into the competition.

Entries submitted initially for critique will be judged if not resubmitted. Resubmissions will be judged as the final entry in place of the original entry, with no exceptions.

This lower fee scale including critique will, we hope, serve as a motivation to all writers in these economically pressing times to send their work for a professional analysis, with the further incentive to make an effort to improve the work -- and the possibility of winning $500.

The Good Read competition runs yearly from January 1 until November 30. December will be a closed month in which judging will take place after all entries have been read and critiqued. A winner will be announced on January 1.

We have been rewarded many times over by our entrants who write and thank us for our incisive and helpful comments and edits. Some of our authors have gone on to win other awards and to get published. This makes us believe that at A Woman's Write, we are doing something right for women.
Please read the rules thoroughly, and send us your entry to the Good Read novel competition.