Announcing the 2016 IWSG Anthology Contest!

The annual IWSG Anthology Contest is now open! 

Last year’s contest was science fiction – parallel world/alternate history, and the result was Parallels: Felix Was Here. This year, we have a new theme and invite all members to submit.

Eligibility: Any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter – blogging or Facebook member. The story must be previously unpublished. Entry is free.

Word count: 5000-6000

Genre: Fantasy

Theme: Hero Lost. It could be about a hero turned villain, a villain's redemption, a hero's lack of confidence, a hero's lack of smarts, etc. It can be about any kind of hero including superheroes, mythological heroes, unexpected or unlikely heroes, or a whole new kind of hero. This theme has plenty of scope and we’re open to pretty much anything along these lines. No erotica, R-rated language, or graphic violence.

Deadline: November 1st 2016

How to enter: Send your polished, formatted, previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your contact details and if you are part of the Blogging or Facebook IWSG group.

Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges.

Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title.

We’re excited to see the creativity and enthusiasm that’s such a part of this group put into action. So don your creative caps and start writing. And spread the word!

Our amazing judges this year:

Elizabeth S. Craig writes cozy mystery series for Penguin Random House, Midnight Ink, and independently. She curates links on Twitter as @elizabethscraig that are later shared in the free search engine WritersKB.com.

Richard Harland finished his first novel in 1993 and resigned a university lectureship to become a full-time writer. With seventeen fantasy, SF and horror novels published since, he went international with his steampunk fantasies, Worldshaker, Liberator and Song of the Slums. He has won six Aurealis Awards and the A. Bertram Chandler Award in Australia, the Tam Tam Je Bouquine Award in France. Writing Tips

Laura Maisano has an MA in Technical writing and is a Senior Editor at Anaiah Press for their YA/NA Christian Fiction. She’s excited to release her debut YA Urban Fantasy SCHISM, and she’s finishing up the sequel UNITY.

Russell C. Connor has been writing horror since the age of 5, and has been in the self-publishing industry for a decade. He has published 8 novels and 4 novellas in both paperback and eBook, including the Box Office of Terror Trilogy and "Whitney," an epic horror novel about hurricane survivors fighting a washed-ashore sea monster. He also designs books for clients and assists them with self-publishing endeavors.

Dawn Frederick is the founder of Red Sofa Literary, previously of Sebastian Literary Agency, and she brings a broad knowledge of the book business to the table—with multiple years of experience as a bookseller in the independent, chain, and specialty stores; sales, marketing, & book development at a YA publisher, a published nonfiction author, and an agent associate literary agent at Sebastian Literary Agency.

Michelle L. Johnson is a literary agent, the founder of Inklings Literary Agency and has a business administration background in addition to a lifetime of working with books (sales, editing, and writing) and authors (marketing, promoting, event planning), and also has been a script/story consultant for an independent film.

Ion Newcombe is the editor and publisher of AntipodeanSF, Australia's longest running online speculative fiction magazine, regularly issued since January 1998. His qualifications and employment range from horticulture through electronics into literature and communications.

Author, Public Speaker, and Executive Producer, Lynn Tincher was born just outside of Louisville, Kentucky in the beautiful city of La Grange. She has written four books, with the fifth one currently in the making. Her first book, Afterthoughts was optioned for movie production by Kilted Pictures and Dancing Forward Productions in Los Angeles. It is currently in pre-production with plans to shoot in Louisville, Kentucky very soon.

What story can you come up with?

Hello Alphabet People!

It's been a while since I've stopped in to say hi...so...HI! Hope you're all well.

Are you already planning and plotting for next April?

There is so much you can be doing right now to prepare!

Want to write reviews?

Read books
Watch TV show/movies
Listen to music
Cook new dishes
Travel
Go to restaurants


Want to share your talents?
 
Take photographs
Write
Draw/paint/sculpt
Sew/knit/crochet
Create videos


All of these ideas take some time and effort so why not start early?

***

Are you still traveling in the Post A-to-Z Road Trip? Have you found some new blogs that you think we should all know about? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments!

Themes That Rocked the Challenge - Cherdo and Favorite Characters and Lines

Today we welcome Cherdo on the Flipside and her awesome theme of Favorite Characters, Favorite Lines!

Why did you choose the theme of favorite characters and lines?

As a movie buff, there's nothing I like more than an iconic line that captures the spirit of the movie or the essence of an important character. Even more important, is the instant recognition that comes with a GREAT quote; I'll drop that line in my day-to-day conversations when that happens.

Which character out of the bunch was your favorite?

Tough, tough question. A few names rise to the top: Brad Pitt's Achilles...Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark...Jack Nicholson's Melvin Udall...all truly great characters with great lines.

But in the end, "I'm your Huckleberry." It's gotta be Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holiday from the movie "Tombstone;" a wonderful fountain of quotables! Val's Doc was elegant, educated, and so snarky - but cool. Doesn't hurt that he knows his way around a gunfight and Latin. " In vino veritas!"

Which letter was the most challenging?

Actually, the challenging part came with the letters that had multiple great choices for quotes. Letters like X or Z that might seem challenging were actually a snap (X-men, Zoolander).

What movie or show got the best response from visitors? (Outside of the letter A, of course.)

If you would have made me guess in advance, I couldn't have picked it: E for Evil, as in Dr. Evil of Austin Powers fame, got the most views of all. Who knew there was an evil fan base lurking on the blog-o-sphere.


How long did it take you to find the quotes and pictures for each letter?

About a month before the A-to-Z, I jotted down the letters and every time I was working at my desk, I'd glance at it and add names. Most of these names popped into my cranium attached to quotes, so the only thing to find was a confirmation that I was remembering it correctly. I probably spent less than fifteen minutes writing a post and adding pictures.

So many great Tony Stark lines – how did you resist the urge to just go crazy with that one?

You mean Stark-raving mad? Oh, that would have been so easy to do! What a perfect pairing of actor and character! At first, I was trying to find one great quote (as in Achilles) and later in the month, I tried to limit myself to five quotes. Basically, I was having too much fun and I always try to squelch fun.

But seriously, I could do a whole month of Tony Stark. Maybe that will be next year's theme: "All Things Tony Stark: The Sequel."

Would you need a little gin after a whole day with Jar-Jar Binks?

No, you'd need a lot of gin. The biggest problem is that you know you'll start doing the Jar-Jar voice after about ten minutes. The gin will only make you snicker while doing so.

If you participate in the Challenge next year, what themes strike your fancy?

Still loving pop culture, music, and humor. I'm pretty sure it will fall somewhere in that neighborhood. I toyed with the idea of "Ear Worms I Can't Kill" to address those songs that stick with you way too long.

All in all, I love the A-to-Z and I think you'll probably see me next year, too. Thanks, Alex, for including me!

I think All Things Tony Stark: The Sequel would be a great theme for next year! Thanks, Cherdo.


Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, CassaStorm, and Dragon of the Stars, founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, and his blog can be found HERE