Cindi Myers Market News's Blog

“The writer’s genetic inheritance and her or his experiences shape the writer into a unique individual, and it is this uniqueness that is the writer’s only stuff for sale” .- James Gunn

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Thought not strictly related to fiction writing, I wanted to point out a few essay calls/contests that came to my attention this week, as I believe many of the readers of this blog might find them of interest.

Real Simple Magazine is sponsoring its Sixth Annual Life Lessons Essay Contest. Submit your essay of no more than 1,500 words about a time you took a risk and the lesson you learned from this. The deadline for entries is September 19, 2013. The first place winner wins $3,000, second place gets $750 and third place nets $500. Find all the details here.

Ladies Home Journal is interested in the story behind a special recipe. This could be a favorite family dish, something handed down through your family, or a new creation, as long as it has an interesting story to go with it. You can read some examples of these stories here. Send your story to recipestory@lhj.com

Ladies Home Journal also accepts submissions for its Your Story Feature. Check out their tips for writing an essay for them here. Send your submissions to yourstories@lhj.com

Redbook Magazine accepts first-person essays about “a dramatic, pivotal moment in a woman’s life.” Send to Articles Department
REDBOOK
300 West 57th Street, 22nd Floor
New York,  NY 10019

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Another cover reveal this week. This one is of a Christmas Anthology I’m privileged to be in with Fern Michaels, Marie Bostick,

and Laura Levine. Secret Santa will be in stores October 29, 2013, but you can preorder online now.

The Mountain Between Us also goes on sale October 29, and is available for preorder now.

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Crimson Romance is looking for romance short stories of between 5,000 and 10,000 words for some upcoming themed collections. Submit your Christmas or New Years’ stories by June 1, 2013, and Valentine’s Day stories by August 1, 2013. The editors are also interested in stories featuring professional athletes. Send these in by July 31, 2013. Any heat level is welcome. Stories will be published digitally. Find all the details here.

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Samhain Publishing is looking for horror novels between 12,000 and 120,000 words. All works are published digitally, and works between 60,000 and 120,000 words are eligible for print publication also. The editors are looking for “exciting, dramatic and frightening” stories or all types, with a fresh premise, three-dimensional characters and suspenseful writing. Find the details here.

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As always, feel free to share the information in this blog — repost, retweet, reprint. All I ask is that you give me credit as the source, and include a link to the blog. Thanks!  Cindi

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.”  Barbara Kingsolver

This week I’m looking at publications for those of the Christian faith that publish short fiction. Some of these magazines publish very short fiction — really, flash fiction. Payments vary widely, but all do pay something, and provide details when I know them.

Alive Now  focuses on how contemporary issues impact one’s faith. Both lay people and church professionals read the magazine.250-400 word inspirational stories and meditations. Pays $35.

Devozine is a devotional magazine for Christian teens. Publishes fiction of 150-250 words — adventure, historical or multi-cultural. Pays $100

 Liguorian is a general interest magazine for Catholics. The editors accept inspirational fiction to 2,000 words. Pays 12 to 15 cents a word.

Live is a take-home paper for adult Sunday School students. The magazine publishes 300 to 1,100 word inspirational stories. Pays 10 cents a word.

 Mature Living is a magazine for Christians ages 55 and over. The magazine publishes 800 to 1,200 word short stories that emphasize a Biblical truth. Payment varies.

St. Anthony Messenger is a magazine for Catholics that focuses on family life. They publish inspirational fiction to 2,500 words. Pays 20 cents a word.

U.S. Catholic is a magazine for Catholics in the United States. The editors will consider inspirational fiction to 2,500 words. Payment varies.

 Vista is a Christian Sunday School paper that publishes 500-550 word inspirational fiction. Pays $15-$35.

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Here’s the cover for my upcoming release from Harlequin Heartwarming. Look for Her Cowboy Soldier in July.   

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Harlequin has made some editorial changes. Brenda Chin, a longtime editor with Harlequin, has left the company. Kathleen Schiebling now oversees Harlequin Blaze. Angela James has a new title: Editorial Direction, Carina Press. Charles Griemsman and Adrienne Macintosh have both been promoted to Editor — Adrienne is an editor of Harlequin Series and Charles is Editor of Desire.

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New York Times Bestselling author Gemma Halliday is sponsoring the Femme Fatale Mystery Writing Contest. You could win a Kindle Paperwhite or a year of mentoring from Gemma.  Submit the first 2,000 words of a mystery/suspense story by June 30. There’s no fee to enter. Find all the deatils here.

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As always, feel free to share the information in this blog with others. All I ask is that you give me credit as the source, and include a link to this blog. Thanks!  Cindi

“Why do writers write? Because it isn’t there.” Thomas Berger

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This week I’m looking at more markets for short stories, this time in publications that target particular ethnic groups. All of these are paying markets and where possible, I list payment details.

Azizah is a magazine for contemporary Muslim women. The editors are open to inspirational and literary fiction from 1,500 to 2,500 words. Payment varies.

Hadassah Magazine focuses on issues of concern to Jews, particularly Jewish women. The editors accept 1,000 to 3,000 word contemporary short stories or humorous stories related to Israel or Judaism. Payment varies.

Lilith is a magazine for Jewish feminists. Contemporary short stories with Jewish themes. No length specified. Payment varies.

India Currents is a magazine devoted to “the heritage and culture of India as it exists in the United States.”  The magazine accepts 1,500 to 3,000 word short stories — literary, contemporary, historical or humorous. Pays $50 per 1,000 words.

Midstream is a quarterly journal for Jewish people all over the world. The editors are open to 2,000 to 5,000 word short stories with a Jewish perspective. Pays 5 cents a word.

Viking is the magazine for members of the Sons of Norway. The editors welcome Norwegian ethnic, historical or humorous fiction 400 to 1,200 words. Pays $180-$400.

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In the mood for New Hampshire Romance? The Love Free Or Die anthology is now open for submissions! Rick Brousssard’s New Hampshire Pulp Fiction series continues with volume IV, devoted to romance. Guest Editor Elaine Isaak seeks a variety of love stories that will showcase the richness of relationships and explore the boundaries of New Hampshire. Stories may be up to 8000 words long, double-spaced, 12-point type, with the author’s contact information on the first page. Stories may be any sub-genre of romance–historical, paranormal, suspense, inspirational—as long as they feature a New Hampshire setting. Sexy stories are fine, but please no erotica. Submissions will be accepted until July 31, but submit early for your best chance. The book is planned for publication in February, 2014. Send your story as a .doc or .rtf format to: Hpulpromance@gmail.com For more details, go here.
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As always, feel free to share the contents of the blog with others – reprint, repost and spread the word. All I ask is that you cite me as the source of the material, and include a link to the blog. Thank you. Cindi Myers