June News, Events, & Links

PPW News

The June Write Brain will be presented by Jennifer Lovett, a marketing expert. Twitter and Facebook for Writers will be Tuesday, June 18, 6:30 to 8:30 PM at Penrose Library, in downtown Colorado Springs. Jennifer will teach you the basics of Twitter and Facebook, including how to set them up for maximum exposure, as well as the preferable times to put yourself out there to garner the best kind of attention for yourself and your writing. You can find more information at the "PPW Events" tab above.

Writer's Night will be held at Lofty's on Monday, June 24, 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Come enjoy wine, coffee, sandwiches, and various other goodies, and chat about writing. Open to topics of discussion and question. More on the Events tab.

PPW Open Critique will occur on Wednesday, May 19, 6:00 to 8:30 PM, at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts. The first 8 to RSVP may bring 8 pages of their manuscript to critique. More information on the Events tab.

We are offering two special events in June! The first is a movie night at the BAC in Manitou. We'll be showing Cabin in the Woods, with Stephen Graham Jones offering commentary on the horror tropes therein. This will be Friday, June 28, with doors opening at 6 PM to those who have RSVP'd. The show starts at 7 PM. This event is free, but we will have drinks for sale via Mabel's, and treats available by donation. There will also be a silent auction, with plenty of goodies for writers, readers, and horror fans. You can find more information on the Events tab. RSVP to rsvp [at] pikespeakwriters [dot] com.

The second event will occur the next day, Saturday, June 29. This will also be held at the BAC. Doors will open at 9 AM, with coffee available at Mabel's. This will be a workshop with Stephen Graham Jones entitled Fear and Loathing in Any Genre: Pump up the Intensity and Impact of Your Fiction by Scaring Your Reader. This is a full-day workshop, from 10AM to 4PM. Cost is $75 and includes lunch catered by Mabel's. You must RSVP at our website by going to this page. 

Don't forget the 2014 PPW Fiction Writing Contest Naming Contest. Deadline is June 15. You could win free entry into the new, as yet unnamed, 2014 PPW Fiction Writing Contest!

Other "Local" Events

Pikes Peak Library District started their kid and teen summer reading programs as of June 1. Go to any PPLD branch to sign up.

Friends of PPLD is offering Library Lawn Concerts at the Manitou Library each Tuesday this month, starting at 6 PM. They will also have a Friends Book Sale on June 22, and other events throughout the month. 

The town of Green Mountain Falls has the Greenbox Arts Festival coming up, starting June 23 and going through July 3. This festival celebrates the arts and offers classes and workshops. There's a fascinating piece of art that will be on display.

Lighthouse Writers Workshop will hold a variety of programming in June, including workshops on memoir writing, getting your story started and building your web presence. They will have LitFest on June 7.

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers will present "Write More in Less Time: The Procrastinator's Guide to Writing Success," with speaker Liesa Malik, on Saturday, June 8, 1:00 to 3:00 PM. It will be held at Belmar Public Library. Also, don't forget that registration is open for their Colorado Gold Conference, held in September.

Colorado Springs Fiction Writers has various meetings throughout at the month at different locations. Visitors are welcome.

Black Cat Books and the BAC, located in Manitou Springs, have lots of programs for readers and writers alike.  Even knitters!  Check out the events page for more information.

The Pikes Peak Romance Writers of America will host Deb Courtney, who will speak on pacing from 3:00 to 4:00 PM at the BAC. $5 for non-members.

The Pikes Peak Branch of the National League of American Pen Women and Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America are both on hiatus for the summer. Programming for each will continue in September.

Publications Open for Submissions and Contests:
Please note: Inclusion of links in this post does not equal sponsorship by Pikes Peak Writers or a relationship between the two entities.  Please always be sure to pursue due diligence before submitting anything to a publication or contest.

Daily Science Fiction is looking for speculative fiction stories of 100 to 10,000 words. Pays 8 cents per word. Always open, so there is no specific deadline.

U.S. Kids is looking for stories for Turtle, Humpty Dumpty, and Jack and Jill Magazines for kids. Payment is $70 for two of the magazines, with Jack and Jill paying per word.

All KHP Publishers' imprints are accepting novel submissions right now. They have a wide variety of imprints, so be sure to look through the list.

Kerlak Publishing has out several calls for stories for anthologies, each with a deadline of June 15. Payment is $20, plus a copy of the trade paperback.

World Weaver Press is seeking submissions for their anthology, Specter Spectacular II: 13 Deathly Tales. Deadline is June 15. Payment is $10, plus a copy of the trade paperback.

Baird Speculative Fiction is seeking submissions The Urban Eddur, an anthology based on modern versions of Norse legends/myths. Deadline June 15. Pays on a tier system.

Old Timey Hedgehog is holding a free fiction contest (flash and short stories). They're looking for internationalist science fiction. Deadline June 15. Cash prizes and publication, including a possible future anthology for additional pay.

Prada is holding a short story contest. Deadline June 18. Prize is 5000 Euros.

Dark Continents is seeking submissions of short fiction in horror, fantasy and sci-fi for their anthology based on the sea. Deadline June 21. Pays $20 per story.

Allegory E-Zine is open for submissions through June 30. They are open to short stories of any genre. Please see their guidelines. Pays $15 flat rate for fiction and non-fiction.

Midnight Echo is seeking supernatural horror for their next issue. Short stories, non-fiction, poetry, art. Pays 3 cents per word for short fiction. Other pay varies.

Crossed Genres is looking for submissions for their next issue. The theme is "Stranger." Pays 5 cents per word, plus contributor copy. Deadline June 30.

The Capilano Review is seeking "venturesome experimental writing and art" for their next edition. Deadline June 30. Pays $50 per published page.

About the Author:  After years of letting her writing fall by the wayside, Shannon Lawrence has recently thrown herself back into it. Her main focus is fantasy and horror and she has just finished a Young Adult Fantasy novel. She has a flash fiction piece featured in the anthology Sunday Snaps: The Stories, and her short horror story "The Blue Mist" will be in the March 2014 issue of Nightfall Magazine. She has also discovered a love of photography and enjoys photographing the breathtaking Colorado scenery and wildlife, as well as her children. She blogs about reading, writing and photography at www.thewarriormuse.com.