February News, Events & Links

PPW News

Pikes Peak Writers is presenting a free half-day writing workshop February 23rd at the Colorado Springs Marriott.  PPW invites you to "Write Your Heart Out" with presentations by multiple PPWC 2013 presenters.  Whatever "writing your heart out" means to you - whether that's banishing the inner editor, organizing your schedule/writing space, or putting "heart" in your prose - this half-day event will have something for you.  Appropriate for fiction writers of all genres at all levels of ability/experience.  Start your writing year off right with this FREE half-day workshop from Pikes Peak Writers!  

Saturday, February 23rd, 1:00 to 5:00 P.M. (doors open at 12:30).   Colorado Springs Marriott - Library, 5580 Tech Center Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80919.

Space is limited -RSVP required: rsvp@pikespeakwriters.com.  For attendees under 18 years of age, pre-authorization and parental permission slip are required.  Please inquire at administrator@pikespeakwriters.com.

This month's Write Brain will be a free online MP3 recording, presented by Stephen Coonts: Common Craft Mistakes of Beginning Writers. Stay warm and cozy in your home while you listen to bestselling author Stephen Coonts as he addresses common mistakes made by writers, and how to address them.  

PPW Night at Lofty's (note the new location), will be held Monday, February 25, from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M., in the bookstore.  Come enjoy wine, chocolate and coffee, and chat about writing.  Open to topics of discussion and questions.  More information on the Events tab.

PPW Open Critique Night will occur Wednesday, February 20, 6:30-8:30 P.M 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.


Other Local Events

The Pikes Peak Branch of the National League of American Pen Women will be presenting a Writer's Workshop February 13, 2013, from 9:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. at the PEO Chapter House on West Cheyenne Road.  Cost is $23. Workshops will address memoir writing, publishing on the internet and blogging for writers.  There will also be a special experience dealing in the interconnectivity of the arts.

Lighthouse Writers has their usual great lineup of workshops, including 4-week ones starting the first week of February, and one-day ones scattered throughout the month.  Example workshops include: Poetry 101, Novel Bootcamp, Nonfiction 101, Screenwriting Style, POV Clinic and Quentin Tarantino-Balancing Originality with Influence.  There are many more, so be sure to check out their website.  They also now offer a writer's space, so you can have writing time and interaction with other writers.

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers will host Don Callaway at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop on Saturday, February 16, from 2:00-4:00 PM.  He will speak about Writing and Revising with the Six Core Competencies.

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America will host Judy Green Matheny, a retired FBI agent, on Thursday, February 14.  Cost is $20 for members, $25 for non-members, and includes the workshop and dinner.

Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group has various meetings throughout the month for critique and discussion.  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.


Publications Open for Submissions & 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.

The Pikes Peak Branch of the National League of American Pen Women is holding their annual flash fiction contest.  The theme is Hidden Amongst These Worlds.  Cash prizes.  Entry fee $10.  Optional critique.

Severed Press is accepting submissions for horror novels and novellas for adults and young adults.

Less Than Three Press is accepting submissions for two different anthologies.  One has to do with vicious vampires (not glittery ones), the other with messages received too late.  Paying market.

Chuffed Buff Books is accepting submissions for novellas and novelettes in science fiction or science-based fiction.

Scriptapalooza is a contest for screenwriters.  Any genre.  $10,000 first prize.

The Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts has announced the New Rocky Mountain Voices 2013 Competition.  They are looking for one-act and ten-minute plays.  The winning plays will be performed onstage at the Historic Jones Theater.

Massacre Publishing is accepting horror and dark fiction novel-length submissions. 

Samhain Publishing is seeking manuscripts in horror, urban fantasy, romance and erotica. 

Kraken Press is seeking novellas and novel-length fiction in horror and weird fiction. 

Marion Margaret Press is accepting submissions for the anthology Confederation of Steam vs. Zombies.  Deadline is March 31, or when filled.  There are very specific requirements.  $10 payment, plus e-book and print copy of the book.

Rough Writers is a new playfest presented by the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.  Write a script inspired by one of the provided works of art.  $10 fee for entry.

Grinning Skull Press is open for submissions for an anthology with the theme B-Movie Monsters.  Paying market.  Deadline is March 31, or until filled. 

Pantheon Magazine is seeking submissions for short fiction, poetry, reviews, art/photography and interviews. Reprints accepted. All genres. Paying market. 

Monster Corral is seeking stories about monsters in 2013. Any genre, as long as there are monsters. Paying market.

Angelic Knight Press is putting together an urban fantasy anthology. Short fiction. Deadline is May 15. Shared royalties.

Winning Writers is holding their Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, closing April 1. No submission fee. First prize is $1000 and publication online. 

The London School of Liberal Arts is holding a competition, wherein they want you to tell your story of one thing that needs to change. Submissions deadline February 28. Free entry. Open to everyone. Cash prize. 

Any questions on these events or links?  If you belong to an organization that is taking submissions, hosting a writing contest or presenting a workshop or other enrichment for writers, locally, please email the editor at editor [at] pikespeakwriters [dot] com.

About the Writer:  Shannon Lawrence is a mom of two, a freelance writer and aspiring novelist.  She lives in Colorado Springs and is inspired by the beauty of Pikes Peak and the Rockies.  After years of letting her writing fall by the wayside, she 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, due out in late 2012.  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.