Contest Tue Nov 03 2009
The Great Books Foundation, headquartered in Chicago, is holding its first annual Short Story Prize through The Common Review, their quarterly magazine of books and ideas. The first prize winner will take home $400 and have their story published; second prize will win $200 and third prize will be awarded $150. Judges include local author Achy Obejas, former Poetry magazine editor Joe Parisi and local journalist Danny Postel. Your story must be postmarked by January 31, 2010 to be considered for the contest and they are not accepting electronic submissions. Email tcr[at]greatbooks[dot]org or call 800-222-5870 for questions and information.
— Veronica Bond /
Contest Mon Oct 26 2009
Here's a chance to get your hands on one of the hot new reads for free: Regal Literary, Audrey Niffenegger's literary agency, is giving away 25 hardcover and 10 advanced reader's copies of the author's new book, Her Fearful Symmetry. All you have to do to enter is become a fan of the book on Facebook and send an email to hfs[at]regal-literary[dot]com with the subject line "Facebook Special Offer - I'm a fan!" by November 13. Does it get much better than free books, especially good free books? I think not. (Also, be sure to check out all of the interviews and videos of Audrey discussing her work on the FB page...there's some good information there.)
— Veronica Bond /
Contest Fri Oct 16 2009
The fur-covered editions of Dave Eggers's The Wild Things have arrived at the McSweeney's offices and the first thing the group did was to get busy styling that monster hair. The results are highly amusing (and somewhat unnecessarily cute, e.g. the Clark Kent Wild Thing to the right), but McSweeney's isn't stopping there: they're challenging all you Wild Things readers to send in photos of your own stylized versions of the book to win a special prize. No word on what that prize is yet, but I can't wait to see all the entries. Email your photos to webmaster[at]mcsweeneys[dot]net and check back on November 16 to find out who wins.
— Veronica Bond /
Contest Fri Oct 16 2009
Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's follow-up to the bestselling Freakonomics is being released next Tuesday. Titled Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance, the book follows the path of its predecessor, asking such questions as "How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?" and "Did TV cause a rise in crime?" Want to win a copy? Head over to the Onion AV Club where they're giving away three copies and official Superfreakonomics T-shirts (now that's a superhero I'd like to see!). Just email them at avcontests[at]theonion[dot]com and they'll pick the winners on October 30.
— Veronica Bond /
The Stone Diaries is the fictionalized autobiography of Daisy Goodwill Flett, tracing an ordinary life from birth to death through the 20th century. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Canada's Governor General's Award.
