New On-Line Mag Seeking Submissions

The Litchfield Literary Review, a semi-annual on line publication, is preparing to launch this fall. We need your work to fill our pages.

We seek works about New England, or on any subject written by New England based writers. We pay $5.00 per accepted submission and only accept e-mailed submissions. Writers are welcomed to submit up to three pieces at one time. We welcome short fiction of less then 6,000 words, non-fiction, flash fiction, one act plays, ten-minute plays, interviews, book reviews and essays.

We respect writers and will reply to all submissions in a timely manner. Honest. We acquire first time publication rights, but all rights revert to the author after publication. Authors are invited to include a bio and a photo, which will be published with their work, if they so choose.
Please send work to Submissions@Thelitchfieldliteraryreview.com. Remember to include a snail mail return address so we can forward a check to you should we run your work.

Times Running Out!

The New England CrimeBake is a month away and the registration period during which applicants can receive discounted fees is fast ending. Sign up ASAP if you'd like to save a few bucks (and who doesn't these days).

Are You The UNKNOWN WRITER?

The Unknown Writer

By
Ronnie Jay
© 2004

I’m an unknown writer
Creative as they come
But, there’ll come a day, I dare say
I’ll be a famous one

I’ll write a #1 best-seller
And oh, the riches it will bring
It’ll sell more in every bookstore
Than Grisham, Crichton or King

I know you won’t believe me
And I can’t make you a believer
But, if I don’t believe in myself
No one else will either

Yes, I know it sounds impossible
To reach those heights of fame
And I realize that I may never
Be a household name

But, it doesn’t really matter
If my dreams do or don’t come true
I’m still gonna keep on writing
Because that’s what writers do

Level Best to launch annual anthology at New England Crime Bake

The New England Crime Bake, writer/reader conference will be upon us soon, November 14 through 16. Among the many events being offered, Level Best Books will be launching its latest annual anthology of crime stories by New England authors. This year's anthology is entitled DEADFALL and includes my story, Bagging The Trophy. Also included will be stories by such well known New England writers as Stephen Rogers and the as yet unannounced winner of Crime Bake's annual Al Blanchard Award. DEADFALL will be available for purchase at the conference.



This year's keynote at the conference is Harlan Coburn and will include a sneak preview of the film based on his novel, TELL NO ONE. Serious writers may also want to check out the Master Classes being taught by accomplished New England authors: Hallie Ephron, Peter Abrahams and Gary Braver.



Registration is open to any and all who are interested in the mystery/thriller/true crime genres; but don't delay as the master classes are filling up and the early bird discount expires on October 1. You can register by going to http://crimebake.org/.

New England Crime Bake

The New England Crime Bake Conference is coming up sooner than it may seem! The conference is at the Hilton in Dedham, MA the weekend of November 14. If you want to be part of the master classes, manuscript evaluations and one-on-one agent pitches you should go to Crimebake.org and register soon.

As is usual for the conference, the keynote speaker is yet another BIG name in mystery writing, Harlan Coburn. The hotel has a limited number of rooms available at a reduced coinference rate so, don't ptocrastinate, register now.

MFOB: Best of Year One Available Soon

In my last post I mentioned that Mouth Full of Bullets Magazine was publishing an anthology of the best stories published during its first year. Well, it will be available soon. B. J. Bourg, editor, recently announced its availability from the publisher. The list of authors in it will include many who are familiar to members of the mystery writing community and mystery fans. Writers such as Earl Staggs, Stephen D. Rogers and yours truly.

In Bookstores Now

An anthology entitled My Teacher Is My Hero, edited by Susan reynolds, is now available for purchase in bookstores and online. Why is this such a big deal? It's obvious... It contains a piece by yours truly. The anthology contains short essays about those extraordinary teachers who have impacted our lives. It's worth a read and is affordable. BTW, if you go into B&N looking for it, it's in the Education section. They consider it a reference for teachers.

Another piece of good news is that my story, It's My Job, has been selected to appear in a forthcoming anthology of the best stories of the magazine's first year. It entitled: Mouth Full of Bullets: Best of Year One. If you haven't checked out MFOB you should do so. It's published quarterly and you can find it at http://mouthfullofbullets.com/.

If you're a fan of mystery and are looking for a conference to attend this year, check out the New England CrimeBake (http://www.crimebake.org/). It's a great conference in it's sixth year and has attracted some great keynote speakers such as Robert B. Parker, Janet Evanovich, and Lee Child. This year's keynote is Harlan Coburn. The conference is held in early November in the Boston Area.

Well, time to get back on the keyboard...

Mystery-Man