Writing Opportunities

Ellechor Publishing thrives on helping aspiring authors and part-time dabblers reach their potential. This is why we host an annual "Reach the Stars" Publishing Contest, to assist authors as they reach for their goals. There are two anthologies that will be published with the top writers who enter: the first will be a collection of children's short stories and the second will be a collection of poetry.

Contest Rules

• Entries must be received at ReachTheStars@EllechorPublishing.com by November 4, 2009 to be entered into the contest. . 
• Each application must be an original, unpublished work by the author, no exceptions. After October 10, 2009 submissions must also include a submission fee of $5 for poems and $10 for short-stories. Please use the same name when applying and submitting, the information must match for your submission to be eligible.
• In order for the contest to be valid, there must be at least 50 short story submissions and 100 poetry submissions 

Click here for more information

Narrative is calling on writers, visual artists, photographers, performers, and filmmakers, between eighteen and thirty years old, to tell us a story. We are interested in narrative in the many forms it takes: the word and the image, the traditional and the innovative, the true and the imaginary.

Awards: First Prize is $1,500, Second Prize is $750, and Third Prize is $300, and ten finalists will receive $100 each. The prize winners and finalists will be announced in Narrative. All N30B entries are eligible for the $5,000 Narrative Prize for 2010 and for acceptance as a Story of the Week.

Entries must be previously unpublished, though we do accept works that have appeared in college publications. Entries cannot have been the winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest. We accept online entries only. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but if your entry is accepted elsewhere, please let us know as soon as possible (and accept our congratulations!).

For more info, click here


SENTINEL Literary Competition
The Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition takes place every 3 months in January, April, July and October. These competitions are held to promote creativity and literary excellence. Winners of the competition win cash prizes and the top poems in from each competition may be collected into a chapbook subject to quality of entries.
Details here.

Les Brown and MTN

Exactly seven days ago, we waited anxiously and with bated breaths to hear world renowned motivational speaker Les Brown talk courtesy of MTN...it was uplifting and life changing. In three sentences, this is the gist.

M-Make your dreams come true.
T-Total commitment is required for success.
N-Never ever give up!

So what can we learn? In as much as he came to motivate us in achieving our dreams, it was still his job. MTN brought him and he tailored them in nicely into his speech.

So...

For writers out there if you're thinking of copy writing and copy editing, remember in as much as you want to show your skills, the client is No. 1.

By the way...we aren't getting paid for this! Just thought you should know.

How to Write a Quiz (Part 2)

Would you provide there readers with multiple choice or would it be True and False? You can make the Quiz straightforward where the person has to write out the answers and check at the back for the answers. The quiz might follow a Yes/No pattern through a maze leading to a choice of possible overall answers to the Quiz. There is also the option of allocating points to each answer. For example the option A=1, B=2, C=3, D-= 4 etc for Question 1. The reader would then have to add up the points to get the final score which would have a corresponding overall answer to the Quiz.

For The Back to School Quiz, let us use multiple options of A to D.

Write the questions down. You can brainstorm a number of questions relating to the topic. So a question on what was done in the holidays could indicate the sort of thing the reader might want to do at school. For example,

1. You spent the holiday...

Or you can also work backwards by writing the end destinations or answers of the Quiz first and then finding questions that would lead up to it.

Mostly As

Sports your thing! Get adventurous, do something new rugby, cage ball,

Synchronised swimming etc set yourself a challenge like running the marathon.

A question could come up like

2. You’re made Principal for the day, you...

Write the answers. If it is true or false, you will have two options per question. If it is a maze style quiz it would be yes or no options to all the questions. If it is multiple choices like for the Back to School Quiz. The answers to

Question 1 could be:

1. You spent the holiday

A. outdoors rock climbing, water skiing and having an adventure!

B. in Guatemala, building a children’s orphanage.

C. mainly with your girlfriends, sleepovers and going out.

D. at Performers Camp.

E. working in the library.

Or the answer could be short like:

3. In one word, you are

A. daring.

B. determined.

C. popular.

D. dramatic.

E. brainy.

Now you need to write the summary of all the possible answers. For the True/False, you will just write two summaries. A straightforward Quiz which has only answers would require a form of grading. So if there are 15 questions, 12- 15=excellent, 19-11=Good, 7-10=fair, 3-6=poor and 0-3= Fail.

For the Back to School Quiz, the Summaries could be as follows:

Mostly As

Sports your thing! Get adventurous, do something new like rugby, cage ball,

synchronised swimming etc set yourself a challenge like running the marathon.

Mostly Bs

You love to be in charge. Sign up for community work, mentor a new student in

the lower years and don’t forget class president.

Mostly Cs

You are Miss. Social Butterfly. You love your friends and parties. Cheerleading,

gymnastics, dancing and girly gossip.

Mostly Ds

Performing is your middle name. Lots of opportunities for you from the marching

Band to the Winter Musicale. Talent Shows are your thing.

Mostly Es

You love to learn. Form a funky book club if reading’s your passion. Invent something with your friends, publish a book on lulu. Tutor for a few bucks.

When your quiz has been written. Take a break from it before doing your last revisions sp you have a fresh eye. When revising, it is important that the questions relate back to the purpose as well as consistently lead up to the corresponding overall answers.

Once it is finished, you can send a query including the title of the quiz, its purpose and a few sample questions. You can also send the quiz in its entirety if the guidelines do not state otherwise.

Depending on the market some publications will pay anything between $1 and $50. So you have nothing to lose and everything to learn by writing a quiz today.

Taken from 'How to Write Quizzes for Publication' by Isabella E.C. Akinseye which was featured in Art & Prose magazine Issue 7.

Calls for Submission: LifeBytes

First and foremost, we are looking for evocative stories that can be funny, poignant, provocative, scary, weird, edgy, sexy or happy. We're looking for submissions with a unique voice and point of view. Imagine your story as a vignette that you can see acted out on screen and give us the feeling that we are there with you, sharing your experience. In other words - Is this a story that even someone who has never dated online will find intriguing and engaging.

We are looking for submissions that are well-crafted. Submissions should be able to stand alone as solid, well written short non-fiction stories. Tell your tale in a way that will involve the reader in your adventure. Let it come from your heart, your story is important!

What we are NOT looking for is:
1. An essay or a sermon
2. Advice or a how-to guide to online dating
3. Revenge stories

Story Specifications

Initial deadline: June 15, 2009

Stories should be non-fiction, ranging in length between 300 - 2000 words.

Please be sure to type the authors name and contact information on each page of the story. If your piece is chosen for publication, we will need for you to sign a release form. Upon publication a fee of $50. to $100. (word count dependent) will be remitted to you. Stories can be published anonymously or under a pseudonym if you choose, but must be submitted under the author's legal name.

We prefer that you email your submission as a Word attachment to bookeditors@lifebytesbook.com.

If you don't have access to the internet, please submit your stories to the address on the right. Type stories on plain 8 1/2 x 11 paper, in 12 point Times New Roman font, preferably double-spaced.

DO NOT send originals. Send only one copy of each submission. We will destroy submissions not chosen for publication. If you want your copy returned to you (if not chosen for publication), include an SASE. Please note it could take several months to return a submission if it is not chosen for publication.

How to Write a Quiz (Part 1)

Gone are the days when quizzes were all about testing how much you know. Quizzes have evolved over time; they tend to reveal who we are and what we like. Open any lifestyle magazine and you will see a quiz on anything from “What’s Your Workaholic Quotient?” to “What’s the Size of your Carbon Footprint?”

Kids and juvenile magazines also use quizzes in finding their readers their right match to which TV/pop star are they most like. On the internet too you have quiz websites where you can create personalised Quizzes for family and friends. Of course there are quizzes found in educational books and magazines that do test your brain matter.


Writing a Quiz can be a very creative and rewarding process. Here is how to go about it.

First choose a topic. This is very crucial as it must cater for the market you are aiming for. For example, a Back to School Quiz would be appropriate for a range of juvenile magazines but not for a women’s fashion magazine like Vogue. It is important to research the market first before writing to see the issues that are covered. This will give you an idea of what topics would be good to turn into quizzes. Also to judge how many questions to include as well as the format to use.


Once you decide on the topic, you need to determine the purpose of the Quiz. Is it to test the reader’s knowledge about a particular subject? Is it to reveal a character or personality trait in the reader? Does it show the degree of likeness or hatred for a particular thing? Whatever your purpose is, it has to be clear in the title and mini blurb attached to the beginning of the Quiz.

So take for example the Back to School quiz. The blurb or intro could read something like:

September is the Back to School month which is fun. But after the euphoria of new clothes and stationery the harsh reality of hard work sets in. This not is the case because school can be so much fun provided you get involved in the right activities. With so much on offer from auditions to the school band to cheerleading tryouts, finding the right fun activity can be quite a maze.


Or


Labour Day is around the corner and you’re intent on having more fun than ever when the new school year starts. Maybe you’ve been hiding your light under a barrel for too long or maybe you just want to shine at something your really like. Take this survey and zero in on your best bets for a fine new year.

So right from the start the reader knows what to expect.


Taken from 'How to Write Quizzes for Publication' by Isabella E.C. Akinseye which was featured in Art & Prose magazine Issue 7.

Meet the Woman behind Lagosian Conversations

Please give us a brief introduction of yourself?

My name is Joy Isi Bewaji; I’m from Edo state. I grew up in Festac Town, attended Umbrella Nursery and Primary school; Model College, Kankon; and The Polytechnic Ibadan.

What is your approach to writing?
I try to be as liberal as possible when I write. I would like for my readers to see that I am progressive in my thinking and writing.

Take us down memory lane from playgroup to University.
I can’t remember too much of primary school, I spent most of my time with my mum as a child. However the best time of my life was as a teenager. I loved my secondary school to bits!

What is the first impression you would like your readers to form when they read your work?

I would like to provoke laughter basically, and have readers appreciate my style of writing.

Why such a title Eko Dialogue?
It’s a title that says it as it is. The book is about Lagos and the rapport amongst its inhabitants.

Has your work been misinterpreted before?
No, not yet. Lol!

Did you have to do any background research?
Yes. I have been a Lagosian all my life. I spend time talking to fellow Lagosians on a regular basis. I am very inquisitive; my study was based on how we manage to live our lives despite the odds, and I tried to capture that in Eko Dialogue.

Where do you get inspiration for your characters?
From the people I encounter everyday. These are the people that make Lagos what it is – the groundnut seller across the street, the disgruntled employee, the snooty celebrity etc,

How long did it take you to pen the book?
I wrote it in 6-8 weeks

Any particular reasons for self publishing?
I wanted to be in control to a large extent, and I didn’t want the book delayed or told to increase pagination and all that. I also wanted to see my ability as a business woman.

What challenges do you face as a first time author?
My biggest challenge at first was getting it to those interested in having the book. I had to hire a couple of people; I literally started a company just because of the book. The demand has been awesome and I have handled distribution quite well, but it can still be better.

What is your assessment of the Nigerian publishing scene?
The writing scene is just as challenged as the music or movie industry. The talents are available but the umbrella under which to grow is feeble.

Do you have another job?
Yes, I am the editor of Spice magazine.

In what ways as working in a magazine helped or hindered you in writing your first book?
A 9-5 job can be very tasking for a writer, but I was determined to bring out this work. It was a stubborn decision, I just had to see it through.

What are you working on presently?
My second book

Any advice to up and coming authors?
Just do it. Pen those words down! Get enough information on your subject matter, and get a good editor to clean it up nicely.

Can creative writing be taught?
I do believe anything can be taught.

Final words on your epitaph?
Let my creator not reject me, whatever it is I need to know, let me learn it now and when I come in his presence, I want his embrace.

What is your favourite vacation spot?
I have never gone on a vacation. Never!

Embarrassing moments?
Too many. But I remember times on Funmi Iyanda’s show that I was totally clueless on what they were talking about. It was a great time, but I really didn’t belong there.

On being true to yourself?
I speak the truth always, it doesn’t matter whose ox is gored

Aspirations for the future?
I want to go fully into writing books and being a great author.

Facebook, myspace, twitter or hi5?
Facebook, after much persuasion. Twitter registered, but I have no idea how it operates.

What do you think of Obama?
Obama is the change we all need. His success can be translated to personal motivation. The minute he won, I knew I could – snub the good pay cheque and walk into something else that I find more interesting and challenging. Yes I could, and I did!

How do you relax?
I love to hang out with friends and gist. And I love to watch movies, I love reading magazines.

Three things you are most passionate about?
My kids, my career, and the new Nigeria.

Describe your self in one word?
Passionate

Strangest thing in your handbag?
A toothbrush, I use it to achieve a smooth hairline when I have a weave on.

Onyeka Nwelue's fear of not being read!

Born in 1988 in Nigeria, Onyeka Nwelue travelled extensively to Asia, particularly to India. In 2004, he was described in The Guardian as a 'teenager with a steaming pen'. His writings have appeared in The Sun, Kafla Inter-Continental and The Guardian. He's presently a student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In this interview, he answers questions about his fears, the writers that he loves and the strangest thing that got into his hair.

Who is Onyeka in one sentence?

Onyeka is a writer born in 1988 in Nigeria

Which talent would you most like to have?
Talent as a writer.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My Christian background.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Life.

What is the last thing you read that made you laugh?
White Teeth by Zadie Smith.

Who is your perfect audience?
My siblings.

How does being a Nigerian influence your writing?
Many ways.

When is the best time for you to write?
When I'm depressed, hungry, lonely and angry.

What is your most treasured possession?
My hair.

Writers that influenced you
Wole Soyinka, Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Jude Dibia, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Kiran Desai.

What is the book that changed your life?
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

What inspires your writing?
Everything

Describe your writing in a sentence?
Stories that reveal the unreal parts of life.

How will you introduce your child to writing?
No way. My father didn't 'introduce' me to politics.

What part of writing do you enjoy most?
The flow of thoughts; the writing itself.

What would a story about your life be called?
The Humourous and Mystical Life of Onyeka Nwelue. Or The Wondrous Tale and Tale of Onyeka Nwelue. Or The Paltry Sultry Years of Onyeka Nwelue.

What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is not to be read.

Who are your favourite writers?
Arundhati Roy, Ian McEwan and Salman Rushdie are my favourite writers.

What do you love most about India?
Its diversity in everything.

Where is Onyeka, the writer and person in five years?
I live my life in a minute. Don't know.

Animals: do you eat or save them?
I think both. I eat and save animals.

Your house is on fire; what will you take with you?
Any manuscript I'm working on.

What is the strangest thing that has ever been found in your 'afro'?

A HB pencil during POST-UME at Nsukka

Five minutes left on earth, what will be your last words?
Live and let's live.

What do you hate about being Nigerian?
The claim that when you are religious different, you are 'possessed by an evil spirit'.

What were you thinking of when you wrote The Abyssinian Boy?
I was thinking of a world that can only exist in my wildest imagination.

What is the worth of a book?
A book I can read, laugh and clap, even when I'm supposed to cry.

NB. Watch out for A WRITER AND A REVIEWER: Onyeka 'in response' to a review of his novel The Abyssinian Boy.