April Edition of Writers Wanted: No Foolin

Chocolate Stories

Reprinted with permission

Do you have a short story you want published that fits the spirit of the Chocolate for a Woman's Soul, or Chocolate for a Teen’s Soul? I am planning future Chocolate editions of teen, and women sequels published with Fireside-Simon & Schuster.

The true, short stories published in the Chocolate series are written in first person and fall under the broad categories of finding love, overcoming an obstacle, family and pets, following our intuition, divine guidance, and learning to laugh at ourselves. In each Chocolate sequel, there is a wide range of story topics--a multitude of experiences which women and teen girls encounter. Typically the stories have a moment of learning and a heartwarming ending. (To guide you, there are several sample stories posted within "Chocolate Sampler" on my website.) Stories are usually two to four pages (up to 1200 words) in length double-spaced. Unfortunately, I receive far more stories regarding illness and the death of a loved one than I’m able to include. Because the competition for selection is keen with so many writers participating, please send what you consider to be your strongest work.

I pay a $100 honorarium for each story accepted. Payment is made as soon as my Chocolate publication permission form is signed by you and returned to me. I work personally with each storyteller in the editing process.

Teen stories may be from teen girls, or from women with a poignant or funny memory of those times.

I enjoy creating as many opportunities as possible in the Chocolate family. Many Chocolate contributors have received calls for work because of the bios in the book, and I have introduced a number of them to my senior editor at Simon & Schuster. Some have gone on to be published with her and others are now represented by my agent in New York. Also, Chocolate sisters are able to purchase any of the Chocolate sequels at discount and sell them at their own events, parties, fund-raisers, etc. Many writers simply enjoy being a part of a class-act best-selling series!

I want to retain the uniqueness of Chocolate, and I believe readers should expect fresh stories when they buy various anthologies. You may submit the same story to newspaper, magazines, your own book, etc. However, it cannot be published in a similar mass-market anthology such as Chicken Soup.

Please let me know if you have any further questions! You may mail your stories or email them to me at:

Kay Allenbaugh

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE PRETEEN SOUL II

The editors of the upcoming CHICKEN SOUP series is seeking
non-fiction stories for the upcoming CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE
PRETEEN SOUL II book. Chapter Titles include:

Achieving Dreams
On Friendship
On Family
On Love
On Death and Dying
On Attitude and Perspective Overcoming Obstacles
On Choices
On Tough Stuff
On Changes
Eclectic Wisdom

Authors of original
contributions who are selected for publication will receive
$300 upon publication.

All submissions are preferred e-mailed in Word format to
Mail@LifeWriters.com. Submissions must be sent in the body of
the email (not as an attachment) and that you send a separate
email message for each submission. Be sure to put "Preteen II
Submission" in the 'Subject' line.

Submission guidelines are posted at

Stories are due by May 1, 2003.

- Established in 2001, in
celebration of the new century and a new tradition of
literature, this award is for an short story with a maximum of
25 pages. Award is $1000 and publication of the winning story
by Red Hen Press. $15 entry fee per story. 25 page limit per
story. Details: http://www.redhen.org/contest.htm
Stories are due by June 30, 2003

The Florida Review offers awards in
best new Fiction, Memoir, and Poetry. Awards are $1,000 in
each genre and publication in FR's upcoming Fall issue.
Details:
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~english/floridareview/editorsawards
page.html

Stories are due by APRIL 2, 2003

The Writer magazine invites entries to their short story contest. Topic is
about taking joy in writing, length 500 - 1,000 words. Prizes are 1st - $250,
2nd - $150 and 3rd - $100, as well as a copy of Jane Yolen's collection of
essays, Take Joy, for all finalists. Finalists will be judged by Yolen. Send
a typed, double-spaced manuscript to Take Joy Contest, The Writer, Kalmbach
Publishing Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI
53187-1612. Must be postmarked by May 15th

Anthology on Work and Parenting

Balanced Parenting
Balanced Parenting is a nonfiction anthology of stories by dual-career
parents about how they manage to "balance" parenting, their relationship and work, while still maintaining some semblance of sanity. We are looking for true stories focusing on the joys and frustrations of parenting while working, as well as tips and tricks for keeping it all in balance. Stories should be about your experiences as a dual-parent, working couple and written in a style which is honest and open - the way you wish you could be with your friends, family and coworkers. We welcome submissions from working couples of all racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, parents of both sexes and sexual orientations, married and unmarried couples who both work by choice or necessity. Both parents can work outside of the home, or at home, or one of each. Topics include, but aren't limited to:

Making your boss your ally as a parent
Reactions to your parenting issues at work
When 9 to 5 isn't: explaining overtime to your toddler, managing guilt about too much time away, getting home at bedtime, etc.
Managing time when you don't have any: are you allowed to have hobbies anymore? Personal time? Couple time?
Business trips: taking the kids with you or not
Kids in the office/using kids to get out of the office
Couplehood vs. parenthood: sex, togetherness and "dating"
Pros & cons of managing your household like a CEO and who's the boss?
Making new friends, keeping (or losing) old ones
Office parents vs. the stay-at-homes
Finances - spending, saving and trying to keep afloat
Is splitting the childcare workload really possible?
Nannies, grannies, baby-sitters and daycare: what it means to let someone else "parent" your child
Playdates: If you can´t go with them, who does - nanny, grandma, etc - or do your kids miss out
Discipline: disciplining your kids when you have limited time with them
Religious roulette: balancing or choosing between different beliefs

Racial differences: do different races and different socioeconomic classes have different opinions on working while raising kids? Does being a mixed couple or having adopted kids of different a race affect your ability to and/or feelings about juggling work and parenting?
Adoption: did the decision for both of you to continue working have any effect - good or bad - on your attempt to adopt?
Balancing it all while parenting special needs kids
When kids are sick: who stays home? Who's up all night?
Housework: cooking, cleaning, mowing the lawn - how to split the load?
Two kids or more: what are the new and different challenges?
Working and breastfeeding: how you coped
When you both have to work, who gets to have a good night´s sleep?
As your kids get older, how do things shift?


Balanced Parenting will be edited by writers and working mothers, Dawn Comer  Jefferson and Rosanne Welch. Rosanne is a television writer and author of The Encyclopedia of Women in Aviation and Space. Dawn also writes for television and is a columnist for Africana.com, writing on issues of children, family
and popular culture.
*Essays should be between 2,000 and 3,000 words in length.
*All articles should be submitted via email and must be both attached as a document in Microsoft Word format as well as pasted into the body of the email: BP@welcwrite.com.
*Or you may submit hard copies to Balanced Parenting, 5916 Vesper Avenue, Van Nuys, California 91411. Previously printed articles will be considered.
*Authors selected for inclusion in the anthology will receive two copies of the work direct from the publisher along with a small remuneration.
*Balanced Parenting is scheduled for publication by Seal Press in March 2004.
Deadline for submission is April 11, 2003.

 to be published by Seal Press in January of 2004. First-person narratives that read like short stories preferred over academic-style theories or essays. Ideas for topics include: Food, housing, neighborhoods, relationships with other poor/w-c people, relationships with people from upper classes, intersections of race & class, class & gender, class & sexuality, etc., fashion, education or lack thereof, jobs, playing lotto, sex work, family, welfare. How you got by, how you didn1t get by, how you get by now. Any subject large or small that works as a starting point to tell a part of your story. Pieces are not required to be about childhood. Contributors must have grown up financially disadvantaged, regardless of how much or little cash you have as an adult. Essays should be 1,500-3,000 words in length and submitted via email as a Word attachment. (If this is not possible, other arrangements can be made.) Deadline for submissions: May 1, 2003 Length: 1500-3000 words Editor: Michelle Tea Essays should be submitted via email as Word attachments (If this is not possible, other arrangements can be made) to

Short stories up to 2,100 words. Prizes up to £100. Entries accepted until October 31st, 2003. See details at:  www.mkweb.co.uk/speakeasy.

Altitude Publishing Call for Entry

A well-established Canadian publisher is looking for experienced creative non-fiction writers for a series of 25,000-word stories. The books will cover regional and national themes. Topics range from historical biographies to contemporary adventure stories, and the emphasis is very much on the storytelling. Story suggestions from authors are welcome. The books will be widely distributed nationally through chain bookstores and other retail outlets. The publisher is willing to negotiate flat fee or royalty contracts. For more information email Kara Turner at

New women's press seeking submissions

Myslexia

a UK journal publishing works by women, is seeking pieces for two upcoming issues. Issue 18's theme is romance - candlelight and roses, the start of an affair or the end of one; drag the romance genre into the 21st Century. Deadline: March 31, 2003. The theme for Issue 19 is hit and run: short fiction (up to 500 words) and long poems (40-50 lines) on the topic of crime. Murder and graffitti, snatched handbags and burglary -- a whodunit in a sin-filled, action-packed, three-minute read. Deadline: June 30, 2003. Accepts email submissions from overseas writers.

is currently seeking submissions for a short story anthology to be published in late 2003. Stories included will be paid for. For more information and submission guidelines check their website at http://www.falcopress.com.

More Writers Wanted

More April Writers Wanted