Best Submissions Guideline: Tin House

In what is possibly the best submissions guideline ever, local publisher Tin House has declared that any unsolicited manuscripts submitted for their fall reading period (from now until November 30) “must be accompanied by a receipt for a hardcover or paperback from a real-life bookstore.” The guideline also applies to Tin House magazine submissions between September 1 and December 30.

The publisher’s catchphrase explains it as  “buy a book, save a bookstore.” Yet another reason we love these guys.

Walt Curtis Benefit Week

Here’s a little story about why Portland is the best city in which to be a writer. Once upon a time, there was a fantastic poet and artist named Walt Curtis living in the Great Northwest Bookstore. Curtis is of the Beat Generation, and is best known for his autobiographical Mala Noche [eerily enough, once printed by Out of the Ashes Press] which was turned into a film of the same name by Gus Van Sant. Curtis also co-founded the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission.

On May 2, disaster struck. The Lair Hill church and bookstore was destroyed in a fire, and Curtis lost most of his life’s work and his place of residence. This is when Portland’s awesome literary community kicked in. Most recently, Portland Mayor Sam Adams has declared July 1-7, 2010, as Walt Curtis Week.  According to Adams’ proclamation, “civic-minded friends are uniting to stage benefit performances, film screenings, and an auction of fine art and literature to launch the Curtis Legacy Initiative to reestablish his personal studio and residence, and consolidate his regional and international reputation.”

Here’s what this involves:

Basement Writing Workshop

BW's logo may be itty bitty, but it's inversely proportionate to their awesomeness.

There’s a new writing workshop in town, and you don’t have to be in town to attend it. Hell, you can be in Madagascar in your socks and underwear, because this workshop is online. NW Writer is pleased to present the Basement Writing Workshop.

Taught by a wickedly great lineup of local writers, Basement Writing is committed to training subversive writers. Or, as their philosophy says, they are “committed to providing a safe place for writers to be truth-tellers, and to find a central narrative that generates an emotional response in readers. Our goal is to produce writers with courage, willing to display their humanity for the sake of common understanding… Writers in our workshops are encouraged to go deeper into their subject matter, exploring writing that scares or embarrasses them, with the goal of producing edgy and important fiction and non-fiction.”

Oregon Humanities Magazine call for submissions

Here’s another great opportunity for Oregon writers: Oregon Humanities magazine is seeking submissions for their Fall 2010 issue. The theme is “Ha!” and it will “explore humor, happiness, and joy,especially as they pertain to American history, culture, values, and identity. We are especially interested in submissions that consider what it means to pursue happiness in America and how this pursuit shapes our culture and identities.”

You have until July 12, 2010 to submit your draft or proposal to to Kathleen Holt, Editor, Oregon Humanities magazine, 813 SW Alder Street, Suite 702, Portland, Oregon, 97205, or k.holt at oregonhumanities.org.

Keep reading for more info on the submissions guidelines:

Wordstock Short Fiction Competition

The deadline for the fourth annual Wordstock Short Fiction Competition is approaching. Writers, rev up your laptops (or pens) and mark your submissions calendars for Friday, July 16, 2010.

First prize is quite a carrot: $1,000 and publication in the October 2010 issue of Portland Monthly magazine. All ten finalists will be published in the Wordstock Ten anthology, which will be offered for sale at the festival and at Portland-area bookstores. This year’s final judge will be Charles D’Ambrosio, a fantastic author who also happens to live in Portland (*ahem* not Brooklyn *ahem*).

But in all seriousness, this is a fantastic opportunity for local writers.

100k for the Arts? Yes, please.

Amidst all the cuts going on, there’s a spot of good news for Portland-area writers: the City of Portland and the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) recently committed $100,000 to the Creative Agency Network, also known as CAN.

Who is CAN? Check out their website for the full CANifesto, but in short, CAN is working with businesses, education, arts, and the local government to establish a regional $15-$20 million annual public fund for the arts and arts education. They want to achieve this goal in the next 2-5 years.  Sound good? Get involved in that goal here.