Posts filed under ‘Contributors’
Words of Belief Announces Winners of Holiday Story Writing Contest
Back from the holiday week with a bang, Words of Belief has selected its winners and finalists for the Holiday Story Writing Contest they hosted in the previous months. Out of hundreds of submissions their judges received, only 15 were pulled for publication in their coming anthology, Tis the Season: Selected Stories of Contemporary Fiction and Nonfiction.
So please join us in congratulating the grand prize winner, the editor’s selection, as well as the 13 other finalists who will appear in Tis the Season:
Grand Prize Winner: Tyler Powell, for his story “Churchmas Eve”
Judges comment on Powell’s “Churchmas Eve”:
When reading the stories submitted to the Wordclay holiday short story contest, a theme among the submissions surfaced. What do the holidays mean? This question was a common theme that the stories explored and even attempted to explain. There was one story that embodies the search to find meaning in the holidays versus the shallow commercialization of the season.
Tyler Powell’s short story, “Churchmas Eve,” successfully distills the struggle of keeping spirituality in Christmas. However, Powell’s story is a complex menagerie of characters, all of who are at odds on how the holiday should be celebrated.
Jeanette, the overbearing mother, wants to observe the strictest definition of Christmas. She wants no gifts, Christmas lights, or carols. Her son, Bobby, like any kid, wants a version of the holiday that is more festive and embraces contemporary traditions. And Larry, Jeantte’s husband and Bobby’s father, is stuck in the middle. Larry concedes to his wife’s demands for a stern interpretation but he longs for Bobby to enjoy Christmas as well.
Regardless of the internal struggle between the main characters, Bobby finds his own meaning for Christmas. Bobby’s interaction with a homeless man helps him realize what the holiday means to him, personally.
In the end, Powell has a created a classic story that explores the internal and external conflicts surrounding the holidays. This is why “Churchmas Eve,” is a successful, endearing story.
Click here to preview Powell’s story>>
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Editor’s Selection: Judy Nickles, for her story “I Was Hungry”
Judges comment on Nickles’ “I Was Hungry”:
Judy Nickles’ “I Was Hungry: A Very Kate Christmas” was a very pleasant surprise. I’m a big fan of historical fiction, and when it’s done well, it transports you, body and soul, to the author’s chosen place and time. Such was the case with this story. (more…)
Movies … for Books’ Sake
When I was a little kid, a man claimed he could tell my future, so I let him. I’ve wanted to be in film since I was a toddler, so when he said I’d grow up to do “advertising,” I was pretty dismayed.
Now, however, at 34 years old, I’m making commercials. And it’s not so bad. Especially since I’m helping to promote a company I really believe in. Free self-publishing? Once the cat’s out of the bag, it really kinda sells itself, don’t you think?
The first video I did was a “Welcome to Wordclay” infomercial. I initially thought: “Two talking heads, some screen captures … easy.” But then there was the backdrop. The hosts had to be somewhere, and we don’t exactly have studio access here.
My cohort in crime was Angie, and we busted our brains for a few hours trying to decide where to videotape the actors. We were on a shoe-string budget and didn’t have access to green-screen technology, so the backdrop had to be a physical creation. It came down to Angie and me with X-Acto knives in hand, cutting out different colored concentric rings and pasting them together to create those logos you see floating behind the hosts. The paper was curling throughout the shoot and required constant re-gluing and flattening.
Moral of the story? I don’t know. But when you see the background, just know that there are blood, sweat and tears in it.
Gone to the Dogs
Sure, when it comes to pets I may have broken the golden “two’s company, three’s a crowd” rule, but I blame my favorite book of all time, Where the Red Fern Grows. It’s because of that book that I love dogs.
I never actually had one of my own when I was a kid (despite constant begging and pleading), so I guess it’s no surprise that when I graduated from Miami (OH) in 2004, took a position as an Account Manager at AuthorHouse, and moved into my own place in Bloomington, my first order of “grown-up” business was to find myself a dog.
One Saturday afternoon, I went to PetSmart, where the local animal shelter was showing some dogs that were up for adoption. I walked past the first few cages, somewhat disappointed in the “selection” and was about to head home, when the brownest, saddest little puppy dog stare caught my eyes. It was puppy love at first sight.
Strangely enough, that experience set a precedent for things to come. It seems that each time my role within Author Solutions has changed, I’ve welcomed a new dog into the family. (more…)
Am I a strange loop?
Hi, y’all! My name’s Jenn Handy - another of your Wordclay team members/brunch buddies. As you might be able to tell, I’ve come to Indiana by the way of Texas – I miss San Antonio, but Bloomington’s a great small town and I’m not sure I’d ever be able to go back home, or live in a big city, again.
After graduating from high school in San Antonio, I found my way to Bloomington, Indiana, not really intending to go to school at Indiana University – I mostly came because I wanted my mommy. It’s a long story. I ended up going to IU for about seven years, off and on, making pit stops in Florida and New Hampshire along the way, before finally graduating in Fall of 2000 with a General Studies degree, which I argue is even more useless than Justin’s degrees in English and Philosophy.
My first experiences with the book publishing industry came from working at Independent Bookstores in Florida, New Hampshire and Indiana. (more…)
What’s In a Name?: An Introduction to, Um, What’s-Her-Name
My last name has been Kelly for quite some time. Naturally, I have been called Kelly periodically, not because people were being sporty, like, “Good game tonight, Kelly!” but because they thought that was actually my first name.
Well, it’s not.
And now, I’ve recently wed a wonderful man by the last name of Pheifer. So, I’ve bravely taken on a new last name “Kelly Pheifer.” You can image the confusion this has caused:
Is it first name: Kelly, last name: Pheifer? Is there a hyphen involved? Is Kelly the middle name? Are you sure there’s no hyphen? Too … many … names!
Well, I’m here to start fresh in the Wordclay blog and clear the air of all confusion. My name is Angie. My last name is Kelly Pheifer, but there is no need for formalities here. Angie is just fine.
Now that we’ve been properly introduced, let me tell you how I fit in to the Wordclay community. (more…)
Meet the Wordclay Team: Justin’s Flashback
Justin Dimos here, reporting for duty.
My publishing story begins (and ends, ironically) in Bloomington, where I graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s in Philosophy and English, perhaps the most impractical degree to date. If I wasn’t neck deep in some obscure book, usually on Existentialism or a short story anthology, then I was out gallivanting the town, stopping at dive bars and playing pool into the wee hours of the night.
My professors encouraged me to submit some of my papers and stories to conferences, and I was fortunate enough to get some bites. The reading I enjoyed the most was the one in San Angelo, Texas, where I had the privilege of reading beside Peter Hedges, author of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, in addition to attending a prescreening of his movie, Pieces of April.
Shortly after graduation, I was accepted into University of Arizona’s fiction writing program, which overjoyed me, as you can imagine. (more…)
