Arkansas my Home

©By Mary Nida Smith

The trees of summer

Invites visitors to stay

Beckoning them to sit beneath

Relax along lakes and rivers

Throw a line in, take a cruise,

Dive in for a swim.

Before visitors realize…

They call Arkansas home.

                                          (c) Photographs by Mary Nida Smith

Jeanie Loiacono to speak at OWL August 2016 Conference

Jeanie Loiacono to speak at OWL August 2016 Conference
http://www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/jeanie-loiacono-to-sp

Drawings from "Moses" a Children's Story

Characters I drew for a children's story so many years ago and it is filed, with all the other stories I have written over the years. The yellowing of my drawing pad.  (c) by Mary Nida Smith

ARKANSAS WRITERS CONFERENCE

http://www.arkansaswritersconference.org/

PEACE AT BUGLE CALL

Peace at Bugle Call

©by Mary Nida Smith

Peace is not in things

Peace is freedom from things

Blessings are never late

He said he loved me

He said he missed me

What did it take

Separation in crisis

He has accepted what life

Has presented to him

As I have during these trails

We have learned patience,

 Forgiveness and we may,

Only have this time

To find the first happiness

In our troubled marriage

Maybe, in our whole lifetime

Of emotions and hard times

I love his phone calls

A soft peaceful loving voice

Not condemning, or asking why

Upon a visit we exchange hugs

That wasn’t part of our marriage

As he wheels himself down

The hallways – I hold his hand

 It feels cold, yet warm, as he

Squeezes my hand, as not to let go

He is not child-like, he holds on

To the man, the hero, I knew he was

I am thankful to God

For being there beside us

Showing us, that nothing mattered

The past is removed, tomorrow unseen

Thankful, we had been given

The gift, of forgiveness, and peace

                

November 2015

Illustrations by Mary Nida Smith

I drew this many years ago as poster for my grandson when he was kid. (c) by Mary Nida Smith

I had been drawing for many years and then I had to stop. I will be posting more as I scan them to photos.

KID ART CAMP

Dana Johnson, President PAL, 870-656-2057.

Kid Art Camp for immediate release 5-23-2016,

“Kid Art Camp” is being offered for children grades one through six.  The program will involve parents and community members in this program, inviting them to participate as volunteers in diverse activities.  The participants will be required to think creatively, work in groups or individually and increase their problem solving.

 Registration forms are available at the Marion County library, area banks and the P.A.L’s Fine Art Gallery located at 300 Hwy 62w, Yellville, Ar., during regular business hours or at www.paletteartleague.org. The ‘Kid Art Camp” is offered at no charge to the participants. Camp will be scheduled for June 16 and 18 and June 23-25.  Participate must submit a pre-registration form by July 1st, space and supplies are limited so pre-registration is needed. 

The success of the program will be measured by the involvement of the community and the products produced by the children during “Kid Art Camp”.  The Palette Art League is a non-profit 501-c3 organization. Donations to the Palette Art League are tax deductible. For additional information  and application contact the Palette Art League “Kid Art Camp”, at 300 Hwy 62W,Yellville, Arkansas or contact  Dana Johnson  870-656-2057, or email at info@paletteartleague.org.   

Ozark Creative Writers 50 Year Celebration

June issue of the Writers Digest has an article about OCW

http://www.ozarkcreativewriters.org

Springfield Writers' Guild

https://springfieldwritersguild.org/2016/04/26/meg-welch-dendler-may-speaker/

Heroes Beneath the Waves: Submarine Stories of the Twentieth Century by Mary Nida Smith presented to Daniel Araki

Each year the Naval Submarine League presents, The Rear Admiral Frederick B. Warder Outstanding Achievement Award to more than thirty graduating NROTC seniors selected for submarine duty. This year one was presented to Officer Candidate, Daniel Araki, a senior at the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. At the completion of the event, Joel Greenberg, Commander of the USSVI Tucson Base, presented Officer Candidate Daniel Araki, a copy of Heroes Beneath the Waves: Submarine Stories of the Twentieth Century by Mary Nida Smith http://www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/heroes-beneath-the-waves-submarine-stories-of-the-twentieth-century-by-mary-nida-smith

Heroes Beneath the Waves Audiobook | Mary Nida Smith …

www.audible.com/pd/History/Heroes-Beneath-the-Waves-Audiobook/B01...

Heroes Beneath the Waves: True Submarine Stories of the Twentieth Century

The Many Roles of an Agent - Clelia Gore

Writing and Illustrating

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The Many Roles of an Agent – Clelia Gore Posted: 10 May 2016 09:04 PM PDT Clelia Gore is an agent at Martin Literary Management in Seattle. She shared her expertise on what an agent has to handle everyday. It is more than we think at first blush. Here’s Clelia: Being a literary agent is a job that requires you to play a lot of roles. One of the reasons I love being an agent is because I think it’s a profession that calls on all of the skills that I most excel at — I feel like I am being put to my best use. When I speak to potential clients, many of them are new to the publishing industry and are not exactly sure what a literary agent does. Below, I’ve outlined the many roles that an agent must play to represent their clients. As you’ll see, we agents are the wearers of many hats! Genre Expert: For an agent to represent a genre, that means they have read tons and tons in that genre–they know what’s great writing, what’s bad writing and what’s so so writing. They know the old stuff and the new stuff. Talent Scout: Agents are reading submissions all of the time, evaluating them for quality and for that “It” factor. Agents also go after clients that they read about, hear about, encounter in some way or another, either randomly or deliberately. Trendspotter: Agents stay on top of what trends are in the genres they represent, by reading through deal listings, reading industry news, observing the market, staying on top of what is in the cultural zeitgeist, talking with other people in the field. Idea Conceiver: Sometimes agents come up with ideas that they think would work really well in the market, and they have one of their clients execute the idea. These ideas come from being genre experts and trendspotters. Editor: Before a manuscript is submitted, an agent helps a client get their manuscript or proposal into tip-top shape. As I like to describe it: an author gets their manuscript into good shape, an agent helps the author get it into great shape, and an editor at a publishing house helps the author get it into excellent shape — and then it’s ready for publication. Sometimes the editorial process at the agency level can take months, with several back and forths. Networker: Agents pound the pavement hard when it comes to networking with editors. Getting to know editors means an agent will have a better understanding of their acquisition interests, which means the agent will do a better, more precise job at submitting manuscripts, and increase the potential for their clients’ manuscripts to land a great home. This means an agent is always making phone calls, sending emails, attending conferences, having meetings, coffee, drinks, meals, etc. with editors. Matchmaker: When a manuscript is ready to submit, an agent submits to editors based on their knowledge of their editorial needs and interests. It needs to be a good match to proceed in the process– think of agents as literary yentas. Negotiator: Once an offer is made, contracts become involved and an agent advocates on behalf of their client to try and sweeten the deal as best they can. Knowledge of common industry contract clauses, the market for advances for books of this nature, standard royalty rates, and legal expectations are a must. Some agents were lawyers (like me!), which is helpful in this role, but not necessary to be a fierce advocate for a client. Publicist: Maintaining good media contacts and contacts with publicists and speakers bureaus to help support a client once their book is out is helpful, as an author should never solely count on the publisher for publicity support. Firefighter: Sometimes things go wrong–in the editorial process, in the publicity process, in the production process–really, things can go wrong at any point in the process. Agents must help their clients get through these hoops, sometimes having to mediate between them and the publisher. You gotta be tough to play this role. Therapist: Writing is so personal — a client’s book is their baby. Sometimes things can get quite emotional during the writing, editing, or other process. A good agent is also a good listener, a good advisor and knows when to give some tough love if they need to. As you can see, being an agent isn’t just submitting manuscripts and negotiating contracts–there’s a lot we have to be good at to best represent our clients! Thank you Clelia for sharing! Talk tomorrow, Kathy Filed under: Agent, article, Blog, Editor & Agent Info, list, reference Tagged: Clelia Gore, Martin Literary Management

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Roll of Thunder Publishing Contest

Roll Of Thunder Publishing Contest

In 1974, the Council on Interracial Books sponsored a writing contest seeking out diverse voices. Mildred D. Taylor was the winner of the African-American segment for the manuscript that became Song of the Trees (Dial, 1975), her first book. It introduced the Logan family and was followed by Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976), which won the Newbery Medal.

Forty years later, in partnership with We Need Diverse Books™, Penguin Young Readers celebrates this momentous publication by launching a debut children’s fiction contest to find talented, ethnically diverse authors writing for readers ages 8-14.

Submit your manuscript for a book about diversity for ages 8-14 and you could receive a publishing contract from Penguin Random House LLC!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:01:01 AM Eastern Time on April 26, 2016 and 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time on June 21, 2016. Open to people of color (or those who self-identify as other than white) who are residents of the fifty United States, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and possessions, aged 18 and older.

PRIZE: The confirmed winner will receive a book publishing contract for the publication of a novel for ages 8-14 by Penguin Random House LLC, with an advance of $35,000, plus royalties as follows: (i) on hardcover, 10% up to 50,000 copies and 12.5% thereafter; (ii) on paperback, 6% up to 50,000 copies and 7% thereafter; (iii) on audio, 8% of net; (iv) ebook, 25% of net; (v) world rights/all subrights at a 50/50 split; and (vi) an option on their next children’s or YA novel.

Judging will begin on or about June 28, 2016, and one winner will be chosen from the final group of ten (10) submissions narrowed down from all entries received. Entries will be judged based on (i) overall storytelling; (ii) creativity; (iii) originality; and (iv) writing ability, with equal weight given to each criterion.

** Please note the following: There is a line in the Official Rules under “How to Enter” that says “All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned.” To clarify, this means that Penguin Random House LLC will not return physical or digital copies of entries submitted. This is not a grant of rights from entrant to Penguin Random House LLC. **

Click Here to Submit.

Good Luck!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: earn money, Middle Grade Novels, opportunity, Places to Submit Tagged: ethnically diverse authors writing for readers ages 8-14., Mildred D. Taylor, No Fee Publishing Contract Contest, No Fee Writing Contests, Roll Of Thunder Publishing Contest, We Need Diverse Books™

STORYTELLERS

Storytellers to gather up on the mountain. Will you be there? It's time Arkansas had its own gathering of creative geniuses, don't you think? Join us, won't you?

July 16-17 at Sky Vue Lodge on top of the Boston Mountains south of Winslow, Arkansas. Writers create in many ways: Storytelling is only one. We write plays, poems, novels, non-fiction, we paint, sing, write and play music. Visit our website/Events

Sheboygan Children's Book Festival

http://sheboyganchildrensbookfestival.org/2016-authors-and-illustrators/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Announcing%20Authors%20%20Illustrators&utm_content=Announcing%20Authors%20%20Illustrators+CID_bdf08b99ddac5563b50651fac61cddda&utm_source=Email%20marketing&utm_term=authorillustrator%20pages

Sheboygan Childrens Book Festival