Vicar
Wins $500,000 US
Deal for
First
Book
Vicar
Wins $500,000 US
Deal for
First
Book
A vicar who had to sell his motorcycle to self-publish his first book in Britain sold the US rights to it for $500,000 (£314,000) yesterday.
The Rev Graham Taylor, 43, vicar of Cloughton, North Yorkshire, won the deal for his novel Shadowmancer, a tale of Christianity and black magic set in the 17th century.
The size of his advance is exceptional, especially for a children's story by a first-time author. JK Rowling's US advance for her first Harry Potter story seven years ago was reportedly £100,000.
Yesterday Mr Taylor, - who earns £16,000 a year and is married with three children - said that despite the windfall he would continue working for the church until retirement. "The first thing I shall do with the money is buy us a house," he said.
His novel, published by Faber in the UK, has been bought by the US publisher Penguin Putnam. His deal comes 10 months after he started his own company to publish Shadowmancer at a cost of £3,500, financed by selling the 1,000cc motorcycle he used for parish visiting. Mr Taylor did this after being advised by an author's consultant that no professional publisher would touch the story because it was written "in the language of a Victorian novel".
Mr Taylor's faith in himself is backed by a financial hard-headedness and flair for self-publicity. He persuaded one chain bookseller, Waterstone's, to take copies of Shadowmancer, which sold well.
Last winter an ex-publisher attended one of the vicar's church services and recommended the book to Faber, which published its edition on the same day as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
This gave
Shadowmancer spin-off sales. The Faber paperback has sold 20,000 copies in a
month. UK Bookshops have ordered 80,000 copies. The story stands seventh in the
children's fiction bestseller list.
MDA National Scriptwriting Competition
2003 (posted:
13/May/2003)
Organised by the Media Development Authority, this is a platform for scriptwriters to hone their craft and help find alternatives access to the screen. This competition is open to scriptwriters in Singapore aged 18 and above. All scripts must be original work of the writer, collaborations are also acceptable. Scriptwriters may submit an hour-long script for a television drama reflecting the values and norms of the time and context; or an 80 to 120-minute script for a Feature film. Entry forms can be downloaded at www.mda.gov.sg. Entries must be addressed to:
Minding Our Words (posted:
24/Apr/2003)
The third of The Ten Commandments states : Thou shalt not take the name of
the LORD Thy God in vain. Unknowingly, we may have done so in the words that
we write or speak. A number of dictionaries mention the following terms as
profane shortcuts in cursing God: Gee, Gee-whiz,
Gees, Oh, my God, Gosh,
Golly, and a slew of others. The Bible states, Holy and
reverend is His name (Psalm 111:9). Therefore, we do well to discard the
aforesaid list of words.
(Adapted from page 136 of "Unmasking And Triumphing Over the Spirit of AntiChrist" by Dr. Jack Van Impe)
Creative Writing Workshops (posted:
21/Apr/2003)
The Creative Writing Workshops offer you a golden opportunity to meet with the established writers and poets to pick up useful tips on creative writing and is organised in conjunction with the NAC-SPH Golden Point Award 2003:-
Fee per workshop is S$8. Please register early as spaces are limited. All workshops will be held at The Substation, 45 Armenian Road, Singapore 179936.
You may register for the workshops personally at the National Arts Council, 140 Hill Street, #03-01, MITA Building, Singapore 179369, from now till 2 May 2003 (Mon - Fri: 10 am - 5 pm, excluding public holidays) or at the workshop venue on 3 & 4 May 2003 (1.30 pm onwards).
For enquiries, please call 6837 9518 or 6837 9522
The above is an excerpt from page A6 of The Straits Times (21/Apr/03)
The Elements of Style (posted:
6/Apr/2003)
"No book in shorter space, with fewer words, will help any writer more than this persistent little volume." --The Boston Globe.
In his own words, E.B. White was introduced to The Elements of Style in 1919 while talking a course called English 8 at Cornell University under the instruction of its author, Professor William Strunk Jr.
Some thirty-eight years later after his graduation, the book bobbed up again in E.B. White's life when Macmillan commissioned him to revise it for the college market and the general trade. By then, Professor Strunk had passed away. And, the rest, like they say, is history.
You can purchase a Fourth Edition of it, published by Allyn & Bacon -- A Pearson Education Company, from Borders Bookstore for S$14/- or access free excerpts from: http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html
CBA Short Story Competition (posted:
4/Apr/2003)
DEADLINE: May 1, 2003
GENRE: Short story
OPEN TO: Commonwealth citizens
LENGTH: 600 words
THEME: The aim is to promote the Commonwealth through broadcasting high quality
short stories submitted by Commonwealth writers. The competition is administered
by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association with funding from the Commonwealth
Foundation. The stories may have any theme or subject, and shall be original and
should not have been previously published anywhere. All entries must be in
English.
PRIZE: 1st Prize: £2,000
ELECTRONIC ENTRY: Yes, include the words "Short Story" in the subject line.
Please send your story as email text, no attachments.
ADDRESS: The CBA, 17 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1AA
EMAIL: [email protected]
URL:
http://www.cba.org.uk/shortstory2003.htm
Source: [email protected]
NAC-SPH Golden Point Award 2003 (posted:
27/Feb/2003)Source: The Straits Times (27/Feb/2003).
We can free the WRITER in YOU
! (posted: 17/Feb/2003) License to Write
(posted: Jan 2003)