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Content
Books
Everyday Speaking for All Occasions
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Great Quotes for All Occasions
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Your True Age
The Female Dramatist
The Little Book of the Spirit
The Quotable Jewish Woman
The Quotable Woman, The First 5,000 YearsThe Most Quotable Woman
I Know Contest
The Quotable Woman® is looking for original, well-written true stories about a woman who has said something or many things that have made an impact on your life and/or the lives of others. Stories can be funny or sad, political or personal, artsy or straightforward. The essay may center on one particular quotation or several, but it must be something she actually said that had an impact on you and supports the theme “The most quotable woman I know.” She may be your mother, your daughter, your sister or your aunt, your friend, your yoga teacher, your boss, your minister or your rabbi. She may be any woman in your life, living or deceased. But she may NOT be a famous or notable woman who has been written about. We are seeking unsung “sheroes,” as Maya Angelou has dubbed them.
This contest is open to any writer, male or female, any age, writing in English–that means Americans, Canadians, Brits, Australians, Ugandans and anyone else who can write well in the English language.
Prizes
- First Prize: $100 plus an autographed copy of the 6th edition of The Quotable Woman, The First 5,000 years (value, $95) and publication on www.TheQuotableWoman.com/blog.
- Second Prize: $50 plus an autographed copy of the 6th edition of The Quotable Woman, The First 5,000 Years (value, $95) and publication on www.TheQuotableWoman.com/blog.
- Third Prize: An autographed copy of the 6th edition of The Quotable Woman, The First 5,000 Years (value, $95) plus publication on www.TheQuotableWoman.com/blog.
- Honorable Mentions: An autographed copy of the 5th edition soft cover of The Quotable Woman, The First 5,000 Years (value, $30) and publication on www.TheQuotableWoman.com/blog.
Submission Guidelines
Please follow the guidelines carefully to avoid being disqualified.
1. Entry must be previously unpublished (this includes websites and blogs).
2. Word Limit: maximum, 1,500 words.
3. Electronic entries only. Send to Contest@TheQuotableWoman.com. Write in the subject line: The Most Quotable Woman I Know Contest
4. In the body of your email include:
a) The specific name of your essay (not just “The Most Quotable Woman I Know” but, for example, “Jeanie Best: The Most Quotable Woman I Know”).
b) Word count of essay
c) Your name
d) Your email address
e) Optional: your mailing address and your phone number.
5. Please submit entries as follows: Typed, double-spaced, 12 pt. font (Times New Roman or New Courier only) in a Word, WordPerfect, or rtf document. All pages must be numbered.
6. Attach your essay: It should include a cover sheet listing ONLY the title of your story and the word count (DO NOT put your name or any other contact information in the attachment). This is the attachment that will be reviewed throughout the judging process.
7. The title of the manuscript and page number should appear on the upper left hand corner of every page: the title must be original (not just “The Most Quotable Woman I Know” but, for example, “Jeanie Best: The Most Quotable Woman I Know”). Pages must be numbered.
8. Early Deadline: Midnight, February 29, 2010: $10 per entry. Late Deadline: Midnight, March 24, 2012; $15 per entry. Pay via PayPal at Contest@TheQuotableWoman.com.
9. Multiple submissions are accepted, however, each entry requires an additional $10 or $15, depending on whether they are early or late submissions; payment may be combined (i.e., three early submissions would be $30; three late submissions would be $45).
10. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, however, if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere, you need to let us know immediately that you are withdrawing your submission as only original, previously unpublished manuscripts are qualified.
11. E-mail entries and questions to Contest@TheQuotableWoman.com.
12. Anyone may participate, but subject cannot be a close friend or relative of Elaine Partnow.
13. Winners will be announced on Mother’s Day, May 13, 2012. Winners will be notified by e-mail and announced on www.TheQuotableWoman.com.
OTHER INFO
- Winners must sign a contest winner agreement form that certifies your writing is original and assigns us temporary rights, which includes publication on www.TheQuotableWoman.com/blog plus first time publication rights in any media form (print or ebook) as well as electronic archiving rights. After blog and first publication, all rights revert to author, but accurate acknowledgment must be given should the essay appear elsewhere.
- If you win, we will publish your story. If you do not want your story published please do not submit it.
- We reserve the right to include or not to include honorable mentions.
- If you wish to have a written evaluation of your story and have it edited by Elaine Partnow, include an additional $25 for each story for which you want this service. This service will be provided only AFTER the contest winners are picked.
- Winning entries will be based on originality and substance as well as clean, professional copy. If your story moves the reader to tears or laughter or outrage or inspiration, you’re on the right track. If the woman you write about remains indelible in the reader’s mind, you may find yourself the winner. Good luck!
JUDGE – Elaine Bernstein Partnow is an author, an actor, a quotologist, an editor, an instructor and a public speaker especially noted for her living history portrayals of notable women and for the nationally acclaimed book The Quotable Woman, The First 5,000 Years (Facts On File. 6th ed., 2010): a collection of almost 20,000 quotations by over 5,000 women from 167 nations, it has been in print since 1977. Other quotations collections include The Quotable Jewish Woman (Jewish Lights, 2004), The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Great Quotes for All Occasions (2008), and most recently, The Little Book of the Spirit for Women (Sterling, 2010). Among her other works are The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Your True Age (2009), The Female Dramatist (1998), Everyday Speaking for all Occasions for Women (1998), and The MacMillan Book of Photographic Artists and Innovators (1983).
Elaine has brought some of her dozens of portrayals of fabulous women to tens of thousands of women, men and children internationally at more than 500 venues. She has taught acting at all levels, including to challenged children, and has directed teenagers in stage plays. She has written, produced and acted in her own one-woman show, Hear Us Roar, A Woman’s Connection; and was commissioned to write and perform Hispanic Women Speak. She has a screenplay and two novels under her belt and continues to write fiction and nonfiction. Currently, Elaine also works as an editor, book doctor and writing coach.
Elaine teaches a variety of courses in adult extension—from how to get published to public speaking techniques. Included in several editions of Contemporary Authors, Who’s Who of American Women and Who’s Who in Entertainment, Partnow has been the on-line columnist of “Women of Wisdom” for the award-winning web site, www.feminist.com. You can find out more about Elaine at www.TheQuotableWoman.com and www.EditingByElaine.info.