ESL Lesson Plan

...some places to publish different kinds of stories.

First is an international novel contest - but not any ordinary international novel contest - this one is a 72 hour novel writing contest. Look at these blurbs from the website;

“It seems to me that the three-day gauntlet forces instinct to the fore; in the absence of conceptual and rewrite time, the writerly subconscious drives things on.”
—The Globe and Mail

“The deformed left foot of the literary world.”
—the Times

Here's the main prizes - 1st Prize: Publication*
2nd Prize: $500
3rd Prize: $100

*The first prize winner will be offered a publishing contract by 3-Day Books after the winner announcement in the January following the contest. Once the contract is signed, the winning novel will be edited, published and released by the next year’s contest.

To get a handle on the rules and to sign up, click here - http://www.3daynovel.com/register/?rules.

You can find the FAQ page here - http://www.3daynovel.com/about/?contest. The manic three day weekend is in early September so you have some time to practice your writing skills.

On a calmer note, you might consider writing for PARABOLA - http://www.parabola.org/submissions.

Here's a selection from their website -
"Parabola is a quarterly journal devoted to the exploration of the quest for meaning as it is expressed in the world's myths, symbols, and religious traditions, with particular emphasis on the relationship between this store of wisdom and our modern life. Each issue of Parabola is organized around a theme. Parabola welcomes original essays and translations. We look for lively, penetrating material unencumbered by jargon or academic argument. We prefer well-researched, objective, and unsentimental pieces that are grounded in one or more religious or cultural tradition; articles that focus on dreams, visions, or other very personal experiences are unlikely to be accepted. All
articles must be directly related to the theme of an issue.

Articles run 1000-3000 words Book Reviews run approximately 500 words
Retellings of traditional stories run 500-1500 words. Article payment generally ranges from $150 to $400.
The payment for epicycles and book reviews is $75.

I don't know about you, but these both seem like a lot of fun to me. Who knows? If my schedule allows, I just might do both of these.

Send us any links or other resources that you think any teachers, students or even just regular people might find interesting or useful. Let us all know about words that make you crazy, aspects of language and expression you find challenging, and be sure to let us know what it is about English and language learning that you find confounding, infuriating or endlessly intriguing.

Listen, read and speak. Make your new language your own.

My best to you as you make your way through this intriguing , constantly shifting linguistic landscape.

Morf

About the author of this entry:

Morf has a B.A.from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, USA and an MAT (Master's in Teaching English) from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA, USA). And, as much as Morf loves writing this blog, he is always open to other opportunities either blogging or teaching. You can contact him at mmorf@mail.com.