What is Book Boot Camp? It is an intensive six-week workshop designed to take your work in progress from mediocre to marketable!

To quote yesterday's Publisher's Lunch, the newsletter of www.PublishersMarketplace.com, it read, "Even in the digital age, the power of meeting face-to-face cannot be underestimated."

While this quote was in reference to attending the London Book Fair, the writer was correct. Face-to-face meetings can be a powerful way to impact your writing.

Book Boot Camp's small group sessions offer writers targeted feedback specific to individual writing projects with a focus on improving the manuscript, taking it to the next level. Constructive, targeted suggestions cover content, editing, and marketing concerns.

There will be a maximum of 8 attendees in the session. By keeping the group small, each reader will receive plenty of individual critique time each week!

Due to the stressed economy, we at Fat Plum decided to keep the cost of the Boot Camp the same as it has been since 2007. The fee is $240 for six three-hour sessions.

So what are you waiting for? For additional information, click on the "Register Now" button above and enlist today!

On Saturday June 27 at 10 AM, we have a Coffee and Crime Breakfast with the Badens and their new novel. Michael Baden, M.D., is one of America's leading forensic experts. He has overseen cases ranging from the death of John Belushi to the examination of the remains of Tsar Nicholas II and has served as an expert witness in countless criminal cases, including the trials of Claus von Bulow and O. J. Simpson. He has been a consulting forensic pathologist to the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the FBI, and the Russian government, as well as a visiting professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Albert Einstein School of Medicine, and Albany Medical College.

Linda Kenney has won dozens of civil rights lawsuits and has appeared as a guest legal commentator on Court TV, CNN, and MSNBC.
They live in New York City with their dog, Mycroft.

Call 412/828-4877 or go to www.mysterylovers.com
to buy your ticket at $5.00.........such a deal for writers!!!!

I am hosting my fifth annual WRITE NOW Writing Camp for Kids!

The concepts and skills developed at camp carry into every subject and every form of writing. My daughter was motivated by the instructors to work hard and learn the art of writing. As always, she loved it! ~ Doug (father of a four-time camper)

Whether a student approaches writing projects with confidence or fear, the first step is to understand that writing well is not a talent but a craft that can be learned and practiced -- much like mastering an instrument or excelling in a sport.

WRITE NOW Writing Camp provides a creative, nurturing environment encouraging self-expression and independence. The student experience there allows campers to realize that writing can be fun, especially when practiced away from the pressures of classroom scrutiny and evaluation.

I was particularly pleased with how familiar [my daughters] became with a variety of writing styles and terms. The camp was very well-run and the activities and daily lessons were highly organized. ~ Mother of Two Campers

Here are the details.

WHO: WRITE NOW is for students entering grades 5 through 8 who want to approach writing projects, both in school and out, with increased confidence and comfort. We host students who love to write as well as those whose parents wish they did! (WRITE NOW is not a remedial program.)

WHEN: June 22-26, 2009
Choose from either morning or afternoon sessions
9:00 AM - Noon OR 1:30 - 4:30 PM

WHERE: Borders Books & Music in the Shops at Northway, Pittsburgh

WHAT: Campers will participate in Brainstretch Exercises and Round Robin Break Out Sessions to sharpen skills and techniques. Campers will also complete written projects in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

REGISTRATION FEE: $130 ($30 nonrefundable fee)
Includes t-shirt, notebook, work folder and bound booklet of camp creations.

HOW TO REGISTER: Email judy@fatplum.com to receive a printable registation form.

SPACE IS LIMITED: We at WRITE NOW pride ourselves in the one-on-one attention and direction students receive. Our faculty:student ratio is 1:4 at most, so registrations are handled on a first-received, first-served basis.

[My son] was excited about the camp and looked forward to coming each day. He's talking about writing a trilogy! ~ Sharon

CONTACT: Email judy@fatplum.com for printable registration form or for additional information.

If the child in your life loves to write or if you'd like her/him to gain more confidence in writing, come visit with authors and professional writers Judy Burnett Schneider and Mary Patouillet. The WRITE NOW Writing Camp Founders & Directors will be hosting a Meet & Greet session at Borders in the Shops at Northway on McKnight Road. They'll be there on Saturday, May 10, from noon until 2:00 PM answering questions and displaying some of the work students have completed during their intensive, fun-filled week at WRITE NOW Writing Camp.

Camp registrants will receive a prize, so come one, come all!

WRITE NOW Writing Camp will be held during the week of June 16-20, 2008 in the music section of the North Hills Borders. It is open to students entering grades 5-8. One returning camper's mom said her daughter "loved the camp and used the material she learned there throughout her sixth grade year."

Can't make it to the Meet & Greet? Email Judy at judy@fatplum.com for more information.

We're looking forward to catching up with our past campers and meeting future students, too!

For example, as of his writing, you can bid on a proposal to be read by agent Jeff Herman. The current bid is $16. Agent Meredith Bernstein is offering to evaluate a proposal with a 24-48 hour response time. That bid is currently at $330.

Check it out and let us know if you bid and/or win!

As you may have gathered, it's my tertiary involvement with the book that keeps my envy from turning into something ugly. Because I've always wanted to write a weekly humor column. Have I ever tried to secure my dream job? Well, no. But I now recognize the wisdom of my inertia. Because my life is just not as funny as Tracy's.

Tracy was a hip, cool New York city girl until having a baby forced her into the suburbs of New Jersey. As she explains, "It's just one of those things that happens, like taxes and varicose veins." Her essays highlight her foibles and survival strategies adjusting to the double-whammy of motherhood and suburban life. There's cellulite on her thighs and ducks in the pool. Near-brawls in the school-supply aisle and raised eyebrows over her spiky-short haircut. Even vacationing in the Magic Kingdom turns maniacal.

Even if my life were as humorous as Tracy's, I doubt I could convey it with the wit and sarcasm that are her trademarks. My only hope is that she'll publish another book. So if you won't buy it for your own enjoyment, please, pick up a copy so I can continue to live my dream vicariously. You can buy it through any bookseller or at www.RebelWithout AMinivan.com

Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival Poetry and Short Story Contest closes March 15. Poetry entry fee is $10 for up to 2 poems. Short Story entry fee is $10 for one story 4,000 words or less. Awards are $200.

Story Quarterly's Love Story Contest closes March 31. Entries can be short stories, novel excerpts, essays, memoirs and book-length nonfiction excerpts, no longer than 8,000 words. There is a $20 fee First Prize is $2,500. "The subject is love in any and all of its varieties and incarnations — familial, filial, romantic, platonic, the love of place, nature, animals, possessions, beauty, or truth, love that is intellectual, erotic, patriotic, real or imagined, fulfilled or denied, tragic or comedic. Tell us the truth about love!"

Good luck!

To nominate work, send one hard copy of up to five pieces to shaffer@creativenonfictoin.org or to the address below. To submit your own work, send a one-page abstract of the proposed essay, accompanied by a writing sample of no more than 10 pages and a cover letter with complete contact info to:

pittsburghinwords@gmail.com
or
Creative Nonfiction
Attn. Pittsburgh in Words
5501 Walnut Street, Suite 202
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

In addition to publication, writers whose essays are selected will receive mentoring from Creative Nonfiction editors and a scholarship for a Creative Nonfiction Writing Institute in fall 2008. Email questions to information@crativenonfiction.org

Friday February 8th at 7pm is the next UPWords at the Union Project featuring writers Lori Jakiela and Stacey Waite. Join us for an intimate evening of free entertainment. UPWords is a monthly reading series generally occurring the  2nd Friday of each month. Union Project is located at 801 N. Negley Ave., on the corner of Stanton Ave. and Negley Ave. For more information please visit www.unionproject.org, email hilary@unionproject.org or call 412-363-4550 x 26.
 
Lori Jakiela is the author of a memoir, Miss New York Has Everything (Warner 2006), and a poetry collection, The Regulars (Liquid Paper Press 2001). Her second memoir, Call Your Mother, is forthcoming. Jakiela's essays and poems have appeared in literary journals, newspapers, and anthologies in the U.S. and the U.K., including The Chicago Tribune, The Pittsburgh Quarterly, The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 5 AM, Tears in the Fence, River Styx, Nerve Cowboy, and elsewhere. Jakiela is an Associate Professor of English at The University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg.
 
Winner of the 2004 Frank O'Hara Prize for Poetry for her first chapbook entitled Choke. Stacey Waite teaches writing and gender studies courses at the University of Pittsburgh. Her poems have appeared most recently in Poet Lore, Nimrod, 5AM, West Branch, Chiron Review and Pearl.

You can read an excerpt of Wish on the site and submit a review of it and any other excerpts you read. The reviews you write will contribute to the decision of which books reach the finals on March 3rd. The winning novelist will receive a publishing contract with Penguin.

Congrats to Beth on making the cut — we believe in Wish and think it will go far!