Next Generation Indie Book Awards

Next Generation Indie Book Awards

The largest international awards program for indie authors and independent publishers.

Learn More

Entry deadline: February 14, 2024 

but 

ENTER NOW - Early Bird Special by September 30, 2023 

and your second category selection is free!

• Exposure to a leading New York literary agent for the top 80+ books
• More than 80 Categories
• Cash Prizes

1st place in fiction & non-fiction

$1,500 cash prize and trophy

2nd place in fiction & non-fiction

$750 cash prize and trophy

3rd place in fiction & non-fiction

$500 cash prize and trophy

Winner of each of the 80+ categories

$100 cash prize and gold medal

Up to five finalists in each of the 80+ categories

Finalist medal

Announcing a New Critique Group:

 

Awakening the Creative Spirit

 

Learn and practice strategies to jumpstart your creative process, whether you are just starting out with artistic expression, experiencing art block, or want to rejuvenate your journey of self-development.

In CCC’s art studio, we will create mandalas, journey circles, and ensos as methods of calming, reflection, creative meditation, and self-definition. You will also learn techniques for centering and focusing to find and harness the flow in your creative process.

Register for $55

Every Wed from Jul 12 - 26th, 2023 

3:45 - 5:45 pm

@ Lone Tree Campus

Dr. Michelle Gray has over 40 years of experience in Expressive Arts and Coaching. She has used Depth Psychology and Mindful Living practices, both professionally and personally in her adult life. She has recently retired from her Psychology and Marriage and Family practices and is now focusing on bringing health and well-being coaching practices to those making transitions (retirement, kids launching, divorce, new career, new environs). Michelle is a member of the International Coaching Federation, which is the Gold Standard for Coaches.

Announcing:

Write Night!   

@ 

Bookman's Cafe

AZ Authors Literary Contest

  

AZ Authors Association Literary Contest and Awards

***Entry Form***

Unpublished                                                                 Published                                                                              

Poems                                                                                                Fiction

Short Stories/Essays/Narrative                                                          Nonfiction

Novel, Novella                                                                                   Juvenile/Young Adult

                                                                                                          Childrens Picture Book

                                                                                                          Oldie but Goldie

One Grand Prize of $300

Three First Prizes of $150

Three Second Prizes of $75

Three Third Prizes of $50

Three Fourth Prizes of $25

Eight Best-of-Category Prizes

Unpublished Poetry and Short Story Best of Category will be 

Nominated for the Pushcart Prize

All winners will be featured in the 2024 Arizona Authors Literary Magazine. Since it began in 1978, the Arizona Literary Magazine has launched the careers of many authors.

Contest Rules & Submission Guidelines

>>>DEADLINE: June 1, 2023<<< 

Entry Form

Northern AZ Book Festival

March 31-April 2 of 2023

Creating Effective Critique Groups Workshop

Sunday, April 2, 2023

11 to Noon

Flagstaff Coconino County Public Library 

300 West Aspen Avenue

A Panel Presentation/Q&A 

with 

Barbara Shovers and C. Alex Smith 

(FWC Co-Founders)

• How to Form a Group
• Group Models  & Guidelines

(928)779-6368 for more information

Book Fest Highlights:

Friday, March 31

3pm: Author Meet and Greet

Downtown  Flagstaff Public Library

Saturday, April 1

10am-5pm: Booths & Readings All Day!

Heritage Square

2pm: Spoken Word & Slam Poetry: Roundtable & Preformance

Downtown Flagstaff Public Library

3pm: Literary Editing & Publishing Panel featuring Local Presses

Liminal @ Flagstaff

3pm: Hands-on Bookmaking by Wasted Ink Zine Distro

Heritage Square

5pm: Literary Editing & Publishing Panel featuring Local Presses

Liminal @ Flagstaff

7pm: Sedona Poetry Slam featuring Mary D. Fisher

Theater, Sedona

7pm: Explore Translation

What is your relationship to the land you live on? Share a brief response to be added to a multilingual, community poem hosted by Thousand Languages Project. Responses collected by March 15th will be presented during the Explore Translation with Thousand Languages Panel. 

  Submit here.

  Luminal, Flagstaff

8:30pm: That Needs Work: Humor Writing 

Hosted by NAU MFA students

TBD

Sunday, April 2

        11am: Create Effective Critique Groups

Hosted by Flagstaff Writers Connection

Downtown Flagstaff Public Library

1pm: Youth Poetry Council

For Younger Writers (14-24 years)

Late for the Train, Flagstaff

More Events

Volunteer Opportunities

Announcing the Deep Editing Series

The Deep Editing Series is Back

Do you have a completed or nearly completed first draft manuscript?

Congratulations!

You're Amazing

Two hundred million Americans (81%) say they want to write a novel or screenplay. But only 10% actually do.

After I finished my first manuscript, I tried to edit it on my own. I moved or changes some of the words, but it didn't feel like the story was getting any better. So I started going to webinars and reading books until ten years later when I finally developed a method for revisions.

In 2019 I gave a year long series of workshops on revision. Since then, many people asked me to repeat the series. But we were in the middle of a pandemic that presented us with something we’d never seen before—Long Covid.

For 2023, I decided to commit the live presentations to video, so I can share them with you safely.

I am offering two ways to enjoy these presentations. 

On Your Own each workshop comes with

• on a private website
• several videos you can view when it’s convenient for you 
• handouts 
• writing exercises. 

With a Cohort of Other Writers on my schedule. This option includes 

• the private website 
• videos
• handouts
• writing exercises. But you also get 
• three Ask Me Anything (AMA) internet meetings to go over writing exercises and to meet other writers 

We’ll take a top down approach so you don’t waste your time editing words on an entire chapter you end up deleting from the project. 

We’ll cover:

Title	Description
Pre-editing	Everything you need to do BEFORE you dig in to the real editing. Computer programs and apps you might want to consider Class starts 1/9/23 AMA 1/16/23 11:00-12:30pm AMA 1/21/23 1:00-2:30 pm AMA 1/28/23 10:30 am-12:00 pm
Focusing the Story	Making your MS more manageable and focused by cutting the excess. Writing your synopsis Class Starts 2/6/23 AMA 2/9/23 5:30-7:00 pm AMA 2/18/23 1:00-2:30 pm AMA 2/25/23 10:30 am-12:00 pm
Series	Working with “series” (motifs), themes, different story structures.
Scenes	Working with scenes/sequels, special scenes, making a ”character driven” scene, linking scenes.
POV	Choosing a POV and a Narrative Distance, causality, and Motivational-Reaction Units.
Tension	Conflict, emotion, pacing, suspense.
Dialogue	Dialogue, attribution, compression.
Setting	All six senses, visceral response, active vs. static, mood.
Action	Movement, goals, body language, subtext.
Thought	Internal monologue, back story, exposition.
Color Analysis	Margie Lawson’s Color analysis, originality, white space
Voice	Darlings, rhetorical devices
Final Polish	Word Searches, backloading, tight writing, cadence, MS conventions, submission

 

Register for Pre-Editing Register for Paring Down

Questions: 

C@CAlexSmith.com

(928)779-6368

C. Alex Smith started her writing career as a political blogger on the Daily Kos in 2008. She was invited to be one of three editors on a well-researched weekly blog concerning economics, politics, environmental concerns, medicine, and science.  There, she cultivated far left celebrities to guest post on the blog including Robin Upton (host of  Unwelcome Guests), Gar Alperovitz (author of Beyond Capitalism), Roger Rothenberger (author of Beyond Plutocracy), and Prof. Richard D. Wolff (Economic Update, The New School in NY). She was also instrumental in getting the blog reposted on several political news sites and maintained the blogs social media presence. 

She moved on in 2014 to being the host of Spec Fix Pix, a podcast for fans of Sci Fi, Fantasy and Horror. 

After moving back to Arizona in 2018, she became a co-founder of Flagstaff Writers Connection. She continues to work for FWC to maintain their internet presence, host the local Critique Circle and Publishing Club, and to provide occasional workshops and courses on writing and the publishing industry.

Since 2008 she has been writing science fiction and alternate history. She has five complete manuscripts and three partial manuscripts. Two of her manuscripts took second place at the Arizona Authors Association Literary Contest.