More Cool Things

I realized I'm doing things without really thinking about a goal. Really, I'm just doing this eat, sleep, write, run thing. While a "now" mentality is useful for stress-reduction (and is very Zen), seems like I'm going nowhere. From now on, I'll set my mind on these things: my own property in the next five years and three books published in print (and maybe a big writing award).

And maybe I'm closer to that award than I think. I happened to earn a "Special Recognition" prize in the Fujisan Haiku Competition 2013. Here's my winning piece:

peeling oranges
what little is left of snow
on a sunlit peak

I've also received some more pleasant news in the area of publishing. My poem "I'll Take the Farthest Room" will appear in the 7th issue of the Los Angeles Review of Los Angeles, a little irreverent place for irreverent writes. Thanks so much to Robin Wyatt Dunn, the cool editor of this joint.

Dear Anne,

I'll take "Farthest Room" for LAROLA 7, and feel free to send along a
few more poems if you wish.

Yours,
Robin Wyatt Dunn

Recent Wins: The Writers of the Future Contest & The Basho Haiku Festival Tournament 2013

I have two recent achievements that I'll plug here shamelessly.

"Sage's Reckoning," my 8000-word (long) short story earned an honorable mention at
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, 3rd Quarter for 2013. Not exactly a win, but hey, it makes me feel like I've 'achieved'. Still waiting for my certificate. Here is the email I received from Joni Labaqui (I had to recheck my submission log since I forgot what I submitted):

Dear Entrant,

Your story has now been judged and is an Honorable Mention for the 4th quarter.
Congratulations!!!
If you would like a certificate, please respond to this e-mail with
the name of your story, Your name as you would like it to appear
on the certificate and the address that you would like me to send it
to. YOU WILL NOT GET A CERTIFICATE UNLESS YOU PROVIDE ME WITH
THE INFORMATION ABOVE.

Best regards,

Joni Labaqui

My haiku has also won in The Basho Haiku Festival Tournament 2013. From

(財)芭蕉翁顕彰会

(might be the organizers... I can't read Kanji):

Your haiku was selected as winning in Basho haiku festival tournament.
Congratulations.

Please tell me the address and zip code because we want to send the diploma of winning. May not reach them if they are incorrect.

＊・＊・＊・＊・＊・＊・＊・＊・＊・＊・＊・＊・＊・＊

　公益財団法人芭蕉翁顕彰会

　　　　事務局　芭蕉翁記念館　山中

　　〒518-8770

　　三重県伊賀市上野丸之内117-13

　　　HP     http//www.ict.ne.jp/~basho-bp

Hooray for good news. I think I'll pig out on ice cream. :)

Third Place Win! Diogen Summer Contest for Haiku, Senryu, Tanka & Haiga (2013)

The contest closed on July 31, 2013, so it's been a few months since I sent my tanka entries to the Diogen Pro Culture Magazine, a Switzerland-based magazine. I was wondering what happened since the organizers haven't gotten in touch. I was pleasantly surprised to find in their site that my tanka won third prize! Pasting the e-copy of my certificate here:

Granted by the Diogen Pro Culture Magazine

Theme: SUMMER IN THE TOWN

Write about a town, its neighborhood, bridges, rivers, towers, churches, mosques, cathedrals, parks and the sky above.  How do you see yourself among glass skyscrapers?  Has the urban way of life become a natural way of life in the 21st century?  Statistics say, six thousand years after the foundation of the first town, for the first time more people live in more urban areas than rural ones.  Think of Bashō – if he just could wander around today's Tokyo, Jerusalem, Sarajevo, Zagreb or London; think of Thoreau (Walden) and his return to nature by the middle of the nineteenth century, for he was burdened with the too quick changes in the way of living brought on by the industrial revolution.

We want you to write haiku, senryu, haiga and tanka and send them from all the continents, so that way we exchange and share, put onto paper (internet) our experiences and a portrait of our planet in the second decade of the twenty first century.  And please do not forget, haiku is a way of living and connecting with our (urban) environment.

"Haze" earned an honorable mention in On The Premises' 20th short story contest

This is a good year indeed. I'm starting to try out joining writing contests (mostly the ones with no fees since I don't have money hehe). While looking for places to submit, I discovered that On The Premises Magazine holds quarterly short story contests. The magazine was accepting submissions for their Contest #20 at the time I submitted. After waiting a few months, I got an email telling me that out of 295 entries, my story, "Haze" had been shortlisted.

To me that was good enough. I mean, I've never won a writing award in my life. I'm just happy doing what I do.

And then a few weeks later, the organizers contacted me, telling me that "Haze" made an Honorable Mention! What's great about this is that there's a cash prize, so it literally pays off my hard work.

"Haze" will be out in a few weeks, will post about it soon. We're currently in the process of making a few edits so the piece will be in tip-top shape.


The premise for Contest #20:

INNER WORKINGS

One or more characters must examine the inner workings of something important to the story. The “something” can be a physical object, a person’s mindset, a relationship, an idea... anything so long as the concept of “inner workings” can be applied to it literally or metaphorically.