WD Editors

Just in time for the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie release, The Sacramento Bee offers a round-up of recent pirate books, including our very own Pirate Primer.

One of our newest Spring 2007 titles, The Pirate Primer by George Choundas, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending May 20, 2007. Click on the cover to read more about this title, and also to download an excerpt.

Visit the official site at http://pirate.fwpublications.com.

Will Allison, a former editor here at Story magazine and a frequent contributor to Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market, is about to celebrate the publication of his first novel, What You Have Left (Free Press/Simon & Schuster), on June 5th.

What You Have Left—the story of three generations of connection and separation centered around a pioneering female NASCAR driver and the broken husband, father, and daughter she leaves behind—has already been selected for Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers program and Borders’ Original Voices program, and is a Book Sense Pick for June 2007. (Way to go, Will!)

Although Will remembers his time here at F+W fondly, writing is his full-time job now, and in order to help him treat it like a job, he “clocks in” each day and keeps track of his hours. “About a year ago, I started getting up at 4 a.m. to write for a few hours before my daughter wakes up,” Will says. “Ritual-wise, it’s the most fruitful thing I’ve done as a writer. At that hour, there are no interruptions, my mind is uncluttered, and, with unconsciousness looming so close at hand, I feel I’m better able to tap into my subconscious. Of course, it means I’m usually in bed by 9 p.m., which makes for a quiet nightlife.”

For more information on Will and his book, including a tour schedule, visit www.willallison.com. Will and What You Have Left will also be featured in the Premier Voices column in NSSWM 2008, available in August.

One of our newest Spring 2007 titles, The Pirate Primer by George Choundas, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending May 13. Click on the cover to read more about this title, and also to download an excerpt.

Visit the official site at http://pirate.fwpublications.com.

The USA Today Pop Candy blog recommends WritersMarket.com.

I’m an aspiring writer and have been trying to find as many fiction writing contests as I can in the hopes of publishing some more of my work. I thought you might know of some good websites that list creative writing contests and/or the million literary magazines and journals the accept submissions. — Adam F., San Diego, Calif.

First you should try going to Poets & Writers, which has an excellent archive of such things. You can also look at NewPages.com, though the most comprehensive listing of places to submit your work can be found by subscribing to Writer’s Market (www.writersmarket.com). (You can also buy the gigantic Writer’s Market book.) Hope this helps start your search — these links should also lead to other resources.

(Thanks to Scott Francis for the tip.)

The Pirate Primer received a glowing review on the Web site “Pirates of the Caribbean, in fact and fiction” (http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/pirates/pirates.html), written by Tobias Gibson. Here’s a little of what Tobias had to say:

George Choundas and the folks at Writers Digest Books have published a handsomely bound book that should grace the shelves in your pirate library. The look and feel of this book is absolutely fabulous. … [I]n discovering the language; you do learn something of the pirate life, both in fact and fiction. Choundas does not limit himself to the language of actual pirates but tackles the language as presented in works of literature, motion picture and television. … And like a late night TV ad, I have to say “but wait, there’s more!.” The book goes into great detail on how to form a pirate sentence, the use of adverbs and adjectives, positioning verbs, the use of transitive verbs, and other grammar rules as they apply to pirates. Choundas actually covers the language as an English teacher would but the difference is you’ll actually enjoy this textbook. … All in all, the entire book is a joy to read and joy to look at.

To read Tobias’s entire review, visit http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/pirates/review_PiratePrimer.html

If you’ve always wanted to write down the story of your life but haven’t known quite how to get started, then you will love the advice from You Don’t Have to Be Famous: How to Write the Story of Your Life by Steve Zousmer. The book is filled with helpful advice about the process of writing your autobiography or memoir, but here’s a sneak peak at Chapter Nine: Strategies for a Good Start to help get you moving.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD START GOOD?

A good start to your story will:

One of our newest Spring 2007 titles, The Pirate Primer by George Choundas, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending May 6. Click on the cover to read more about this title, and also to download an excerpt.

Visit the official site at http://pirate.fwpublications.com.

Our Spring 2007 title, A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words, received a nice little review over at inthecompanyofwriters.com.

I am rarely as tickled by a How-To book as I am this one. It’s a delightfully conceived book on stimulation for writers and it’s fun. Perhaps the best thing about it is that while it’s full of great stuff, it also causes one to look at almost every other mundane thing with fresh eyes.

Full review here.

One of our newest Spring 2007 titles, The Pirate Primer by George Choundas, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending April 29. Click on the cover to read more about this title, and also to download an excerpt.

Visit the official site at http://pirate.fwpublications.com.