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- VIDEO — Get Published Using The Murder Mystery Formula: Award-winning author, Lavie Tidhar, talks about how he learned to love writing formula fiction and why you should try it.
- Markets and contests with submissions open or opening soon.
- Write openings that sell — THIS SATURDAY, May 23, learn to write openings that sell with award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. Join us for Ready. Set. Go! How To Write Perfect Openings whether it's for a short story or a novel.
- Care to drabble with us? Each week our drabble community writes 100 words (or they don't—their call) to a single-word theme.
- This Week's Prompt. An interesting item from the news to provide you with fodder for your creativity. This week, crystal unknown to science formed In trinity nuclear test is “far beyond the limits of conventional synthesis."
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In this clip from his workshop, "Mastering Plot and Structure" award-winning author, Lavie Tidhar, talks about how he learned to love writing formula fiction and why you should try it.
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Markets and Contests
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Many thanks to Scribophile for sponsoring this week's open submissions. Scribophile is a free welcoming community of writers where you're guaranteed to get solid critiques on your work. You can also get 20% off your first purchase using coupon code APEX20.
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- 🚀 Quantum Quill is open to submissions of sci-fi stories between 1,000 and 7,000 words until May 31st. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 🔮 Shacklebound Books is looking for submissions of drabbles on the theme of “Witches and Warlocks”. Send them five (no more, no less) 100-word (no more, no less) stories before May 31st. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 🐶 Brown Hound Press is open to submissions of short stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words. They’re particularly interested in mystery, literary, and “Southern Gothic” stories. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 📝 Nachtljocht Press is open to submissions of short stories and plays. Send them work between 3,000 and 12,000 words before June 1st. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 🔍 The Black Orchid Novella Award is open to entries of traditionally styled mystery novellas between 15,000 and 20,000 words. The winner receives $1,000 and publication. Submit before May 13st. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 🦅 Anibon Press is open to submissions of poetry and prose chapbooks that engage with “animal and spiritual encounters, cryptozoological and pseudoscientific treatises, and other hybrid texts interested in more than human ideas and stories”. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 📚 Ari Studios is open to submissions of full-length novels and short story collections for publication and event adaptation. Send them a short synopsis, author bio, and 10-page writing sample. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 📕 Brick Books is open to submissions of full-length poetry collections between 60 and 120 pages. Note that this call is only open to Canadian writers. Send them a query letter and full manuscript. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 🌒 Months to Years is looking for creative nonfiction and poetry that centres around death and mortality, including Covid-19 stories. If you have a story of up to 2,500 words to share, submit it before June 1st. No submissions fee!
- 🚍 Viridine Literary is open to submissions of writing on the theme of “public transport”. Send them short stories of up to 2,000 words, personal essays between 500 and 1,000 words, short plays of up to 15 pages, or up to three poems. No submissions fee!
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Join award-winning author Lavie Tidhar for an in-depth look at crafting that all-important story opening, whether for a short story or a novel. Learn how to “hook” the reader’s attention and how to best prepare your manuscript for agent or editor submission.
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In this workshop, we will:
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- Study classic openings and what they do, in genre and out
- Explore Lavie’s own successful openings, from short stories to award-winning novels
- Learn the who, why, where, when and how of a successful beginning
- Identify the “telling detail” and the how to make use of effective dialogue, action and description
- Prepare that critical three chapters submission package
- Understand what agents and editors look for
- Become aware of the common pitfalls, traps and clichés of ineffective openings
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DATE: May 23, 2026 – Saturday
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TIME: 1PM ET | 12PM CT | 11AM MT | 10AM PT | 17:00 UTC
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RUNTIME: Approximately 90 minutes
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Each week our drabble community writes 100 words (or they don't—their call) to a single-word prompt. No fame. No fortune. Just fun. Well, maybe a teensy bit of fame if you count the animated adaptations we create and share on social media. Check 'em out on our YouTube channel and Bluesky.
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This Week's Prompt
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“One thing I would especially like the public to understand is that these materials are not simply curiosities from a historic nuclear test. They provide a rare scientific record of how matter behaves under conditions that humans almost never encounter directly."
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Thank you so much for being a newsletter subscriber. We love our supportive, weird, and wonderful community. Don't hesitate to reply to this email if you have something to tell us. I read every email and will respond.
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