Losing My Contest Virginity

In Honor of Banned Books Week (September 25, 2010-October 2, 2010) I am holding my very first blog contest! Are you shivering with anticipation or what?

Let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

I have three (count them, 3!) banned or challenged books to give away this week, but it only takes one entry to win.

The prizes:

SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson


Well, we should all know why this one was challenged. If not, please see either of my blog posts (here and here) relating to the recent controversy.

LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green


Challenged in 2008 for sexually explicit situations. I've also heard complaints about the teenage characters' use of "bad" language, cigarettes and alcohol.

DEENIE by Judy Blume


Challenged in 2004 and 2005 for passages that deal frankly with masturbation.


(Note: My copy is NOT new. It's got the cover seen to the left and was already old when I obtained it lo those many years ago. Original copyright 1972)


The rules:
1. To enter, become a follower on the blog, and make a comment on this blog entry. Bonus points if you Tweet or Facebook about it. Just tell me in your comment.

Here's the twist: In the comments, please tell me if you plan to share this banned book with anyone. You could lend to a friend, donate to your library, leave it in the dressing room at a clothing store--the possibilities are endless. Be creative, and be sure to tell me about it.

You can still win, even if you plan to keep the book. Just lend it to a friend, okay?

2. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I will use go through the entries to look for the best ideas (Hey, it's my blog, I get to be the judge.) The top five will go into a randomizer and the winner will be notified.


3. Wednesday's winner gets to choose from the three books available, Thursday's chooses from the remaining two, and Friday's gets whatever is left.


4. Oh, and I'm not rich, so let's restrict winners to the U.S. and Canada, please!


Easy, right?

So, tweet it, blog it, Facebook it--spread the word. Books for free. All you need is a mailing address and some creativity.

Have fun. Even if you don't enter, please read a challenged book this week. It's good for the soul.


- Liz

Contests! Getcher Contests Here!

Salaam and good evening to you, worthy friends....

Actually, Happy New Year! I’ve decided to refer to 2009 as my rebuilding year. I learned A LOT, wrote A LOT, started building my presence on-line and didn’t really get very far in my Quest for the Holy Publication Grail. But, you know what? I actually did, because everything I did and learned brought me a step closer to where I want to be.

On the news front, I have finished revisions on A Game of Risk and with just a bit more tweaking I can’t wait to put it back in the big bad world and query, query, query! It’s probably bad luck to be as hopeful as I feel right now, but it would probably be worse luck to be as pessimistic as I could be.

Elsewhere in the literary world, I have found a number of contests that I’m going to enter, and I thought I’d share them here. If any of you are writers, please jump on in the competition ring, the water’s fine! If you’re not writers, prepare to get out your pompons and cheer for anyone you know who’s entering. So here’s the breakdown:

First, Nathan Brandsford, super blogging agent at large for the Curtis Brown Agency is hosting his first ever contest. Check it out at: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/ All you have to do is write a letter or diary entry from the perspective of a teenager. See his blog for full details.

Next, Georgia McBride announced the first steps to take if you want to participate in the Sourcebooks Fire launch contest. This is for Young Adult writers as well, and requires membership in the #YAlitchat Ning community--which you should totally join anyway if you’re interested in Young Adult. Go to:http://yalitchat.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sourcebooks-fire-yalitchat

Next, Mary Kole of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency is sponsoring a contest at kidlit.com (another great blog to follow if you’re a children’s literature writer of any type). The contest is for the first 500 words of a novel, and has very specific rules. One of those rules is to spread the word by posting contest info in at least two places on the web. So, here’s one of mine! Go to http://kidlit.com/kidlit-contest/ for full details!

So, that, my dear readers, is the roundup. I’m planning to enter all three right now, so stay tuned for results.

Until next time, I bid you all a fond farewell.

- Liz