WritingSpirit Resources

Isherwood Grants for Fiction Writers

Submission Deadline: Applications accepted between September 1 and October 1, 2008
Word Limit: 20 – 30 page writing sample
Entry Fee: None
Grants:  $4,000

Grants will be awarded to writers who have published at least one book of fiction, either a novel or a collection of stories. The grants are intended to enable writers to set aside time for writing. All applicants must be American citizens. The novel or story collection must have been published at the time of application.

From the Isherwood Diaries (July, 1940)

Prayer for writers: "Oh source of my inspiration, teach me to extend toward all living that fascinated, unsentimental, loving and all-pardoning interest which I feel for the characters I create. May I become identified with all humanity, as I identify myself with these imaginary persons. May my life become my art and my art my life."

Christopher Isherwood Foundation Grants

Amy Writing Awards

Submission Deadline: January 31, 2008
Type of Entry: Magazine articles published during 2007
Prizes: $10,000 / $5,000 / $4,000 / $3,000 / $2,000 / $1,000 (10)

The Amy Foundation Writing Awards program is designed to recognize creative, skillful writing that presents in a sensitive, thought-provoking manner the biblical position on issues affecting the world today.

To be eligible, submitted articles must be published in a secular, non-religious publication between January 1 and December 31 of the current calendar year and must be reinforced with at least one passage of scripture.

The article must present the biblical position on an issue as relevant, timely and deserving of thoughtful consideration. Examples of issues for consideration, but not limited to these, are family life, divorce, value trends, media and entertainment character, pornography, political morality, U.S. National interests, abortion, religion and addiction to drugs and alcohol. The biblical impact on individual character and outlook are also appropriate issues.

Amy Writing Awards

2008 Moondance Film Festival Competition

Submissions Deadline: Early-bird--February 1, Regular--April 1, Late--May 1, 2008
Entry Fee: Varies from $25 to $85
Awards: Winners are presented with a lovely Moondance plaque by famed Colorado metal artist, Charlotte Zink. Moondance also promotes the winners' & finalists' work and tries to get it sold, agented, distributed or optioned.

Screenwriters and filmmakers, playwrights, short story writers, TV writers, librettists, film score composers, children's filmmakers & writers, and young (18 & under) filmmakers & screenwriters, radioplay writers, music video filmmakers, and multi-media filmmakers are all invited to participate in the 2008 Moondance Film Festival competition. Moondance offers everyone a unique opportunity to come together with other writers, directors and producers to create new opportunities, develop tools for success and forge new alliances within the international film and entertainment industry.

This festival has some interesting priorities. First off, it strives to promote and encourage women screenwriters, playwrights, short-story writers and women who make independent films. Some awards are exclusively for women, some for men, and some are open to anyone who wants to enter. 

In addition, some of their awards strive to promote spiritual values and spiritual filmmaking:

The Moondance Columbine Award
The work must reflect non-violent conflict resolution, alternatives to violence, or show why violent resolution to conflict is counter-productive.

The Moondance Calypso Award
This award is to encourage a spirit of enterprise in saving the environment, habitats and wildlife, or enhancing awareness of a spiritual life, by creative individuals from around the  world. The award is presented to the person who expands knowledge of our world, seeks to improve our quality of all life on the planet, and contributes to the betterment of humankind.

The Moondance Gaia Award
This Award is to encourage and inspire contemplative, meditative, spiritual, and inspirational films and scripts. The Gaia awards are presented to the person who seeks to elucidate and improve the spiritual quality of all life on the planet, and contributes to the betterment of the world spirit.

2008 Moondance Film Festival Competition

10th Annual NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)

Entry Dates: You sign-up between October 1st and November 25th.
Contest Dates: 12:01 am Wednesday, November 1, to midnight Thursday, November 30, 2008
Entry Fee: None
Winners (those who write 50,000 words) will receive an official "Winner" web icon and certificate

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over talent and craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

In 2004, they had about 42,000 participants. Nearly 6000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

Once you register at the NaNoWriMo website, you can choose a local affiliate and get together with other novelists for write outs and social gatherings. And on the forum page, under Genre Lounges, there's a "Spiritual and New Age" Lounge.

10th Annual NaNoWriMo

2009 Poetry of the Sacred Contest

Submissions Deadline: December 31, 2008
Line Limit: No more than 100 lines
Entry Fee: None--Only one poem per person may be entered
Prize: $500 First Prize, and three $100 Honorable Mention Prizes

What is poetry of the sacred? Poetry that expresses, directly or indirectly, a sense of the holy or that, by its mode of expression, evokes the sacred. The tone may be religious, prophetic, or contemplative. Poems will be judged on literary excellence, spiritual tenor, and human authenticity.

Winning Poems will be published in The Merton Seasonal, a publication of scholarly articles about noted spiritual leader Thomas Merton and will be posted on the Merton Foundation web site.

The Merton Foundation
2009 Poetry of the Sacred Contest

2008 International 3-Day Novel Contest

Contest Dates: 12:01 am Saturday, August 30, to midnight Monday, September 1, 2008
Entry Fee: $50
Word Length: Averages 100 pages

Grand Prize: Publication
Second Prize: $500
Third Prize: Library of 3-Day Novels

The world's most notorious literary marathon is scheduled for Labor Day Weekend, August 30 - September 1, 2008. The 3-Day Novel Contest demands that would-be novelists produce a masterwork in a mere 72 hours. This cheeky and uncompromising rebel of literary forms attracts hundreds of writers worldwide each year. It has been called "a fad," "a threat," and "a great way to overcome writer’s block." It's exhausting, it's exhilarating, and it flies in the face of the notion that novels take years of angst to produce.

How To Have a 3-Day Writing Contest of Your Own

This contest is not only a great challenge for novelists, but I know of many writers who have piggybacked on this "marathon" with the intention of jump-starting their writing or fast-writing the first draft of a novel, play, or work of non-fiction. This is a great excuse to give your internal editor a weekend off. If you want to pursue your own writing agenda over these three days, it helps to get other writers involved. Find at least one other writer who wants to participate, make a commitment to each other, and then celebrate what you've accomplished afterwards. If you belong to a writing group, make it a group project and then get together the following weekend to have a party and share your writing. You might even consider awarding prize certificates of your own for the most words written, the least sleep, the longest completed draft, and any other prize worthy accomplishments you'd like to acknowledge. 

Make it fun and you'll get it done.

The 3-Day Novel Contest
Contest Rules