The Award

It came today in the mail!

I have Mal lying in repose behind it so you can see the white text more clearly on his black fur.

(hmmm) (contented sigh)

It feels good, getting recognition at something artistic - painting, writing, photography, singing, performing - you enjoy doing.

Thank you, Florida Writers Association, for this accolade!

Royal Palm Literary Awards 2020: Award Ceremony

Having submitted a Finalist in the category of Short Nonfiction: Article or Blog, with "Seven Reasons NOT to Invade Iran" from my You Might Notice a Trend political blog, I waited and watched last night's Royal Palm Literary Awards via online presentation (hi, pandemic!) for the results.

Which was this:

They haven't published the full list of winners - which covers Fiction and Nonfiction, Poetry, Published and Unpublished works - but I'll update this site with a link when I can.

This is a good, nice feeling. For a writer, there is some satisfaction when you get a work printed even when it's self-published like on a blog because there's the enjoyment of having committed the writing to paper (so to speak) and put it out there for entertainment or enlightenment or both. There is a lot of satisfaction (well, depending on how much of a perfectionist the writer is) when any work is lauded by peers.

Thank you, Royal Palm judges. I know it's tricky to give accolades to politically-tinged writing, and I am grateful you are wise enough to be open-minded to judge a work on its quality.

Now, back to blogging! (writes op-ed about how gun nut militias are ruining PT Cruiser's reputation as a cool retro car) ...What?

Update on Royal Palm Literary Award Submission 2020

I've previously reported I reached the Semi-Finalist status for a Royal Palm Literary Award in the Non-Fiction Blogging category, and I am happy to report that I received word today that it's now a FINALIST in that category!

The article "Seven Reasons NOT To Invade Iran" qualifies now to reach First, Second or Third Place. However, not guaranteed: I learned a few years back that there can be more than three Finalists in most categories, so I have to remain optimistic but guarded this time.

Still and all, good news, keeps me motivated, what what. Back to writing!

(Naps on a Saturday during a thunderstorm) ...dammit...

FWA Royal Palm Update June 2020: Semifinalist Status

Notified today that in the Non-Fiction / Blogging category, my political article "Seven Reasons NOT to Invade Iran" made it to the Semifinals.

This is a good step from last year, when a submission or three then didn't even get any reply notification other than questions about my link formatting. I figured then I had improperly submitted the attempts, that's on me, my bad. This means that the formatting I did THIS year worked proper. Properly!

If you recall the previous attempts, what I have to wait on now is the Finalist decision (the grading gets tougher) and if I make that I'll get the invite to the awards / banquet (IF the association is holding a conference this year, given the uptick in pandemic cases I doubt October will be safe..).

Wish me luck, peeps.

Getting Pumped for the FWA 2018

There's a couple of things to note.

I plan on attending the Florida Writers Association's ceremony for the Royal Palm Literary Award. As a Finalist, I'm guaranteed a Third Place at the least (no, it turns out I was wrong about that), so here's knocking on processed wood about making it to First.

I've had some writing awards before: The South Florida Writers group had a short story contest of their own, which I earned a Second Place plaque back in 2002. When I was in Eighth Grade, I won a county award for Palm Harbor Middle for Writing... but that was kinda a cheat because I was the only one who submitted work for it (that was the FIRST year the school was back after the old one had closed 5-6 years earlier). I won Third Place for a Largo Library writing contest back in high school for a science fiction category, and oh what a funny situation that turned out to be...

I'd like to see if I can do well enough to earn a First Place, one that counts against decent competition.

Like I said, knock on processed wood about that.

The second thing to note is that I'm making a pitch to a literary agent at the conference. I don't have much besides some published shorts and a couple of unfinished novels, but the real challenge is making the pitch itself. See if I can argue my case as it were that I'm a viable writer worth finding a readership.

Gotta knock processed wood for this too.

Check my mood by the next post.

Writing Update Again: FWA Royal Palm Awards FINALIST Status

You read that right, kiddos. I got bumped up from Semi-Finalist Status to FINALIST Status!

That means "A Face In the Light" is in the TOP THREE submissions to the Short Fiction category for the RPLA this year!  it wasn't in the Top Three after all.

I even get a new GIF to show off. Why did they bother sending me this GIF?

Insert Snoopy Happy Dance as well!

No. No dancing.

Writing Update: FWA Royal Palm Awards

As a member of the Florida Writers Association, I am able to submit works to an annual competition for the Royal Palm Literary Awards. They have a category for Short Fiction (it does not break down by specific genre from there, alas), and I had an unpublished work "A Face In the Light" that I put in to see how it would do (critique/feedback is part of the review process). It's a personal story, it's one I think can be a good one if I can get the kinks ironed out.

I just received word from the judges that I reached the Semi-Finalist stage of the Awards.

Squee!

I'm not sure how many other stories I was competing against, and there is still no guarantee I will win outright. But getting THIS far in the competition is great news. It means that the story has enough style and oomph to win readers. It means I might actually be doing this writing thing right.

The finalists will be announced at the Annual Conference this October, so we will see then how I fare against the other good stories.

This is an unbelievably good way to brighten one's mood.

Indie eBook Award Via Library Journal

Just to be fair aboot it, I want to let everyone else who's self-publishing their eBooks to know that Library Journal - as part of the American Library Association - is hosting an Indie eBook Award for 2016.

The rules are simple. Two eBooks enter, one eBook leaves.

Okay, actually, it's this:
The competition is open to all English-language self-published ebooks for which the author is the copyright holder of the Work, and holds the rights to digital distribution. Entries will be evaluated on content, writing quality, and overall quality of production and appearance. There are no restrictions on date of publication. (Library Journal may demand proof of eligibility of semifinalists.) Review our full terms & conditions before submitting your entries.

Library Journal (“LJ”) honors the best self-published ebooks in the following genres: Romance, Mystery, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Young Adult.
ATTENTION: If your book in not in one of these genres, you can still submit to SELF-e using our standard submission form.

Judging committees will be comprised of Library Journal editors and public library collection development & acquisition librarians, who are responsible for selecting content suitable for their libraries. Some winners of the 2015 contest will also be participating as judges. They will select one winner and designate two honorable mentions in each category. We are accepting contest submissions through July 31, 2016.

Each genre prize Winner shall receive $1,000.00. All winners and honorable mentions shall also receive:

• A full LJ review, in print and online
• A promotional ad in LJ’s December “Best of Books” issue, displaying all award winners honor books
• Recognition at LJ Self-Published Ebook Awards reception at the 2017 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta

So you have until July 31st to get your eBook copyright-protected, perform a summer solstice pagan ritual (gotta get that done by June 21, you heathens), and submit at least one of your eBooks.

I will. I'm tempted to submit two: Body Armor Blues and A Serious Tank on a Clockwork World. I'm more curious to see what the response will be like rather than considering I'll win anything. What makes it worthwhile is even the honorable mentions will get a review published of their works, which means a lot of public and college libraries will see those reviews in Library Journal (and libraries are good markets for books AND eBooks)...

Such is life, c'est la vie.

Award update: History and Mystery Oh My

If you'll recall last July I reported the anthology History and Mystery Oh My was up for a state-wide award with the Florida Authors and Publishers Association. I found out from the editor Sarah Glenn today that, yes, the book won silver with the President's Award for Short Story Form.

So today when I met with Sarah and her partner in crime Gwen Mayo to gather autographs - copies of some of the Mystery and Horror LLC publications are being donated to the Florida Library Association for 2016 Annual Conference this March - they brought along a medallion award for me to pose with.

If my mom ever sees this, I'm a dead man.

Trying to make a face like that while posing for a picture is harder than it looks...

In other awards news for this same anthology: The Agathas - a big-time "cozy mystery" literary award - nominated TWO shorts for 2015: “A Questionable Death” by Edith Maxwell, and “Suffer the Poor” by Harriette Sackler.

Congratulations to Edith and Harriette! The awards are given out this April, so we'll see how it goes.

Writing News: History and Mystery Oh My Up For an Award

Just received word that History and Mystery Oh My! is a finalist for the Short Fiction award presented by the Florida Authors And Publishers Association's President Awards.

Many congratulations to Sarah Glenn and Gwen Mayo for the nomination, and here's hoping they win it on August 8th!

Doing Good as a Librarian

I mentioned Ask A Librarian (AAL) before: an online chat service libraries provide for the public and students to ask questions and request research.  At the university/college level it's for students stuck off-campus to get help finding online research or figure out what they need for assignments.  At the public library level: we're for home-schooled or virtual school students and for middle/high school students; or for adults needing help with placing holds, figuring out ereaders, and whether or not their library card numbers are still valid.

It's a state-wide program: a lot of the county and city libraries provide staff to give an hour or two a day at least once a week.  We get about four questions an hour, usually from the big systems like Jacksonville, Broward, Tampa/Hillsborough, Miami/Dade, Orange County (Orlando), sometimes Lee and Monroe.  The quirky ones are the ones out-of-state: I had one from Shasta College... one from Bolton (UK!)... anyway I digress.

Every month, the organization overseeing AAL gives out a couple of staff awards.  There's one for the librarian who provides extra effort to make sure most of the hours are covered as best as possible, called the Superstar award.

I was named for September's Superstar:

There's a plaque for it!

From Jessica at TBLC:

Paul is the Reference and Computer Librarian at the Bartow Public Library which is part of the Polk County Library Cooperative. He was been at Bartow since February 2013 and has been an outstanding team member of Ask A Librarian since his arrival. He has also been nominated for several exemplary reference awards.

Paul volunteers to cover shifts needing last-minute help on the Collaborative Desk. Paul's eagerness to help librarians and staff from around the state shows true dedication to the collaborative program. His virtual reference knowledge reaches customers in a true time of need.

Paul is a crucial member of the Ask A Librarian program. Please help me congratulate this month’s SuperStar winner, Paul Wartenberg from Bartow Public Library.

I'm feeling good right now.

Update (10/17/14): I wasn't allowed to keep the plaque. It's rotated around to the monthly winners.  Ah well.  At least I had it on my wall... :)