Job & Contributing Opportunities

BlackBerry Literary Services are enlarging the territory for our First Annual Fiction Contest! And giving you more time to enter!

The First Annual Short Fiction competition is no longer just open to Michigan Residents, but to residents of all the 50 states! We are looking for the absolute best in short fiction, 3500 words or less. The cost to enter this contest is only $12.00, and the first place prize is $500.00! The deadline for all entries is midnight, January 31, 2006 and the winner will be notified by U.S. mail no later than March 31, 2006. We feel that we may have missed out on some good work by limiting the competition. So now, you get your chance to shine. Winners and runners up will be featured in the upcoming literary journal, The BlackBerry Gazette as well. (Coming 2006!) Submit your original, typed double spaced mansucript and entry fee (money order or cashier's check only, please) of $12.00 to:
The First Annual Short Story Competition
BlackBerry Literary Services
2956 Mackin Road
Flint, Michigan 48504


Down Home: A Portrait of the New African American South (an anthology)
Deadline: January 5, 2006

GUIDELINES
Seeking well-crafted fiction, creative and academic non-fiction, and photographs for an anthology addressing the historical, geographical, political, and cultural aspects of being black and southern. Subject matter is not limited but must address the general theme. This anthology transcends the boundaries of the southern states to include the rural black experience; being black and ‘country’ wherever it may be; and/or the Affrilachian experience (being black and Appalachian).

FICTION AND NON-FICTION
Each entrant may submit ONE original, unpublished story or essay, double-spaced. Pages must be stapled and contain page numbers.
All submissions must include: name, snail mail address, email address and phone number(s) for contact.
Submit two copies of the work with SASE and e-mail address for notification.
Manuscripts must be typewritten on 8 _ x 11 paper. Please retain copies of the submission. Manuscripts will not be returned.

PHOTOGRAPHY/ARTWORK
We are accepting a limited number of photographs for this anthology and are open to artwork as well.

Photography/artwork submissions must be thematically based. We are looking for images that depict the above themes that will be compatible with the anthology. We are interested in both portraits of people and landscape and/or interpretive photographs or artwork.
Photography and artwork may be submitted either electronically or through snail mail. Please adhere to the following guidelines:

Electronic submissions
Send an email with three attached images/jpgs (sized at under 100K per
image) to Crwilkin@indiana.edu OR
Send a website address link to Crwilkin@indiana.edu.
Make sure your name and contact information are included in your email.
Postal submissions

Send a NON RETURNABLE CD with low resolution images or send NON RETURNABLE proofs or prints no larger than 8.5" x 11" to:
Crystal Wilkinson, Department of English, Indiana University, 442 Ballantine Hall, Bloomington, IN 47405 E-mail inquiries can be sent to Crwilkin@indiana.edu No phone inquires please. Include a SASE for your submission response.
Make sure your name and contact information are on ALL MATERIALS sent.
DO NOT SEND originals, slides, transparencies or anything of value.
Do not send over-sized materials - nothing larger than 8.5 x 11 inches.
Submit two copies of work with SASE/e-mail address for notification. Manuscripts will not be returned. Send to:


Ujima-Nia Book and Social Club present "It's a Shore Thang" Literary Retreat '06
July 28-30 2006
at the Luxurious Ocean Place Resort and Spa
Package includes: 2 Night Hotel Accommodations, 5 Meals, 6 Hours Open Bar, Live Entertainment..New Orleans Themed Beach Front Jazz Jam, Vendors, and much, much more
Featured authors include: Dywane Birch, "Shattered Souls" and "From My Soul to Yours;" Collen Dixon, "Simon Says" and Relative Secrets;" Angie Daniels, "When it Rains" and "In the Company of My Sistahs;" Dwayne Joseph, "The Womanizers" and "Never Say Never;" Stephanie Johnson, "She's Got Issues" and "Rockin' Robin;" Shannon Davis, "Nothing Like Friends;" Lee Hayes, "Passion Marks;" Angel Hunter, "Aroung the Way Girls" and "Sister Girls"

Proceeds from this event will benefit the inaugural Ujima-Nia Scholarship Fund*
for more information/updates, visit us at www.ujimania.com or call (732) 918-9555

Join us for a weekend of "Fun in the Sun" at the Jersey Shore


Check the Rhyme: An Anthology of Female Poets & Emcees
Calls for Submissions

NEW YORK--Lit Noire Publishing, an independent publisher based in New York, is now accepting submissions for Check the Rhyme: An Anthology of Female Poets & Emcees. The groundbreaking anthology will feature the work of female poets from around the globe, showcasing the depth and diversity present in the voices of women writers. The anthology will be edited by Brooklyn-based educator, author, poet and entreprenuer, DuEwa M. Frazier. Frazier who is orginally from St. Louis, Missouri, earned the B.A. in English from Hampton University. She is presently completing the M.S.Ed. degree at Fordham University in New York. In addition to being a performance poet and author who travels to colleges, bookstores and poetry venues, to speak and perform, she is also a teacher of drama and writing at a Brooklyn middle
school.

Frazier says of the anthology Check the Rhyme, "This anthology will feature the work of well respected and emerging poets, songwriters and emcees. We would love to even publish the work of some of our greatest poets in this book, such as Sonia Sanchez, Ntozake Shange, Nikki Giovanni and Rita Dove. The purpose of this anthology is to educate our community on the dynamic voices of women writers and inspire young girls, our next generation of writers. Our female youth are becoming lost within the current popular culture of sex, shock and shake promoted in music and the media, and one of the ways we can help them is through the art of self expression - writing."

To submit, poets should visit www.litnoirepublishing.com for guidelines. Deadline
for submission is March 30, 2006. Publication for Check the Rhyme is set for publication in Fall 2006.

Lit Noire Publishing seeks to promote writers of color (i.e., African American, Caribbean, African, Hispanic), those in our society who are typically "under-published" if you will, yet have quality literature to offer a community of writers and readers. Lit Noire Publishing, P.O. 26183, Brooklyn, NY 11202.


Harlem Arts Salon Writers Workshop in Guadeloupe
Writers Workshop in Guadeloupe. Harlem Arts Salon offers a 2-week summer fiction and poetry workshop from June 4-10, 2006 (fiction) and from June 11-17, 2006 (poetry). Faculty includes acclaimed-novelist Maryse Condé and Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott. Program includes workshops, lectures, one-on-one critiques, public readings by faculty, continental breakfast, seaside lodgings. 15 participants per session.

Submit 8 poems or 15 pages of prose with a $35 application fee by October 30, 2005. Harlem Arts Salon, Margaret Porter Troupe, Director, 1925 7th Ave., Ste.
7L, New York, NY 10026. Phone: (212) 749-7771. Fax: (212) 749-7772.
Email: mptroupe@yahoo.com or visit: www.harlemartssalon.com


BILLBOARD AND mtvU PARTNER TO DISCOVER THE NEXT GREAT MUSIC JOURNALISTS

“Student Voice” Contest Gives College Students a Chance to be Published in

Billboard and on mtvU.com

New mtvU and Billboard “Student Eye” Column to Exclusively Feature College Writers

New York, NY (November 21, 2005) – Billboard, the world’s most trusted source of music, video and digital entertainment news, charts, reviews and analysis, and mtvU, MTV’s 24-hour college network, announced today a partnership to give college students – who may now write for school papers, blogs or just recreationally – a chance to be published in Billboard magazine, as well as on mtvU.com and Billboard.com.

As part of mtvU and Billboard’s Student Voice contest, college students nationwide are encouraged to respond to three music-related questions posted on mtvU.com by January 30, 2006. Writers that submit the most insightful answers will be invited to participate in an ongoing Finalist Competition Term, where their essays will be published on mtvU.com and Billboard.com. The burgeoning writers’ works will be judged by top industry insiders, and winners will be selected to write an installment of the co-branded mtvU and Billboard “Student Eye” column, a new feature debuting in the March 2006 issue of Billboard. Tamara Conniff, co-executive editor of Billboard magazine, and Christina Norman, President of MTV Networks, are two of the high-profile judges confirmed to participate in the Student Voice contest. Additional judges are to be announced.

“We’re looking forward to offering some of today’s most promising college writers a presence in Billboard and on the newly re-launched Billboard.com, as well as serving as “virtual mentors,” helping the students to further hone their music journalism skills,” said Conniff. “The Student Eye column will be a wonderful complement to the host of new features we’re offering music fans.”

“mtvU was designed as a platform where college students can have their talents and accomplishments recognized on a national level, and we’re excited to extend that platform all the way into one of the world’s premiere music publications,” said Stephen Friedman, GM, mtvU. “College students are prophesying the future of music today, and through this partnership with Billboard, we’ll be able to help unearth and cultivate some of tomorrow’s top music writers.”

To enter the Student Voice Contest, visit Billboard.com or mtvU.com. In addition to being published on mtvU.com and Billboard.com, finalists will also receive a one-year subscription to Billboard magazine. Submissions will be accepted through January 30, 2006 and finalists will be alerted by February 11th.

About Billboard:

Now in its 111th year, Billboard is the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events and brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends. Billboard is the flagship property for the Billboard Information Group, which also consists of Billboard.biz, Billboard.com, Billboard Chart Alert, Billboard Information Network (BIN), Billboard Directories, Billboard Books, Billboard Licensing & Events and Billboard Radio Monitor. Billboard’s many strategic partners include Fox-TV, Microsoft, mForma, Reuters, Sirius Satellite Radio, Telemundo, Univision Radio, ABC Radio Networks, Azteca America and Billboard sister companies Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. These partnerships leverage Billboard’s proprietary data, charts and information resources to develop broadcast entertainment, digital and mobile platforms and contextual commerce applications that expand Billboard’s franchise and consumer reach.

About mtvU

Broadcasting to over 730 colleges across the country, with a combined enrollment of over 6.8 million, mtvU is the largest, most comprehensive television network just for college students. 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, mtvU can be seen in the dining areas, fitness centers, student lounges and dorm rooms of campuses throughout the U.S. mtvU is dedicated to every aspect of college life, reaching students everywhere they hang out, through a three pronged approach -- on-air, online and on campus. mtvU focuses on content including music programming, news, student life features, events, pro-social initiatives and more. For more information about mtvU, and for a complete programming schedule, visit www.mtvu.com.

mtvU Über makes mtvU the first MTV Networks channel distributed in its entirety via broadband, streaming 24/7 and on demand, featuring all of mtvU plus exclusive new music, original shows and student-produced programming for college students and music fans everywhere. mtvU and mtvU Über are part of the Viacom International Inc. family which also owns the MTV Networks programming services MTV, MTV2, VH1, Nickelodeon / Nick at Nite, TV Land, Spike TV, CMT and others.

# # #

For further information, please contact:

Billboard
Mary Ann Kim
646-654-4644
mkim@billboard.com mtvU
Jason Rzepka
212-654-9198
jason.rzepka@mtvstaff.com
MTV/ MTV2/ mtvU
Ariana Urbont
310-752-8079
Ariana.urbont@mtvstaff.com


The Race Museum Looking To Commission Five New Works of Art

The Race Museum is going on tour in Spring 2006

We'd like you to be a part.

Do you believe that race is a social construction that gives white people power and control in our society and preferences white cultural values and norms over all others?

Are you an artist experienced with interactive art that involves the viewer as a participant or even co-creator?

The Race Museum is commissioning 5 new works to become part of its permanent collection and would like you to submit a detailed proposal by December 15th.

Successful submissions will confront the concept of white supremacy, its stories of creation, its links with other oppressions and/or tell stories of resistance to white supremacy. Symbols of “diversity,” e.g. black and white shaking hands, will not be considered.

COMMISSION AWARD: Five artists will be awarded $1000 for each piece paid on receipt of the artwork.

EXHIBITION: As a traveling show, The Race Museum will visit Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and St. Louis in the spring of 2006. Each show will take place over a weekend and accompanied by speakers and workshops that explore issues of race and oppression in our society. The goal of the traveling show is to bring greater awareness to the presence and power of white supremacy in our culture, its intricacies and nuances and how to confront it.

ELIGIBILITY: The exhibition is open to all artists, national and international, working in all media.

All works MUST have some form of audience participation. Paintings/photographs, by themselves, are NOT eligible.
•
All proposals must be received by December 15th, 2005
•
All works should fit within a 10’ x 10’ space (including the room needed for the audience to interact with it) and should be no smaller than 2’ x 2’
•
Proposals will include a sketch (or image) of the proposed installation and a detailed summary explaining the impact, effect and intention of the work.

IMAGE PRESENTATION: Digital files (TIF or JPEG no larger than 15MB) submitted on a CD are the preferred format, but 35mm slides will also be accepted. Include a reference sheet with the title, media and dimensions of the work. Each CD or slide must be numbered and labeled with the artist’s name.

RETURN OF MERCHANDISE: A Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) must be included with sufficient postage for the return of the materials. Proposals without a properly stamped SASE will not be returned. Do not send original artwork.

NOTIFICATION: Artists will be notified of acceptance or non-acceptance no later than January 15th, 2006. Notification will be made by mail or email, whatever is the preference of the artist. Finished works must be received by March 20th. All awards will be granted on receipt of artwork, except in certain cases.

ENTRY FEE: There is no entry fee. Many people will enter as a result, so please make sure you understand our guidelines.

In lieu of an entry fee each proposal must include a summary of the work that answers the following questions.
1 How does this work explore a story of race/white supremacy or a story of resistance to white supremacy
2 How is the work interactive? How does the viewer become a participant with the art and the experience?
3 What is the intention of the work? How does it help people have an encounter with their identities?

The summary should be no less than one page and no more than three pages. Proposals without a summary will not be eligible.

DEADLINE: The final postmarked deadline is December 15th, 2005.

ADDRESS AND CONTACT INFORMATION: Please send all proposals to:

Ian White Maher
PO Box 7578
JAF Station
New York, NY 10116
Inquiries and questions can be sent to info@racemuseum.org


Getting Our Youth to Read: New Anthology and Essay Contest

***New Young Adult Anthology and Essay Contest Designed to Get Our Youth to Read***

Open the Unusual Door: True Life Stories of Adventure, Challenge, and Success by Black Americans
Edited and with an introduction by Barbara Summers
Graphia/Houghton Mifflin, November 28, 2005
Young Adult (13+) Grade Range: Grades 7+
www.opentheunusualdoor.com

An inspiring collection of autobiographical essays that teaches us how to recognize the right door, open it, and find the strength to walk through it.

Derek Jeter * Queen Latifah * Susan Fales-Hill * Colin Powell * Sister Souljah * bell hooks
Dexter Scott King * Antwone Fisher * Lynne Duke * Whoopi Goldberg * Neil de Grasse Tyson
E. Lynn Harris * Michael Cottman * Peter Westbrook * Russell Simmons * Chamique Holdsclaw

For more information, or to schedule an interview or appearance, please contact Felicia Pride, 917.453.0826 or Contact_info@opentheunusualdoor.com.

Early in his career, baseball great, Derek Jeter questioned if he had what it took to become a major sports figure. Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State, was a C-average student raised by Jamaican immigrant parents in the Bronx. Lynne Duke, a former Johannesburg bureau chief for The Washington Post, risked her life to detail the horrors of war in the Congo. At a peak in her career, Queen Latifah, rapper, actress, and spokesperson, had to learn how to deal with grief after the loss of her brother. Yet each and every one of these high achievers was able to take advantage of the hand they were dealt to continue on a path towards success.

Barbara Summers, educator, former Ford model, and author of Black and Beautiful: How Women of Color Changed the Fashion Industry, culled sixteen autobiographical essays from a diverse group of African Americans—some famous and others perhaps less well known but equally well respected in their fields—and collected them in this inspirational and thought-provoking anthology that demonstrates how to recognize the many faces of opportunity.

Perfectly sized and packaged for young adults, Open the Unusual Door is a wonderful representation of how others, just like them, turned chance into triumph, made a comeback, or in some cases, learned how to survive. From reading these true life stories, teens will find the power within to recognize that when one door closes, another one opens.

OPEN THE UNUSUAL DOOR ESSAY CONTEST
To harvest literary excitement among teens and emphasize the vital connection between reading and writing, author and educator Barbara Summers, in association with Graphia, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin, is sponsoring the Open the Unusual Door Essay Contest. “Nothing is more fascinating than true life stories”, says Barbara Summers, “what's yours?”

A first, second and third prize of $500, $300, and $200, respectively, will be awarded to the most compelling and best written essays by young people, ages 13 to 18.

Guidelines:
The contest is open to teens ages 13-18. Entrants should read Open the Unusual Door: True Life Stories of Challenge, Adventure, and Success by Black Americans edited by Barbara Summers, to help inform their essay. Entrants should respond to one of the following questions:

1) What essay in Open the Unusual Door interested you the most, and why?

2) How has someone you know opened the unusual door of challenge, adventure or success?

Entries must be typed, double-spaced and a maximum of 750 words. Entries must include the entrant’s name, age, grade, mailing address, telephone number, and email address (if applicable). Entries will not be returned. Mail entries to:

Open the Unusual Door Essay Contest
Park West Station
PO BOX 21044
New York, NY 10025

Deadline:
Entries must be postmarked no later than March 15, 2006. The final winners will be selected by Barbara Summers. The winners will be announced in May 2006.

Open the Unusual Door: True Life Stories of Challenge, Adventure, and Success by Black Americans
ISBN: 0618585311
$7.99 Pb 224 pages 5 x 7
Age Range: Young Adult (13+) Grade Range: Grades 7+
Discounts available for bulk purchases, nonprofits and organizations.


TV Chef Needed

The producers of The National Body Challenge, a Discovery Health
Channel program, are looking for a chef who specializes in healthy
Cajun and Southern cuisine who would also be willing to give one or
more on-camera cooking lessons to a particular family from Southern
California. The National Body Challenge is a nationwide program to
teach Americans to eat more healthily and exercise more.

The challenge will kick off on January 15 & 16, 2006 with a 4-hour
special that follows families as they try to transform their lives and lose
weight. On a weekly basis, cameras will document the journey of
selected families as they learn a new & healthy lifestyle.

Info:
Melissa Tallerine
LMNO Productions
15821 Ventura Blvd., Suite 320
Encino, CA 91436
818-382-4313

IN NEED OF HIPHOP FILMS & MUSIC VIDEOS:
Creative Circle Entertainment announces the 2nd Atlanta HipHop Film Festival taking place April 28-30, 2006. The three-day festival grants awards to films influenced by HipHop culture as well as prominent HipHop musicians who have transitioned from music to film. Creative Circle Entertainment welcomes filmmakers from the U.S. and abroad to submit their work for consideration. Last year, the festival had notables: Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, Jason Weaver, Lazy Bone, ReignDrop, Lil Scrappy, Rasheeda, Xstacy of Whodini, Atlanta Falcon’s TJ Duckett, Ralph Farquhar, Jessica Care Moore, to Dylon formerly of Da Band who participated, in addition to seeing award recipients, Ludacris and Mos Def recorded acceptance speeches and a very special live performance of BONE Crusher. Currently accepting all Feature Films, Short Films, Documentaries and Music Videos that celebrate HipHop culture via plot, music and/or characters. Awards will be presented for Best HipHop Feature, Best HipHop Short, Best HipHop Documentary, Best Music Video, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Score, Best HipHop Throwback and Best HipHop Futuristic. Winners will receive an award and gift bag of prizes courtesy of the festival's sponsors. Visit www.AtlHipHopFilmFest.com to download a Film Submission Form. All entries should be mailed to Creative Circle Entertainment, 8200 Mall Parkway Ste. 135-227, Lithonia, GA. 30058. Entries can be submitted prior to December 9, 2005 for an early entry fee of $15. Entries submitted after December 9, 2005 will be a submission fee of $25 up until the deadline of January 13, 2006.