Why You Should Submit to the Slippery Elm Literary Journal

The Slippery Elm Literary Journal is committed to promoting the best fiction, poetry, and multi-media being created today. Literary and artistic merit is the sole criterion for all work included.

Click here for ten reasons why you should submit your best work to this journal.

Submissions are open until February 1st.

The Good Sex In Fiction Award

Each Year Britian's Literary Review comes out with their annual Bad Sex in Fiction award. I think that's a little snobbish, poking fun at those of us who try to spice up our novels and fail. Now Salon Magazine has come up with a counter award and announced their Good Sex Awards.

Says Salon, "Writing well about sex -- one of life's most delightful and important activities -- is difficult, so instead of sneering and sniggering at the authors who get it wrong, why not celebrate the ones who succeed?"

They whittled their list of nominations down to eight. Click the link above to see them and read the excerpt from the winner, NEXT.

And then you might have to get up and walk around, or something. I love well-written sex.

I had planned to post this for Valentine's Day but had connection issues, and some of you may already have seen this in Salon, but I thought I'd go ahead anyway, because writing about sex is the hardest thing to do, yet if done well, is the most rewarding and, more importantly, readers like it.

I have my own nomination.

The sex scene at the end of THE VOYAGE by Philip Caputo is my winner. Do you have one?

Plugs and Bloopers, Dancing with Myself

Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts. - Jim Morrison


Because I've been accused of being self-deprecating, I'll throw modesty to the wind and tell you I have a short piece up at the Bloody Bridge Review. I'm pretty happy to share the company of the writers they've featured thus far.

While at it, I'd like to plug LBJ, a literary journal from the University of Nevada that encourages environmental literature. They're currently considering poems, fiction and creative nonfiction on an avian theme for upcoming issues.

Another one of my favorites is the New Ohio Review Follow the link for Stephen Dunn's A Discreet Charm and you won't be sorry.

let’s drink to an evening as solemn
as Eugene Debs demanding fair wages—
his smile the bent arrow only the best men
can point at themselves.

Their reading period is September through May and they're running an awesome contest.

Inspired by Monkeybicycle, I've been experimenting with the one-sentence story. For every one I write, I throw one away.

While the teacher was at the beer garden they tied her in her chair and when he returned smelling of his lunch, she was punished for being lazy.

Should I throw it away? Should I write of funny things or of what the full moon suggested to me? Should I write of his flat stomach or her naked back, bent by disease for which there is no cure? What would your rather read about?

I have a suggested lyric for the albino Muslim rapper:
no . . . I don't
. . . changed my mind

I'm taking President's Day off to write and I'm not telling anyone. A day for writing, browsing my blogger friends and literary journals, corn chowder, music and dancing with myself.