Finding the Bacon: Market Listings

Sable Jak, Editor

It's in the Cards

Well, I'm very, very sorry. I had hoped to bring to you good folk a bunch of new card and logo companies just salivating for your witticisms. I queried over 60 (count 'em -- SIXTY) card and logo companies. Over half of them never answered me (tsk tsk) and the majority of them said, "No thanks, we do our writing in-house." Bummer. However, a few of them did state that if their in-house situation changed, they'd get back to me so that's good news.

The following are the good folk who want to hear from you:

COLORS by Design
Angie Novak, Vice President
7723 Densmore Ave.
Van Nuys, CA 91406 USA
Ph: 818-376-1226
Ph: 800-832-8436
Fx: 818-376-1669
Tollfree Fax: 800-824-2530
http://www.cbdcards.com (note: this is more for their retailers and sales reps, but gives you a good idea what they look like.)
E-Queries: Yes. Send submissions (please include self-addressed stamped envelope) or email to the attention of: Card Copy
Contact: Angie
Email: angie@colorsbydesign.com 
Writer's guidelines online: Not found
Pays: Pays $15 to $25 for chosen copy. We prefer to receive copy on 3 x 5 cards with your name, address, phone number/email on every card. Royalty and licensing agreements on "card-lines" are handled differently.
Illustrations: From the company's email: If you do illustration, please do not send originals. Black and white copies, color copies are acceptable.
Rights: They do not require exclusivity.
Description: Simple, heart-felt messages.
Needs: Currently looking for Friendship, General Encouragement, Anniversary and Birthday, also all Holiday sentiments. Love, sympathy, get well and "let's get together" messages are all welcome.
Examples
Birthday: It takes more than one day to let you know how wonderful you are, so I'm wishing you a lifetime of birthday wishes.
Wedding: Wishing you all the happiness your heart can hold.
General: Wishing you a year filled with reasons to celebrate.

James Lawrence Co. Ltd.
P. O. Box 188
Hudson, WI 54016 USA
Ph: 715-386-3082
Ph: 800-546-3699
Fx: 715-386-3699
Tollfree Fax: 800-875-7578
http://www.jameslawrencecompany.com/jlc.html 
Please note: Their site is still somewhat under construction
E-Queries: Prefer fax at this time.
Contact: Roxanne Rapp, Product Designer
Email: bbloom@spacestar.net 
Writer's guidelines online: Not at this time.
Pays: Pays on acceptance/publication.
Description: Inspirational plaques.
Needs: Anniversary, weddings, Mom, Dad and unique verses such as for nurse, care-giver, pastor, etc.
Editor's Note: I had a delightful talk with Roxanne one day. James Lawrence Co. is not looking for kitschy types of verses, but meaningful words that spring from your heart. There are also products that are religion based.

Okay, first the bad news for our next card company: Avanti Press emailed me the following: "We often receive requests for writing guidelines and submission information. At the current time we have a full roster of verse contributors.
Now the good news: However, there are occasional openings. To be considered, here's what we recommend:"
1. If you are already familiar with the Avanti Greeting Card line and/or 4U Greeting Cards, please forward samples (copies only/ non-returnable) of your writing to:
Betsy Cox, Branch Manager
Avanti Press
6 West 18th St.
New York, NY 10011 USA

2. If you are not familiar with our products, you may call 1-800-226-2684. An Avanti customer service representative will provide you with the nearest Avanti retailer to help you become better acquainted with the type of writing we require."

Sable's note: New York address is for the Creative Staff so that's where they want you to send your creative work. The Michigan address below is headquarters.
(Michigan address and phone #)
155 W. Congress, Suite 200
Detroit, MI 48226 USA
Ph: 313-961-0022
Fx: 313-961-6186
Tollfree Phone: 800-2-AVANTI
http://www.avantipress.com 
Note: My apologies that I was unable to get more information, however, I didn't want to let the possibility of contact go without passing it on to you.

Northern Cards
5694 Ambler Dr.
Mississauga, ONT L4W 2K9
Canada
Ph: 905-625-4944
Fx: 905-625-5995
Tollfree Phone: 877-627-7444
www.northerncards.com  
E-Queries: No. Please submit queries via fax or mail.
All other correspondence can be done via email to Bonnie Lemaire (Production and design) at blemaire@northerncards.com 
Pays: Between $50 and $75 for published submissions.
Description: Three lines of cards: "Northern" and "Caledon" cards have messages based on positive ideas. From the company "The most successful designs are those that are very general and versatile. For our 'Barks & Bites' line, the ideas tend to be a little more humorous, off the wall humor to negative humor is acceptable."
Needs: From the company: "We don't have a et of guidelines for writers since the technical specifications aren't as rigid as for artists, but the following list of categories that we are continually looking for new and fresh ideas for are: Special events like: Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, and Father's Day. Year Round Events like: Birthday, Someone Special, Thinking of You, Thank You, Anniversary, Wedding, New Baby, Friendship, Shower and Graduation.

CardMakers.com
P.O. Box 236
High Bridge Rd.
Lyme, NH 03768-0236 USA
Ph: 603-795-4422
Fx: 603-795-4222
http://www.cardmakers.com 
E-Queries: No. Snail Mail only.
Contact: Peter Diebold
Email: No.
Writer's guidelines online: No. But Artist's Guidelines can be found at: http://www.cardmakers.com/cardmakers/guidelinesb.shtml (you'll find excellent information there. It's worth reading for the writer too.)
Pays: $50-100 per verse.
Description: Mostly holiday cards.
Needs: From Peter Diebold: "We do accept writer's ideas for cards. We are deluged with aspiring writers. We have limited facilities to respond quickly so do not expect a prompt response, particularly in the last quarter of the year. Mail only. Please no calls, e-mail or fax.
Sable's note: The following was at the end of the artist's guidelines on the website. I think you'll find it of interest: "Note: The most impressive presentation we've seen (for an opener) was a letter with two 'postal' style cards enclosed. One card illustrated a sample of the artist's work in color together with contact information. The other was a return card (with postage) listing a series of options to check off if interested, uninterested etc. Easy to put together, easy to evaluate and easy to respond."

For those of you looking for additional card companies that may, or may not, take freelance work, check out the following: http://www.greetingcard.org/ 
This is the website for the Greeting Card Association, established in 1941. Their link: http://www.greetingcard.org/gca/linksPublishers.htm contains page after page of greeting card companies. As a matter of fact, I printed out the links and got 20 pages of card company leads. Wow.

And now, for something different:

I usually give you six listings, but I'm only giving you five. Why? Because, if you go to http://www.greetingcard.org/ and start querying all those companies listed you're going to run into a lot of the ones that told me they don't take submissions. So instead of giving you a sixth company I'm going to save you some time and list all the companies on the list that said, "thanks, but no thanks." I hope you find this helpful. (Please note that because my queries went out soon after September 11 I refrained from emailing companies in New York.)

The following companies didn't answer:
Alef Judaica, Inc., Culver City, CA.
American Artists Group, Inc., Athens, GA
Ancient Images Greeting Cards, Moab, UT
Angel Canyon Enterprises, Kanab, UT
Anna Griffin, Inc., Atlanta, GA
Arts & Flowers, Belmont, CA
Bear Eloquence, Santa Rosa, CA
Beverly's Studio, S. Dartmouth, MA
Birchcraft Studios, Inc., Rockland, MA
Charnette Messe Embracing Life, Groton, CT
Closerie Publishing, Los Angeles, CA
Continental Cards, Inc., Sioux Falls, SD
Courage Cards & Gifts, Golden Valley, MN
DaySpring Cards, Inc. Siloam Springs, AR
Editions Mer et Monde, Bonaventure, PQ Canada
Family Cards USA, Portland, ME
Four Seasons Greetings/TV Allen Co., Darien, IL
Goodge Street Press, Peoria, IL
Heart-Felt Greetings II, Inc., Fairview, TN
Horsethings.com, Inc., Lee's Summit, MO
La Vie en Rose Studio, Inc., Santa Rosa, CA
Masterpiece Studios (Taylor Corporation), North Mankato, MN
Nouvelles Images, Inc., Danbury, CT
The Paperdoll Company, Encino, CA
Paperpotamus Paper Products, Inc., Point Roberts, WA
Paper Prince (formerly Coloriginals, Inc.), Minneapolis, MN
Paramount Cards, Inc., Providence, RI
Rachael A. Peden Originals, Farnham, VA
Rare Mediums - Well done, St. Louis, MO
Red Farm Studio Company, Pawtucket, RI
Renaissance Greeting Cards, Inc., Springvale, ME
Salamander Studios Chicago, Inc., Oak Park, IL
Sole Source, Inc., Bend, OR
Stroke Of The Heart, Inc., Excelsior MN
Tagline Greetings, Tustin, CA
U.S. Allegiance, Inc., Bend, OR
Victorina Cards, Westmount PQ, Canada
ZPR International Inc., Art & Design Fine Greetings, Beachwood, OH

These emails were returned to me undeliverable:
(I didn't follow up with a phone call so they're up for grabs)
Direct Marketing Connections/getacard.com, Los Angeles, CA
Heart & Soul, Inc., Maitland, FL
InterArt & Sunrise Greetings, Bloomington, IN
Marcel Schurman Company, Inc. Fairfield, CA (Okay, so I had to try them, I love their cards)
The Paper Magic Group, Inc., Scranton, PA
Write Expressions, Encinitas, CA

These companies said no:
The Art Group, USA (both London & US/blank cards)
Bayview Press, Thomaston, ME (blank cards)
Blue Turtle Studio, Christiana, TN
Bow wow cards, Fort Worth, TX (one woman show)
Day*star, Cambridge, MA (blank cards)
EthnoGraphics, Santa Barbara, CA
Gina B. Designs, Inc., Plymouth, MN
Hannah Handmade Cards, Evanston, IL
Hantis Ideas/Black Pop Greeting Cards, Chicago, IL (not accepting submissions AT THIS TIME… so maybe you can check them out later)
Kinka, Madison, CT
Krause Design, Inc., Dorchester, MA
LPG Greetings, Inc., Gurnee, IL
Palm Press, Inc., Berkeley, CA (has an over-abundance of submissions)
Pika Works, Underhill, VT (one person operation)
Posty Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO
Socially Yours, LLC, Bakersfield, CA (do not accept submissions, but will keep us on file for future reference)

Well, Gang. There it is, the yeas, the nays and the mays. Hope it's all of some help to you. Don't forget, I had a twenty-page list, so there are quite a few companies I didn't query. In the words of Basil Cathbone, our new four-month-old kitten: "If they don't pay attention to you the first time you howl, keep howling, eventually they'll pick you up."

Sable

-- SJ
©2001 Sable Jak

Sable Jak is a freelance writer with a special love for radio drama and screenwriting. She writes for Absolute Write www.absolutewrite.com  and Script Magazine's ezine www.scriptmag.com, is a charter member of The Screenplayers www.screenplayers.net/screenplayersnet.html and has a mystery radio series, "A Phil Byrnes Mystery," on www.virtuallyamerican.com.  She's also an avid crafter. Sable lives in Seattle with her actor-husband and their kitties. In the language of her ancestors her name "Sable" means "sword." She feels it's an appropriate name for a writer and her mighty pen.

Writing Contests & Calls for Entries

Moira Richards, Editor

I live on the Southern-most edge of Africa, and even this remote part of the world (nothing but seawater between me and the Antarctic :-) has been affected by the events of Black Tuesday. One of the thousands of people who died that day in the WTC was a young South African man whose body was flown home earlier this month, to be buried by his family.

So, this month I've looked for contests that call for writing that might lift the spirit, cheer the heart or soothe the soul. Even if you don't make the prizes, you'll be the winner if you can create one of these essays. Cheers, Moira.

THE ANNUAL, OPEN SOUL-MAKING LITERARY PRIZE COMPETITION
Sponsored by the National League of Pen Women

Soul-making can occur from the smallest, most ordinary experience to the most exalted or miraculous and can be present in times of hope or joy as well as times of confusion, despair or even anger.

From scrubbing floors to defining the divine, we are all interconnected in our shared existence of soul-making.

Stretch and expand the theme. Explore and interpret the range of possibilities soul-making can come to mean. Bring the reader with you on your path or your search. Interpret! Manifest! Create!

The annual, open Soul-Making Literary Competition is open to everyone, everywhere, and is one of the few contests that accept previously published works.

One essay or creative non-fiction per entry up to 3,000 words typed, double spaced.

Previously published works okay; however, those winning awards in prior Soul-Making categories may not be resubmitted.

PRIZE: $100, $50, $25
ENTRY FEE: $5
DEADLINE: November 30, annually
URL: http://welcome.to/SoulMakingContest 

PERSONAL ESSAYS ON WRITING CHALLENGES AND TRIUMPHS

Chronicle is back, and exclusively online!
Submit your personal essays on writing challenges and triumphs!

Past Winners on site

The Rules: Send entries to wdchronicle@fwpubs.com with Chronicle as the subject line. No faxed or snail mail entries, please. Entries should be personal essays focusing on writing challenges and triumphs. Entries must be no more than 500 words, including title and by-line. The essays may not have appeared elsewhere in print or online.

PRIZE: $100 and publication
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: 25th of each month
URL: http://www.writersdigest.com/catalog/contest_frame.html

THE BULWER-LYTTON FICTION CONTEST

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."
--Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)

Since 1982 the English Department at San Jose State University has sponsored the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, a whimsical literary competition that challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels.
The rules to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest are childishly simple:
· Sentences may be of any length (though you go beyond 50 or 60 words at your peril), and entrants may submit more than one, but all entries must be original and previously unpublished.
· Entries should be submitted on index cards, the sentence on one side and the entrant's name, address, and phone number on the other.
· Entries will be judged by categories, from "general" to detective, western, science fiction, romance, and so on. There will be overall winners as well as category winners.

PRIZE: Publication on website
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: April 15 each year
URL: http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/

THE MONA SCHREIBER PRIZE FOR HUMOROUS FICTION AND NON-FICTION

Writers of comedic essays, articles, short stories, poetry, shopping lists and other forms are invited to submit works up to 750 words in length.

Entries must be unpublished. Humor is subjective. Uniqueness is suggested. Weirdness is encouraged.
Previous winning submissions can be found here: www.troikamagizine.com. Click on COMPETITIONS.

PRIZE: 1st: $500. 2nd: $250. 3rd: $100
ENTRY FEE: $5
DEADLINE: December 1, each year
URL: http://home.pcmagic.net/brashcyber/

PAUL GILLETTE MEMORIAL WRITING CONTEST

The Pikes Peak Writers Conference is pleased to sponsor the tenth annual contest for unpublished writers. Among the objectives are:
To provide aspiring authors an opportunity to gain feedback from experienced writers.
To provide experience in preparing a submission. (see contest submission advice)
To encourage aspiring authors to focus on producing a marketable project.
To provide an opportunity for recognition for unpublished writers who have honed their storytelling skills to the publishable or near-publishable level.
To provide the unpublished writer a goal and a deadline, thereby encouraging him/her to write, write, write.

CONTEST CATEGORIES
The 2002 contest is open in nine categories of novel-length fiction, book-length creative non-fiction and in movie screenplays. Note the novel-length stipulation. NOT short stories. Categories are:
Mystery-Suspense-Intrigue
Contemporary Romance
Young Adult (written for ages 12-18)
Science Fiction-Fantasy
Creative Nonfiction (can include book-length memoirs, a compilation of articles or essays)
Historical Romance
Children's (written for ages 8-12; NOT written BY children)
Historical-Western (can include book-length westerns, medieval times, the American Revolution, etc.)
Mainstream
Screenplay
NOTE on SELECTING a CATEGORY: Remember, the purpose of the contest is to give you an opportunity to prepare a manuscript and to focus on producing a marketable product. If you don't know what type of story you have written, then you need to really consider the marketing aspect of your story. Decide who your reader is--who would buy your story? Where would they go in a bookstore to find your book? The categories above reflect publishing genres. A suspense/intrigue reader wants the story to contain an overall element of suspense. A mystery reader wants to see a puzzle and join the protagonist in the hunt for the answer. If you don't recognize one of the genre/marketing channel elements strongly in your story, then enter the Mainstream category. Mainstream is a catch-all channel for stories that don't fit in a specific genre. They appeal to (and are written for) a wide range of readers, exploring themes and situations of broad interest, tending to focus on character and even the writing itself. For example, Anne Tyler's The Accidental Tourist is considered mainstream fiction.

NOTE on SYNOPSIS: This is a CRITICAL piece of your contest entry. The first twenty pages of your manuscript show the judges how well you write, prepare a manuscript, use dialogue, handle point of view, set a hook, communicate mood, etc., but much of the judging criteria is based on information found only in the synopsis--how well you build conflict and handle the resolution; if you hit your market (or even know your market); the development and motivation of antagonist , protagonist and secondary characters; story structure; research; scene progression... Many well-written and promising stories never place because the synopsis was treated lightly and/or poorly done.

PRIZE: 1st: $100. 2nd: $50. 3rd: $25 in each category
ENTRY FEE: $20
DEADLINE: January 7, 2002
URL: http://www.ppwc.net/contest.html

INSTANT MUSE POETRY GENERATOR CONTEST AND
INSTANT MUSE STORY STARTER CONTEST

The Art of Writing Webzine offers quarterly CONTESTS for poets and short story writers. Both contests require that some elements of the writing submitted are based on prompts generated by AoW's Instant Muse Poetry Generator or Story Starter utilities. These utilities have been developed to help beginning writers or writers confronted by "blocks"; the method behind them is generally referred to as random input: the process of using random (rather than preconceived) words and ideas to spark creativity.
I hope you enjoy experimenting with the Instant Muses. I'm looking forward to reading your submissions, and would certainly appreciate your including some description of how you developed your poem or story from the Instant Muse prompts.

Instant Muse Poetry Generator Contest
Use the AoW's Instant Muse Poetry Generator to develop a poem, then submit it by e-mail to the Art of Writing. There are no restrictions on length or style.
· It's not necessary to keep the original line produced by the generator, but the line you begin from SHOULD BE INCLUDED with your submission, and your poem should include at least one word from the original line.

Instant Muse Story Starter Contest
Same idea as the poetry contest: use the Instant Muse Story Starter to launch a short story, then submit it by e-mail to the contest. Rules/guidelines are as follows:
· Stories should be no longer than 6000 words, no shorter than 1000 words.
· AT LEAST ONE ELEMENT OF THE STORY SHOULD BE BASED ON A PROMPT PRODUCED BY THE STORY STARTER. The more "given" elements used, however, the better. Just be sure the inclusion of these Story Starter prompts isn't contrived--the trick is to combine them in a credible, yet dynamic way.

PRIZE: Publication in The Art of Writing Webzine
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: Quarterly
URL: http://www.webcom.com/wordings/artofwrite/contests.html

INTRODUCING THE VERY FIRST BRAIN, CHILD ESSAY CONTEST!

Engage in competitive mothering! No? How about competitive writing?

The Subject: How Big Is Your Brood?

When it comes to having kids, what's the magic number? Happy with your little Hans Solo? Yearning for your own pack of Osmonds? What does "family-sized" mean to you? We're not looking for the "right" answer (we know there isn't one)--just some great writing on the subject. Some issues you might address: the difference between the size of the family you came from and the one you're in charge of, cultural expectations of how many kids women should have, the temperament it takes to have a certain number. Or take another angle entirely--just tell us your tale!

All essays must be on the subject above, must be between 800 and 2500 words, and must be accompanied by an entry form and entry fee.

PRIZE: $500, $125, $75, publication and a copy of the Spring 2002 issue
ENTRY FEE: $7
DEADLINE: December 31, 2001
URL: http://www.brainchildmag.com/essaycontest.htm

SERPENTINE 5TH ANNUAL WRITING CONTEST

Serpentine is currently running a contest to find and publish the best short stories of 2000. The prizes are awarded as follows:

Judging will be overseen by Robert Burdette Sweet, editor of Serpentine and Professor Emeritus of English at California State University in San Jose. Stories will be judged in accordance with the creative writing guidelines expressed in his book entitled Writing Towards Wisdom: The Writer as Shaman. (Excerpt on site)

Please visit our special issue to read the winning stories from the 2000, 1999, 1998 and 1997 Short Story Contests to learn more about the authors at http://www.serpentinia.com.

PRIZE: $1000, $200, $100 and publication
ENTRY FEE: $18
DEADLINE: December 31, 2001
URL: http://www.serpentinia.com/I

CELANDIC HORSE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE'S FICTION WRITING CONTEST

It was a dark and stormy night, the wind howled and so did the wolves, the moon was, you know, kind of round and white and eerie...

Oh, come on, you can do better than that!

Iceland is a land whose rich heritage and traditions revolve around the art of storytelling. We encourage everyone to enter and share their stories with us and other Icelandic Horse enthusiasts.

Stories must be limited to 1,000 words (or less).

Stories may be non-fiction or fiction. However, the Icelandic Horse & Travel Magazine will not knowingly publish stories that may be harmful to real individuals. Therefore, all stories will be considered purely fictional.

We look forward to receiving your imaginative stories and wish you the best of luck.

PRIZE: T-shirt and publication
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: Ongoing
URL: http://www.icelandichorseandtravel.com/fictioncontest.htm

THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAW FOUNDATION PRESENTS
THE CELEBRATE AMERICA CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST

A national contest for fifth grade students to tell the country and the world that they are proud America is a Nation of Immigrants

The American Immigration Law Foundation is proud to sponsor the "Celebrate America" Creative Writing Contest in an ongoing effort to educate the public about the benefits of immigration to our society.
Aimed at fifth grade students, this Contest encourages our youth, their families and their surrounding communities to evaluate and appreciate the effects of immigration on their own lives. This, in turn, allows them to see that America is truly a Nation of immigrants.
Students first compete in Contests arranged by local Chapters of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. The winning entry from each Chapter Contest is then submitted to the National competition where entries are reviewed by a distinguished panel of judges including U.S. Senators and national journalists.

Theme: "Why I Am Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants"
Entrants: 5th graders (must show proof of enrollment)
Judging Criteria: Theme, presentation, creativity and message
Format: Any written piece (essay, poem, story, interview, etc.) that reflects the theme
Length: No longer than 250 words

PRIZE: Publication
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: Annual
URL: http://www.ailf.org/essay/overview.htm

NEXT STEP MAGAZINE TEEN WRITING CONTEST

We want to hear from you! The Next Step Magazine is seeking first person accounts from teenagers about subjects like peer pressure, politics, friends, world events, culture, dating or other relevant topics. We encourage you to be creative and create your own topic!
Many selections will be placed on this Web site under "Teen Editorial".

PRIZE: $100 and publication
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: Ongoing
URL: http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/Submissions/writing_contest.html

DOMESTIC WHIMSY

The anthology will be a collection of light hearted verse and essays, centred around domestic themes, designed to appeal to female readers.

Your essays should be around 650 to 750 words.
Poems may be any length, but remember, it's very hard to be funny for an extended length, so shorter works are likely to be more successful. There is likely to be a greater need for essays for this collection than for poems, since I will be going back to the two anthologies produced for our annual poetry awards and selecting some of the poems from these publications to be included in the collection.

This is also an opportunity for you to look back over previously published work. Provided you still own the copyright, there is no reason that you cannot submit it for consideration.

As a general guideline, if you can make me smile, that's great. If I grin, it's even better. If I laugh out loud, I'm really going to be happy with your work.

If you would like to check out one of our previous projects, go to our site

PRIZE: Publication and share in royalties
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: December 31, 2001
URL: http://www.arrowbooksales.com 

Moira Richards has spent the last couple of decades working as an accountant and doing a little writing. Her next few decades will be devoted to reversing this imbalance. Contact Moira at mr@intekom.co.za.
Websites: 
Suite 101 Contributing Editor -- Women Abuse
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/women_abuse
Contributing Writer for WomenWriters.net
http://www.womenwriters.net/bookreviews/