Affordable
Manuscript Assessments is looking for writers (illustrators also welcome) to take part in a book of short
stories and poems called The Crock of Charms.
Anyone interested may write
to mail AT affordablemanuscriptassessments DOT com to claim a charm. First in, first served, but some charms (i.e. tools and dinosaurs) come in multiple shapes so more than one can be issued.
PREMISE:
Three children
have found a china or earthernware crock in the attic of a house that is being renovated as
a boutique hotel. This is classic story-book land because it has to encompass
such a variety of styles and genres. Since the crock has no identifiable
owners, they open it. Inside is a hoard of metal charms.
Each of these charms has an associated story or poem,
which will be written by contributing authors. The charms come in a wide
variety of anything from butterflies to dinosaurs, elephants, hats, shoes, roses,
clocks and so on. I will send each contributor a charm, either via emailed
photo or by post, and the charm will inspire the story. A photo of the charm will appear as the header for each story.
The charm
can be used as itself (i.e. a dinosaur charm can BE a dinosaur charm) or for
what it represents (thus a dinosaur charm might become a living dinosaur, a
statue, a fossil, a toy etc etc).
Length – up to 1000 words.
Genre – open
Age level – there are three; (1) children
4-7, (2) children 8 – 11, (3) junior teen.
Tone - MUST be suitable for general exhibition.
Deadline – probably October 2013, to give time
to get the books printed before the end of the year.
Authors may sub a bio, including links if
they choose.
Authors keep the copyright for individual stories.
No payment will be made for stories.
Authors have the right (but not the
obligation) to buy as many copies of the anthology as they please at cost. They may then use
these for whatever they like, EXCEPT they may not photocopy stories by other
people. (Suggestions are - gifts, prizes, fund raisers, author CVs.)
Stories will be edited and the edited version will be the property of the author.
Whether or not this goes ahead depends on
whether enough people want to play. As of 28/05/13 it's looking very likely to go ahead. It’s not a money-making venture (although
anyone is welcome to resell copies they buy if they choose) but should make a
lovely gift book and will also showcase author talents. If you’d like to be
involved, let me know and I’ll add you to the list. Also, let me know which
kind of charm you’d like to claim. The choices below are easy to come by, but
if you have a specific subject let me know and I’ll see if I can source a
suitable charm.
Some of the charms are pictured here.
RED CHARMS ARE CLAIMED
BLUE CHARMS ARE STILL AVAILABLE
angel
anchor
ballerina/ dancer
bicycle
bird
butterfly
car
cat
pair of cats
steam punk clock
more steam punk clocks still available
crocodile
crown
dinosaur (two claimed)
more dinosaurs available
dolphin
dog
silver dragon
bronze dragon
dress
elephant
fairy
extra fairies available
fish
flower
frog
flower
frog
handbag
hat
heart
koala
key
ladybird
lantern
leaf
lizard
musical note
owl
parrot
peacock 1
peacock 2
pegasus
penguin
rabbit/hare
rocking horse
rose
ship
shoe
shell
snowflake
spinningwheel
star
horse
running horse
horseshoe
koala
key
ladybird
leaf
lizard
musical note
parrot
peacock 1
penguin
rabbit/hare
rocking horse
rose
ship
shoe
shell
snowflake
spinningwheel
star
teapot
teddy bear
teddy bear
tool (axe claimed) (extra ones available)
tortoise
windmill
windmill