Author: paraxenesmeres

Eyelands gr. & Strange Days Books announce deadline extension for the 5th international contest of Eyelands Book Awards

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES & DATES & DETAILS

Closing date: October 30, 2022 at midnight PST.

Submit your manuscript online to:  eyelandsmag@gmail.com 

Or/ strangedaysbooks@gmail.com

Online submissions only

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PRIZES & PUBLICITY

Section: Published books

Grand Prize: A five-day holiday in Athens plus a special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards and publication (excerpts) online on our website. Eyelands cover all accommodation costs for the award winner. Air tickets not included. The author must agree to participate in the EBA ceremony (which will be held in Athens) and the related publicity (interviews etc.). If for any reason the writer won’t be available to attend the ceremony the prize will be send via mail and EBA will invite the grand prize winner of the unpublished category.

Alternative prize (in case of travel restrictions): online ceremony & translation of the prize winner’s book in Greek

Grand prize (unpublished books): Translation into Greek and publication from Strange Days Books

There will be five finalists for each category.

Five more prizes, one for each category, also win a special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards

Certification document for every prize.

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Section: Unpublished books

Grand prize: Publication from Strange Days Books. Released via amazon.com (international release) & from Strange Days Books

Five more prizes, one in each category, also win a special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards

There will be five finalists for each category.

Certification document for every prize.

A book from Strange Days Books to every prize winner.

Online Certification document for every finalist upon demand

All prize winners

A special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards

Certification document for every prize.

A book –English edition- from Strange Days books

E-Book edition with excerpts of your prize-winning book under your permission and upon your selection (limit: 500 -700 words).

AWARD CATEGORIES (select one per entry application):

The following are eligible:

1/Full-length books of fiction (novels or novellas of any genre)

2/Collections of short stories by one author

3/Collected and selected poems

4/Historical fiction – Memoir

5/Children’s books – Graphic Novels      

Any text/book from 8.000 words is eligible

Any text/poetry collection (up to 250 pages) written by a single author is eligible

Any text/book written by two or more writers is also eligible. In this case, accommodation in Athens will be shared

EBA follows the CLMP Contest Code of Ethics.

Judges: P.H.C. Marchesi (children’s books/graphic novels), Alicia Hokanson (poetry) Andriana Minou (short stories) Djanco Wylie (novels) Gregory Papadoyiannis (historical fiction/memoir)

Entry fee: $30 (27 euros)

Free submission for every prize winner of previous Eyelands Book Awards.

Early bird submissions (20 euros) for the finalists of previous contests

Early bird submissions (20 euros) for every second submission

Early bird submissions (20 euros) for every text submitted via publishing house or university/college/authors club!!

PAYMENT

Pay via paypal – banner on our websites

Click the «buy now» button. Fill the description with: EBA

If you have any questions, please contact us at

eyelandsmag@gmail.com  [or]  strangedaysbooks@gmail.com

Eyelands Book Awards 2022

Eyelands gr. & Strange Days Books are glad to announce the

EYELANDS BOOK AWARDS 2022

Grand prize (published books): Five-day staying in Athens plus a special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards and publication (excerpts) online on our website. The ceremony will take place in Athens in May 2023. Alternative prize: (in case of travel restrictions): online ceremony & translation of the prize winner book in Greek

Grand prize (unpublished books): Translation into Greek and publication from Strange Days Books

Ten more prizes, one for each category of every section, also win a handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards and a book from Strange Days books!

Certification document for every prize.
Online Certification document for every finalist upon request
Final results are to be announced on December 30, 2022.

Judges: P.H.C. Marchesi (children’s books/graphic novels), Alicia Hokanson (poetry) Andriana Minou (short stories) Djanco Wylie (novels) Gregory Papadoyiannis (historical fiction/memoir)

Grand Awards Judges: P.H.C. Marchesi, Alicia Hokanson, Djanco Wylie

Entry fee: $30 (27 euros)

Early bird submissions: $ 22 (20 euros)

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES & DATES & DETAILS

Opening: June 20, 2022

NEW CLOSING DATE: OCTOBER 30, 2022

Submission fee $30.00 (27 euros)

Early bird submission $ 22 (20 euros) till September 1^st, 2022.

Eligible submissions include: poetry, novellas, short story collections, novels, children’s books, historical fiction/memoir, graphic novels.

Multiple submissions allowed.

Early bird submission fee for every additional submission

Simultaneous submissions allowed, but please notify us if full manuscript is accepted elsewhere. 

Finalists for every category to be announced on November 20, 2022

Final results are to be announced on Wednesday, December 30, 2022.

There are no restrictions regarding nationality

Participants must be 18 years old otherwise we need parents’ consent to accept the submission.

Manuscripts must be written in English.

There is no restriction about the form or style of writing. We prefer the pages to be numbered. Files should be uploaded as an MS Word document or PDF. Fill the entry form, copy and paste it in the body of your email.

Submit your manuscript online to:  eyelandsmag@gmail.com 

Or/ strangedaysbooks@gmail.com

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PRIZES & PUBLICITY

Section: Published books

Grand Prize: A five-day holiday in Athens plus a special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards and publication (excerpts) online on our website. Eyelands cover all accommodation costs for the award winner. Air tickets not included. The author must agree to participate in the EBA ceremony (which will be held in Athens) and the related publicity (interviews etc.). If for any reason the writer won’t be available to attend the ceremony the prize will be send via mail and EBA will invite the grand prize winner of the unpublished category. Alternative prize (in case of travel restrictions): online ceremony & translation of the prize winner’s book in Greek

Grand prize (unpublished books): Translation into Greek and publication from Strange Days Books

There will be five finalists for each category.

Five more prizes, one for each category, also win a special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards

Certification document for every prize.

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Section: Unpublished books

Grand prize: Translation into Greek and publication from Strange Days Books

Five more prizes, one in each category, also win a special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards

There will be five finalists for each category.

Certification document for every prize.

A book from Strange Days Books to every prize winner.

Online Certification document for every finalist.

Grand Prize winners will be among the judges at the next EBA 2023

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All prize winners

A special handmade ceramic designed especially for Eyelands Book Awards

Certification document for every prize plus a book –English edition- from Strange Days books

All finalists
Online Certification document for every finalist -upon demand

ENTRY FORM

(one entry form per book):

Title:

Author:

Category:

Publisher: (for published books only)

ISBN: (for published books only)

Address:

E-Mail:

AWARD CATEGORIES (select one per entry application):

The following are eligible:

1/Full-length books of fiction (novels or novellas of any genre)

2/Collections of short stories by one author

3/Collected and selected poems

4/Historical fiction – Memoir

5/Children’s books – Graphic Novels      

Any text/book from 8.000 words is eligible

Any text/poetry collection (up to 250 pages) written by a single author is eligible

Any text/book written by two or more writers is also eligible. In this case, accommodation in Athens will be shared

EBA follows the CLMP Contest Code of Ethics.

PAYMENT

Pay via paypal – See the banner on the websites: http://www.eyelands.gr

Click the «buy now» button. Fill the description with: EBA

Entry fee: $30 (27 euros)

Early bird submissions: $ 22 (20 euros)

* After the payment is complete, you can send the email with your manuscript as an attachment and the entry form completed, copied and pasted in the body of your email

*An email confirmation that your entry has been received will be sent within three/four days

* We do accept simultaneous submissions

* Every writer can submit more books with the early bird payment fee of $22 for each book

*There is no fee for prize winners of EBA and the first prize winners of previous Eyelands international short story contests

* Early bird submission for finalists of Eyelands Book Awards previous contests.

*All books must have been published between September 20, 2016 and September 20, 2022.

If you have any questions, please contact us at

eyelandsmag@gmail.com  [or]  strangedaysbooks@gmail.com

LINKS
See more at:

 www. eyelandsawards.com

www.eyelands.gr

www.paraxenesmeres.gr

https://www.facebook.com/eyelands.portal/

Exile music, Jennifer Steil’s magnificent book -Eyelands Book Awards 2020 Grand Prize, is now available in Greek language, translated by Gregory Papadoyiannis.

Based on an unexplored slice of World War II history, Exile Music is the captivating story of a young Jewish girl whose family flees refined and urbane Vienna for safe harbor in the mountains of Bolivia

As a young girl growing up in Vienna in the 1930s, Orly has an idyllic childhood filled with music. Her father plays the viola in the Philharmonic, her mother is a well-regarded opera singer, her beloved and charismatic older brother holds the neighborhood in his thrall, and most of her eccentric and wonderful extended family live nearby. Only vaguely aware of Hitler’s rise or how her Jewish heritage will define her family’s identity, Orly spends her days immersed in play with her best friend and upstairs neighbor, Anneliese. Together they dream up vivid and elaborate worlds, where they can escape the growing tensions around them.

But in 1938, Orly’s peaceful life is shattered when the Germans arrive. Her older brother flees Vienna first, and soon Orly, her father, and her mother procure refugee visas for La Paz, a city high up in the Bolivian Andes. Even as the number of Jewish refugees in the small community grows, her family is haunted by the music that can no longer be their livelihood, and by the family and friends they left behind. While Orly and her father find their footing in the mountains, Orly’s mother grows even more distant, harboring a secret that could put their family at risk again. Years pass, the war ends, and Orly must decide: Is the love and adventure she has found in La Paz what defines home, or is the pull of her past in Europe–and the piece of her heart she left with Anneliese–too strong to ignore?

“A beautiful coming-of-age tale… Moving, evocative, and well-researched, this is sure to linger in readers’ minds long after the last page has been turned.” —Booklist (starred)

“Immersive… evocative.” —Publishers Weekly

“Beautifully narrated…From the very first pages I was swept up.”
—Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones

“Gorgeous and lyrical, Exile Music captures the delicate rhythm of one girl’s coming of age while driven by war and exile. Heart-wrenching, tender and powerful.” —Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee

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Jennifer Steil is the author of The Woman Who Fell From the Sky, (Broadway Books 2010), a memoir about her tenure as the editor-in-chief of the Yemen Observer in Sana’a, Yemen. The book received favorable reviews in The New York Times, Sydney Morning Herald, and Newsweek magazine as well as in other publications. National Geographic Traveler has included the book in its list of recommended reading. The Minneapolis Star Tribune chose it as a best travel book of the year in 2010, and Elle awarded it the magazine’s Readers’ Prize in August of that year. The Woman Who Fell From the Sky has been published in the US, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, and Turkey. Steil’s novel The Ambassador’s Wife was published by Doubleday on July 28, 2015. The book received the 2013 Best Novel award in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. The Ambassador’s Wife is published in Italy and will be published in Bulgaria, Greece, and Poland.
Steil’s novel Exile Music was published by Viking in 2020. Exile Music tells the story of a Jewish girl, Orly, whose family flees the Nazis, relocating from Vienna to the mountains of Bolivia. Steil contributed to the book Not A Rose, CHARTA, Milan, New York, 2012. For this book, a hybrid work that is both book and conceptual art installation, she wrote an essay entitled “Roses After Rain.”

The author of Perishable World – Grand Prize on Eyelands Book Awards 2021 – ”talks” about her writing career and future plans and also about her memories from Greece

How does it feel to be the grand prize winner of an international book contest?     It’s just thrilling.  I am so pleased that the judges selected my book for this honor.  It is gratifying to know that readers from other parts of the world might find sustenance in my poems.

How did you hear about the contest?

     Afriend and fellow poet told me about it.

How do you feel about the idea you will be the judge for the books of your category (poetry) on Eyelands Books Awards 2022?

     What an enriching opportunity to read a variety of poets whose work I would not otherwise know.  I look forward to it.  

When did you start writing?

     I started writing poems as a very young child, but it was really in high school and college when a series of wonderful teachers helped me appreciate the power of poetry to express the joy, grief, and wonder of being human. 

     I always loved books and knew that they would be central to my life.  I was an English literature major in college at the University of Washington, and also received my Masters degree in English, with an emphasis on creative writing.

     When I started teaching in secondary schools, I was passionate about helping my students develop their writing abilities, and teaching poetry was a natural connection between my experience and theirs.   Despite the demands of teaching and working to make a living, I always stayed involved in poetry and in the writing community in my area.  Summer writing conferences helped me learn more about the craft of writing and enlarge my circle of companions in the art.  

You wrote a brilliant book. What was the inspiration?

     The book had gone through many, many revisions over several years, but I think it was the poems I wrote through the illness and death of my parents and then my husband that showed me what the arc of the book was.  “Perishable World” was a phrase that caught my attention two years ago, when I was reading the Chinese poet Shi-Wu.  I had finally found a title that spoke to the themes I was exploring around the beauty and fragility of the natural environment and human relationships.  Having so much time at home during the pandemic, undistracted by social demands, I was able to really sink into the work of pulling the book together.  So that was an unexpected gift of being in lockdown. 

What are your plans as a writer for the future?

     To continue to pay close attention to the natural world, to the human world, and to keep trying to write the next poem.

In this fraught time, it is crucial to record what it feels like to live  alongside other species on a planet in peril.  For me, poetry is always a vehicle for exploring the soul’s journey and awakening a deeper consciousness.

Have you ever been in Greece?

     Yes.  I fell in love with Greece when I first visited during college.  I explored Athens and spent a week on the island of Hydra.  Of all the countries I saw in Europe, Greece was my favorite.  I returned several years later and spent a few weeks on the island of Kos.

     Also, having taught Homer’s Odyssey for many years to my students, I feel that the whole literary legacy of Greece lives deeply in my mind and soul:  the wealth of the mythological world!

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A native of Seattle, Washington, Alicia Hokanson grew up exploring the beaches, forests, and islands of Puget Sound, which inspired a deep attention to the natural world.

 Her first book, Mapping the Distance, was selected by Carolyn Kizer for the King County Arts Commission publication prize.  She has also published two chapbooks, Phosphorous and Insistent in the Skin, and her poems have appeared in a wide variety of journals and anthologies.  Her most recent collection, Perishable World, was published in summer of 2021.  Upon completing her B.A. and M.A. in English at the University of Washington, Alicia pursued a career teaching in a variety of venues, from working with high-school students in South Australia to teaching grades 1-8 in a one-room schoolhouse on a remote island in Washington state. She spent the last 27 years of her career teaching middle school English in Seattle,  and was named River of Words Poetry Teacher of the year in 2003 for her work nurturing young writers.  She now devotes her time to writing, reading, and advocating for social and environmental justice.

Bridge over the Neretva,   a brilliant novel by Django Wylie, won the Grand Prize of Eyelands Book Aards for 2021.  As it goes for four years now, every new year comes with the interview of the grand prize winner. Note that the category is Unpublished books and that means it wont stay unpublished for long.  It will be published from Strange Days Books later this year.  Here is a short biographical note by his own words:

I’m an English and Drama teacher, based in Switzerland. I hold an MA in Creative Writing from Goldsmiths and studied poetry at UC Berkeley. In 2017, I was the recipient of the Yeovil Literary Prize, and in 2019 I won the Indigo Dreams Firsts Competition. I had a prose manuscript shortlisted for the London Magazine First Novel Award and the Blue Pencil Agency Novel Award. My first collection of poetry, New and Selected Heartbreaks, was published in May of 2019.

How does it feel to be the grand prize winner of an international books contest?

It is a great feeling to win the Grand Prize in the Eyelands Book Awards. The idea that my words will now be read by others, and my book will find its way into print, is one that fills me with an enormous sense of gratitude not only for those  involved in the reading and judging process, but also for everyone in the world of literature.

How did you hear about the contest?

I can’t recall exactly, but it was probably through the National Association of Writers in Education website.

How do you feel with the idea you will be the judge for the books of your  category on Eyelands Books Awards 2022?

It’ll be an honour to judge the books in my category this year. I’m sure it’ll be immensely tricky to choose a winner, but doubtless it’ll be supremely rewarding, too.

When did you start writing?

In a way that is almost too embarrassingly cliché, I started writing poems when I was a teenager… in my diary. I suppose it was a way for me to try and make sense of the things that were happening around me, and the unpredictable ways I would find myself reacting to them, by isolating them and crystallising them in my own words. It wasn’t until I was in my early twenties, finishing my degree and thinking about beginning my MA in Creative Writing, that I started to become more serious about writing and more conscious of its (lack of) quality. Since then I’ve published a short book of poetry and  written many abortive manuscripts… I usually write in tiny fragments, on the Notes app on my phone, that I then try to weave together or build into something larger.

You wrote a brilliant book. What was the inspiration?

 The inspiration for Bridge over the Neretva was a trip I took around the Balkans in 2018 with my friends. We went to many wonderful and uniquely memorable places, but the one that left the most indelible impression was Mostar, in Bosnia. Set there, the book is about two adoptive brothers from different ethnic backgrounds, one of whom makes a living diving off the city’s Old Bridge for tourists. Well, this is something we watched on our first evening in Mostar. Though thronging with life, rich in culture, and inscrutably beautiful, the whole place is suffused with a real, palpable sense of its recent violent history – many of the buildings are still pock-marked with bullet holes, and the bridge itself is largely a replica of the one that had stood there from the sixteenth century, until it was blown up in the war in 1993. The place is a sort of poem – its beauty and its tragedy can be read between the lines. Bridge over the Neretva is my attempt to come to some sort of understanding of what it might be like to live and to try and build a life in a place where the bloody divisions of the past, though dormant, are very much still alive, and threaten to spill into the present… I’ve been watching the news coming out of Bosnia lately with sadness, but haven’t lost hope.

What are your plans as a writer for the future?

Lately, I’ve found myself becoming increasingly interested in what it would take to make meaningful literature given the near certainty of climate catastrophe… I’m still at a bit of a loss, but have found solace in the seemingly endless stream  of excellent novels that continue to be published. I’ve begun working on the rough outline of a postmodern novel that toys with the ideas of immortality/AI/free will. But this could very well remain an outline. I’m also working on redrafting some poems that will hopefully find their way into print someday.

Have you ever been in Greece before?

I’ve never been to Greece before, but I have always wanted to go. So much Greek philosophy, mythology and literary culture has been important to me and to many of the writers and artists I most admire. I would love the chance to go and see experience it for myself.

How do you feel that your book will be translated into Greek?

It’s a real privilege to be translated into Greek. When I was writing the book, I never really thought it would find a reader, so the idea of it potentially landing in the hands of readers in Greece, and rendered in another language, is humbling and immensely pleasing.