2 Calls for Writers - ArtsRoundUp - Antelope Valley, Lancater, Quartz Hill, Palmdale, Rosamond..

Antelope Valley Anthology (volume 7): The Antelope Valley Anthology is a literary anthology collecting and presenting works by writers of the Antelope Valley. A mixture of prose fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, the anthology seeks to provide a platform for the voices of writers here in the high desert.

Last year's anthology was titled The Raven & the Writing Desk and featured the talents of 23 local literary artists. A particular stand-out in the book is non-fiction article on ravens by Monique S. Stevens, thoughtfully considering the night-shade figure of the raven in various contexts - from its intelligence and problem solving skills to the traits it shares with humans.

Not all the anthology writing in The Raven & The Writing Desk is about ravens, however. The book's opening story, a piece of fiction by Margaret L. Priddy, concerns an African girl forever "missing" from her parents home after a lion attack outside her village. Told with an interweaving of the details of village life and the fantastic elements of an oral-tale and ghost story, Priddy renders an experience of a world far outside the Antelope Valley.

These two pieces of writing demonstrate the wide range of topics covered in the Antelope Valley Anthology. As a local publication, one might reasonably expect the focus to be primarily local, but the content of the anthology instead presents a picture of the diversity- diversity of interest, diversity of style, and a diverse collection of voices.

The Antelope Valley Anthology has recently announced the opening of the reading period for a seventh edition of the anthology. Readers and writers should keep an eye out for the anthology's release date in these pages and/or online (http://www.mouseprintspublishing.com/).

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Criteria for 2010 Antelope Valley Anthology Submission

Included here is an abridged listing of submission information. For full criteria & formatting requirements go to antelopevalleyarts.wordpress.com

MousePrints Publishing, The Unknown Writers of the Antelope Valley, and WORD AV, the Antelope Valley Literacy Coalition, now officially opens the submission process for the 2010 Antelope Valley Anthology.

Submissions may be prose or poetry. Poetry may be no more than 100 lines per poem. No more than five poems may be entered. The poems may be any form. Prose submissions may be in the form of short fiction, creative non-fiction, essays, or reportage.

Submissions will be accepted from 1 January, 2010 through 31 May, 2010. Please send all entries to mouseprint@earthlink.net For further information regarding the 7^th Antelope Valley Anthology please e mail the above address.

Criteria provided by: THE EDITORIAL COMMITTEE FOR THE 7^TH ANTELOPE VALLEY ANTHOLOGY

More Opportunities for Antelope Valley Writers:

Original Play "Bounty" offered by local theater group

The Antelope Valley Thespians (AVT) are currently seeking submissions of an original work related to a selected set of western themes.

They are offering a $300 bounty for the play chosen to be performed in 2011. For details see their website (www.avthespians.org/productions/) or stop in to Sagebrush Café to view a paper copy of the offered bounty.

Around and About:

Lancaster Museum & Art Gallery opened its 25^th Annual Juried Show in downtown Lancaster, curated by D. Michael Zakian of Pepperdine University. The show runs through March 7, 2010.... A theater group local to Quartz Hill, the Antelope Valley Thespians, opened their 2010 calendar of programs with "Crime & Punishment" with six shows on the weekends of January 16 and 23....Writers and editors of the locally produced children's book It's Tough Growing Up: Children's Stories of Courage continue to promote their work with readings and book signings....Sagebrush Café held a photo scavenger hunt over the month of January, challenging participants to photograph concepts like conservation and community.