Writing in the Dark,, an apt metaphor for anyone who has ever tried to tap out words on a backlit screen. This book, a collection of essays gathered by Max van Manen, shows how "different kinds of human experience may be explored, the methods for investigating phenomena contributing to human experience…the process of inquiry, reflection and writing…a valuable and rich resource". That is to say, writing is an attempt to reflect what goes on inside us. Inside us is where "story" occurs.Scott Popjes maintains a busy schedule, writing, producing and editing major theatrical trailers, promos and EPK's and developing and producing TV series and films, such as "The Remarkably 20th Century" and "The Long Ride Home". Born and raised in suburban New Jersey, this everyman director/editor loves making movies.Ernest Hemingway - The man who ran with the bulls. His literary sparseness and compression, well-worn and well-earned, captured the attention of critics and public in a volatile age. In 1952, he received the Pulitzer for The Old Man and the Sea. In 1954, he received the Nobel Prize for his "powerful style-making mastery of the modern art of narration." He wrote from life. Until his life subdued and rescued him.Will Shakespeare - Aka "The bard". Arguably the best English writer to ever glide pen to page, populist hero as well as aristocratic raconteur, though we wish he had used all women instead of all men to populate his plays. (Not a prejudice, just a fact.) His sonnets remain divine. Rare is the writer who can scribble successfully in one genre, let alone two. Some postulate this poet and playwright was, in fact, more than one man…or woman. What would he have done with film, we wonder?Though he produced fewer than 40 paintings, Dutch painter Jan Vermeer is one of the most respected artists of the European tradition. He is known for his serene, luminous interiors populated by one or two figures. Vermeer grew up in Delft, Holland, joined the painters' guild in 1653, and worked as an art dealer to support his wife and 11 children. In 1672, war with France ruined Holland’s economy and Vermeer's business failed. Soon after, he died of a stroke at age 42, leaving his family bankrupt. Vermeer's paintings were largely forgotten for nearly 200 years, until 1858 when a French critic began to write admiringly about his work. Interest in Vermeer surged again recently with his work exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Contemporary writers have also been inspired by him, including Tracy Chevalier whose novel Girl with a Pearl Earring imagines the life of the girl in Vermeer's painting of the same name. L.Ron Hubbard - Whatever you may think of his other worldly beliefs, the full body of L. Ron Hubbard's work includes more than 5,000 writings and 3,000 tape-recorded lectures, spanning five, highly productive decades. A humanitarian and adventurer, he believes, "There are only two tests of a life well lived: Did one do as one intended? And were people glad one lived?" We add, "And can one write about it, anyhow?"Johannes Vermeer's "Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid" records a prior chivalrous age where class decorum reigned. (Oh, well, you can't have everything.) One of the most talented painters in the Dutch Golden Age, that's the 1600's, Vermeer's work was forgotten for centuries. The most brilliant artists of any century are probably never discovered, their paintings hidden till ruin, their pages dropping to dust in unfound attics. We find this oddly comforting. No martyr of time, this particular masterpiece hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland. Definitely worth a gaze.Jules Verne - Ode to childhood and the player within us. Verne was born, aptly, in Nates, France in 1828. He promptly ran off to become cabin boy on a merchant ship but was caught and sent back to his parents. Thus constrained, his imagination wandered. He wrote story after story, became very rich, bought a yacht and resumed his initial intent - to sail around the world. Or Europe anyhow. Our favorite remains Twenty Thousand Leagues.

The Writers Place Screenplay, Poetry And Anthology Contest Winners

Prior Contest Winners

Screenplay

It is with great pleasure The Writers Place announces the winners of the November 2007 through April 2008 screenplay contest. Admittedly, there were many well written, interesting, and inspiring scripts; however, the following nine screenplays excelled:

Screenplay Competition

November 2007 – April 2008
Full-length
First Place is Craig Rosenthal – The Shanghailanders
Second Place is Alexis & Rudy Croyle – Good Intentions
Third Place is Caitlin McCarthy - Vera
Honorable Mention to Jacqueline Johnston – Amor? Amor! Amor.
Honorable Mention to Elizabeth Berger & Christopher Littler – Target 26

Teleplay/Short

First Place is Andrew Ferguson – The Office: The Morning After
Second Place is Frederick Weller – Tommy and the Beast
Third Place is Elizabeth Hamlett – Please Shred
Honorable Mention to Brian Wright - Regret

All winners and honorable mentions were mailed official notification under a separate letter. Producers, agents and managers, please submit manuscript, script, and/or verse inquiries to TWPBrancato@aol.com . Congratulations to our winners, and we hope each and every one of our contestants experience a pleasant and safe summer, 2008.

Anthology

With much pleasure, The Writers Place announces the winners and honorable mentions for the July 2006 through February 2007 and for the March through June 2007 anthology competitions. The theme of these contests was Menopause: Women in Mid-life. We received many finely-crafted short stories and poems with unique points of view. However, the following seven contestants, for each contest period, demonstrated extraordinary originality and creativity.

Anthology Competition
March – June 2007
First Place is Bonnie Jo Campbell – Bringing Home the Bones
Second Place is Phyllis F. Witte – The Book of Esther
Third Place is Diana Anhalt – Chichen Itza

Honorable Mentions go to:
I. Cori Baill – Omens
Joan C. Livingston – The Best-Looking Mile
MariJo Moore – Why I Haven’t Dyed My Hair, Yet
Andrea R. Rosenhaft – Sharp Edges

Anthology Competition
July 2006 – February 2007
First Place is Melita C. Schaum – Restraints
Second Place is Jacob M. Apple – The Butcher’s Music
Third Place is Thea K. Scott – Chloe

Honorable Mentions go to:
Peter Nash – The Garden
Leda Siskind – Isotope
Lorraine D. Merkl – Little Boss
Christina Lovin – A Stirring in the Dark

Anthology to follow... winter/spring 2008

All winners were mailed official notification under a separate letter. Producers, agents and manager, please submit manuscript, script, and/or verse inquires to TWPBrancato@aol.com. Congratulations to our winners, and we hope each and every one of our contestants experience a pleasant and safe Halloween.

 

Poetry

The Writers Place is pleased to announce the winners of our February 2007 through January 2008 poetry contest. It must be mentioned, many finely-crafted submissions were received during this contest period. Selection of the top five was, to say the least, difficult; however, the following five verses excelled:

Poetry Competition
February 2007 – January 2008
See author bio and verse by clicking on below links.
First Place is Connie Tonsgard—Tapestry
Second Place is Dove*—The Radio
Third Place is Lisa H. Leary—Asking
Honorable Mention is Kelsey A. Barksdale—9/11
Honorable Mention is Cornelius Jones Jr.—Momma Said… (A Hard Life)

All winners were mailed official notification under a separate letter. We would like to thank all of our contestants for their many interesting and diversified submissions. It was a pleasure for our staff to read them. We hope that each and every one of our contestants experience a safe and pleasant 2008 spring break.

The Writers Place is pleased to showcase [with author concurrence] the logline, synopsis, and first ten pages of the winning scripts in both the full-length and teleplay/short competitions - the logline, synopsis, and first ten pages of the winning manuscript in the short story competition - and the winning verse in the poetry competition. These works are for general viewing by both screenwriter and non-screenwriter alike. Their posting is designed to assist the aspiring screen, prose and poetry writer, providing her/him with a ready-reference of the style, format, writing quality, and story and verse originality The Writers Place staff keys on when evaluating screenplay, manuscript, and verse submissions. Actors and directors are also encouraged to peruse the attached works, as doing so will demonstrate contemporary thought surrounding scene structure, character development, and use of dialogue or verse.

The Writers Place takes copyright infringement seriously. The attached script segments, manuscripts, and verse are showcased primarily for screen, prose, and poetry writer review, as a means of craft enhancement. All work displayed has undergone either copyright certification via the Library of Congress or by way of the Writers Guild of America.