Welcome to the September edition of the newsletter. The new layout and design for the newsletter that was planned for October had been rescheduled for the time being. Hopefully it won't take me long to get this issue sorted out.
I am aware there are a lot of spam users on Fiction Central. I am slowly working my way through the list of users and removing spammers. You do not need to worry about the safety of your accounts; all accounts created by non-spammers are quite safe.
As usual we've got the new Site Challenge, the winners for the August challenge, Author and Review of the Month, and another book review, this time from Stargirl! I have left the short article on submissions to Fiction Central up, and encourage you all to look at it.
The new site challenge has now been announced, and you are all welcome to take part in it. Well done to everyone that has entered the site challenges, and hopefully those that aren't named winners will carry on entering them. There is a new incentive coming soon - details can be found in the 'Coming Soon' section lower down the page.
If you join our mailing list, we'll be able to let you know when the latest edition is out! To join simply fill in the form and we'll send you an official invitation to get your name on the list.
The Author of the Month this time around is ... Parchment Quill!
This month's Reviewer of the Month is ... Sootboy24!
Is there someone you think deserves to be Author of the Month or Reviewer of the Month? Simply fill in the form on the Nominations page and add them to the list of candidates.
Your challenge for this month is to write a short story, novel, poem or play of any genre and rating, and any length, in which at least two of the following items and/or places play an important role:
We are accepting one-shots, multiple chaptered stories and poems in any genre and any rating. If your entry has more than one chapter, the first chapter must be online by the deadline, which this time around is 10th October.
Please remember to make all entries compliant with TOS. Any story not meeting the rules of the challenge will not be accepted.
Good luck to you all!
We have a number of proposals for both Fiction Central and the newsletters.
To submit a review of a book you've enjoyed reading, please e-mail smile_clarenet at lcoleman_89@yahoo.co.uk, with the e-mail subject as 'Book Review'. The same goes for any websites you've found particularly useful, in which case please put the subject line as 'Useful Link'.
It would be nice to have regular contributors to the newsletter, so if you're able to write short stories and/or poetry on a regular basis let us know using the Help Out form. Someone will get back to you with details, so please provide your username on Fiction Central and an e-mail address that you check regularly.
We would like to set up a Writer's Workshop, so again if you're interested let us know using the Help Out form.
A brand new item! If you like entering challenges, now you can get a reward for it. You must put in the summary of the story that it is a response to a challenge, and which challenge in order for staff/validators to follow it up. You will get a reward after entering a number of challenges - the number of challenges before a reward is yet to be confirmed. Rewards will be e-mailed to the author.
Coming soon to Fiction Central are two new awards. These awards are proposed to start in 2009.
The first new award is Reviewer of the Year. There are some reviewers who give brilliant feedback on the stories they read. Taking those named Reviewer of the Month for that year, one will be named Reviewer of the Year. The prize is yet to be determined.
The second new award is Author of the Year. There are some authors that really shine. Like Reviewer of the Year, those named Author of the Month for that year will be put into a special draw, and one will be named Author of the Year. The prize is Trusted status. If the author already has trusted status they'll get a different prize, which is yet to be determined.