Friday, September 14, 2012

The Crime Fiction Academy



 
Amazon.com & The Crime Fiction Academy Make Crime Fiction Notoriety Accessible for Creative New Yorkers

New York, NY (September, 2012) - The Center for Fiction is pleased to announce that their one-of-a-kind writing program, The Crime Fiction Academy (CFA), is one of the most recent recipients of an Amazon Grant. The grant program, offered by Amazon.comprovides funding for exceptional nonprofit author and publisher groups that, “foster the creation, discussion, and publication of books.” The $25,000 grant will allow the CFA to offer significant scholarships of 50% or more to incoming Fall 2012 students.
The Crime Fiction Academy launched in February 2012 as the first ongoing program dedicated exclusively to crime writing in the United States. Each student enrolled in CFA attends a 12-week Writing Workshop, a once a month Master Class, a Crime Fiction Reading seminar, as well as up-close-and-personal discussions with leading agents and editors in the field including Megan Abbott, Lawrence Block, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Thomas H. Cook, Linda Fairstein, Susan Isaacs, Dennis Lehane, Elmore Leonard, Laura Lippman, Val McDermid, Joyce Carol Oates, Jason Pinter, S.J. Rozan and Karin Slaughter.  Students also receive 24-hour access to the Center for Fiction’s Writing Studio and free admission to all Center for Fiction events.
Admissions for the Fall 2012 session are rolling and classes begin October 1, 2012. Students can apply directly through the Center for Fiction’s website and grant scholarships will be awarded on as case-by-case basis. Tuition may be paid in person at the Center, online, over the phone, or by mailed check.
About the Center For Fiction: The Center for Fiction is the only nonprofit in the U.S. solely dedicated to celebrating fiction, and works every day to connect readers and writers. Time Out calls The Center one of the top three reasons to stay in Manhattan for literary events, citing the innovative panels, lectures and conversations that take place in the beautiful landmark building on East 47th Street. The CFF features workspace, grants, and classes to support emerging writers, reading groups on classic and contemporary authors, and programs to help get kids reading.  The CFF recognizes the best in the world of fiction through their annual awards, and operates one of the few independent fiction bookshops in the country.  The CFF is also an important piece of New York City history, continuing to build their renowned circulating library collection, begun in 1820 by New York City merchants before the advent of the public library system.
About the Crime Fiction Academy: The Crime Fiction Academy made its debut in mid-February 2012 as the first ongoing, serious program exclusively dedicated to crime writing in all its forms.  Students accepted into the program are taught by successful practitioners of the genre, and classes take place in The Center’s eight-story building at 17 E. 47th Street in Manhattan. Every writer enrolled in CFA attends a 12-week Writing Workshop, one Master Class each month, and a Crime Fiction Reading seminar.  In addition, each writer has access to special lectures and discussions with editors and agents from the world of crime fiction publishing, round-the clock membership in The Center’s Writers’ Studio, free admission to all Center for Fiction events, and access to the Center’s extensive circulating collection, which won a Mystery Writers of America Raven Award for its amazing in-depth collection of crime fiction. All classes, workshops, and lectures take place in the evening. 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Win SCARED SH*TLESS by Cary McNeal


Win a copy of Scared Sh*tless: 1,003 Facts That Will Scare the Sh*t Out of You by Cary McNeal!

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll s#*t yourself!

Did you know that William Shatner was once paid $25,000 for a kidney stone he’d recently passed? Or that Mickey Mouse creator Walk Disney was afraid of mice? In the same vein of the successful bestseller 1,001 Facts That Will Scare The Shit Out Of You, which sold more than 100,000 copies in its first year, Emmy-award winning producer and comedy writer Cary McNeal has written a the follow-up collection that will be sure to even further push the boundaries with SCARED SH*TLESS: 1,003 More Facts That Will Scare The Shit Out Of You (Perigee Trade Paperback; September 4, 2012; $13.95).

With more chapters and a wider variety of facts than ever, this fascinating, upsetting, and laugh-out-loud guide covers everything from the size of the world’s largest recorded turd, to what JFK was really doing with when the Bay of Pigs invasion began, to the secret (and disgusting) ingredient in your toothpaste. SCARED SH*TLESS leaves no stone unturned, shedding freaky facts on your favorite celebrity, food and drinks, bodily functions, and sex:

  • ·         Despite what men might claim, only 15% have a penis longer than seven inches. Only 3% have a penis more than 8 inches long.
  • ·         One study suggests that bacon affects the brain the same way as cocaine and heroin, overloading pleasure centers and requiring increasing amounts to be satisfied.
  • ·         Up to 18 percent of identity theft victims don’t learn about the crime for four years or more.
  • ·         McDonald’s McRib sandwich contains some of the same ingredients used to manufacture gym mats and running shoes.
  • ·         The first man to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel died fifteen years later after slipping on an orange peel and fracturing his leg, which became infected.
  • ·         A third of Texans believe that humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time.
  • ·         Hitler and Napoleon each had only one testicle. Together, they were nuts.
  • ·         About 1,600 people are bitten by other people very year in New York City.
  • ·         Women who read romance novels have sex twice as often as those who don’t.


In addition to 1,001 Facts That Will Scare The S#*t Out Of You , Cary McNeal is also the author of Crap I Bought On eBay. An Emmy-winning TV producer who has written comedy for Mike Myers, Jackie Chan, and Fred Willard, he lives in Atlanta . For more information, please visit his website at www.carymcneal.com.

To win your own copy of Scared Sh*tless by Cary McNeal, send an email to contest@gmail.com, with “Scared Sh*tless” as the subject. Make sure to include your name and mailing address in the US only. This contest is open to all adults over 18 years of age. One entry per email address, please. Your email will not be shared or sold to anyone.

All entries, including names, email addresses and mailing addresses, will be purged after winner is notified. This contest ends September 18, 2012. Good luck!


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