81 Calls for Submissions in August 2023 - Paying Markets - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

Today, Panzer stopped in at the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site. There with a little digging in the posts he found one about paying markets for submissions.

 

A market for almost everyone.

Erica Verrillo's post lists 81 markets accepting submissions in August. There are openings for fiction and nonfiction submissions. There are some restrictions on subject matter, themes or lengths, so be sure to read the guidelines before submitting.

 

Panzer says, "You'll need to hurry as some of the submission deadlines are August 1."

 

Note: This is a huge post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Calls for Submissions

A Monday Panzerism

 Panzer on cats' mathematical ability:

Humans decided a long time ago that cats have limited intellectual potential.

They believe it because we can't count beyond one.

But ...

I can count to one a lot of times.

And ...

Guard the computers  ... I am Binary Cat.*

It's a miracle! ...

Humans have a name for this condition ...

It's called binary.

Turns out cats have excellent math skills.

*From Cat Wisdom for humans

Free Ebook At The Smashwords Store: Laugh Don't Cry, Life Is A Joke by Fiona L. Woods

 Free?Really? Wow! 

Free Until August 1

 

 In Laugh Don't Cry. Life Is A Joke you'll learn how Mom and Panzer became a team and what happened when What's His Name joined them. and then you'll meet some of Mom's relatives and friends.

 

You will need to set up an account with the store,

but you won't be chargedwhen you use the discount coupon SS 100 at checkout. Download Laugh Don't Cry Today 

Free Talking Book Publishing Podcast: On Making a Living as a Writer with Sheila Lowe

It's really hot out here.

Panzer thought you might enjoy a Talking Book Publishing podcast episode with bestselling mystery author Sheila Lowe.

The episode On Making a Living as a Writer is an interview with Sheila Lowe by Kathleen Kaiser and Adanna Moriarty. It's 51 minutes long.

The episode is free and can be listened to online or downloaded.

Enjoy!

To listen to the episode tootle over to Sheila Lowe

Your Free Sunday Jigsaw Puzzle: Good. You got my lunch invitation.

Hint

Here's your Sunday jigsaw puzzle.

 

As always remember at the puzzle site to click the square in the lower left corner to see the finished puzzle.

Is your completion time improving?

Have fun!

To do the jigsaw puzzle tootle over to  Good. You got my lunch invitation.

Free Mystery Audio Short Story: The Million Dollar Bond Robbery

I don't want my paws wet.

For those of you who prefer short classic mystery, Panzer found a Poirot Investigates short story episode at The Classic Tales Podcast on YouTube.

The audio short story The Million Dollar Bond Robbery is written by Agatha Christie and narrated by BJ Harrison. It's 25 minutes long.

As always, it's free.

Enjoy!

To listen to the audio story tootle over to Agatha Christie short story

Free MysteryRat's Maze Podcast: Swan Song

 

A water pipe broke. What a mess.

Today Panzer is taking you to the MysteryRat's Maze Podcast site

 

The podcast episode Swan Song is written by Donalee Moulton and narrated by Sean Hopper. The episode is 41 minutes long including the intro.

 

As always the MysteryRat's Maze Podcast is free for your listening.

To listen to the episode tootle over to Donalee Moulton

Free BBC Sounds Audio Mystery Series: McLevy

I'll see what else I can find.

Here's an audio mystery series Panzer found at the BBC Sounds site. He's never heard of McLevy before, but it looks interesting.

It's a series about a Victorian era crime-solving detective. Since it's in the Victorian era, he must rely on his intellect to solve the crimes.

The link below will take you to the first episode and then you can scroll down the site to listen to other episodes in the series.

 

 Of course it's free.

Have fun.

 

To listen to the episodes tootle over to McLevy

 

Free How To Write The Future Podcast: Get Writing: Seven Ways To Get Out Of Your Own Way

See you tomorrow.

If there are any science fiction writers (or anybody who likes f/sf) reading this, Panzer thought you might enjoy listening to this episode of the How To Write The Future podcast.

The episode Get Writing: Seven Ways To Get Out Of Your Own Way is presented by author Beth Barany. The episode is 11 minutes long.

 

 Enjoy!

 

To listen to the podcast episode tootle over to How To Write The Future

 

Free Romance Audiobook: Just a Cowboy's Love Song

It's still early.

For those of you who prefer romance audiobooks Panzer found one on YouTube for you.

 

The audiobook Just a Cowboy's Love Song is written by Jessie Gussman and narrated by Jay Dyess. It's 6 hours 23 minutes long.

As with all the audiobooks Panzer finds for you it's free for your listening on YouTube.

 

To listen to the audiobook tootle over to Just A Cowboy's Love Song

Contract, Payment delays at the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction - Writer Beware(R)

It will get better.

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Writer Beware (R) site. There with a little digging he found a post about the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF).

 

 In her post Victoria Strauss explains she's been getting complaints about F&SF because of late contract delivery and late payments. One author quoted withdrew their manuscript from consideration after hearing about these issues.

Panzer says, "F&SF is one of my favorite magazines to have Mom read to me."

Note: This is a short-medium length post. Bring a glass of lemonade and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction

40 Writing Contests in August 2023 - No fees - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

They look like fun contests.

Panzer made a quick stop at the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site  With just a little digging in the posts he found one about writing contests in August..

 

Erica Verrillo lists 40 contests all with August entry deadlines. There are contests for fiction short stories and novels, nonfiction, essays, poetry, and plays. Some have an August 1 deadline and some have entry restrictions.

 

Panzer says, "Always read the guidelines before you submit."

 

Note: This is a long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to eat and drink while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Writing Contests

Amazon One palm payments technology is coming to all 500+ Whole Foods Market stores in the U.S. - About Amazon News

The future is here.

Today, Panzer stopped in at the About Amazon site. There our intrepid traveling kitty boy found an interesting post about Amazon One.

 

The post is by Sanjay Dash, VP, Identity Checkout Technologies, AWS Applications. The post gives information about current Palm One users in the retail, sports and travel industries. The post begins with an information video and has a FAQ at the end. It also includes links to other posts with information about Amazon.

Panzer says, "This little kitty can't wait to sign-up so he can use his palm (paw) to check out."

Note: This is a long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Whole Foods Market Palm Scanning

25 Awesome Writing Conferences and Workshops in August 2023 - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

Today Panzer made a stop at the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site. There he found a post about August writers' conferences and workshops,

 

Something for everybody here.

Erica Verrillo's post lists descriptions of twenty-five conferences and workshops running in August. (One had a registration date in June, so it's already closed.) The list includes conferences and workshops with concentrations on fiction and nonfiction writing, travel writing, children and YA writing, and even an agent pitching session. The list includes both in-person and online conferences and workshops.

 

Panzer says, "Be sure to go to the sites and read the registration instructions."

 

Note: Because the post includes descriptions of all the workshops and conferences, it's very long. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Writing Conferences

Your Monday Panzerism

 Panzer on love:

The opposite of love isn't hate. It's indifference.

You want love? Get a dog.*

Feed me and I'll stop being indifferent

towards you ...

for a while ...

maybe.

*From Cat Wisdom for humans

You're Free Sunday Jigsaw Puzzle: Tag. You're it.

Hint

Here's your Sunday jigsaw puzzle.

As always remember at the puzzle site to click the square in the lower left corner to see the finished puzzle.

Hope you're keeping score of your completion time.

Have fun.

To do the puzzle tootle over to Tag. You're it.

Free Classic Mystery Movie: Manhandled

There better be popcorn left after my nap.

Panzer thought you might like to watch a mystery movie with him tonight.

The movie he picked is a film noir titled Manhandled from the Classic Masterpieces channel on YouTube. It's in black and white and was made in 1949. It's 1 hour 36 minutes long.

The movie is free on YouTube.

Have fun!

To watch the movie tootle over to Manhandled

Free Small Town Romance Audiobook: Falling For The Movie Star

I'll keep looking.

For those of you who like romance audiobooks Panzer found one on YouTube.

The small town romance audiobook Falling For The Movie Star is written by Jean Oram and narrated by Vanessa Moyen. It's 7 hours 23 minutes long.

 

 As always it's free for your listening.

 

 Enjoy.

 S

To listen to the audiobook tootle over to Jean Oram

Free The Creative Penn Podcast:Your Publishing Options With Rachael Herron

She has interesting people on.

Panzer thought you might like this episode from The Creative Penn Podcast. The episode features Joanna Penn and bestselling author Rachael Herron discussing indie publishing and traditional publishing and the pros and cons of each.

The episode Your Publishing Options is fifty-six minutes long. The show notes are below the podcast. The post contains links to other podcast episodes and information.

 

To listen to the episode tootle over to Joanna Penn and Rachael Herron

Free Mystery Audio Short Story: The Adventure of the Hunter's Lodge - The Classic Tales Podcast

That's it for tonight.

For those of you who prefer classic mystery short stories, Panzer found a Poirot Investigates audio short story at The Classic Tales Podcast on YouTube.

The audio short story The Adventure of the Hunter's Lodge is written by Agatha Christie. It's narrated by BJ Harrison. It's 31 minutes long.

As with all the treasures Panzer finds online, it's free for your listening.

Have fun.

To listen to the episode tootle over to Agatha Christie

Free Contemporary Romance Novella Audiobook: Blizzard of Love

 

It's a Christmas story too.

For those of you who prefer your romances shorter Panzer found a contemporary romance novella audiobook.

The novella Blizzard of Love is written by Erin Wright and narrated by Beth Rogue. It's 2 hours 42 minutes long.

 

 As always it's free for your listening.

 

 Have fun in the snow.

To listen to the audiobook tootle over to Blizzard of Love

Free Cozy Mystery Audiobook: Catfished

 

Let's get the weekend started now.

For those of you who like cozy mystery audiobooks Panzer found one on YouTube.

The audiobook Catfished is written by Stella Bixby and narrated by Stephanie Richardson. It's 5 hours longs.

As always it's free for your listening.

Enjoy!

To listen to the audiobook tootle over to Catfished

Publishers, Ingram Prepare for Possible UPS Strike - Publishers Weekly

Today, Panzer went to the Publishers Weekly site. There our illustrious kitty traveler found a post about the possible UPS strike and it's impact on the book industry.

 

I don't need to worry about it.

According to Jim Milliot's post, UPS will go on strike August 1 if an agreement between the Union and management can't be reached. Publishers and Ingram are making plans to get their books delivered to retail outlets before the strike. The post includes links to other information.

Panzer says, "A good reason to publish digitally."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a glass of iced tea and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) to snack on while you read.

To read the post tootle over to Possible UPS Strike

Coming First to British Screens - The Rap Sheet

A good mystery news site.

A quick trip to The Rap Sheet today got Panzer some interesting information about the return of two mystery television series.

According to J. Kingston Pierce's post, Vienna Blood and Beyond Paradise will return on British TV before they make it to U.S. TV. The post contains links to more information.

Panzer says, "This little kitty really likes the Beyond Paradise episodes."

Note:This is a medium length post. Bring a glass of iced tea to enjoy while you're reading.

To read the post tootle over to TV Series

Illustration Agencies Introduce New AI-Specific Contract Clause - Publishers Weekly

At the Publishers Weekly site Panzer found a news release about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and illustrators. 

Finally. Nap time.

According to the news release some illustrators agencies are including clauses in their contracts which state what AI  companies must do to use their work,

Panzer says, "No misunderstandings here."

Note: This is very short. You won't need to bring anything to snack on when you read this selection.

To read the news release tootle over to AI News Release

The Authors Guild Open Letter to Generative-AI Leaders

The Authors Guild drafted a letter to the company leaders in generative AI. The letter addresses the Authors Guild's areas of concern in the use of AI in the writing environment.

Read it before you sign it.

Writers and their friends and associates are asked to sign the letter to show their support.

 

 The link below will take you to the letter site. Scroll down the page to read the letter. To sign the

  letter fill out the information on the top right-hand column.

 

To read the post tootle over to Authors' Guild Open Letter

 

To read more information on the Authors Guild's stand on AI generated writing tootle over to Artificial Intelligence 

"Shadow libraries" are at the heart of the mounting copyright lawsuit against OpenAI - Quartz

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Quartz site. There our intrepid traveling kitty boy found a post about another lawsuit against OpenAI.

It's called transparency.

Michelle Cheng's post explains about OpenAI using "shadow libraries" to teach Artificial Intelligence to write like humans. "Shadow libraries" and their connections with the use of copyrighted material are explained.

Panzer says, "This little kitty thinks, if OpenAI would just tell where they got all the books used to teach AI instead of keeping it a secret, they wouldn't be getting sued to find out the answer."

Note:This is a long post. Bring a cup of iced tea and a brownie as a snack while you read.

To read the post tootle over to OpenAI lawsuit

A New Monday Panzerism

 Panzer on practical philosophy:

Question: Why would anyone spend the amount of time on Cats and Crime that Mom does?

Hey. I know who feeds me.

Answer: Same reason cats jump into boxes teetering on the edge of calamity.

It keeps you mentally and physically alert.

And in Mom's case beautiful.

The International Dublin Writers' Festival

 

It's recorded too.

The International Dublin Writers' Festival has announced the schedule and speakers for this year's festival.

The Festival will begin September 15 and end September 17. Attendance can be either in-person in Dublin or online.

The schedule and costs are available at the site. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the different prices depending on whether you plan to "attend" one or two days or the days and the award dinner. All the choices are very inexpensive.

To view the site tootle over to International Dublin Writers' Festival

Your Free Sunday Jigsaw Puzzle: Christmas Cat In July

 

Hint

Here's your Sunday jigsaw puzzle.

As always remember at the puzzle site to click the square in the lower left corner to see the finished puzzle.

Have fun!

To do the jigsaw puzzle tootle over to Christmas Cat In July

Free Mystery Audio Short Story:The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman

 

I'm finished for the day.

For those of you who prefer short classic mystery stories, Panzer found a Poirot Investigates short story on The Classic Tales Podcast on YouTube.

The audio short story The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman is written by Agatha Christie and narrated by BJ Harrison. It's 29 minutes long.

As with all Panzer's online finds, it's free for your listening.

Have fun.

To listen to the short story tootle over to Poirot Investigates

Free Sweet Romance Audiobook: Dreaming of Her Best Friends Kiss

 

It's been a long search today.

Here's today's sweet romance audiobook Panzer found on YouTube.

 

The audiobook Dreaming of Her Best Friend's Kiss is written by Jessie Gussman and narrated by Jay Dyess. It's 5 hours 28 minutes long.

You know the drill: Like all the romance audiobooks featured here, it's free for your listening.

Enjoy.

 

To listen to the audiobook tootle over to  Sweet Romance Audiobook

How to Write a Book Description for Amazon? - DiggiNet

Panzer made a stop at the DiggiNet site today. There with some digging in the posts he found one about using AI to help write your book description for Amazon.

It saves time and it's free.

Anita Nipane's post explains how to use Kindlepreneur's Book Description Generator. The Description Generator doesn't write your description for you. You write the description and then let the Description Generator make it better. Best of all it's free to use.

Panzer says, "This little kitty thinks using the Generator should save you time."

Note: This is a short-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea to drink while you read.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon Book Description

No News Today

MeWow! A whole day off.

No news today as we're doing computer maintenance.

 

 News posts will resume Friday 7:00 pm (PT).

Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Readers' Choice Award - Killer Nashville

Vote for ones you've read.

Panzer made a stop at the Killer Nashville conference site and discovered the voting has started for the Readers' Choice Award.

There are 287 books listed as entries for your voting. You are allowed to vote for up to ten of your favorite books. To make your voting easier the list is in alphabetic order by author. Voting closes July 25. You don't have to attend the conference to vote. Just go to the site.

 

 Panzer says, "You can tell your friends to come and vote too."

 

Note: With a list of 287 books this is a very, very long post. Bring whatever you want to eat and drink while you decide who to vote for.

 

For information and to cast your vote tootle over to Killer Nashville Readers Choice Award

How Scammers Are Using Amazon and Amazon Trademarks to Rip Writers Off - Writer Beware(R)

Prepare yourself now.

Today Panzer made a stop at the Writer Beware(R) site. There he found a post about Amazon scammers and fakers.

 

Victoria Strauss' post begins with examples of scammers who bought advertising space on Google searches. The rest of the post gives examples of how the fakers and scammers trick writers and authors into believing they're part of Amazon.

 

Panzer says, "You must read this post. It will keep you from getting involved with these scammers and save you time and money."

 

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Scammers

A Monday Panzerism

 Panzer on unintended consequences:

It's a thin line between cute and chaos.

Cute is ...

.

when the kitty swats at the reflection of a fly in the mirror.

Chaos is ...

when the kitty chases the fly ...

It's the fly's fault. He made me do it.*

and ...

dives head first into the mirror ...

and ...

 

the whole thing comes crashing down.

*From Cat Wisdom for humans

Free Something Is Going To Happen post: Into The Weave (by Jennifer Black)

It's an interesting post.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he made a stop at Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine's blog Something Is Going To Happen. There he found a post by writer Jennifer Black.

The post Into The Weave compares the writing of fiction to the weaving of yarn and spider webs.

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of iced tea and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) for your snack.

To read the post tootle over to Jennifer Black

Your Free Sunday Jigsaw Puzzle: What's your name?

Hint

Here's your Sunday jigsaw puzzle.

As always remember at the puzzle site to click the square in the lower left corner to see the finished puzzle.

Have fun!

To do the puzzle tootle over to What's your name?

 

 

Free Film Noir Mystery Movie: Somewhere In The Night

Save me some popcorn.

Here's Panzer's Saturday night movie for you.

 

The movie Somewhere In The Night is from the Classic Masterpieces movie channel on YouTube. It's 1 hour 48 minutes long.

Enjoy!

To watch the movie tootle over to Film Noir

Free Mystery Audiobook: The Sittaford Mystery

 

I love Agatha Christie mysteries.

For those of you who like mystery audiobooks Panzer found one for you.

The audiobook The Sittaford Mystery is written by Agatha Christie and narrated by Hugh Fraser. It's 6 hours 40 minutes long.

You know the drill: It's free for your listening.

Have fun.

To listen to the audiobook tootle over to Agatha Christie

Free Clean Romance Audiobook: Show Me A Stand-in Husband

The weekend starts now.

Panzer wants to start your Saturday entertainment with an audiobook romance he found on YouTube.

 

The audiobook  Show Me A Stand-in Husband is written by Alexa Verde.. It's 6 hours 25 minutes long.

 

As always it's free for your listening.

 

Enjoy!

To listen to the audiobook tootle over to Alexa Verde audiobook

Free Mystery Audio Short Story: The Case of the Missing Will by Agatha Christie

You've enough to keep busy now.

For those of you who prefer short classic mystery, Panzer found a Poirot Investigates short story episode at The Classic Tales Podcast on YouTube.

The audio short story The Case of the Missing Will is written by Agatha Christie. It's narrated by BJ Harrison and is 25 minutes long.

As with all Panzer's treasure finds it's free for your listening.

Enjoy!

To listen to the podcast episode tootle over to Poirot Investigates

67 Writing Contests in July 2023 - No entry fees - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

What else can I find for you?

Our fastidious kitty boy Panzer was cleaning the inside of the Panzermobile, when he noticed something wedged under the pilot seat cushion. Pulling it out, he discovered it was a post from the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site about writing contests.

Erica Verrillo's post lists 67 free to enter writing contests. There are fiction, nonfiction and poetry contests. Be sure to read the submission rules before submitting.

Panzer says, "Sorry this is late, but most of the contests are still open for submissions."

 

 Note: This is a long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to eat while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Writing Contests

The Hugo Awards Finalists - The Hugo Awards

That's a lot of finalists.

Being the big science fiction and fantasy fan that he is, Panzer was happy to learn the Hugo Awards finalists have been announced.

 

The winners will be announced and presented their awards at the Chengdu Worldcom October 18 -22.

Panzer says, "This little kitty wishes he could go, but Mom doesn't have any vacation time left this year. She says maybe next year when the Worldcon is in Glasgow."

 

Note: Since there are sixteen awards and finalists for each award, there are too many to list here. You'll need to go to the site to see the finalists. You'll also need to decide what to bring to eat and drink for your snacks.

 

To read the list of finalists tootle over to 2023 Hugo Awards

Free July 2023 Edition of The Big Thrill - International Thriller Writers

A lot of information here.

Today Panzer discovered the newest issue of the International Thriller Writers' The Big Thrill is online.

On the landing page you can scroll down to find the different articles, author interviews and book reviews.  You can then click the links to read each of them. Or, if you wish, you can click the links in the right sidebar to go to the individual sections instead.

 

 Note: Since this is the whole July issue it will be very long. You will need to decide what to bring to eat and drink to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to The Big Thrill

Amazon's ebook charts are full of AI-generated spam - Daily Dot*

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he made a quick stop at the Daily Dot site. There our inquisitive little kitty boy found a post about AI-generated spam.

 

Throw them out with the garbage.

In Gavia Baker-Whitelaw's post, she shows through examples how Amazon is getting flooded with AI-generated fake ebooks.

 

Panzer says, "Well, everybody knew this was coming."

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea to drink while you read this selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to AI ebook spam

 

 

 

 

*A tip of the kitty fedora to Nate Hoffelder's Morning Coffee site where this link first appeared 

The Enduring Genius of Ray Bradbury - Library of America Presentation

I'll see you there.

Today, Panzer found a free presentation for you about science fiction author Ray Bradbury. If you've been a reader of this site for a while, you know Panzer was a huge fan of Ray Bradbury's  books and stories.

On July 19 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. (PDT) The Enduring Genius of  Ray Bradbury will be livestreamed on Zoom.  The event will include discussions of Ray Bradbury's work by authors, an editor, and an SF expert.

Although the event is free, you must register and get a "ticket" to attend.

For more information and to register tootle over to Ray Bradbury Event

Online Thriller School - International Thriller Writers (ITW)

That's today's news.

On his way home Panzer made a stop at the International Thriller Writers' site. There he discovered the annual Online Thriller School information is now online and registration is open.

The site has information about the cost, the classes, the instructors, the Q and A sessions, the class schedule, and a FAQ section.

Panzer says, "Be sure to read all the information to make sure you understand about the classes."
 

Note: This is a long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Online Thriller School