Happy Holidays...

Thanks again to all those who came out to the meet-up on Friday night! It was a smaller crowd, about 15, as to be expected with folks traveling for the holidays and busy with festivities. But it was still a great mix of new & familiar faces and a jolly good time. After the holidays, we’ll have a Sunday merienda style meet-up, to try out a different day and onda, specific time and location to be announced.

A few thoughts on our adventurous and creative lifestyles and the Writers in BA family: Some of you are Argentines, some of you are seasoned expats that are here for the long haul, and some of you are here and gone in an explorative interlude of your life, either to figure out your life’s purpose (suerte on finding that here!), run away from the wreckage of your previous life, or simply to commune with your muse and amass juicy material for your writings.

Whatever the case, should you be one of those that leave us, we do hope you’ll stay in touch. If you publish something exciting or win an award, we want to know! If you become a well-to-do editor and want to hire us lovely freelancers in B.A., we want to know! If you strike it rich, marry rich, or work for a rich arts foundation, and want to fund a writers’ center here for all sorts of cool projects and residencies and whatnot, we want to know! Plus, you have to stay in touch, because you know you’ll end up back here; this place has a hold on your soul, like it or not.
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THE ‘WHO IS PETE SEVANG?’ WRITING CONTEST
Deadline: JANUARY 15!

Yep that’s right, there’s still a contest for your creative outlets, deadline extended to January 15th, because I know some of you have *intriguing* manuscripts in the works and I want to read them! So the question of the day is “Who is Pete Sevang?” Similar rules apply.

This is a fiction contest based on no actual person, except to the extent that fiction draws on real life, i.e. you can base Pete Sevang on your real life evil stepfather bent on publicly humiliating you, but you must give him a Texas accent and a Batman costume that he steals away in at night.

What we do know about Pete Sevang: He is a writer lurking in Buenos Aires that nobody has met.

Send a paragraph of flash fiction or a poem (limit 250 words) on the topic ‘Who is Pete Sevang?’ to writersinba@gmail.com with “Who is Pete Sevang?” in the subject heading. Deadline JANUARY 15, 2009. First, second and third prize entries will be published on our blog and reserve an honorary slot to read them at the forthcoming open mike (to be announced).

We’ll have more serious contests in the future, too, with serious prizes and judges and blind submission procedure, but this is to get us going!
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SPOTLIGHT: PROFILE YOUR FELLOW WRITERS! Seeking submissions…

As an ongoing writing project, you are invited to interview and profile each other for publication in the WBA newsletter & blog as a way of getting to know each other and getting our names and our work out there! Profiles will be published on a rolling basis, up to 1 or 2 bi-weekly.You can profile a friend or use this as an opportunity to get to know someone new!

*What you get as the writer: A byline and clip of your writing published on our site
*What you get as the interviewee: A spotlight and publicity for your work

To solicit an interview, you can:
-Come to one of the Writers in BA meet-ups and find someone there
-Peruse the writers' sites listed on the Writers in BA blog for something that strikes your interest-Put a call out on the google group as a willing interviewer or interviewee (writersinba@googlegroups.com)
-Find someone who isn't yet in Writers in BA, but perhaps should be...

GUIDELINES
-Limit 500 words
-Please keep it up to your best writing standards and edit carefully!
-Please provide the contact info of the person being profiled if they are not already in WBA so the final profile can be cleared with them for accuracy.
-Provide a link to the profilee's website if relevant (and yours, too!)
-Provide a photo if possible (an original one that you have the right to distribute legally, please)
-The person being profiled does not need to be a published author, or even necessarily a writer; they could be an editor, literary translator, or something of the sort.
-The person being profiled does not need to be a continual resident in Argentina if their work or time spent here is relevant.
Send submissions to: writersinba@gmail.com
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JOIN THE GOOGLE GROUP!
As a way for y’all to communicate with each other more directly and make this space more open I’ve created a google group. You should join even if you’re on Facebook, as there are other members not on Facebook to commune with…

If you have not received an invitation but want to join, check it out at:
http://groups.google.com/group/writersinba
writersinba@googlegroups.com

This is separate from the newsletter & events list; you can choose to subscribe or not subscribe to the google group and you will still receive the newsletter.
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Link your blog or website to ours! Send us a link and we will post it. And check out your fellow writers’ sites already up on the WBA blog.

The many illustrious ways to currently participate in WBA and tell all your friends (writers, fans, editors, agents, etc.) are:

WRITERS IN THE NEWS
Have you published something exciting? Won an award? Been featured in the media? Let us know your news!

Here’s a new venture being launched by WBA member Michelle Alison in Mar del Plata; for further info contact her at english.newspaper@yahoo.com.

The English Newspaper
Argentina’s new paper – free, in print, and online

The English Newspaper is the newest answer to the need for more news and information in English. With only one well known English newspaper now available and focused on Buenos Aires, The English Newspaper will be dedicated to the whole of Argentina. It will target tourists and English speakers and will also be a substantial resource for English language learners.

The English Newspaper will be distributed free throughout Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata to start, and expand to other important cities like Mendoza, Cordoba, Rosario, and Bariloche – with future plans to distribute it in tourist information centres in London and other major cities. The newspaper will also be online, providing global access.

The English Newspaper will not just be a newspaper, but a learning tool. Along with all the important global and local news there will be sections dedicated to the history and geography of Argentina and South America. For tourists coming to Argentina with little knowledge about the country, they will not only find tourist information but also learn about Argentina – all in one attractive format. Tourist information will include important tips and recommendations based on the real-life experiences of those already living here as well as from other tourists.

Indeed, what makes the English Newspaper different is that all of the articles are written by English speaking journalists living in Argentina. The topics will include moving to a new country, adapting to Argentine culture, business ventures from a foreign perspective, and everyday questions such as education and immigration.

The English Newspaper will feature an English language learning section, with grammar and vocabulary available for three different levels of speakers, making it handy and useful for both foreign visitors and native learners. And, there will also be a puzzle section with crosswords and wordsearches to enhance English skills.

The English Newspaper will also publish world weather, currency news, horoscopes and cartoons, and a free classified section for small businesses and items for sale.

The English Newspaper is a new type of newspaper, and as a free newspaper, it will be widely circulated and read – and a great opportunity for marketing by advertisers who are looking for the focused markets it creates.