Religious Freedom & Cults Writing Contest

While I continue trying to find a publisher for The Ghosts of November, I have decided to have a writing contest. The contest will run from today, June 7 and all entries must be emailed to the blog no later than 31 October 2008. The email address to be used is wordworks2001@gmail.com and the essay should be in the message off the email. The subject line of all entries should read "Writing Contest Entry."

The topic of the essays shall be "Cults and Religious Freedom." Essays must be no less than 500 words and no longer than 1000 words. Spelling and grammar do count and the winning entry will be judged by Rebecca Bibbs, author of The Nubian Codex and award winning professional journalist.

Other rules of the writing contest include:

1. The grand prizewinning entry will be published on this blog in November 2008.

2. You must be age 16 or over to enter.

3. Your entry must be an unpublished work by you, and be on the topic "Religious Freedom and Cults." All entries become the property of The Ghosts of November Blog and may be posted on the blog.

4. Entries must be typed and double-spaced. They are to be placed into the body of an email sent to wordworks2001@gmail.com. The subject of the email must be "Writing Contest Entry."

5. Please include the title of your piece on top of the piece.

6. Your essay should be no less than 500 and no more than 1000 words.

7. Send as many entries as you like.

8. Include the following on your entry email:

• Title of the entry
  
• Name
• Snail mail address
  
• Email address
  
• Biographical facts
  i.e. If you're a student: your birthdate; what grade you are going into; the school you attend; your major, if applicable; hobbies; a photo of yourself (no Polaroids or color copies).
  

The winner shall receive a copy of the first edition of The Ghosts of November, personally autographed by me.

People's temple - The Play

Two years ago last month, the Berkeley Repertory Theater premiered "The People' Temple." The writer-director, Leigh Fondakowski, spent three years researching archives and interviewing surviving members of the Peoples Temple (note the absence of an apostrophe to differentiate the name of the play from the church).

The play begins in a library with a white-gloved archivist lifting a choir robe from a box. It ends in a jungle enclave in Guyana called Jonestown.

Fondakowski used interviews with survivors and copious amounts of audiotapes that were found in Jonestown as well as letters and other archival written materials as sources for the verbatim dialog of the play. This method of writing the play allowed the true feelings of those who lived the Jonestown trauma to come through.

Her writing methods are very similar to those of another play The People's Temple is sometimes compared with, "The Laramie Project." Moises Kauffman and his Tectonic Theater Project used interview transcripts to craft their powerful account of the reaction to the homophobic murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. The play has been performed in venues across the country and was turned into a well-received HBO movie.

The People's temple has only played to audiences in Berkeley and at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota as far as I can tell. However, the artistic director of the Denver Theater Company, coincidentally, where The Laramie Project premiered, has said he hopes his theater will perform it in 2008. Hopefully The People's Temple will play to many more theaters across the country in 2008 since it is the 30th anniversary year of the Jonestown Massacre.

Hi There

I consider myself very fortunate. Despite the fact I'm going on 60 years of age and have had my share of adversity, I am still standing. I have had Parkinson's disease for about 11 years, was told three years ago if I did not undergo a quintuple coronary artery bypass, I would have a heart attack, stroke or die within three months (I didn't have the surgery and still live) and have various and sundry aches and pains. I lived as a homeless derelict for almost six years, am a non-practicing compulsive gambler, and have been thrice married and twice divorced. I still haven't let life's lows get me down.

I do have some accomplishments I am very proud of, the biggest of which was the publication of THE GHOSTS OF NOVEMBER in 1998. Although it was self-published, the book was a success. Out-of-print, you can still find used copies offered on Amazon.com for many times the book's retail price. As much of a highlight this achievement was in my life, the two year rewrite and revision I just completed, adding fifty percent new material, including photos, maps and footnotes is one I am almost as proud of.

Last week, I went to the Pikes Peak Writers Conference in Colorado Springs, seeking representation from one of the literary agents who were there. I was fortunate enough to have a pitch session with one and she wanted to see my book proposal. I finally had my foot in the door!

This is the first step in a manuscript becoming a real book. As this process continues, you are invited to return to this blog on a regular basis to view progress from conception to birth. I will update the readers on problems with false labor and other setbacks and any doctoring (editing) that needs to be performed so the baby is born without any defects.

In the meantime, I'll post news and correspondence that will be related to the book and the Jonestown Massacre as we move closer to the 30th anniversary of the horrific event. I shall solicit your comments, contributions, critiques and questions. Any special events I have will be posted and I hope you will inform me of events you learn of. I hope you will join me.