My friend and fellow writer/graduate student/writing workshop leader Gina De Vries blogged today to remember and celebrate a list she’d made of things she wanted and needed in various aspects of her life…and she’d achieved and been blessed with most of them. So, in that same spirit of wonderment and gratitude and curiosity – here’s Synchronized Chaos’ Wants and Needs Wish List:

Wishlist for Synchronized Chaos – and the local writers’ groups:

More worldwide publicity 

The latest Writers’ Market book.

More CD’s and books for the lending library..how to write, how to market, etc.

Web design support – someone who knows WordPress and/or laptop repair

Mentors! People to work with and advise our artists, photographers, writers, etc.

Conference speakers for our local free writers’ conference and networking event (planned to take place sometime late next fall.)

Carpool drivers for each of our local spinoff writers’ groups (San Francisco, San Rafael, San Jose, Castro Valley)

Career advising for our writers

People who will volunteer or barter to read and critique/edit people’s writing

Donations to our scholarship fund to send one person (recipient to be determined based on their personal readiness and interest, will NOT be myself) to the San Francisco Writers’ Conference – $450 left to raise

Donations to a random and discreetly available slush fund for folks (not myself!) down on their luck who need contest entry fees, paperback books on writing, bus fare/gas money for literary and art events, cash for coffee and meals at our events, etc.

Resume editing and job networking for our staff and contributors – in this economy we offer this as a service for anyone who’s interested, but would love to have a volunteer with some career counseling/job finding experience offer to take a look

Help finding paid advertising or otherwise increase our sustainable income stream without annoying our readers.

An apartment somewhere mass-transit accessible in the San Francisco Bay Area we can use occasionally to host events and potlucks and receptions.

Pen pals and mentors and sponsors of writing and stamps and other supplies for the incarcerated ladies we write to through Free Battered Women’s survivors’ project. Have invited several to submit to Synchronized Chaos, hoping to print some of their work soon!

Online Journal Seeks Current Events Poetry
http://www.newverse news.com

THE NEW VERSE NEWS covers the news of the day with poems on issues, large and small, international and local. It relies on the submission of poems (especially those of a politically progressive bent) by writers from all over the world.

The editors update the website every day or two with the best work received. What’s best? A genuinely poetic take on a very current and specific news story or event.

See the website at http://www.newverse news.com for guidelines and for examples of the kinds of poems THE NEW VERSE NEWS publishes. Then paste your submission and a brief bio in the text of an email (no attachments, please) to <nveditor(at) yahoo.com> (replace (at) with @). Write “Verse News Submission” in the subject line of your email.

Greetings!

Would you or someone you know like to become a published writer? If so, please continue reading.

The Berkeley Fiction Review, an undergraduate, student-run publication, is always looking for innovative fiction that plays with form and content as well as traditionally constructed stories with fresh voices and original ideas. Please note that though we accept stories year round, expect a delay if you submit during the summer.

The criteria for short story submissions are:
– 8,000 words or less (nothing over 25 pages)
– Typed, 12 point font, double-spaced and single-sided
– Cover letter should include address, phone, email, and title of story
– Must note if story is simultaneously submitted
– Include a SASE for returning manuscripts.
– Submit electronically to bfictionreview@yahoo.com or by snail mail to
Attn: Caitlin McGuire
Berkeley Fiction Review
10B Eshleman Hall
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-4500

If there are any other questions or concerns, you should check out our website at http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~bfr. We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Submission Guidelines: The Los Angeles Review
http://redhen. org/losangelesre view/submissions /

Readings for Issue 8 are now open. Readings for poetry will close May 25, 2010. Readings in all other genres will close June 1, 2010. (Please note that readings close at the end of the business day on the date listed above.) Submissions received outside our reading periods will be discarded without notice.
Indicate title in the subject heading. For prose submissions, also indicate word count. Please include a cover letter and bio in the body of the email, and attach your piece as a single .doc or .rtf attachment, not as a .docx.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted if noted in the cover letter. No multiple submissions, please. Response time is 2-3 months.

Writers published in The Los Angeles Review will receive one contributor copy in exchange for first North American serial rights.

Guidelines:
Nonfiction: We seek essay, memoir, and commentary told as compelling, focused, sustained narrative in a distinctive voice, rich with detail. Send 1,000-4,000 words or delight us with flash nonfiction that cat-burgles our expectations.

Fiction: We’re looking for to hard-to-put- down shorties under 500 words and lengthier shorts up to 4,000 words–lively, vivid, excellent literary fiction.

Poetry: Please submit 3-5 poems that will surprise us, wow us, and make us wish we’d written them ourselves. We are open to form, free verse, prose poems, and experimental styles. Our only criterion is quality.

Reviews: We welcome reviews of new and recent books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, particularly of books that have not received the critical attention they deserve. Send reviews of three to six pages. Please familiarize yourself with the kind of creative work we publish, as we are unlikely to print reviews of material that is vastly different from that which we feature in the magazine.

Translations: Please submit 3-5 translated poems that open the poet’s original vision to an English-speaking audience.

Send all submissions or queries to appropriate department email:
(replace (at) with @ when sending e-mail)

Managing Editor: <lareview.editor( at)gmail. com>
Poetry Editor: <lareview.poetry( at)gmail. com>
Translation Editor: <lareview.translati ons(at)gmail. com>
Prose Editor: <lareview.prose( at)gmail. com>
Fiction Editor: <lareview.fiction( at)gmail. com>
Nonfiction Editor: <lareview.nonfictio n(at)gmail. com>
Review Editor: <lareview.bookreviews(at)gmail. com>

Earthquake devastation in Chile - photo copyright AP-Sebastian Martinez

A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, February 27, 2010, setting off tsunami warnings for the entire Pacific basin. Reports estimate that over 700 people are dead and countless others are facing more damage from strong aftershocks. Emergency supplies such as food, water and medical supplies are desperately needed. The organizations below need your help now to be able to provide assistance in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

To ensure your contribution goes to Chile relief funds, please remember to designate your gift to “Chile Earthquake”.

List of mainstream, verified organizations accepting supplies and donations: http://www1.networkforgood.org/help-chile-earthquake