Stars Fell on Spartanburg

           The Hub City Writers Project is seeking submissions of creative nonfiction, poetry, fiction, song and short play for a book that will be published in late 2008. Each piece must be about, or based upon, an actual celebrity visit to Spartanburg, SC.

          Stars Fell will be a book with a strong sense of place. These celebrity stories should be the vehicle used to shed light on an era, a place or event in our community's history. They will also be a way for us to showcase the creative work of strong writers.

          Submissions in Word format should be emailed to info@hubcity.org by August 15, 2007. Although you can make multiple entries, only one piece of yours can appear in the book. Authors whose work is chosen will receive a limited-edition hardback copy of the book and three paperbacks at publication.

          In the categories of short fiction and drama, pieces can range from 1,000 to 3,000 words. All of these must be accompanied by a paragraph that gives some actual details of the celebrity visit (time, place etc.) and some background about who the celebrity is.

In the category of poetry and song, there is no word limit. These pieces also must be accompanied by a paragraph that gives some actual details of the celebrity visit (time, place etc.) and some background about who the celebrity is.

          In the creative nonfiction category, pieces should be between 800 and 2000 words and should follow these guidelines:

 A good personal essay must:

• Be written in the first person
• Tell a story
• Be rich in detail that allows the reader to "see the scene"
• Ground the reader in the era and place of the story
• Wrap in basic information about who the celebrity is

 The best personal essays will:

 Make the reader see the writer's personality, then and now

• Include humor or pathos
• Reflect on where the celebrity is today and include any present-day thoughts/contact you may have about this person

 Note: If you did not have a celebrity encounter yourself, but want to write about an actual event, you may write an essay in the first person about your research, exploration and discovery, following guidelines above.

For more information email: info@hubcity.org or call 577-9349.