by Ilaxi Patel

Kids Freesouls is a Newspaper for Kids with Resources for Parents & Teachers. It Provides Information, Education, Entertainment Themes. Started in 1997 as a Homepage at Tripod, the website stood Independent in 2003 as Kidsfreesouls.com. The site covers all Supplement pages of the Print Media supplement 'Freesouls' of Sambhaav Newspapers Edited by Freesouls Editor Ilaxi Patel. Over above, Kidsfreesouls has added features for Kids, Parents and teachers - Daily updated with Editor's Note.

Kidsfreesouls is now become Kids NIE (Newspaper in Education) with Extensive Use of Contents in Classrooms Worldwide. It promotes Literacy & Academic Achievement. It has various columns like News, Grammar fun, Literature, Culture and Festivals, Books and reviews, Activities for kids, kids blogs, Parental feedback articles, etc.

The site has Team Crew Members who support Kidsfreesouls mission and regularly contribute on Kidsfreesouls. They are specific content partner who share their own skills and knowledge with their own submissions to add to Kidsfreesouls.com in Interest of the readers. Kidsfreesouls Team Crew is not Paid. However, they get links to their site/work. (Currently I have team crew at poetry, fairyland, kids blogs and counselling sections)

About: Ilaxi Patel is engaged in various fields. She is :

1. Partner & Insurance Agent for family Business www.swagatgroup.net - Dealing in chemicals-dyes, Insurance, Car Finanz and Hotel Bookings.
2. Editor - Kidsfreesouls.com - Net newspaper for kids with resources for parents and teachers, It provides information, education, entertainment.
3. Author of a book "Guardian of Angels: A practical guide to joyful parenting" (available at amazon.com & other web stores worldwide on web)
4. Official Blogger for an Author & Veteran Journalist M J Akbar (Shade of Swords is one of the International Publication of the author)
5. Educationist - run a weekly Children's Library & English classes
6. Health & fitness Blogger with Statesman.com
7. A tech person - write, design, upload, manage, maintain and market own websites namely:
   a. www.kidsfreesouls.com
   b. www.mjakbar.org
   c. www.swagatgroup.net
   d. Ex online Editor for www.sambhaav.com (a gujarati newspaper website (family relations)
   

I believe "Knowledge without Experience & exposure is Incomplete" - I am an explorer on web and my ultimate goal is spreading Love, faith, peace & unity among human beings or people I rather meet on the web while I explore.

Here's more on my Mission Statement on Kidsfreesouls www.kidsfreesouls.com/missionkids.htm

Awards:

Outstanding Journalist Award
Conferred upon ilaxi sudhir patel by Kadva Patidar Parivar & Mahila Seva Samaj. (Community Award)

(This Award was given on 6th March 2005 to honor eight Personalities in various field on occasion of the Patel Community's 25th Silver Jubilee & International Women's Day Function.)

Web Awards and Talkcity Team crew certificate on www.kidfreesouls.com/ilaxiawards.htm

Google Map of Kidsfreesouls: click to find location

Kidsfreesouls.com is supported by Feedburner feeds by Editor's various Blog feeds incorporated to the Kidsfreesouls website like Ed Blog, tech blog, Spanish blog, gujarati blog, Amazon Author blog etc. They can be subscribed to read in feed readers and the widgets appear on Kidsfreesouls pages too.

Feeds:
Ed posts: Subscribe Ed Posts to read in a reader
Tech posts: Subscribe Tech Posts to read in a reader
Health and fitness :Subscribe Health & Fitness Posts to read in a reader
Amazon Author: Subscribe Amazon-Author Blog Posts to read in a reader

Search Engine Features kidsfreesoul.com as # 1-10 as below:

The site stand as # 1-5 in Google, Yahoo, MSN, Live, etc. with keywords like
newspaper for children - # 1 out of 11,800,000 sites, - google
kids newspaper in India - #1, etc. - google
kids newspaper - # 3 out of 4,000,000 sites - google

Newspaper for kids - # 2 out of 360,000 - google

Kids newspaper - # 2 and 3 out of 175,000,000
newspaper for kids - # 1 out of 174,000,000 sites
newspaper for kids in India - # 1 and 6 out of 15,000,000 sites

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Press Release

Five poetry and story contests now open at Winning Writers will award over $24,000 in cash. The contests include the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest, the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee), the War Poetry Contest, the Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse, and the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest. These contests aim to be models in the publishing industry for their excellence, transparency and ease of entry. Winning Writers was named one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" by Writer's Digest in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Guidelines for all contests are available at www.winningwriters.com

Northampton, MA (PRWEB) January 3, 2008 -- Winning Writers is now accepting entries for five poetry and story contests on its website. These contests will award over $24,000 in cash prizes. Winning Writers, founded in 2001, is today's leading source for up-to-date literary contest information. It was named one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" by Writer's Digest in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest and the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest seek outstanding work across all styles and themes. The Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, the War Poetry Contest, and the Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse aim to stimulate and reward work in specific styles and subjects that are underappreciated in the contemporary literary environment.

Here are summaries of the contest guidelines:

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest
Sixteenth year. Fourteen cash prizes totaling $5,250 will be awarded. Top prize $2,000. Seeks short stories, essays and other works of prose, up to 5,000 words. Winning entries published online. Both published and unpublished work accepted. Fee per entry is $12, payable to Winning Writers. Postmark deadline: March 31. Judges: J.H. Reid, D.C. Konrad. Complete guidelines .

Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee)
Seventh annual free contest with a special twist. Writer's Digest calls this contest "infamous". It honors the best "bad" poems that spoof the "vanity contest" phenomenon. Vanity contests are marketing schemes that indiscriminately award "honors" to poets in order to butter them up and sell them anthologies and other items. Fifteen cash prizes totaling $3,336.40 will be awarded. Top prize $1,359. Submit one poem by April 1 deadline. No entry fee. Winning entries published online. Judge: Jendi Reiter. Complete guidelines .

War Poetry Contest
Seventh year. This contest seeks sophisticated poems on the theme of war, poems that avoid both blind patriotism and blind pacifism. Fifteen cash prizes totaling $5,000 will be awarded. Top prize $2,000. Submit 1-3 unpublished poems, up to 500 lines in all. Winning entries published online. Sponsored by Winning Writers. $15 entry fee, payable to Winning Writers. Postmark deadline: May 31. Judge: Jendi Reiter. Complete guidelines .

This press release contains a special audiovisual presentation of last year's winning poem, "The Rose of Ilium" by Kyle McDonald of Toronto. You may also view it as a Google video (23 minutes).

Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse
Fifth year. This contest seeks to rekindle interest in traditional verse forms, styles that have languished in the modern age. Examples of these forms include sonnets and free verse. Fourteen cash prizes totaling $5,250 will be awarded. Top prize $2,000. Winning entries published online. Both published and unpublished work accepted. Entry fee is $6 for every 25 lines, payable to Winning Writers. Postmark deadline: June 30. Judges: J.H. Reid, D.C. Konrad. Complete guidelines .

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest
Sixth year. Fourteen cash prizes totaling $5,250 will be awarded. Top prize $2,000. Submit poems in any style or genre. Both published and unpublished work accepted. Winning entries published online. Entry fee is $6 for every 25 lines, payable to Winning Writers. Postmark deadline: September 30. Judges: J.H. Reid, D.C. Konrad. Complete guidelines .

Winning Writers aims to make its contests models in the industry. Each one permits convenient online entry. Pages of Frequently Asked Questions disclose the number of entries to past contests and other important details, such as copyright terms. A toll-free number (866-WINWRIT) is provided for customer service. Winning entries from the past several years are published online. Contestants can read these entries and decide which contests are right for them.

About Winning Writers, Inc.

Winning Writers publishes Poetry Contest Insider, an online database that ranks and profiles over 750 English-language poetry contests, plus over 300 of the top fiction and essay contests. This unique directory is edited by Jendi Reiter, author of A Talent for Sadness, who has been entering and winning literary contests for over 20 years.

Media Release

Primary and secondary students across Australia are being urged to go outdoors to find inspiration for the 2008 Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards.

“Forests, Feathers, Fins and Fur” is this year’s theme for country’s largest poetry writing competition for students, which celebrates the work of well-known Australian poet Dorothea Mackellar.

Supported by the Australian Government, the poetry awards, now in their 28th year, are an activity associated with National Literacy and Numeracy Week (NLNW).

“The Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards is a valued National Literacy and Numeracy Week event. It helps students discover a passion for poetry, while ensuring our children develop effective literacy skills,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard.

“These important awards provide a unique voice for our youth. I encourage all schools to participate and write about our precious environment.”

Last year, more than 15,000 poems were written by students from nearly 1000 schools nationally.

Students and schools can share in more than $5000 worth of prizes including cash, trophies, books and a trip to Gunnedah in north-west NSW – home of the awards and where Dorothea Mackellar’s family owned several properties.

This year, the poetry awards take on an environmental theme with the Namoi Catchment Management Authority (CMA) also throwing its support behind the event.

“It’s hoped the environmental theme will encourage students to research biodiversity by studying their local environments and help them to learn about the diversity of native plants and animals,” said General Manager Namoi CMA Bruce Brown.

“This event gives students the chance to express their thoughts and concerns about the environment in a creative manner.”

Entries in the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards close 2 June 2008. Authors Sue Gough and Prue Mason are the judges, and winners will be notified during NLNW (1-7 September).

A National Presentation Ceremony will be held in Gunnedah on 5 September 2008.

Award entry forms and information on poetry writing, resource notes for teachers and judges’ reports are available at www.dorothea.com.au

The major supporter of the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards is the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training. Other supporters include Gunnedah Shire Council, Namoi Catchment Management Authority, BHP Billiton Caroona Coal Project and QantasLink.

Media contact
Barbara Guest, Project Manager
0267 421 200 or mobile 0428 435321
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Pamphlet power, poet power

by Hazel B Cameron

From Jonathan Swift in the 1730’s to Seamus Heaney in modern times, poets have published their work in pamphlet form. Now the millennium has seen a revival in poetry pamphlets. New technology and access to desktop publishing methods has helped poets use their creativity and ingenuity to reach their readers, gaining independence from commerce and subsidy. The poetry pamphlet is now flourishing and finding its way to new readers in different ways from the usual high street book shop. Instead, independent bookshops, local retailers, pamphlet fairs and the internet can all accommodate the pamphlet and help poets reach their audience. If people write poetry and are serious about it, they should make it available to the public, who can decide what they want to read in terms of poetry. This has become almost impossible through the established methods of commercial publication; the pamphlet offers poets an opportunity to find their readership.

In 2001, Tessa Ransford, founder of the Scottish Poetry Library, set up the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award in memory of her late husband Callum Macdonald, literary publisher and founder of Macdonald Publishers and Printers. The award recognises publishing skill and effort and validates the practice of poetry publication in pamphlet form. It is supported by the Michael Marks Charitable Trust and many individuals and is administered by The National Library of Scotland. Since its inception, it has not only grown in itself, peaking with 53 entries in 2005, but has encouraged the confidence and development of pamphlet poetry.

Tessa also set up the Pamphlet Web site www.scottish-pamphlet-poetry.com The website allows poets and publishers of pamphlets with a Scottish connection to list and sell their pamphlets on the web. It helps pamphlet poetry to reach a wider audience and many of the buyers are from abroad – from individuals, to English Departments within overseas Universities.

In 2004 The Edinburgh International Book Festival began taking a stand of independently published pamphlets for sale under the SPP umbrella. Sales increase each year and last year over 30 independent publishers were represented amongst the 200 pamphlets sold. This was a surprising achievement, and shows that the public enjoy the opportunity to discover and decide for themselves what they want to read in terms of poetry.

In March 2006 the StAnza International Poetry Festival focused for the first time on the category of pamphlet poetry among its other international attractions. It held a successful pamphlet fair during the festival allowing publishers to sell and display their pamphlets as well as giving poets and publishers the chance to meet and mix. The pamphlet fair is becoming a popular way of distributing poetry and it seems likely that ‘market style’ fairs will be seen on a regular basis at literary festivals. In 2007 the Edinburgh International Book Festival invited Scottish Pamphlet Poetry to run a pamphlet fair during the event which proved very successful with members of the public dropping in, listening to readings and buying pamphlets. We have been invited to run a similar event this year.

There are many benefits from publishing in pamphlet form, as well as a few pitfalls. Generally, if you publish the pamphlet yourself, you can have full control over the contents, layout and cover. However, having your work checked and edited by an independent person before going to print is recommended. Unless you have experience in the printing industry, it is advisable to speak to and probably use a professional printer to produce your final work.

There are a growing number of small presses which produce poetry pamphlets on behalf of poets. Often they will approach a poet they’ve seen being published in poetry magazines or heard at readings, many are still happy to be approached by poets with a view to publication. This removes the production and some of the marketing from the poet, yet allows them to remain involved in the content and design of the pamphlet.

With the growing interest in poetry readings and performances, a pamphlet is an excellent way of having your work for sale if you do not have a book. It seems the public are less likely to buy a book of poetry than to buy a pamphlet. Giving a poetry pamphlet as a gift or instead of a card is often the reason for a sale. When it comes to distribution, this is usually cheaper and easier to do with pamphlets than books. Local library shops and other small retailers are more likely to take a few for display on a sale or return basis.

If you decide to try the independent approach, please take into consideration the following points:-

• It still takes time to produce a pamphlet – usually twice as long as you imagine; as design is important and should not be rushed.

• Do not start with too many copies – 100 is a good first run.

• Have a contact number or address on the pamphlet.

• An ISBN is not essential but is helpful to shops and festivals.

• Always show a publication date.

• Look at other pamphlets, there are lots around.

• Collaborative projects can take longer, but can be more fun and very satisfying.

• Try and design an attractive cover and have a good title.

• Take care with the quality of paper used and the size and style of font (typeface).

• Send your pamphlet to local newspapers and poetry magazines for review.

• Arrange your own readings or collaborate with others in order to publicise your work.

The best thing about producing a pamphlet yourself is that it is fun. So enjoy it.

Hazel B Cameron
4 Cottage
High Swinton
Masham. RIPON
HG4 4JH
Tel: 01765 689682
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Decisions in the past

(Poet please advise name)

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Feel my hurt
By Michelle Fritz