Book Blogs Search (based on 1800 book blogs)

There are countless book blogs in the web, featuring an even more countless number of book reviews - but often, the search for reviews is like a walk in the web jungle. Thanks to the code skills of book blogger Firefly, there is a search enginea that provides a shortcut through this data jungle - it is based on a catalogue of 1800 book blogs:

BOOK BLOGS SEARCH ENGINE

Here's the introduction to it: "Looking for reviews of a book by real-life book bloggers? Tired of sifting through corporate sites in your regular Google search results? That’s why I created the Book Blogs custom search engine – all book bloggers, all the time! Whether you’re looking for other non-commercial reviews of a book you’ve just read, or want real readers’ opinions on a new book you’re considering, this is the place!"

For more about this search engine, and how to put this search on the sidebar of your blog, or how to have your own book blog listed, and how this search also is a helpful tools for authors and publishers, visit: About the Books Blog Search

Book Search Tips
When looking for a specific book, try a combination of a key word from the book title and the family name of the author. You can also search for general themes, for example "travel" or  "e-books"
There also is an option to add the searchbox direcly in one's own blog, into the sidebar. This seemst to work rather fine, it's now included here in the sidebar of the blog, too.

About Fyrefly + Fyrefly's book reviws
Fyrefly is a biologist, voracious reader, and semi-recovering used book sale addict - and a book blogger, visit the Fyrefly-blog for the recent posts, and the calendar 2012 for a reading overview.

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Books, Blogs, Review Forward

This post belongs to the BluePrintReview book + lit blog, which explores and celebrates the diverse and growing landscape of indie presses, authors, books, e-books, online literary projects and related projects. It belongs to the literary online magazine BluePrintReview.

Review Forward: This entry is inspired by Review Forward, a new online initiative for authors & book bloggers. For more reviews, visit the facebook page or the twitter-stream.

The storySouth Million Writers Award - Top 10 Stories of 2011

Great stories are being published online. The storySouth Million Writers Award for best online fiction of the year will help all internet-based journals and magazines gain exposure and attent.

Top Ten Stories of 2011
The Million Writers Award top ten stories of 2011 have been released. The public vote for the overall winner is now open, and ends Monday, August 6th. Any member of the public may vote once! For the story list go here: Million Writers Award - Top 10 Stories

Notable Stories of 2011
The Million Writers Award Notable Stories of 2011 have now been released. Click here for the list: Notable Stories of 2011

Best online publication & best new online magazine
The winner of this year's Million Writers Award for best publication is Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, which placed five stories on this year's notable list.
The winner of this year's Million Writers Award for best new online magazine is The Good Men's Project. Runner-ups for best new online magazine were The Journal Of Unlikely Entomology, Tinge Magazine, and In the Snake Magazine.

Some general notes from Jason Sanford on this year's award: "A few surprises with this year's Million Writers Award notable stories. First, no author landed more than one story on the list. Second, there also was only one magazine with 5 notable stories (Asian Cha), one with four (Light Speed) and a number with three. Seems like the notable picks were really spread around this year by the judges."

About the Award + Top 10 Stories
The storySouth award was initiated and is organized by author and editor Jason Sanford. The story of how this award started during the time when online journals often weren't considered to be real publications by some, and is still online, here.

The award is for any fictional short story of at least a 1,000 words first published in an online publication during 2011. In the first phase, the Million Writers Award accepted nominations from readers, writers, and editors, gathered online in 2 pages: Reader nominations and Editor nominations

The top ten stories will be released in June. Voting on the top stories of the year will last for three weeks after the top ten stories are released. Thanks to donations, so far we have nearly $1000 in cash and prizes for the top three winners, including  (and the volunteer preliminary judges who assist with the award).

Link: The storySouth Million Writers Award

Related links: writing initiatives + web projects

Fictionaut Reading, New York: trip blogs & links

It happend in New York City, in the KGB Bar: an international fictionaut reading with  main headliners Christopher Allen from Germany and Matt Potter from Australia, and an open mike format that let about 15 other writers the chance to dazzle the KGB Bar, including Tania Hershman from the UK.

For all who didn't have the chance to be there, Bill Yarrow filmed the reads and put them online at YouTube: Fictionaut Reading.

But that's only half of the digital fun: there are several travelogues and blog posts that spin from the reading, lead up to it, or link to further reads:

Christopher Allen's blog post: Fond Memories of the KGB: "The KGB Bar is small and dark. In former times, I'm sure this space was a dank, cloudy fishbowl of the smoking intelligentsia..."

Tania Hershman's travelogue: The Languages We Speak and the Languages We Don't: "I have just had quite an amazing month in the USA and am going to attempt to sum it up, as if that was ever possible, or at least sort out some of the thoughts in my head into some coherence! ..."

Robert Vaughan's post with extra-links Hump-a-day late: "The readers were far flung from all over the globe, and the audience was really appreciative..."

Michelle Elvy's reflection (via facebook): "Sitting on a cool winter evening listening to my own story, in another voice, read on a warm summer night in NYC, thanks to Bill Yarrow's video of readings at the recent Fictionaut event in NYC. You can hear Christopher Allen, Tania Hershman, Matt Potter and also Susan Tepper reading my work here at YouTube: Fictionaut Reading. Feeling very happy about this!! Thanks to you all -- and for Bill for editing this all together."