'Reader's Digest' Wants Your Life Story in 150 Words or Less

Oh boy, do I have a contest for you long-winded Facebookers and personal bloggers. It's called, "Your Life: The Reader's Digest Version." The venerable magazine is willing to shell out $25,000 if you can keep The Story of You to a crisp and compelling 150 words (words, not characters—this isn't Twitter). Hell, I'd fork over that much if certain "friends" would stop sending me six-page family missives disguised as Christmas cards. Short and sweet, people! You are not that interesting. Jane Lynch, star of Glee and host of next month's Emmy Awards, gets the ball rolling with her own abbreviated life story on the magazine's Facebook page (see it after the jump). Shame, it sounds nothing like her caustic Sue Sylvester character from the Fox musical. Rather, it's an earnest promo-within-a-promo for Lynch's memoir, Happy Accidents, dropping in September. More celebrities with books to hawk will follow. But if Lynch, a sought-after, award-winning actress (Best in Show, Role Models, Party Down), can give a snapshot into her psyche within just a few sentences, so can you. I'd be even happier with a haiku. Jane Lynch's entry: "At the tender age of 50, I realized that I had the family, friends and the acting career I had always wanted. I had suffered on the way, feeling out of place, overcontrolling and drinking too much, but all that suffering had not fueled anything useful. The good things were a result of happy accidents that I had been willing, and let's hope smart enough, to... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'

[ AdWeek | 2011-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #award-winning actress #role models #tender age #acting career #good things #stay open

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Google Is Making the Mobile Web Faster for Publishers and Their Readers

Every second counts with often impatient mobile users, so Google wants to help publishers reduce the time it takes their articles to load when viewed on smartphones. On Wednesday, Google launched a program called Accelerated Mobile Pages, or AMP, which speeds up load times by plugging a piece... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Buckley wins BBC Short Story prize

Jonathan Buckley has won the  £15,000 BBC National Short Story Award for ‘Briar Road’.   This evening (6th October) he was presented with the prize of £15,000 by this year’s Chair of Judges Allan Little at a ceremony held in the BBC’s Radio Theatre in London. The news was announced live on BBC... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digiday Digest: Scroll speed, buy buttons and vinyl’s staying power

Facebook says scroll speed counts, and it turns out millennials are quicker with their thumbs than Gen X. They'll register an ad 2.5 times faster. Twitter, meanwhile, is adding a buy button. It’ll show up in sponsored tweets and anywhere there’s a link to the product. So far, five companies... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BAMB buskers to bring high street to life

Books Are My Bag has teamed up with The Busking Project to launch The Bookshop Buskers. The initiative will see buskers and street theatre bring “high streets to life” on Saturday 10th October as part of the industry-wide Books Are My Bag (BAMB) campaign. The partnership’s aim is to provide... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Medium Raises $57 Million for the ‘Best Stories and Ideas on the Internet’

Medium, the publishing platform hatched by Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, has raised $57 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz.   It’s the three-year-old company’s second funding round, and people familiar with Medi ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Toronto’s Word on the Street Fest Takes to New Venue

For its 26th year, Word on the Street Toronto—Canada’s largest free book and magazine festival—moved to a new venue at the Harbourfront Centre, next to Lake Ontario. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Readers Drawn to SIBA's First Consumer Day

More than 150 consumers attended SIBA's Triangle Reads, SIBA's first consumer day at its annual trade show September 20. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amy Schumer will finally share details of her life with the world

The year of Amy Schumer continues, with Gallery Books announcing that it has a deal with the actress and comedian for a memoir. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kyle Idleman: My Life Begins Where It Ends

The bestselling author shows readers how to find a 'real life' by unpacking the paradoxical principles of Jesus's teachings in his new book 'End of Me.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Startup Serial Box Wants To Be the 'HBO for Readers'

A new company founded by a former Penguin Random House digital exec is making a big bet on original, serialized digital fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Delhi, New Bookstore at the Metro Gets Readers When They Ride

The Hindustan Times reports the Sahitya Akademi's first bookstore outside a Delhi Metro station is doing a booming business selling literature. The post In Delhi, New Bookstore at the Metro Gets Readers When They Ride appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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10 Great Comics Short Story Collections

While many cartoonists can be defined by a singular book or series, collections of their shorter, sometimes lesser-known works can more intimately reflect their artistic sensibilities. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What book helps Tom Brady weather life's highs and lows?

In a recent radio interview, New England Patriors quarterback Tom Brady mentioned a transformative self-help book that serves as a 'mantra' for his life. Brady says he's been reading the book every year since 2002. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Margo Jefferson reveals life inside the black elite in 'Negroland'

At a time when black people are disrupting presidential campaign speeches nationwide in an effort to be recognized as human beings, "Negroland," the new memoir by Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural critic Margo Jefferson, offers poignant insight into what it means to have been raised in the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Portobello Books acquires 'chilling' gothic story collection

Portobello Books has acquired The Things We Lost in the Fire - a “chilling, compulsive” collection of gothic short stories - at auction. UK and Commonwealth rights to the collection, by Argentine writer Mariana Enriquez, were acquired by editor Anne Meadows from Sandra Pareja at Casanovas &... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Bedtime Stories for Awful Children,' a free ebook from 'Year Walk' devs

The dark, freezing woods of Sweden are the perfect breeding ground for terrifying tales of naughty children who get what they deserve. This week, Simogo -- the developer of beautifully macabre game Year Walk, and mysterious narrative experiences De... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2015-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Combines Mobile Gaming, Fantasy Fiction to Lure Readers

Alane Adams worked for years as an accountant at her family’s business, but she always believed that one day she’d get back to her first two loves: reading and writing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Decluttering Your Life Is Not Just A Trend—It's Big Business

In a world obsessed with tidying, professional organizers like Marie Kondo are a rising commercial force.In a restaurant where the ceiling is a work of art and the books on the shelf are arranged by color, eBay is holding a promotional event for its new service, eBay Valet. On the tables—around... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Life After Content Blocking

Ad blocking started as an initiative by independent developers who wanted to improve our browsing experience. Now that at least one company, Apple, has made Content Blocking “official”, ad-supported publishing business models are ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Call for Stories: Frankfurt Book Fair Show Dailies

We're looking for great stories for Publishing Perspectives' Frankfurt Book Fair Show Dailies, The deadline to pitch stories or editorial is September 10. The post Call for Stories: Frankfurt Book Fair Show Dailies appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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