'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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J.D. Salinger: Three early short stories are released by Devault-Graves Agency

Three stories by Salinger printed in 1940s magazines have now been collected into print, ebook, and audio format. Devault-Graves Agency co-founder Tom Graves says it's the first time a Salinger work has legally appeared in electronic format. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Elmore Leonard's unpublished stories to be published next year

From small-town New Mexico to a military base in Kuala Lumpur, publisher promises 'razor-sharp dialogue and headlong pacing'A collection of previously unpublished short stories by the late Elmore Leonard will be released next year, his publisher has said. Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mexico’s Manuvo: Building Book Apps for Spanish Readers

Award-winning Mexican app development studio Manuvo is at the forefront of building book apps for the Spanish-language market. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Versus Hachette: The Whole Story

Amazon's long-running standoff with Hachette has been making headlines for months. Here's the whole story in PW coverage. What began as a "scuffle" now has us using the language of war to describe it. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Mitchell tells Twitter story

Novelist David Mitchell is to tell a 6,000-word story on Twitter, beginning today (14th July).... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The literary World Cup: readers' best all-time teams

Could goalie Camus cope with an attack formed by Burroughs, Ballard and Bolaño? Guardian readers imagined football squads made from their favourite writers. As the World Cup comes to an end, we take a look at our best fictional elevens. But what team would you put your money on? Back when the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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DPW Debuts Disney Story Central, a Kids' E-book Portal

Disney Publishing Worldwide is launching Disney Story Central, an online portal of interactive titles for kids aged 3-7. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling pens a new 'Harry Potter' story and a new 'Potter' theme park opens

J.K. Rowling recently released a short story about the futures of such characters as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, while the new section of Universal Studios titled The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley just opened to the public. J.K. Rowling also recently... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling pens a new 'Harry Potter' story and 'Potter' theme park opens (+video)

J.K. Rowling recently released a short story about the futures of such characters as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, while the new section of Universal Studios titled The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley just opened to the public. J.K. Rowling also recently... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Young adult books: 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' author James Thurber picks the best YA titles

Beyond John Green and Veronica Roth: James Thurber compiled his own list of books that he thought young adults might enjoy, and his picks still hold up today. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's battle with Hachette is a fight for readers, writers and retailers | Hugh Howey

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[ The Guardian | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rowling writes story about 30-plus Harry Potter

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Talks with Gustav Niebuhr: The Story of an Unknown Hero

In his new book, 'Lincoln's Bishop,' former New York Times religion correspondent Gustav Niebuhr tells the compelling tale of Henry Benjamin Whipple, who spoke out loudly against injustice toward Native Americans during the 19th century. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bedtime stories for a teenager? One set of children's books brings a father and son together

Monitor contributor Danny Heitman enjoys reading a children's book series about a wealthy elephant named Uncle to his son. What's surprising about that? His son is a teenager. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Driscoll Rift Stories Not True, Tyndale Says

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Love, Life and Manga: Moyoco Anno Talks With ‘PW’

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is the e-reader on its way out?

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[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo Writing Life Now Carries 250,000 titles by 30,000 Authors

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Terry Eagleton: A Late-Life Return to Religion

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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