'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

Other Publishing stories related to: ''Reader's Digest' Wants Your Life Story in 150 Words or Less'


How ‘Old Country’ went from a Reddit story to a novel and Netflix deal

When Matt Query began writing the horror story “My Wife and I Bought a Ranch” on Reddit's r/NoSleep, he didn't realize what it might become. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-20 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #horror story


Where Life Lives On

An excerpt from Tess Gunty's debut novel The Rabbit Hutch. The post Where Life Lives On appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta

[ Granta | 2022-07-19 10:43:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tess gunty #rabbit hutch #debut novel


A collection that captures baseball’s heroes, and their human stories

Columns by Ira Berkow go beyond the statistics to describe the essence of the game and those who have played it. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-15 12:00:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


An 'emotional' Jennifer Grey opens up about how abortion changed her life

The 'Dirty Dancing' star discusses the upcoming sequel, her memoir and the Supreme Court's 'fundamentally wrong' abortion ruling. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-07-14 14:00:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dirty dancing #supreme court #memoir


Prime Day Kindle deals: Every Amazon e-reader is absurdly cheap

Amazon’s Kindles are the e-readers most people want. Usually, high demand means higher prices. Yet Amazon is all but giving Kindles away for Prime Day 2022, offering up deals on both basic and bougie models at absurdly low prices, even as “Prime Day” continues on into its second day. (You need... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2022-07-13 14:58:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #shiniest gem #earned accolades #blowing past #solid $10 #absolute steal #biggest draw #7-inch display #adding brightness #extra inch #brightness isn #significantly cheaper #whopping 32gb #usual $190 #compelling option #e-book #kindle


A psychic said Stephanie Johnson’s life would be tough. She was right.

Johnson, a former burlesque dancer known as Tanqueray, overcame many obstacles before she was featured in “Humans of New York.” Then things changed quickly. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-11 12:00:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #stephanie johnson


The Apple TV 4K drops to $150, plus the best early Prime Day deals you can get

With Amazon Prime Day only a few days away, the early deals are in full swing. Prime members can pick up things like Echo Dots, Kindles, Fire TV devices and more for less right now, while anyone can pick up the latest Apple TV 4K for one of the best prices we've seen. Roku has also discounted... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-07-08 15:45:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #solve puzzles #read stories #family members #slimmer design #nest hub #smaller design #battery life #bluetooth speaker #@engadgetdeals #kindle


Pamela Paul criticized for anti-trans opinion about the word 'woman'

After the former book editor of the New York Times published an Op-Ed decrying trans-inclusive language, the online literary community spoke out. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-07-07 19:21:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary community #book editor


A 'Jane the Virgin' writer shares the story 'Hollywood wasn't quite ready to tell'

Rafael Agustin dishes about "Illegally Yours," his candid new memoir about a childhood without documents, and the TV pilot that never made it. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-07-07 13:00:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


“I Won’t Be Misrepresenting Anybody’s Life Experience But My Own.” A Conversation with Cartoonist and Comedian Luke Healy

Cartoonist and comedian Luke Healy (The Con Artists, Americana) and actor Connor Ratliff (Dead Eyes) spoke to one another as part of D+Q Live, a spring event series by the graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly. The conversation revolved around Healy’s new book, The Con Artists, which... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-07 08:53:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #life experience #graphic novel


Stories About Growing Up on the Reservation

Morgan Talty’s The Night of the Living Rez is a searching and honest collection of short stories following a young Penobscot character named David and his coming of age on the rez, where community, family, and tradition are as fraught with colonial entanglement as they are forces for healing. ... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-07-06 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post stories #electric literature #short stories


The Best Short Stories about Mothers and Motherhood

What are the best short stories about the theme of motherhood? And who are the best mother characters in short fiction? Below, we select and introduce some of the most famous, and most widely studied, short stories which deal with the subject of mothers and motherhood. These stories range from […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2022-07-01 14:00:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short fiction #widely studied #short stories


A New York Library Bans Pride Displays and LGBTQ Kids’ Books, And Other Library Censorship Stories from Pride Month

Libraries from California to North Carolina to Utah to New York have seen their Pride displays challenged or removed this month. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-06-30 10:41:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pride month #north carolina #libraries


12 Amazing Queer Short Story Collections to Read Right Now

These queer short story collections span a wide range of genres form contemporary and historical fiction to sci-fi and fabulism. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-06-28 10:33:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wide range #historical fiction


Cannes TV measurement takeaways from top execs—banning the word 'alternatives' and more

Measurement was a hot topic of conversation on the Croisette this week amid mounting uncertainty around Nielsen data. Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2022-06-24 14:08:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hot topic #nielsen data #nielsen


11 of the Best Stories about the Supernatural

From ghost stories to chilling horror tales to short retellings of classic fairy tales, the short story form has often been at home to the supernatural. Below, we select and introduce ten of the very best short stories which feature some supernatural element: a ghost, a magical talisman, a... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2022-06-24 14:00:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ghost stories #introduce ten #short stories


10 of the Best Short Stories about Animals

What are some of the best, and best-known, short stories that feature animals? Many classic stories feature other species in prominent roles, whether it’s talking cats, dogs telling us their life stories, or primates giving academic reports at a conference (yes, really). Below, we select and... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2022-06-17 14:00:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prominent roles #life stories #introduce ten #short stories


The historical novel ‘Horse’ sheds light on real-life racism

Pulitzer winner Geraldine Brooks’s latest book is a sweeping tale that uses the true story of a famous 19th-century racehorse to explore the roots and legacy of enslavement. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-06-17 13:11:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sheds light #sweeping tale #true story


10 of the Best Stories Set in the Future

As the Danish physicist Niels Bohr probably never said, ‘predictions are hard, especially about the future.’ And although the job of authors of science fiction and speculative fiction isn’t to make accurate predictions about what our future lives might look like, but to entertain us by tapping... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2022-06-15 14:00:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #stories set #science fiction


Cheryl Klein Named Editorial Director of Algonquin Young Readers

Klein, who previously served as editorial director of Lee & Low, will report to publisher Stacy Lellos. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lee low