'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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'Gutting': News Corp Australia's newspaper print closures will leave 'thousands of stories' untold

Readers and former staff decry a terrible day for journalism and express grief at job cutsDevoted readers and former staff of Australia’s local newspapers have expressed their grief at News Corp Australia’s announcement of significant job cuts and the print closure of more than 100 local and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-05-28 03:36:58 UTC ]
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WORD Bookstore and Authors Team Up for Charity

All this week WORD Bookstores in Brooklyn and New Jersey will donate 10% of the purchase prices of books by a rotating group of authors to a different charity each day. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpot 2020: Rebecca Roanhorse Offers Readers a Different Fantasy World

The prolific author's latest novel, Black Sun, is an epic fantasy set in pre-Columbian America, Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2020: The Stories Behind Six Buzz Books

PW contacted the editors of this coming season’s most talked about adult titles to find out how they discovered each book and why they wanted it for their list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins lands 'remarkable' stories of RNLI rescues

HarperCollins has landed a book by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution recounting some of its most dramatic rescues. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-22 01:34:27 UTC ]
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How indie rocker Mikel Jollett overcame the toxic events in his life

"Hollywood Park," a new memoir from the frontman for the Airborne Toxic Event, recounts his childhood in L.A.'s Synanon cult — and his recovery. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-05-20 16:33:40 UTC ]
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Mirror Books to publish Martin and Shirlie Kemp's love story

Mirror Books has acquired Martin and Shirlie Kemp's joint autobiography in a world rights deal to publish this October. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-19 20:52:39 UTC ]
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Walker acquires YouTuber Nikki Lilly's motivational life guide

Walker books will publish Nikki Lilly's Come on Life: Highs, Lows and How to Live Your Best Teen Life.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-17 16:39:01 UTC ]
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Can Words Help Heal a Fractured Nation?: A Visit to the Jaipur Literature Festival

THREE MUSLIM GIRLS — two sisters and their cousin — stood in the sunshine on the grounds of the Diggi Palace Hotel in Jaipur, where the world’s largest literary festival took place over five days in late January. All around them, young people streamed into the sprawling compound, before a... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-05-14 17:00:42 UTC ]
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The story behind ‘The Great Realisation,’ a post-pandemic bedtime tale that has captured the hearts of millions

A video-poem by Tom Roberts has caught the attention of Hollywood and will likely become a children’s book. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-14 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Familiar story of the Boston Massacre becomes familial

Previous accounts have ignored the intimate connections that existed between soldiers and civilians. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-14 08:06:16 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney's Normal People tops UK book charts as readers fall for TV version

Costa award-winning love story of Connell and Marianne takes top slot from David Walliams’ bestselling children’s book SlimeSally Rooney’s Normal People has flown to the top of the UK’s book charts more than two years after it was published, thanks to the release of the TV adaptation starring... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-05-13 15:44:19 UTC ]
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20 Must-Read Adult Books for YA Readers

Sink into an excellent adult book for YA readers with these must-read crossover books featuring the themes you love in YA literature. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-05-11 10:33:44 UTC ]
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Overcoming despair to discover the meaning of life

John Kaag finds wisdom in William James’s philosophy of free will and consciousness. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-08 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Elliott & Thompson launches online campaign of 'soothing words'

Elliott & Thomspon is launching an online campaign to show "the comfort words can bring", in partnership with author Paul Anthony Jones. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-06 02:55:55 UTC ]
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Meghan reads Duck! Rabbit! to Archie for Save with Stories initiative

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released a video of Meghan reading son Archie Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (Chronicle Books) on his first birthday, in support of the Save with Stories initiative. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-05 20:37:52 UTC ]
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The Go-Go’s had a reputation as America’s wholesome sweethearts. Bassist Kathy Valentine tells a different story.

“All I Ever Wanted: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir” offers a vibrant look at the band’s alcohol- and drug-fueled heyday. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-05 12:13:40 UTC ]
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Natalie Wood’s daughter opens up about the life and death of her famous mom

In her memoir “More Than Love,” Natasha Gregson Wagner delivers a poignant look at a complicated relationship and a tantalizing foray into “What if?” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-05 11:00:00 UTC ]
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20 Must-Read Small Press Short Story Collections and Anthologies

Have a quick bite of these excellent small press short story collections and anthologies sampling a wide variety of genres, themes, and perspectives. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-05-05 10:34:09 UTC ]
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E-book VAT: the other side of the story

In his recent blog, 'Amazon's VAT Windfall', Anthony McGowan expressed concern that the Bezos behemoth had not changed e-book prices following the recent VAT cut, and were set to profit to the tune of millions as a result. He and I have been arguing on Twitter, very politely I might add, about... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-04 21:54:48 UTC ]
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