'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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Travel print section returns Aug. 20; check here for fresh stories during redesign

The Travel section is being redesigned. It will not appear in the print edition of the Sunday Los Angeles Times from July 2 through Aug. 13. The print section will return to your newspaper on Aug. 20. In the interim, continue to come to Travel online for fresh destination features and vacation... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Winkleman to judge Book People's story prize

Claudia Winkleman has been unveiled as the head judge for Book People’s latest Bedtime Story competition with a theme of “friendship”. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With New Cookbook Line, Artisan Looks to Draw New Readers...and Retailers

The books in the publisher's new Artisinal Kitchen line are priced modestly for the publisher and the category, at $12.95, and are intended to appeal to new readers...and make it into more retail outlets. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Piatkus to publish 'Bridget Jones meets Neil Gaiman' love story

Piatkus has signed debut author Nicola Mostyn’s first novel - a fantastical story about love, pitched as "Bridget Jones by way of Neil Gaiman", to publish on Valentine's Day 2018. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Story exploring freedom wins Caine Prize for African Writing

Sudanese writer Bushra al-Fadil has won the £10,000 Caine Prize for African Writing for a short story which explores freedom. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WH Smith sells exclusive short stories to mark 225th birthday

W H Smith is selling seven exclusive short stories from writers including Jeffrey Archer, James Patterson and Jodi Picoult to celebrate its 225th anniversary. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Persaud wins the Commonwealth Writers' Short Story Prize

Ingrid Persaud from Trinidad and Tobago has won 2017's Commonwealth Writers' Short Story Prize for "Sweet Sop". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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10 Books That Puzzle the Reader

N.J. Campbell, author of the mind-bending new novel, 'Found Audio,' picks 10 delightfully puzzling books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Raven signs 'Ripley story for Instagram age'

Raven Books has signed Social Creature, a "Ripley story for the Instagram age" by Tara Isabella Burton. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Life is not fair’: How Salon regrouped after Facebook decimated its traffic

The news and culture site said after Facebook changed its algorithm a year ago, the publisher's traffic fell 23 percent. The post ‘Life is not fair’: How Salon regrouped after Facebook decimated its traffic appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iBooks Bestsellers: Grisham Enjoys the 'Island' Life

John Grisham stays by the shoreline as his first-ever beach read, 'Camino Island,' remains #1 on the iBooks bestseller list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former Evangelical Extremist Recalls Life in Westboro Baptist Church

The granddaughter of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps recounts why, and how, she fled one of the most inflammatory and notorious evangelical groups in the U.S. in her book, ‘Girl on a Wire.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's author brings books to life through augmented reality

There's nothing quite like having a book literally come to life in the palm of your hands. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2017-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Inside story of the 'Election that Shocked Britain' to Biteback

Biteback is to publish Campaign 2017: The Inside Story of the Election that Shocked Britain by journalists Tim Ross and Tom McTague, this September. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mahey-Morgan: Diverse stories important in current 'dark times'

Diverse stories in today’s “dark times” have never been more important, Crystal Mahey-Morgan, founder of OWN IT! said at the launch of No Place To Call Home. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walliams, HarperCollins and talkRADIO launch The Story Hour

HarperCollins has partnered with talkRADIO to bring “A Summer of Walliams” to the airwaves from this Sunday 18th June. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Edinburgh Book Festival unveils Brave New Words line-up

The Edinburgh International Book Festival today (13th June) launched its 2017 programme, boasting a line-up including Ian Rankin, Zadie Smith and Roxane Gay. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cover Story: 'How to Fall in Love with Anyone'

To find the right cover image for a book inspired by a popular 'Modern Love' essay, art director Jackie Seow returned to the source. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Surprise, excitement and concern as trade digests election result

Many in the book trade have reacted with surprise and excitement to the shock General Election result, which saw the Conservatives fail to win a majority government, and Labour increase its number of seats by 29 – contradicting many pollsters’ predictions of a large Tory majority. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oneworld buys story of Jean Moulin's betrayal

Bill Swainson, editor at large for non-fiction at Oneworld, has bought world English language rights in a narrative non-fiction account of the death of French resistance hero Jean Moulin. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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