Word of the Year for 2010, Word Choice/Calls for Submissions

Merriam-Webster named Austerity, the 14th century noun defined as "the quality or state of being austere" and "enforced or extreme economy," as the Word of the Year for 2010. According to John Morse, president and publisher, the word "austerity" received more than 250,000 searches on the dictionary's free online tool.
Completing the top ten are
2. pragmatic,
3.moratorium
4. socialism
5. bigot
6. Doppelganger [This word was used in "The Vampire Diaries."]
7. shellacking
8. ebullient
9. dissident
10. furtive

We want readers to take notice of our word choice. Finding words that capture and convey meaning is challenging but well worth the effort. As we take our readers along the journey of our stories, our word choices can create a bumpy ride or a smooth one. Mark Twain said it best: The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.

Calls for Submissions:
You may already know that *Witness* publishes an annual print issue devoted to a single topic (currently, they’re seeking work on “Disaster”). Now, the journal is launching two online issues as well (May and September). These will be general issues. Keep in mind that the journal “prefer[s] work that is contemporary in its setting, outward-looking in its perspective, and mindful of the modern writer’s role as witness to his or her times. We also enjoy material that ventures into international terrain.” Submit fiction, nonfiction, or poetry until April 1. Pays: $25/every 1,500 words of prose and $25/poem, “for both print and online work.”
Details at http://witness.blackmountaininstitute.org/

Kids on the Net was one of the first websites on the Internet to invite children to submit their
writing. Now there are thousands of Kids on the Net writers - have a read! We want children all over the world to send us your writing - poems, stories, articles and reports, opinions, writing about yourselves - whether you write it at school, at home, in a library or club, or anywhere else.
Details at http://www.kidsonthenet.com/