FEBRUARY 2008

Submissions are being accepted for the 15th annual Dancing Poetry Contest. The deadline for entries is May 15. The contest, sponsored by Artists Embassy International, honors the tradition of poetry and dance performed together as an unified art form. The contest seeks poetry of a lyrical nature. Poems must be no longer than 40 lines. For more information, visit the Web Site

Congratulations to Pierce Burns on the publication of his book A Few Good Horses. This true story, with 28 photos, is a gritty account of ranch life from the mid-nineteenth century through The Great Depression as seen through the eyes of the Burns family. Learn more.

Fifth Annual San Francisco Writers Conference, sponsored by WRITER'S DIGEST takes place February 15-17, 2008, at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel. To register, visit the Web site

Entries now accepted for the 2nd Annual Moonbeam Children's Book Awards, with early-bird entry fees thru 15 March. Entries can be submitted until August 16th, 2008 for books with 2007 or 2008 copyrights or that were released in 2007 or 2008. The Awards are presented by Jenkins Group and Independent Publisher Online.

JANUARY 2008

Historian and author Terry Halden's new book Ghost Towns & Mining Districts of Montana caught the attention of his area media. City-TV of Calgary ran a feature about him and his passion—ghost towns. The clip Click here to see it.

Author, ex dude-wrangler and cowboy Bill McGee appears in two bonus extras for 20th Century Fox's re-release of the 1939 film, "Charlie Chan in Reno," set at a swank Reno hotel for divorce seekers. McGee once worked at the M-E Ranch, and his photo-packed book Divorce Seekers: A Photo Memoir of a Nevada Dude Wrangler relates many events from the era. The Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 4, is available from www.amazon.com.

NOVEMBER 2007

Ken Overcast's newest book, Tradin' Tales, Stories From A Montana Back Porch is now available. Overcast, a third-generation Montana rancher, is also a singer/songwriter and his stories and songs can be hard on the syndicated radio program "The Cowboy Show".