I’d like to occasionally feature/point out/support bookish websites here at The Bluestocking Society. There are so many great resources out there! Here are two I’ve discovered lately.

Paper Egg
Inexpensive, collectible, designer, independent, limited-edition books. Need I say more? Here’s the blurb:

Actually, welcome to this new thing we’re doing. The “we” is featherproof books, and the “thing” is a subscription-only series of books. You subscribe to paper egg for just $20 a year, and we send you two beautiful, limited-edition books by some of the most exciting authors working today, writing in disciplines often disregarded by that big, ugly marketplace (we’re talking little, beautiful forms like the novella and the short-story collection).

And not only will each book be a limited-edition title, but each will be designed by award-winning, highly acclaimed and hotly handsome graphic novelist Paul Hornschemeier. Check out his portfolio here. So in a sense, you’re getting limited-edition books by some of the most exciting authors today, and limited-edition Hornschemeier prints for $20. Call us Crazy Eddie, because we’re practically giving these cars away. So as we continue with our regular list, we’re going to release these limited-edition paper eggs only to subscribers. These are different titles than you’ll find through our regular featherproof line. You will not be able to buy these books in stores. You will not be able to buy them on Amazon.

We’re not trying to act like our tail is longer than it is, just trying to prove that the market is there for more marketing-neglected forms. And if the internet has given us anything, it’s the means for like-minded folks to share in creative projects. So, won’t you join us?

Needless to say, I’ve already subscribed – and not just because the first 250 subscribers will get a bonus book!  Thanks to Literary License for alerting me about this series.

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Fifty-Two Stories
Harper Perennial is celebrating the short story this year. A major part of the festivities is their new website, Fifty-Two Stories. Here’s the blurb:

This year we’re celebrating the thriving art of the story by sharing a new one every week: most of them new, a few of them classics, from authors you know and some you don’t, each of them treasurable in its language or wit or human insight. Our editorial director, Cal Morgan, will select a new story each week and post it Sunday night. And we’d love to have you join us!

This week’s story is The Sculptor’s Funeral, by Willa Cather. This is a great place to go if you have some down time in front of a computer or with your BlackBerry/iPhone.  Thanks to Rob Around Books for pointing this site out.

Field Report is a new website that rewards writers of first-person nonfiction, a.k.a. blog writers.  I joined up today and was impressed.  It’s a cool idea.  You sign up and you have three options: (1) post your own field reports – basically personal blog posts – and compete for prizes, (2) review others’ field reports, or (3) do both! 

FIELD REPORTS

There are twenty-one categories in which to submit a field report, including

36 Hours-Your life in the last day and a half
TeenReport-FieldReports by teens aged 13 to 17
Food + Drink-Living through your palate
Friends + Family-Parents, relations, and pals
Love + Hate-Romantic relationships, joyous to ugly
Music + Arts-Creation, appreciation, criticism
Oddball Events-Bizarre and one-off happenings
On the Job-What goes on in the workday
Parenting + Pregnancy-Children and childbirth
Witness to History-Major events and you were there

As you can see, there’s a category for most everything.  Once you’ve written a report you can just post it or you can enter it in one of the running contests.  The contests have impressive prizes: each category has a monthly contest with a $1000 prize, and there is a grand prize in November of $250,000!

Prior to posting, though, make sure that you read the Submission Agreement and the Terms and Conditions so you understand what rights you have to the content.

REVIEWING

The reviewing process is pretty original.  Instead of skimming through various reports until you find one that you like, you hit the review button and two categories will pop up.  You select a category and a report is chosen for you to review.  That way all of the reports can compete fairly.  I reviewed three field reports today and had a great time reading! 

For more information, visit the “About Us” page, the “FAQ” page or the “Quick Start Guide.”

DISCLOSURE: I was paid a small incentive to check out this site.  That being said, I would recommend this site even if the incentive was not involved.  It’s free; it’s fun; it’s fair; and there are some REALLY big prizes for doing what most of you are already doing.  Check it out!