I’ve gotten word of two literary contests currently running. First, novelist Warren Adler is taking submission for his second annual short story contest in an effort to exalt the short story “and restore its place as a prime literary format.” Read about it here. There’s a $15 fee for English stories of 2,500 words or less, submitted through January 15, 2008.

Second, Abebooks wants to send you to the Steinbeck Festival in Salinas Valley, California, August 2-5. This year’s festival theme is “A Culture of Discontent – Steinbeck and the 60s.” No, I don’t think it sounds like fun either, but with the right people anything can be just the thing for a few days in August. It could be a great place to air out one of those shirts and carry around a Michelle Malkin book.