Magazine Product Description

Afroreveal is a literary magazine for primary school children while Teen Breakz and Lipstickmouth are literary magazines for teens. They are each published monthly and FREE so you only have to pay for postage and packaging.

Subscribe to an e-copy and never worry about paying for postage and packaging.
A subscription to (Afroreveal, Teen Breakz & Lipstickmouth) magazines brings children and young adults’ artistic and creative work straight to your door, PC, iPad, iPhone, android etc every month.

They are a great read for everyone, a great source of inspiration for teachers and schools plus a great way to keep youngsters hooked on reading, learning and making things.

Each issue contains feature articles, essays, short stories, poems, book reviews, comics, compelling graphics and photographs, art works, useful information and much more from artistic, bright emerging talents and fine authors plus fun puzzles and quizzes, fascinating and educational features, fun craft projects and much more.

Take out a subscription to Afroreveal, Teen Breakz & Lipstickmouth  now.   Keep them mentally stimulated and proactive by encouraging to create original work like the ones featured in our magazines which could be submitted to us for publication. 

Email: ogn.okafor@gmail.com or info@obygracepublishing.com

London Creative Challenge 2014 Competition

Competition

We run a yearly competition called the "London Creative Challenge" aimed at children and young adults 5 to 19 years old.  This competition challenges children and young adults to be very creative and innovative.  It seeks to extend access to key skills to children from all backgrounds, supporting the skills that will benefit them throughout their academic and professional careers.  It also gives them the opportunity to develop, build upon and enhance various skills required to participate in this competition. 

Some of the benefits of this competition are:

* Intellectual Benefits - develop creative problem solving and creative thinking skills, complex thinking skills, time management skills, critical and analytical skills

* Physical Benefits - develop fine motor skills & hand to eye coordination

* Emotional and Social Benefits - creative and self expression

The first competition "London Creative Challenge 2014"

Entry groups: 

Category A: (05 to 11 years) and Category B: (12 to 16 years)

Submissions: 

Maximum of 2 short stories, 2 poems, 2 plays and 3 comic strips per entry

Starts date: 

01 August 2014

Submission dates: 

Poems, Comic strips (01 Sept 2014); Short stories, Plays (07 Sept 2014)

Submit to: 

ogn.okafor@gmail.com
Prize: 

First 5 Winners: Submission published in our Ist edition Magazine + Gold Certificate

Second 5 Winners: Submission published in our 2nd edition Magazine + Silver Certificate

Third 5 Winners: Submission published in our 3rd edition Magazine + Bronze Certificate

Rest of  submission: Submission published on our Blog + Participation Certificate

**********

How to help your child become a better creative writer and illustrator

* Read to or with your child and when they are ready - encourage them to read to you, an older sibling, grand-parent or relative. Encourage them to read widely - stories, plays, poems, comic strips.  This will expose them to different writing styles and genres, new words plus help improve their grammar useage.

* Provide them a quiet place, writing and drawing materials to work with. Encourage more productivity, as this will help enhance their skills and make them very good at what they do, by putting work on the fridge, framing them and displaying on the wall or living room cabinet. Post it here on our blog where family and friends can view it. Even better, publish it on our magazine and share the digital copy with family and friends.

* Encourage them to practice daily for at least a minimum of 20 minutes. Let them choose when they're ready to work for more than 20 minutes - this helps foster their creative enthusiasm. Help them by providing them with prompts e.g Words they can write around, pictures (e.g of children playing in the park or family eating dinner) they can use as a creative prompt to start a story, write about  their day or even extend the story-line of one of their favourite TV programme.

* Encourage them to always think and note down points about their project (story, poem, comic strip) before creating them. Some questions they can ask themselves are: "who (are my characters), what (is the story about/problems characters are having/the main event of the story), where (is the story taking place), when (did the story happen), why (are the characters having this problem), and how (will they resolve this problem)"


* Review your child's work. Be kind, praise them for their effort pointing out all the things they did well. Discuss the story with your child - let them share their ideas, the different characters, why the character is doing what they're doing, the sketches etc. Point out two or three main areas of improvement.  Be sensitive to their feeling, do not be too critical neither should you point out all the hundred things they did wrong - stick with two or three areas of improvement and gently suggesting how they could improve it.  Do not impose your own ideas on them.

* Play word games with them as this will help them build their vocabulary, e.g: 
Scattergories is a creative-thinking game produced by Hasbro for 12 yr olds and up. There is both a card and a board game. Click here for a demo on how to play the game.

Pictionary is a fun vocabulary building, creative thinking, problem solving game which also helps improve time management skills as players have a limited amount of time to help their team mates guess the correct word by drawing or sketching clues to the word they see on the card.

Mad Libs is a template word game where one player prompts another for a list of words (adjectives, verbs, and nouns) to substitute or fill in blanks in a story, before reading the – often comical or nonsensical – story created aloud. Click here for a fun free online and printable version. You can also download Madlibs app.  

Taboo by Hasbro is a fun game that not only increases vocabulary but also encourages creative thinking and problem solving skills.  The aim of the game is to give your team carefully worded clues without using the obvious clues (which are strictly taboo or you'll get the buzzer and lose the point) to enable them guess words fast.

Magnetic Poetry Kids Kit by Dave Kapell is a fun vocabulary building game for kids 5 and up. It also encourages creative thinking process as they think of poem or story ideas, improves grammar and problem solving skills as they think of words to use next, encourages creativity and self expression. The kid kit contains up to 320 magnetic word tiles that range in difficulty from very easy to challenging which kids can use to make up as many original poems a  they please.

Cranium is a great and fun board game for teens and adults. It has a variety of activities that utilises the whole brain. Work your way around the board completing exciting tasks. Roll the dice and land on a colour corresponding to a card; create the item on the card from Cranium clay or sketch a picture for your team to guess, answer a fact question or crack the puzzle. 

Lea Valley Primary Art Exhbition

On the 15th of July 2014, Lea Valley Primary School in North London proudly opened their doors to guest to view beautiful art works created by their children.  Unfortunately, I could not take as much pictures of the art works exhibited as I would have loved to because they were selling like hot cakes at £5.00 per art work. So, before I could get to some, they had been taken and sold by eager guests.

It was a very successful events. Afroreveal congratulates Lea Valley Primary on a wonderful and successful Art Exhibition and to the wonderful talented children of Lea Valley Primary school - we say a very big 'Well done!'

Below are some of the art work exhibited at the event that I was able to take pictures of - hope you like them.

 

 

Live Webinar: Writing the classic picture book

Live Webinar

Writing the Classic Picture Book

Session Date: Thursday, July 24, 2014 
Starting Time: 1:00 pm Eastern 

Duration: 90 minutes

Price: $89.99 

Register Now

What you'll learn:
Why great pacing makes a huge difference for editors and agents
How to harness your love and bring out the heart of your story
How to pay attention to prosody, pacing, poetry, and performance to make a difference in your picture book project
How to enhance the interaction between art and words
How to apply the rules (and exceptions) for doing more with your own text
How to incorporate performance and "magic" into your work
Ways to move your story to the top of submission piles

INSTRUCTOR:
Jodell Sadler has authored many articles and tutorials with Writer's Digest on Writing Picture Books: Picture Book Pacing, Editing, and Avoiding Burnout Tutorials before launching her literary agency in 2011: Sadler Children's Literary. Having earned her MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Hamline University in 2009, she hosts a variety of online writing workshops, serves as the BOOK LOOK columnist for the SCBWI-Illinois.org The Prairie Wind newsletter, and is available to speak at conferences and events as a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). For more information on picture books, visit http://www.PictureBookLunch.com, and more information on Sadler Children's Literary, please visit http://www.childrenschildrensliterary.com.

ABOUT THE WEBINAR
Looking to understand picture books? The pacing, the 32-page form, the way art and words interplay, and writing slim is more challenging than many realize. If you are an author or illustrator, this webinar will help you write picture books that stand out. Empower every word, enjoy your editing process, hone in on key tools and strategies that help you do more with less, while making your work more marketable.

See how exceptional word choices, creating repetitive word strings and behaviors enhance the reader experience and bring out the theme and heart of your story. Learn how to move yourself and your story into a performance that readers will love.

Literary Agent, Jodell Sadler, from Sadler Children's Literary shares her tips on preparing your manuscript for publication.

Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials for one year. You do not have to attend the live event to get a recording of the presentation. In all WD webinars, no question goes unanswered. Attendees have the ability to chat with the instructor during the live event and ask questions. You will receive a copy of the webinar presentation in an e-mail that goes out one week after the live event. The answers to questions not covered in the live presentation will be included in this e-mail as well.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Writers and illustrators who are interested in writing picture books
Writers who want to publish their picture book
Writers who want to learn what they can do during the editing process
Writers who are looking for tips on how increase their books performance
Writers looking for great ways to write to the heart of their story

Live Webinar: Tips for Self-Editing Your Own Work

Tuesday's Live Webinar:
Be Your Own Editor: Tips for Self-Editing Your Own Work

Learn self-editing tricks from children's book editor, Harold Underdown! 

Session Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Starting Time: 1:00 pm Eastern 

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $49.99

Register Now

What you'll learn:
The difference between response and analysis
How to get useful feedback from other people
The power of "re-vision"
Where to learn even more

INSTRUCTOR:
Harold Underdown  has worked as a children's book editor for more than 25 years, for companies such as Orchard and Charlesbridge. He now works as an independent editor and is a contributing editor to the Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market. He provides consulting and critiquing services to writers and publishers, runs the website "The Purple Crayon," and gives workshops and presentations at conferences. He is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books. Harold's website, "The Purple Crayon," provides information about children's book publishing, writing, and illustrating. He gives tutorials and workshops through Kids Book Revisions. Find him on Twitter as @HUnderdown.

ABOUT THE WEBINAR
If you write for children or teens, whether you are a complete beginner or a published author, you know how important it is to make your manuscript be the best it can be before you send it out. 

How can you do that? Editing your own writing is difficult—how can you be objective about the plot and characters you created? How can you polish the final draft and find the mistakes you missed earlier? You can turn to others for feedback, and use a variety of techniques that help you get a new view of your manuscript. 

In this all-new webinar on self-editing, instructor Harold Underdown will teach you these techniques—ones he uses in his own work as an editor. He'll also point you to more useful resources to make sure you feel confident revising your work before submission.

Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials for one year. You do not have to attend the live event to get a recording of the presentation. In all WD webinars, no question goes unanswered. Attendees have the ability to chat with the instructor during the live event and ask questions. You will receive a copy of the webinar presentation in an e-mail that goes out one week after the live event. The answers to questions not covered in the live presentation will be included in this e-mail as well.


WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Beginning writers who want to learn techniques to use on their current manuscript—and the ones to come 
Experienced writers who want to add some self-editing tools to their writing toolbox 
Any writer who wants to improve their writing or gain insight into the revision process 

Live Webinar: Writing the classic picture book

Live Webinar

Writing the Classic Picture Book

Session Date: Thursday, July 24, 2014 
Starting Time: 1:00 pm Eastern 

Duration: 90 minutes

Price: $89.99 

Register Now

What you'll learn:
Why great pacing makes a huge difference for editors and agents
How to harness your love and bring out the heart of your story
How to pay attention to prosody, pacing, poetry, and performance to make a difference in your picture book project
How to enhance the interaction between art and words
How to apply the rules (and exceptions) for doing more with your own text
How to incorporate performance and "magic" into your work
Ways to move your story to the top of submission piles

INSTRUCTOR:
Jodell Sadler has authored many articles and tutorials with Writer's Digest on Writing Picture Books: Picture Book Pacing, Editing, and Avoiding Burnout Tutorials before launching her literary agency in 2011: Sadler Children's Literary. Having earned her MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Hamline University in 2009, she hosts a variety of online writing workshops, serves as the BOOK LOOK columnist for the SCBWI-Illinois.org The Prairie Wind newsletter, and is available to speak at conferences and events as a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). For more information on picture books, visit http://www.PictureBookLunch.com, and more information on Sadler Children's Literary, please visit http://www.childrenschildrensliterary.com.

ABOUT THE WEBINAR
Looking to understand picture books? The pacing, the 32-page form, the way art and words interplay, and writing slim is more challenging than many realize. If you are an author or illustrator, this webinar will help you write picture books that stand out. Empower every word, enjoy your editing process, hone in on key tools and strategies that help you do more with less, while making your work more marketable.

See how exceptional word choices, creating repetitive word strings and behaviors enhance the reader experience and bring out the theme and heart of your story. Learn how to move yourself and your story into a performance that readers will love.

Literary Agent, Jodell Sadler, from Sadler Children's Literary shares her tips on preparing your manuscript for publication.

Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials for one year. You do not have to attend the live event to get a recording of the presentation. In all WD webinars, no question goes unanswered. Attendees have the ability to chat with the instructor during the live event and ask questions. You will receive a copy of the webinar presentation in an e-mail that goes out one week after the live event. The answers to questions not covered in the live presentation will be included in this e-mail as well.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Writers and illustrators who are interested in writing picture books
Writers who want to publish their picture book
Writers who want to learn what they can do during the editing process
Writers who are looking for tips on how increase their books performance
Writers looking for great ways to write to the heart of their story

Use Your Creativity to Kick-Start a New Career

Is writing is your passion.........then, why not showcase your work so others can see?

Whether you're an aspiring screenwriter, novelist, playwright, poet, comics artist or cartoonist, or even just an avid reader, you can turn your love for words and drawing into a lucrative career as a professional writer or artist. Become a professional writer or artist by building your portfolio and marketing your creative work through our website and  magazine.

     

With the explosion of the internet, smartphones, tablets etc, the need for creative work by readers who want more and more fiction, poems, comics has skyrocketed. And because people of all gender and age are looking for an escape from reality and into another world where anything can happen;  the need for creative work they can relax to or pass time while commuting, that will thrill and stretch their imagination, characters they can go on an adventure/journey with or live vicariously - writing and comic creation are virtually recession-proof career choice.

Freelance writers and artists work from home and set their own schedules, giving them the time they need to pursue their personal creative projects. Imagine what you could do with those extra hours, not to mention extra cash!

CONTACT

Proprietor: Oby Grace Nneka OKAFOR

Email info@obygracepublishing.com or complete the Contact us box  

Use Your Creativity to Kick-Start a New Career

Is writing is your passion.........then, why not showcase your work so others can see?

Whether you're an aspiring screenwriter, novelist, playwright, poet, comics artist or cartoonist, or even just an avid reader, you can turn your love for words and drawing into a lucrative career as a professional writer or artist. Become a professional writer or artist by building your portfolio and marketing your creative work through our website and  magazine.

With the explosion of the internet, smartphones, tablets etc, the need for creative work by readers who want more and more fiction, poems, comics has skyrocketed. And because people of all gender and age are looking for an escape from reality and into another world where anything can happen;  the need for creative work they can relax to or pass time while commuting, that will thrill and stretch their imagination, characters they can go on an adventure/journey with or live vicariously - writing and comic creation are virtually recession-proof career choice.

Freelance writers and artists work from home and set their own schedules, giving them the time they need to pursue their personal creative projects. Imagine what you could do with those extra hours, not to mention extra cash!

STORIES, PLAYS, POEMS

&

COMICS

CONTACT

Proprietor: Oby Grace Nneka OKAFOR

Email info@obygracepublishing.com or complete the Contact us box  

Subscribe to Bevy Hive

Subscribe to Bevy-Hive Magazine

Users can subscribe to our free newsletters and upcoming digital magazines to stay updated with our limitless new stories, plays, poems, comics, news etc.  

To subscribe to our free newsletter:

* Complete the Newsletter Signup on the right of this screen or

* Scan the QR Code above or

* Forward your name, email address and the name of the newsletter you wish to subscribe to e.g. Bevy Hive Newsletter to info@obygracepublishing.com or ogn.okafor@gmail.com

To subscribe to our free Magazine:

* Email the following details to us (your name, email address and the name of the magazine you wish to receive e.g Bevy Hive Magazine)

To follow us by email/ subscribe to our blog post or comments:

* Click the subscribe box or

* Complete the Follow by email box on the right hand side of your screen.

CONTACT

Proprietor: Oby Grace Nneka OKAFOR

Email info@obygracepublishing.com or complete the Contact us box

Advertise on Bevy-Hive Magazine and Newsletter

Advertise on Bevy-Hive Magazine

Inquire about advertising (A fantastic way to plug your business and showcase your products or services to existing and potential clients) on our newsletters and magazines. 
To advertise on any of our newsletters or magazines, please email us (info@obygracepublishing.com) or complete the Contact us form on the right for a copy of our media kit. 

Our ads are branded as: 

‘Dedicated review’:  review complementary products/service used and liked, one review (product and service) per newsletter edition hence a fantastic way to showcase your products/ services in an exclusive way

'Advertorial Ad' - publish your written review of your product or service on our newsletters and magazines, review includes new books 

'Advertisement feature' - publish your product or /and services on our newsletters or magazines.

'Sponsored feature –publish competitions, reader offers etc' on our newsletters and magazines

'Media release' on our blog '*FREE*' and  monthly newsletters and magazines

'Classified Ad' - to see your contests, conference, book, event, launch, site or service featured in the classified sections of our magazines and newsletters.

CONTACT

Proprietor: Oby Grace Nneka OKAFOR

Email info@obygracepublishing.com or complete the Contact us box

Submit your creative work to our sites and magazines for publication

Click Me

ogn.okafor@gmail.com

Here are features that can be accessed/submitted to our sites and magazines for publication:

Newsletter

Authors of short stories, plays, poems and comics can submit their work including a chapter of their upcoming book with the title. They can also submit a short piece in our “A day in the life of a children's book author or a young author” section, a snap author introduction or bio and writing tips.  We also accept book/short story/play/poem/comic reviews, comment on published books by fans or author and upcoming events. Readers are welcome to subscribe to our free digital magazine from whatever part of the world they may be and to write in to our “Dear Editor column” on any of the contents of our site and magazines.

Stories and Plays

Authors can submit stories, plays and chapters of their upcoming book of any in the following genre (Adventure, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Ghost, Historical, Mystery, Humorous and Comedy).

Poems

Poems on the following themes/subject matter (Moral and Philosophical; Comic, or Heroic stories; Adventure, Historical, Mystery).

Authors can submit lyric poetry e.g:

elegy-solemn meditations/ melancholy poem that laments its subject’s death but ends in consolation, 

dirge- shorter and less meditative song of lamentation and grief,  

ode-long lyric poem with a serious subject, 

epistle- a letter in verse, usually addressed to a person close to the writer, 

sonnet - a poem of 14 lines properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea or sentiment,  

ode- a formal, often ceremonious lyric poem that addresses and often celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea, 

free verse - poetry that does not require any rhyme scheme or meter, 

dramatic monologue- poem in which an imagined speaker addresses a silent listener, usually not the reader 

and occasion poetry- written to describe or comment on a specific event  

and/or narrative poetry e.g:

Epic- a long narrative poem in which a heroic protagonist engages in an action of great mythic or historical significance, 

Mock epic- a poem that plays with the conventions of the epic to comment on a topic satirically,

Limericks- often silly or whimsical that tells a short, humorous story and expresses all sorts of ideas 

Ballad- a song which tells a story. 

Comics

Artists can submit comics on any of the following subjects (Adventure, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Ghost, Historical, Mystery, Humorous and Comedy). Please do not submit any comics that may be damaging or offensive to others.

NOTE
Artwork

We accept artwork for book covers, illustrations and comics. There is no compensation other than promotion of the work and artist at this time. Please do not submit any artwork that you do not own the rights to. Accepted document types: jpg, gif, tiff, png

All stories, plays and poems submitted

Standard manuscript format: 12pt text, Times New Roman, double spaced, standard margins, two-spaces after ending punctuation.  No page breaks, text colours or right-justified text.  Submit graphics separately in the format mentioned below. Include title, your full name in the header and footer.

Please include a snap biography of about 200 words and a list of publishing credits if any (in 3rd person) and a two-sentence synopsis of your work in your cover letter.  You may also include one link (e.g. your professional website, blog or social media) to share with readers and an author photo if you wish.

CONTACT

Proprietor: Oby Grace Nneka OKAFOR

For everything including 

- inform us on article ideas you'd like to post
- request a media release
- or any other inquiries,
Email info@obygracepublishing.com or complete the Contact us box