Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: #AWP14 Archival Edition

AWPI am not, alas, among the thousands of people journeying to Seattle today for the annual conference of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP). This year, the conference is too far away, too costly, and too heavy a tax on my vacation-day bank here at the day job to make the trip worthwhile.

That said, I’m an AWP veteran, having registered for and attended eight of its conferences since 2001. (Last year, I didn’t register, but made a quick trip to Boston on the conference’s last day to see friends and stroll through the Bookfair without having paid for registration on the conference’s last day.)

In this post, I’ll share some archival offerings describing them–and offer you an article from 2011 with advice for conference-goers (much of which remains useful!). (more…)

Monday Markets for Writers

Monday brings the weekly batch of no-fee competitions/contests, paying submission calls, and jobs for those of us who write (especially those of us who write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction).

  • The March issue of “The Practicing Writer” will go out to subscribers at week’s end, and as usual, it will be filled with information on upcoming no-fee contests and paying calls for fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. If you’re not yet a subscriber (it’s free, and the subscriber list isn’t shared), now’s an especially good time to subscribe, since I’ve just updated the e-book of “eponymous contests” (also limited to fee-free opportunities) that is an exclusive subscriber benefit.
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    Sunday Sentence

    AmosOz
    Another Sunday in which I participate in David Abrams’s “Sunday Sentence” project, which asks others to share the best sentence(s) we’ve read during the past week, “out of context and without commentary.”

    The rain beat furiously against the darkened windows, as if it were demanding that we listen with rapt attention to some urgent message it had to deliver.

    Source: The Amos Oz Reader, selected and edited by Nitza Ben-Dov (this sentence from a translation by Nicholas de Lange). Truly, there are so many gorgeous sentences in this book.

    Friday Finds for Writers

    Treasure ChestWriting-related resources, news, and reflections to enjoy over the weekend.

  • Lots of us are looking forward to the release of Lorrie Moore’s latest story collection. In the meantime, we can enjoy this profile of Moore from The New York Times.
  • Courtesy of David Abrams’s “Quivering Pen” blog: Susan Perabo on a life-changing story acceptance.
  • Oh, I find this idea of a writing residency on an Amtrak train utterly appealing.
  • 15 Places to Find Stock Images for Blog Posts and Websites.”
  • An excellent installment in the Poets & Writers “Agents & Editors” series: editor and publisher Amy Einhorn.
  • Happy weekend, everyone!

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress

    You know, I’ve actually had a very productive week. I’m especially pleased with all that I accomplished over the three-day weekend. That includes writing and submitting another book review.

    I work hard on every book review that I’m assigned, but this one required consulting an unusually high number of library books for a 600-word project based on a galley. Never have I been happier that my (non-teaching) job at CUNY provides access to the university’s libraries. I stopped by the (renovated!) Hunter College library twice last week to pick up books that the NYPL either doesn’t have or won’t circulate. Bonus: I got to enjoy this view downtown from the bridge between Hunter’s “East” and “West” buildings on Lexington Avenue.
    HunterI submitted the piece on Monday. Now, I’m waiting for my editor to confirm that he received it (and, I hope, to tell me that it’s in decent shape).

    How about you? What’s the latest with your work-in-progress?