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Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: What’s Coming Soon

by Erika Dreifus on
3

I’m back at the day job today. (Not every university job comes with an automatic and lengthy “winter break.”) But I had a lovely long weekend. Got a lot done, and managed to relax, too. And I have another four-day weekend to look forward to just around the corner, so I’m pretty happy.

Among the projects I worked on during the past few days: the January issue of The Practicing Writer, our free monthly e-newsletter. The new issue will go out to subscribers just before the new year, and I happen to think it’s a pretty good one. It’s never too late to subscribe – or to recommend it to your writing friends and colleagues!

Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

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 Google Journalism Fellowships program “is aimed at undergraduate, graduate and journalism students interested in using technology to tell stories in new and dynamic ways. The Fellows will get the opportunity to spend the summer contributing to a variety of organizations….There will be a focus on data driven journalism, online free expression and rethinking the business of journalism. The 10-week long Fellowship will open with a week at the Knight Foundation and end with a week at Google, split between Google News and YouTube. Participating organizations are based in Berkeley, CA, Columbia, MO, Cambridge, MA, St. Petersburg/Miami, FL, New York, NY and Washington, DC. They include the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Investigative Reporters & Editors, the Knight Foundation, Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, Poynter, Nieman Journalism Lab and ProPublica.” NB: “Fellows will receive a stipend of $7,500 USD for 10 weeks during the summer of 2013 (June-August) and a travel budget of $1,000 USD.” Apply by January 31, 2013. No application fee.
  • Published poets (with a minimum of three books) who live in the Greater Montreal area may want to consider applying to be “Poète de la Cité”: “The Poète de la Cité will embody the city’s soul, testifying to its creativity and effervescence, boldness and fears, diversity and harmony, bumps and bruises, joys and jubilations. With a purse of $25,000, this residency will extend over two years, from September 2011 to June 2013. In part, it will take place at the Maison du Conseil des arts de Montréal, in the aptly named Édifice Gaston-Miron, where the poet will have a work space. In addition to writing, the poet will undertake a series of public activities at the Maison du Conseil des arts de Montréal. The Poète de la Cité will also launch an annual poetic event, to be organized in conjunction with the Conseil.” There is no application fee indicated. Deadline: February 15, 2013. (via @alacarteblanche)
  • The Academy of American Poets (New York) is advertising for an Associate Director/Director of Content and for a Programs Assistant.
  • Boston-based job: “Grub Street seeks a part-time (18 hrs/week) Development Associate to work as part of its development team. The Development Associate will act as the administrative assistant for the entire development department, attend meetings, assist with all fundraising activities, and handle myriad communications tasks throughout the year. This is a brand-new position at Grub Street, and may evolve over time. “
  • “The Earlham School of Religion (ESR), a Quaker seminary [Ind.], seeks candidates for a teaching faculty appointment within the Ministry of Writing emphasis to teach introductory and advanced writing courses, advise divinity students with a Ministry of Writing emphasis, facilitate the annual Tom Mullen Ministry of Writing Colloquium, and give input into the development of and subsequent selection of writers for a ‘Writers in Residence’ program.”
  • “The Department of English at the University of Wisconsin Colleges invites applications for a full-time tenure-track Assistant Professor of English at its UW – Waukesha campus to start in the fall of 2013. The successful candidate will demonstrate experience teaching first-year college writing courses, and preferably in creative writing and/or a range of composition courses, developmental to advanced. Possession of a graduate degree in Composition/Rhetoric and/or Creative Writing is preferred.”
  • Harry S Truman College of City Colleges of Chicago is advertising for a Poetry Writing Lecturer, and the University of California, Santa Cruz, invites applications for an “on-going pool” of Part-time Temporary Lecturers in Creative Writing.

    • Merry Christmas to everyone who is celebrating!

    Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    The weekly collection of writing-related resources, news, and reflections to read over the weekend.

  • There’s lots of press these days about Ayana Mathis, but this Salon interview, which follows her “long path to sudden fame,” is, I think, one that will especially interest Mathis’s fellow writers.
  • Samples of query letters to literary agents that worked, courtesy of GalleyCat.
  • I haven’t read it yet, but this week the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) has released its latest report on the academic job market.
  • Warning: Kelli Agodon’s dispatch from a writing retreat may make you jealous!
  • I don’t know how he does it, but David Abrams always presents the most interesting posts about upcoming books to look forward to in his “Front Porch Books” features. The December 2012 edition is no exception. (Hint: Reviewers, you’re likely to find at least title or two of interest here.)

    • Have a great weekend, everyone. See you back here on Monday!

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of Jewish news, primarily of the literary variety, from around the Web.

  • On Jewlicious: a long list of favorite books of 2012. And as I seek to increase my reading of Jewish poetry, I’m likely to be guided by this list from The Forward.
  • The Jewish Women’s Archive (Boston) is looking for a part-time Education Program Assistant.
  • Holiday-season reading on Tablet: nonfiction writer Annette Gendler, a convert to Judaism, on exchanging Christmas for Hanukkah.
  • Moment magazine’s next Publish-A-Kid contest seeks book reviews from young readers. Deadline: February 15, 2013.
  • Quick reminder for anyone who writes on Jewish themes: I’ve compiled a list of awards and prizes for such writing that you are invited to consult anytime.

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Literary Citizenship

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    There are lots of ways to be a good literary citizen. I like to think that when I share news of opportunities for writers, I’m being a good literary citizen. When I “talk” about books and stories and essays and poems that I’ve read and admired–whether in a “real” conversation, in a blog post, on Twitter, or on Goodreads–I’m being a good literary citizen. And when I participate in the monthly Jewish Book Carnival, “a monthly event where bloggers who blog about Jewish books can meet, read, and comment on each others’ posts,” I’m also being a good literary citizen. Especially when I volunteer to serve as Carnival host.

    You see, each month, Jewish Book Carnival posts are curated on one of the participant’s sites. A Carnival post typically publishes on the 15th of the month. Last Saturday evening, after sundown and the end of the Jewish Sabbath, the December Carnival went live on My Machberet, the blog I maintain where I focus specifically on matters of Jewish literary and cultural interest.

    I invite you to visit and see all of the wonderful contributions from the Carnival participants. And if discussing Jewish-themed literature appeals to you, perhaps at some point you’ll want to join the Carnival, too.