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Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
  • From Daniel E. Levenson, editor of New Vilna Review: “The New Vilna Review has been going through some changes the past few months, and our focus has shifted to offering an expanded selection of poetry, fiction and arts writing. We are once again accepting submissions, and look forward to continuing to publish some of the most interesting and thought provoking work in the world of Jewish arts and letters.”
  • Some fascinating background on the Jewish roots behind the Oscar-winning film, The Artist.
  • “The timing of my new mustache — 10 days after my wife miscarried, a week after I injured my back in a car crash and two weeks after my father found out he had inoperable cancer — couldn’t have been better. Instead of talking about Dad’s chemo or my wife’s blood transfusion, I could divert all small talk to the thick tuft of facial hair growing above my upper lip. And whenever anyone asked me, ‘What’s with the mustache?’ I had the perfect answer, and it was even mostly true: ‘It’s for the boy.'” From an essay by Israeli author Etgar Keret, translated by Jessica Cohen, in last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine.
  • One of my most memorable reads from last year, Johanna Adorján’s An Exclusive Love: A Memoir (trans. Anthea Bell) is now available in paperback. Check out my review for The Jewish Journal, which includes a recent Q&A with the author.

    • Shabbat shalom!

    Friday Finds: Five Ways to Benefit from AWP (Without Attending the Conference)

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Although it may be somewhat difficult to believe (depending on how much time you’re spending on Twitter this week, and how many writer-types you follow), not everyone is attending the annual conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) right now.

    And here’s something that may be even more surprising: There’s plenty to gain and glean from a quick-and-easy trip (no luggage! no airport delays!) to the organization’s website.Here are five examples:

  • Searchable database of writers’ conferences, centers, residencies, festivals, and retreats.
  • Online guide to writing programs (graduate and undergraduate).
  • Selection of craft-focused articles from AWP’s magazine, The Writer’s Chronicle.
  • Selection of career-advice articles from the AWP Job List.
  • “Advice for Grantseekers from the National Endowment for the Arts,” a podcast from last year’s conference (scroll down to Episode 12; many of the other episodes on this page are limited to listeners with [membership] eLink access, but Episode 12 is available to all.

    • AWP membership does offer, as they say, some privileges. But everything I’ve listed just above is available to anyone who visits the site.

    Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

    Thursday’s Work-in-Progress: All About Book Reviewing

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
    SOME of the print galleys and advance reading copies (ARCs) awaiting my attention.

    I have book reviewing on the brain right now.

    Part of that is due to the number of reviews I’ve been writing lately (and the assignments remaining yet-to-checked-off my to-do list). Part of it might have to do with two of my recent reviews having appeared online within the past few days. One of those reviews looks at Natasha Solomons’s new novel, The House at Tyneford, and the other was assigned to note the paperback release of Johanna Adorján’s An Exclusive Love: A Memoir (trans. Anthea Bell).

    And part of is surely connected with the survey I’ve devised for book reviewers/book bloggers who use NetGalley.

    That last item is something I devised to help me with an article-in-progress in which I’m writing about NetGalley’s usefulness to me (and others). If you’re a reviewer/blogger who has used or is using NetGalley, I’d be so grateful if you’d take a few moments and complete the survey. It’s quick and painless, I promise! Thank you in advance for your time, and thanks to those of you who have already participated.

    The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Last week brought some buzz–including a New York Times article–about an author whose unsellable manuscript scored a deal as soon as a pseudonymous byline entered the picture.
  • The Poets & Writers contests blog presents a Q&A with Jennifer Perrine, who has won multiple contests and competitions.
  • You know how I’m always reminding you that I’m a #writerwithadayjob? Well, with my appearance on writerwithadayjob.com, it’s official! (Thanks to Aine Greaney for the affirmation, and for introducing me to your excellent blog.)
  • For the next five days I expect to be seeing a lot on Twitter from the folks heading to Chicago for the annual Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference. With the help of the #AWP12 hashtag, that is.
  • And speaking of AWP–allow me to leave you with this creation, “Annual Conference: 8,000 Writers Expected,” written and read by Rebecca McClanahan.