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Friday Finds for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

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

  • First up: This Shelf Awareness piece throws a lot of light on how Leslie Brody’s new book, The Last Kiss, took form. Note the roles of bookstore events, a writing workshop, and those ever-powerful prompts.
  • And speaking of memoir: “Your Memoir Is Too Much About You,” says Ethan Gilsdorf.
  • Pretty funny piece by Shalom Auslander. Here’s a taste: “In the first place, it is true that I turned 40 this year, and it is equally true that, for the 40th time, my writing did not make it into the New Yorker’s ‘Forty Under Forty’ issue, or Granta’s ‘Forty Under Forty’ issue, or the LA Times’s ‘Forty Faces Under Forty’ issue, or the Guardian’s annual ‘Forty American Writers Under Forty to Watch’, or even McSweeney’s ‘Forty Writers Under Forty Who Live Near Us in Brooklyn and We Hang Out With Quite a Bit or At Least Would Like To’.”
  • Alas, it’s unlikely that I’ll make it to the South Dakota Festival of Books anytime soon, but David Abrams’s lovely account makes me feel almost as if I was right there with him this year.
  • Interesting account of one professor’s foray into an online creative-writing course–as a student–with the University of Phoenix.

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

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

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

  • First up: This week’s New Yorker features a new story by Lara Vapnyar, “Fischer vs. Spassky.” Bonus: Deborah Treisman’s Q&A with Vapnyar about the story.
  • Next: Nina Badzin reviews a new anthology titled Living Jewishly: A Snapshot of a Generation.
  • I learned about the life and work of poet Naomi Replansky this week thanks to Benjamin Ivry’s coverage for The Forward.
  • “On October 16, Leo Baeck Institute will unveil DigiBaeck – a comprehensive digital version of its collections to be made available to all for free online. DigiBaeck encompasses more than 3.5 million pages of documents from German-Jewish history.” Attend the launch (or watch streaming video online).
  • Writing a Jewish-themed YA novel? “In honor of Jewish Book Month, The Whole Megillah is hosting its second annual Write Your Own Megillah event. Think of it as the Jewish equivalent of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). From November 7 through December 7, 2012, you’ll have the opportunity to write the novel you’ve always wanted to write.”

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Helping You Publish Your Work

    by Erika Dreifus on
    3

    As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, my travels this season include a quick trip to Philadelphia on Saturday, October 13, when I’ll be the guest of Big Blue Marble Bookstore (and Apiary Magazine) for a reading at 3:30 p.m. And before the reading—starting at 2 p.m.—I’ll be leading a workshop for writers who want to learn how to publish their stories, essays, and poems in literary magazines.

    I spent a chunk of time last weekend preparing an extensive handout; we’re going to cover a lot! The handout includes an extensive list of resources, including a few notable recent items that I think will enhance the discussion we’ll be having (and perhaps even spark a debate or two). I thought I’d share those articles/posts with all of you, too.

  • “Poetry Magazine Submissions: How to Do Them Right,” by Robert Lee Brewer
  • “Rabbit Season or Duck Season: A Guide to Submissions,”  by Michael Nye
  • “Three Stories Unlikely to Make it Beyond the Slush,” by Joe Hiland
  • “The Red Flags of Writing Contests,” by C. Hope Clark
  • “The Value of Three: Writing for Non-paying Markets,” by Chris F. Holm

    • By the way, you don’t need to register for the reading, which is free and open to the public, but we are asking anyone interested in the workshop (at a bargain price of just $35!) to pre-register. Details here.

    From My Bookshelf: A Wedding in Great Neck, by Yona Zeldis McDonough

    by Erika Dreifus on
    4

    Today marks the release date for A Wedding in Great Neck, the latest novel by Yona Zeldis McDonough. My Machberet wishes Yona a hearty Mazel Tov!

    Some of you may recognize Yona for her role as fiction editor for Lilith magazine. I can still remember picking up the phone in my kitchen 10 years ago when Yona called to let me know that she and the magazine wanted to publish my short story (which the magazine retitled “Polar Region”). Yona is responsible for affirming and advancing the work of so many fiction writers, especially those of us on the emerging end of things. We owe her a lot.

    Which is one reason why I was so happy to be offered a complimentary advance reading copy of A Wedding in Great Neck, and why I’m equally pleased to give it a public shout-out here. If you follow me on Goodreads, you know that I read this hefty book in all of two days. It’s a family story–reminiscent of tales spun by Jonathan Tropper and Joshua Henkin–that takes place in a brief span (in this case, a single wedding day). There are lots of Jewish characters, some of whom you’ll likely respond to more positively than others. (Personally, I wanted to shake teenaged Justine more than once, especially each time she began spouting off against Israel.)

    Here’s wishing Yona and her new book much success as they meet the world together.

    Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • New scholarship opportunity: “The second annual River Teeth Nonfiction Conference [takes place in Ashland, Ohio, in May] is pleased to announce that it is offering four merit-based scholarships for students currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate writing programs. Students interested should complete the registration form and scholarship application by March 1, 2013. The registration fee is waived for scholarship applicants. Scholarships cover the cost of registration for the conference. Recipients are responsible for all other expenses (travel, room and board, etc.). The scholarship does not cover the cost of a full-length manuscript consultation.”
  • Do you have some design skills? Ardor, a new literary magazine, is looking for a logo. “We’re looking for something no larger than 4”x 4” and the winning submission will successfully integrate our publication name into the design. Submit your best work by the end of the day on Friday, November 30, 2012. We’ll announce the winner by the end of December and feature the winning logo in our first three issues of ARDOR, crediting you as the designer with a brief bio. The designer of the winning logo will receive a token payment of $20 upon publication of our first issue.” (via The Review Review)
  • The October issue of The Practicing Writer, filled with information on no-fee writing contests and competitions and paying calls for submission, went out to subscribers this weekend.
  • Attention, Minnesota writers of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. You may be eligible to apply for the Beyond the Pure Fellowships for Writers (formerly the SASE Jerome Grants for Emerging Writers). The program confers “grants of up to $4,000 to four to six emerging Minnesota writers each year….In addition to their grant award, recipients also participate in a 12-month fellowship program that provides community, mentorship, guidance, workshops, and resources throughout the program year….Intermedia Arts’ Beyond the Pure Fellowships for Writers places a particular emphasis on increasing the visibility of and providing a platform for emerging writers whose voices have historically been underrepresented in the literary arts.” Application deadline is 6 p.m. on Friday, October 19. No application fee indicated.
  • “The University of North Carolina Wilmington invites applications for a full-time Editor of Ecotone—Reimagining Place and Lookout Books, an award-winning teaching press, at the rank of lecturer in the Department of Creative Writing on a continuing 12-month appointment, beginning July 1, 2013. This is an excellent opportunity to join a nationally recognized department that offers both a BFA and an MFA, as well as a Certificate in Publishing. Each semester, the successful candidate will teach a course in literary magazine editing associated with the journal Ecotone, as well as another course in the editing/publishing curriculum for either undergraduates or graduate students.”
  • Lots more teaching jobs again this week. To see what else I’ve found, keep on reading!

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