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Friday Finds for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
6

For the weekend: some writing-related reflections, news, and resources to enjoy.

  • Some thoughtful reflections on and suggestions for “Pushing Through the Perils of Teaching Online.”
  • Lee Gutkind’s recent “Opinionator” piece provides an excellent reminder of the primacy of scenes. (Not surprisingly, Gutkind’s focus here is nonfiction, but frankly, I often find scenes more challenging when I’m writing fiction.)
  • A vicarious trip to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, courtesy of poet Chloe Yelena Miller. (Reminder: If you may be interested in attending Bread Loaf–or writing conferences more generally–and you live in the Boston area, there’s still time to sign up for this seminar at Grub Street.)
  • Great news from Wordamour (hint: something to do with a literary agent). Congratulations, Steph!
  • And ending on another happy note: a nice development in the story of The Writer magazine.

    • Enjoy the weekend, everyone. It’s a holiday weekend here in the U.S.A., but I’ll bring you a post on Monday nonetheless.

    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: The Jewish Book Council has announced the schedule and opened registration for the next Jewish Children’s Book & Illustrators Conference, taking place in NYC on November 18.
  • Next: I’m not sure how I missed my friend Andrew Furman’s review of Shalom Auslander’s Hope: A Tragedy, but, as the saying goes, better late than never. (The review’s basic message is summarized by the subtitle: “Bad things happen when Jews move to the country, in fiction, anyway.”)
  • Shoshanna Olidort offers a thoughtful take for the Los Angeles Review of Books on Shani Boianjiu’s The People of Forever Are Not Afraid.
  • My own latest published review looks at Jeffrey Lewis’s Berlin Cantata.
  • And in case you missed it, over on my other blog, I’ve shared excerpts from a (rejected) panel proposal titled “From Generation to Generation: 2G and 3G Approaches to Writing About the Holocaust.”

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: The Panel That AWP Rejected

    by Erika Dreifus on
    6

    About a week ago, writers began tweeting and otherwise sharing the good news they’ve received about the panel proposals they submitted a few months ago for the 2013 Association of Writers & Writing Program (AWP) conference in Boston. And I understand the outpouring. Especially since AWP calls this year’s submission pool “more competitive than it has ever been,” those whose panels have been accepted can be forgiven for crowing. I’d probably be doing some crowing myself, had the panel proposal I organized been accepted. But it wasn’t.

    (more…)

    From My Bookshelf: Zayde Comes to Live, by Sheri Sinykin

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    The children’s book market isn’t an area I know especially well. But when Sheri Sinykin contacted me to see if I’d be interested in a review copy of her picture book, Zayde Comes to Live (illustrated by Kristina Swarner; Peachtree Publishers; release date October 1, 2012), I accepted. Gratefully.

    The story introduces us to Rachel, a young Jewish girl whose grandfather (“Zayde”) has come to live with her family. “It’s because he is dying,” Rachel tells us. And Rachel is worried, because she doesn’t know where Zayde will go after he dies.

    I’m many years older than the fictional Rachel, and I still don’t quite understand what Judaism teaches about where we go after we die. Like Rachel, however, I take comfort in the teachings shared in this book, particularly about Olam Ha-Ba, the World to Come.

    The illustrations are lovely, and the words simple. Everything combines to convey the difficulty–and necessity–of saying good-bye.

    I’ve seen a review on Goodreads in which another reader remarked that Zayde Comes to Live brought tears to her eyes. It brought tears to mine, too.

    Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    7

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

  • First up: Stealing Time is a new quarterly literary magazine “about the heart of parenting. We explore the real stories of parents through fiction, essay, poetry, book reviews, and other pieces that are sad, hopeful, ebullient, resigned, reverent, wry, surprising, gut-busting, or just plain strange.” NB: “We pay! We consider this our most important priority. Writers should be paid. We’ll let you know how much we expect to pay when we accept your piece; most will be between $100 and $500, depending on length and how hard our jaws hit the floor when we start reading.” (via Duotrope.com)
  • Next: “A six-month, full-time, paid, writing internship is available at Smithsonian magazine in Washington, D.C., beginning January 2013. The internship involves writing, blogging and producing multimedia for the magazine’s Web site and writing for the print magazine’s “Around the Mall” department. Candidates should have a proven aptitude for writing and Web-journalism skills. A recent undergraduate or graduate degree is a must.”
  • “Initiated in 1998, Stadler Fellowships [at Bucknell University, Penn.] offer a recent MFA or MA in poetry the opportunity to receive professional training in arts administration and literary editing. Stadler Fellowships are designed to balance the development of professional skills with time to complete a first book of poems. Stadler Fellows assist for twenty hours each week in the administration of the Stadler Center for Poetry and/or in the editing of West Branch, Bucknell’s nationally distinguished literary journal. Fellows also work as staff members and instructors in the Bucknell Seminar for Younger Poets in June. The Fellowship stipend is $20,000. In addition, each Fellow is provided health insurance, office space in the Stadler Center, and housing. Depending on circumstances, Fellows are either housed in a furnished apartment in the Poet’s Cottage or provided with a stipend to seek housing on their own in Lewisburg.” Next application deadline is October 1, and there’s no application fee indicated.
  • Coming this week: The September issue of The Practicing Writer. Packed with no-fee competition info and paying submission calls. (Plus, a Q&A with David Abrams.)
  • “The Department of English at Skidmore College [N.Y.] invites applications from actively publishing fiction writers to fill a tenure-track Assistant Professorship in fiction writing. Secondary interests welcome. The teaching load will alternate yearly between 3/2 and 2/2. Responsibilities include periodic participation in Skidmore’s First Year Experience program. Ph.D., M.F.A, or equivalent; publications; and teaching experience required.”
  • “Hampshire College’s [Mass.] Creative Writing Program invites applications for an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and African American Literary Arts, to begin in fall 2013. We seek a writer (of poetry, fiction, and/or creative nonfiction) whose artistic and critical work is engaged with the histories, literary arts, and cultures of people of African descent, particularly in the United States. We are especially interested in candidates whose work explores the intersections of creative practice, research and issues of social justice. We seek candidates who are interested in teaching workshop-based courses as well as modeling for students what it can mean for writers to engage with literature through critical and theoretical lenses.”