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TBR: Anna Solomon’s THE LITTLE BRIDE

by Erika Dreifus on
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The Publishers Lunch “Lunch Weekly” free e-mail lists a selection of the new book deals routinely made available to paying subscribers. This week’s “Lunch Weekly” included the following information about another book I’ll be looking forward to reading sometime in the hopefully not-too-distant future:

“Iowa MFA graduate Anna Solomon’s THE LITTLE BRIDE, a debut novel exploring the little-known history of Jewish immigrants who settled on the Great Plains – the story of a young Russian mail-order bride stranded on the South Dakota prairie, married to a man twice her age and increasingly in love with her nineteen-year-old stepson, to Sarah Stein and Sarah McGrath at Riverhead, by Ellen Levine at Trident Media Group.”

Between Anna Solomon and Allison Amend we’re going to have some pretty interesting Jewish stories set in “flyover” country. Especially given my own connection to such literary/geographic territory (a short story titled “Lebensraum” set in Clarinda, Iowa, during World War II), I can’t wait!

Conference Scholarship for Ontario Writers (Deadline Approaching Fast!)

by Erika Dreifus on
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There’s no time to save this announcement for the Monday morning round-up, so I’m posting it today. The Ontario Writers’ Conference offers a “Kick-Start Writing Prize” for entrants (ages 18-26) who attend a postsecondary institution in the province of Ontario. “We believe in the importance of encouraging young writers to explore their creativity, strengthen their craft and immerse themselves in the writing community. To this end, we are offering one full scholarship and one partial fellowship to attend our 2010 writers’ conference, plus an opportunity for our winners to read at evening’s Festival of Authors.” You’ll need to submit a short personal essay with your application. There’s no entry fee. Deadline: November 1, 2009. (via placesforwriters.com)

Irina Reyn Wins 2009 Goldberg Prize

by Erika Dreifus on
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Congratulations to Irina Reyn, winner of the 2009 Goldberg Prize for Jewish Fiction by Emerging Writers for her 2008 novel, What Happened to Anna K. As you may recall, I read this book about a year ago, and I thought it was wonderful. I’m so glad to see Reyn and her book honored this way.

From the Foundation for Jewish Culture’s Web site: “Established in 1999 and supported through a generous grant from the Samuel Goldberg & Sons Foundation, the Goldberg Prize for Jewish Fiction by Emerging Writers is among the very first of its kind to highlight new works by contemporary writers exploring Jewish themes. The prize spotlights promising new talent, and is awarded to an American fiction writer for a first or second full-length work that was published in the previous calendar year. Submissions must be made by the publisher. The award includes a prize of $2,500, as well as a one-week residency at Ledig House International Writers Colony in New York’s Hudson Valley.”

The deadline for the 2010 competition will be announced shortly. Congratulations once again to Irina Reyn!

The Future of Jewish News Reporting

by Erika Dreifus on
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Saw a small announcement in The Jewish Week about what looks to be an excellent event here in New York City next Monday evening (November 2): “‘The Future of Jewish News Reporting,’ a panel discussion featuring Ami Eden, editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency; Alana Newhouse, editor of Tablet Magazine; and Gary Rosenblatt, editor and publisher of The Jewish Week, will take place on Monday, Nov. 2, at 8 p.m., at Lincoln Square Synagogue, 200 Amsterdam Ave. The moderator is Samuel Freedman, professor of journalism at Columbia University School of Journalism, author and columnist. The event, co-sponsored by Lincoln Square Synagogue and The Jewish Week, is free and open to the public.”

Becoming Americans: Writing the Immigrant Experience

by Erika Dreifus on
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If you’re in New York City and have time available on Tuesday evening, October 27, you may want to check out this event at Columbia University:

“Join Ilan Stavans, editor of The Library of America’s new anthology Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing, and two contributors, award-winning writers Jhumpa Lahiri and Gary Shteyngart, for an evening of readings and discussion. Open to public.”

Details here.

Sounds wonderful, but unfortunately I can’t get there. If any of our readers are going, please report back!