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.

  • Let’s begin: It took me a few days to catch up and read it, but Tablet magazine has published its first original work of short fiction, a story by Aimee Bender titled “The Doctor and the Rabbi.” Read it, and then see what Zackary Sholem Berger has to say about it.
  • You may remember that Sigmund Freud left Vienna in 1938. His sisters weren’t so lucky. The Forward reviews a novel that imagines the story of one of them.
  • Praise from Mark Athitakis for The Book of Mischief, “a magisterial collection of 17 short stories by Steve Stern that encompasses his three-decade career.”
  • This week brought us the latest Jewish Book Carnival, hosted for the first time by the Bagels, Books, and Schmooze blog (and including a giveaway).
  • Finally, I’m proud to announce that I’ll be participating in the JCC Lane Dworkin Jewish Book Festival in Rochester this fall. My event is scheduled for November 11, but I encourage you to take a look at all of the festival offerings this 20th anniversary season.

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Out of the Archive

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    Apples and honey are traditionally eaten at Rosh Hashanah to help usher in a sweet New Year.

    For Jews, this is a very special time of year. As I sat in Rosh Hashanah services on Monday, and my 9-year-old niece commented on one of the more remarkable moments in the Holy Day liturgy–the Unetenah Tokef–I was reminded again of an essay I wrote many autumns ago that is grounded in that liturgy. It’s an essay I’ve shared here on the blog before. But this seems to be an appropriate time to share it again.

    I hope that you enjoy it.

    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 gigs for those of us who write (especially those of us who write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction).

  • First up: Washington City Paper is planning a fiction issue and is “looking for previously unpublished stories that are in some way of and about the District.” Contributors will be paid. Deadline: November 1, 2012.
  • Next: “Harper Voyager, HarperCollins’ science fiction and fantasy imprint, will accept complete and unagented manuscripts for two weeks. rom October 1 until October 14, authors from around the world can send their manuscripts….” Find out more at GalleyCat.
  • New contest! The Financial Times/Bodley Head Essay Prize is “aimed at attracting future talent in long-form essay writing from around the world. Open to writers [over 18 and] up to the age of 35, the competition offers a £1,000 prize for the winning entry as well as an e-publication with the Bodley Head and a mentoring session with an FT or Bodley Head writer….Judges will consider dynamic, authoritative and lively essays of no more than 3,500 words. In keeping with the ethos of both sponsors essays can address any topic – from finance to history, current affairs or scientific discovery – the key component being quality writing.” Deadline is November 18, 2012. No entry fee.
  • Two new calls from Descant magazine (Canada). One is for an issue that will feature “graphic literature” (“cartooning”), with a deadline of June 7, 2013. The other is for an issue themed “Berlin,” with a deadline of August 16, 2013. “If accepted, it may take Descant up to 12 months to publish accepted works (occasionally longer, often shorter). Descant pays a $100 honourarium upon publication.”
  • Emory University Creative Writing Fellowship (Atlanta): “Two-year fellowship in poetry in lively undergraduate English/Creative Writing Program, beginning fall 2013. Load 2-1, all workshops; $30,000 salary, and health benefits. Required: MFA or Ph.D in last five years, with Creative Writing teaching experience. Desirable: record of publication, and secondary interests, such as creative nonfiction and working in archives. Fellows will give a public reading and have access to the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library, a 75,000-volume rare and modern poetry library housed at Emory.” Deadline: November 16, 2012.
  • Northern Michigan University is advertising for an Assistant Professor, tenure-track position in creative writing: fiction “The ideal candidate will have a strong secondary emphasis in screenwriting and/or playwriting.”
  • “The Department of English at Coastal Carolina University invites applications for a tenure-track position in fiction at the Assistant Professor level. Our growing department seeks an experienced instructor with a fiction writing background to teach graduate-level classes in the M.A. in Writing program, undergraduate fiction workshops, introductory creative writing, and first-year composition. The new hire will also have the opportunity to work on Waccamaw, the department’s award-winning literary journal.”
  • Georgia College & State University is looking for an Assistant Professor of English (Creative Writing). “We seek a writer who has published at least one book of literary fiction and has additional publications in at least one other genre.”
  • Wright State University (Ohio) is advertising for a tenure-track assistant professor in Creative Writing (Poetry). “Preferred: secondary teaching interest and publication in creative non-fiction. Candidates with substantial graduate-level work in Disability Studies, Gender Studies, Postcolonial literature, or African-American literature are encouraged to apply.”
  • The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, a not-for-profit statewide educational granting agency, is seeking an associate editor for both Louisiana Cultural Vistas, the Endowment’s quarterly arts and culture print magazine, and KnowLA, the Digital Encyclopedia of Louisiana (www.knowla.org).

    • Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    1

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

  • Let’s begin with something that’s been making the e-rounds: Philip Roth sets the record straight on the inspiration behind the protagonist in The Human Stain. (You thought the character was based on Anatole Broyard? Think again.)
  • Next up: This interview with Sarah Davies includes some important questions every writer should ask before signing with an agent. (via @occasionallyzen)
  • Ever find yourself facing Twitter-related dilemmas? Thankfully, Nina Badzin will be writing a Writer Unboxed column to help guide and advise you.
  • I don’t know about you, but I’m always fascinated to learn why editors choose a particular piece. In this post, The Kenyon Review‘s David Lynn explains why KR chose Segun Alfolabi’s story “Ezekiel,” which appears in the fall 2012 issue.
  • It’s mid-month, which means it’s time for another installment of the Fiction Writers Review “First Looks” column, where I present intriguing about-to-be published works of fiction.

    • Have a great weekend, all. I’ll be busy celebrating Rosh Hashanah on Monday, but I’ll make sure there’s a post up for you nonetheless.