Friday Finds for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

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

  • First, a lovely post from Armand Inezian, on the general theme of “Ask not what you can do for your own sales, but how you can help the sales of others.”
  • Next: “How to Be a Contemporary Writer,” by Roxane Gay.
  • Reminders re: cliches to avoid (and a chance to win a free issue of Writer’s Digest).
  • Act fast (as in, today) to win a free Mediabistro course (or at least, a course discount).
  • An extensive list of (mainly free) readings and other literary events taking place this academic year on the campuses of The City University of New York. The list is frequently updated.

    • Have a great weekend, everyone. 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.

  • This week brought the excellent news of a forthcoming essay collection by Kevin Haworth. Titled Famous Drownings in Literary History, the collection is billed as grappling with the “confusing things that make up the life of post-9/11 Jewish American parents and artists.” You can read one of the book’s essays, “The News from Bulgaria,” on Airplane Reading.
  • Read Jacob Paul’s essay on David Grossman’s See Under: Love.
  • “The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute awards grants to support interdisciplinary research or artistic projects on Jewish women and gender issues. Scholars, activists, writers and artists who are pursuing research on questions of significance to the field of Jewish women’s studies may apply.” Application deadline: September 13, 2012.
  • Terrific essay by Doreen Carvajal about her family: “We were raised as Catholics in Costa Rica and California, but late in life I finally started collecting the nagging clues of a very clandestine identity: that we were descendants of secret Sephardic Jews — Christian converts known as conversos, or Anusim (Hebrew for the forced ones) or even Marranos, which in Spanish means swine.”
  • Mark your calendars for October 23, when Norman Manea will appear at YIVO in NYC.

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Beyond the “Niceness” Debate–and Five Places to Promote Your Events Online

    by Erika Dreifus on
    5

    1. Ron Charles
      RonCharles But now does every book critic on Earth have to write a response-essay abt reviews that are too mean? (Pls tell us “No,” @silvermanjacob) 19 Aug 2012 from HootSuite


    Unless you’ve spent the past week or so entirely offline, you’ve likely caught at least some discussion regarding the practice of book-reviewing and the significance of nice–or nasty–reviews. Although I have some thoughts on these matters, they’re not yet processed. I admire those many writers who have (in some cases, nearly instantaneously) responded to various reviews, reactions, and counter-reactions in essay form. But I’m hoping that some of them are either 1) writers-who-teach who have not yet returned to the classroom and therefore have the luxury of ample time at their disposal or 2) people who are employed full-time as writers-critics. If these hopes are ill-founded, I’ll have to accept that I’m simply a lot slower (or lazier) than I thought.

    At any rate, I’m going to follow the suggestion implied in Ron Charles’s tweet; I’m going to reserve full-fledged comment. At least, for now.

    So what have I been doing with my own time-beyond-the-day-job in recent days? Big chunks have been devoted to solidifying details for and promoting some upcoming events. In brief: If you (or any of your friends/family/colleagues) live in Boston, Philadelphia, or Rochester, do I have news for you! And if you’re a writer looking for tips on how to promote your events, I have news for you, too. (more…)

    Words of the Week: Nina Badzin

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    WHY DO YOU MENTION JUDAISM ALL THE TIME?

    Jews are like that. Well, not all Jews. But I’m certainly not the only Jew who can’t get through the day without uttering or thinking the word ‘Jewish’ in some capacity. Though I do admit I’m particularly Jewey. I don’t know why that is. I’d tell you to ask my parents, but I think they’re just as mystified by my all-consuming Jewiness as you are.

    Source: NinaBadzin.com

    Dear, sweet, funny Nina Badzin. A wonderful writer, with a delightful personality to boot. We became acquainted online, and we had the opportunity meet “in real life” at the Grub Street Muse & the Marketplace conference back in 2011.

    Nina has just upgraded her blog, and on the occasion of the relaunch, she offers a self-interview that includes the above snippet. Which resonates with me, in part because, like Nina, I “can’t get through the day without uttering or thinking the word ‘Jewish’ in some capacity,” and in part because my dad, in particular, has admitted that he is “mystified” by my Zionism.

    Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    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, news from Gold Wake Press regarding its print series: “We are interested in expanding our catalog with drama, mixed genre works, & novels/novellas. We are ONLY open to these at the current time.”
  • Next: “The online literary journal http://www.anderbo.com is looking for a reader/screener for its 2012 Open City Magazine No-Fee RRofihe Trophy Short Story Contest @ Anderbo http://www.anderbo.com/anderbo1/no-fee-rrofihe-trophy2012.html now in its 9th year. This is a part-time, online, paying position. A recent winning story can be read @http://www.anderbo.com/anderbo1/afiction-057.html.” (The position, advertised on craigslist, pays $20/hour; if you’re more interested in entering the contest than reading/screening for it, the deadline is December 31, 2012.)
  • If you’re already familiar with Duotrope—”a resource for writers that offers an extensive, searchable database of current fiction, poetry, and non-fiction markets, a calendar of upcoming deadlines, submissions trackers (for registered users), and useful statistics compiled from the millions of data points we’ve gathered on the publishers we list”—take a look at the sleek redesign. And if you’re not yet familiar with Duotrope, now’s a perfect time to take a look.
  • “The New Writers Project, the MFA program of the Department of English at The University of Texas at Austin, seeks applications for a distinguished faculty position as Associate Professor with tenure in Creative Writing- Poetry to begin Fall 2013.”
  • “The English Department at the University of San Francisco invites applications for a tenure-track position in poetry at the Assistant Professor level to begin Fall 2013.”
  • “Ursinus College [Penn.] invites applications for a one semester position of Science Writer in Residence for fall 2013 (8/26/13 to 12/13/13).” Review of applications begins October 1.
  • Urban Land magazine (Washington) seeks an Online Editor, North American Media Group (Minnetonka, Minn.) seeks a Senior Editor for the Cooking Club of America, and Backstage (Los Angeles) is advertising a position for an Editorial Assistant “with social-media expertise.”