Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Encouraging the Next Generation

by Erika Dreifus on
5

During my day at Book Expo America a few weeks back, I was intrigued to discover the new “Not For Parents” series from the folks at Lonely Planet. The publisher describes these books as designed “for budding travel lovers 8 and up,” adding that the series “opens up the world to a whole new generation of adventurers – with intriguing stories and fascinating facts about people, places, history and culture from around the world. From hideous histories to funky food, they cover all the cool stuff to know and are jam-packed with photos, illustrations and cartoons.” I considered myself lucky to snag a complimentary copy of the New York City book for my niece, who turns nine this summer.

I am even more delighted to have convinced said niece, Rachel, to write a brief review for this blog. (This was an activity that helped us pass the time before we went to the movies last weekend.) Please note that Rachel is already a practicing reviewer, with other posts to her credit over on her mom’s site.

I haven’t changed anything here–and all opinions are Rachel’s! (more…)

Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • Oh, is this one, from the Centre d’Art – Marnay Art Centre (CAMAC), tempting! “CAMAC and Fondation Ténot offer each year a residency bursary to one visual artist, one writer and one musician or composer in order to create new career prospects for artists.” The bursary includes a 2-month residency at CAMAC (France). The creative-writing bursary is open to “established poets, novel writers and playwrights.” There is no application fee. Deadline: July 14, 2012.
  • Going on the job market? You could receive free CV and résumé critique from the experts at The Chronicle of Higher Education: “This summer, the CV Doctor would like to help two candidates with their CV and résumé. Many of you may have been on the academic job market before, and, in uncertain times, you may be widening the range of job possibilities you’re considering. So, we would like to help you understand the differences between these two documents, and how to make them effective for different audiences.” They’d like to feature “an M.F.A. looking for a faculty position and for an arts administrative position.” You have until July 9 to submit your documents. Go!
  • California writers! Poets & Writers, Inc.,  is currently accepting submissions for the California Writers Exchange Awards program, which “introduces emerging writers from California to the New York literary community and provides them a network for professional advancement. Every third year, writers in California are invited to submit manuscripts. Judges review the entries and select a winning poet and fiction writer. Winners are flown to New York City for an all-expenses-paid, weeklong trip to meet with literary agents, editors, publishers, and writers, and to give a public reading.” They also receive honoraria ($500). Deadline is August 31, 2012, and there’s no application fee.
  • Coming later this week: the July Practicing Writer newsletter. As always, it will be packed with no-fee contest info and submission calls from paying venues. Subscribe now, if you’re not already among us. It’s free, and your email address is not shared.
  • Cultural Tourism DC (Washington) is looking for a Communications Associate-New Media, Literature for All of Us (Chicago area) seeks a Book Group Leader, and Rhode Island School of Design is advertising for a News Editor/Writer.

    • Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    4

    Time to send you off for the weekend with some resources and ideas–and maybe some entertainment.

  • First, from BookBaby.com: “If you’re an independent author or small publisher, attending [literary festivals or conferences] can open up some great new opportunities, but they’re also expensive, especially if you’re traveling. You want to make sure you plan ahead, set clear goals, and get the most out of the experience.” To that end, here are some helpful hints.
  • I need to spend some quality time–soon–with Carol Tice’s guide to fixing your writer website.
  • Sometimes, I get a little annoyed by all of those tweets, posts, and articles by “mama writers” about how hard it is for them to get any writing done–even when their partners are the family breadwinners/insurance providers, their children are in school and healthy/without special needs, and they have child-care assistance to boot. (You’ll notice that I don’t link to those kinds of items very often!) What a refreshing change it is to find Writer Abroad’s reflections on “5 Reasons Having a Baby Can Make You a More Productive Writer.” Thank you, Chantal!
  • Big list of (classic) literary spoilers.
  • OK, so I wasn’t exactly prepared. But it appears that Wednesday (June 20) was International Short Story Day! Celebrate belatedly by enjoying this downloadable new short-story anthology, courtesy of HarperPerennial. (h/t @GrubWriters)
  • I’m a Brooklyn gal by birth (and I spent my first nine years there), so I’m naturally drawn to this new literary map of the borough. (If any of you can think of a literary reference for Sheepshead Bay, where I spent ages 3-9, I’d be most grateful. My other B’klyn nabes–mainly Brighton Beach/Manhattan Beach–have some claims to fame, but poor Sheepshead Bay–with the eponymous bay pictured below–is apparently a literary desert!)

    • 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
    There is so much excellent content to share with you this week. Let’s get right to it.

  • First, one of the books I’m anticipating with considerable interest this fall is Shani Boianjiu’s The People of Forever Are Not Afraid. Boianjiu, an Israeli, wrote the book in English. This week, The New Yorker published an excerpt as well as a Web-only Q&A with the author.
  • Next: You’ve seen me mention JewishFiction.net here before. This week, The Whole Megillah ran a Q&A with JewishFiction.net’s editor, Dr. Nora Gold. I was especially impressed by Gold’s pride in her journal’s “high level of inclusiveness and diversity….For years I have been deeply concerned about the divisions, divisiveness, and polarizations within the Jewish world: between the different streams of Judaism, between religious/secular, left/right, Ashkenazi/Mizrahi, and Israel/Diaspora, to name just a few. So in Jewish Fiction.net we have made a point of publishing fiction by authors who are secular and religious (“religious” encompassing all streams of Judaism), right- and left-wing, Ashkenazi and Mizrahi, old and young, female and male, economically privileged and disadvantaged, community-affiliated and community-alienated, LGBTI and straight, and from Israel and the Diaspora. It is our hope that, in this way, Jewish Fiction.net can help bring Jews together in spite of the differences between us. We all have a common language as Jews, and Jewish literature belongs to all of us. So Jewish Fiction.net is a place where all Jewish voices can be heard.”
  • Superb Tablet essay by a young woman currently on a Birthright trip in Israel, regarding her experiences with anti-Semitism (yes, here in the United States! in the 21st century!).
  • In case you missed it, Linda K. Wertheimer has curated an especially strong Jewish Book Carnival this month.
  • Attention, graduate students! Administered by the Philip Roth Society, “[t]he Siegel/McDaniel Award recognizes high-quality work from graduate students written on any aspect of Philip Roth’s writing in the past year (ending June 1). We recommend that faculty urge strong students to submit papers and we welcome submissions from members and non-members alike.” There’s no entry fee indicated, and the deadline is September 1, 2012. “The winner of the Siegel/McDaniel Award receives: 1) a $250 cash award; 2) a complimentary one-year membership (or renewal) in the Philip Roth Society, including a year’s subscription to Philip Roth Studies; and 3) an opportunity to work with the editor of Philip Roth Studies to publish an expanded version of the essay in the journal.”

    • Shabbat shalom!

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: What to Do After an Acceptance Arrives

    by Erika Dreifus on
    12

    Last Saturday evening I returned from a lovely party to some equally nice news: another of my micro-essays had just found a home in a journal.

    Which reminded me of something.

    As writers, we spend a fair amount of time talking about where to submit our work, and how to submit it, and when to submit it. We also devote a lot of energy to preparing for (and dealing with) rejection.

    But we don’t always say a whole lot about what to do after an acceptance arrives.

    Yes, we can rejoice. We can toast. We can tweet. But before we do anything else there are two things that we really need to do. Many of you may know this already. But some of you may not. Ready? (more…)