Collection Giveaway Project 2012: What You Can Win Here

Because the stories in Binocular Vision are set in Massachusetts. And Europe. And Israel.

Because the characters in Binocular Vision are Jews. And non-Jews.

Because Binocular Vision spins stories about war. About families. About history. About things that are timeless.

And because its author does this all so beautifully. And–dare I say–so quietly?

For all of these reasons, I am proud to offer a free copy of Edith Pearlman’s superb story collection, Binocular Vision (Lookout Books, 2011), as my selected Collection Giveaway Project title.

The Collection Giveaway Project (CGP) is one way that the team at Fiction Writers Review will be celebrating Short Story Month through the month of May. And you have all month to comment on this post, right here, to be eligible to win a copy of Binocular Vision.

Comment as you wish–perhaps tell us about another collection we might enjoy, and if you’re participating in the CGP by offering up a collection (or two), please tell us where we can find *your* post. On May 31st, I’ll use a random number generator to select a winner who will receive a copy of Binocular Vision. A “runner-up” will receive a copy of my own story collection, Quiet Americans. (Winners may choose to gift their copies to another recipient if they already own the books.)

Sound good? Let the giveaway begin!

UPDATE (5/31): Thank you all for taking part! And congratulations to Anca (who has won a copy of Binocular Vision) and Kizzy (who has won a copy of Quiet Americans). I will be in touch with you shortly via email. Thank you once again.

Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

  • To Think, To Write, To Publish is “a yearlong program, supported by the National Science Foundation, featuring two multi-day workshops in Washington, DC and Tempe, Arizona. Twelve emerging communicators and 12 early-career science and innovation policy scholars will learn about creative/narrative nonfiction storytelling techniques; meet with and learn from creative writing and science journalism professors, museum professionals, and editors of mainstream publications; and collaborate, in scholar-communicator pairs, on narrative essays to appear in a nationally-distributed publication. Each workshop will include a keynote event and sessions led by prominent narrative/creative nonfiction writers, teachers, editors and agents, featuring Lee Gutkind, ‘the godfather behind creative nonfiction’ (Vanity Fair) and the founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction. This is a unique and challenging opportunity open to next generation science and innovation policy scholars and next generation communicators working in any genre(s) and interested in science, technology and the social sciences. All participants will receive an honorarium plus travel expenses to the workshops. To Think, To Write, To Publish will help writers learn much more about the process and importance of research and the vital importance of policy, and scholars learn about how to utilize creative nonfiction storytelling techniques to make science policy more accessible to a general audience.” No application fee. Deadline: June 15, 2012.
  • The Cha Flash Fiction Contest is run Cha: An Asian Literary Journal. “It is for unpublished flash stories in English language on the theme of ‘Misinterpretation.'” You may submit up to two pieces (no longer than 250 words each). There is no entry fee. Deadline: July 15, 2012. Prizes: £50/£30/£20 (payable through Paypal). All three winning pieces will receive first publication in a special section in the fifth anniversary issue of Cha.
  • Freelance opportunity with Columbia Journalism Review (for a Virginia-based writer): “CJR seeks one Virginia-based freelance correspondent for an online media criticism project, The Swing States Project, focused on the 2012 presidential campaign and other campaigns for federal office. The correspondent will critique campaign coverage—local and regional, but also national when it comes to town—with two specific areas of focus. First, he or she will monitor the media for instances of ideological fear-mongering, rhetorical distortion and manipulation, missing context, errors of fact, etc. (Or, alternately, he or she will highlight coverage that excels in pushing back against political misinformation.) Second, the correspondent will explore how the impact of political money in Virginia is covered, in terms of advertising, fund-raising, and the perception of candidates during the campaign, and lobbying and power politics beyond it. Swing States Project correspondents are expected to contribute on average three posts per month, which are featured on the CJR website. Much of the work will involve reading and reacting to/critiquing in-state campaign coverage, with some reporting as well. To see the project’s output to date, visit http://www.cjr.org/swing_states_project/. Correspondents also consult with the editors in New York about how national trends are reflected in their states and occasionally share insights and reporting for stories written in New York, and work with an in-house engagement editor to promote the project through local media (including, possibly, radio/TV appearances) and social media (Twitter proficiency—and following—a plus). Compensation will include an $800 monthly retainer and a per-post fee of $200. This position is grant-funded and continued freelance assignments are contingent on funding renewals.”
  • “The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center, Inc. [Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.] is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to advance the art and craft of writing by encouraging writers and readers at all levels to participate in and enjoy the literary arts. We seek an Executive Director with vision and proven experience in development of not-for-profit organizations and a dedication to the arts and literary pursuits. The ED is responsible for overall management of the Center’s programs, operations, and staff, and for development and fundraising.”
  • And last, but by no means least: The May issue of The Practicing Writer went out to subscribers over the weekend. As usual, the newsletter focuses on poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, and is filled with no-fee competitions and paying litmag calls for submission.
  • Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
  • I’m sorry that it took me nearly all month to discover that the “Jewesses with Attitude” blog has been presenting a series of posts about and by American Jewish women poets to celebrate National Poetry Month.
  • The URJ’s Rabbi Rick Jacobs published a beautiful piece this week for Yom HaZikaron/Yom HaAtzmaut that spotlighted the memory of Uri Grossman, son of Israeli author David Grossman.
  • I have been enjoying author Debra Spark’s guest posts over on the Jewish Book Council’s blog (The ProsenPeople).
  • When you read Judy Bolton-Fasman’s “A Jubana Mother Gives Advice to Her Tragically Gringa Daughter” you, too, will be eager to read Judy’s memoir-in-progress.
  • One of this week’s personal highlights: discovering this sensitive and generous review of Quiet Americans on Amazon.
  • Shabbat shalom.

    Friday Finds: Twitter Tips for Writers

    You read that right, writers. This week, I have two recommended resources to share with you. Friday Finds. Plural.

    As some of you may know/recall, I’ve been busy this month participating in Robert Lee Brewer’s April Platform Challenge. If you’ve been playing along, too, you already know that Twitter has played a significant part in the challenge. Which prompts me to share two very useful resources for all of us who are trying to be active, engaged, and considerate Twitter citizens.

  • David B. Crowley’s “Sweet 16” Tips to Build Your Twitter Following
  • Nina Badzin’s post on the “Twitter Thanking Crisis” and previous Twitter tips (linked at the “thanking crisis” post).
  • Have a great weekend, everyone. See you back here on Monday!

    P.S. Find and follow me on Twitter: @ErikaDreifus.

    Thursday’s Work-in-Progress

    Lots of nice things have happened this week. Thanks to Christi Craig’s lovely blog, I won a giveaway copy of Shann Ray’s American Masculine, which I’ve been meaning to read for months. I finalized and submitted a panel proposal for the 2013 Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference. I spent an energizing 90 minutes with a fantastic group of college students who are taking a seminar on “Representing the Holocaust.” I finished preparing the May newsletter (it should go out Sunday or Monday after one last round of proofreading). And I discovered a new reader review of Quiet Americans on Amazon that frankly blew me away with its on-targetness (I think I just made up a word).

    I was especially moved because this reader picked up on something I talked about at length during the classroom visit: the broad applicability of one of the notable German words in one of the stories: Vergangenheitsbewältigung (“coming to terms with the past”). That we’ve just concluded the observance of Yom HaShoah makes the subject–and the review and the visit–even more meaningful.