Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • Richard Hugo House (Seattle) is taking applications for writers-in-residence. “Applicants for the position should be practicing, published (or produced) writers of poetry, fiction, plays or creative nonfiction and accomplished and dedicated writing teachers with experience working with writers of all levels in a traditional workshop setting and on a one-on-one basis as a mentor offering criticism and professional development advice. Applicants should have a specific artistic project they are working on during their residency (i.e. developing a manuscript for publication) and should have a special interest in the role of writing as a means of engaging people of all cultures and in all sectors of society.” Applications are due by June 6, 2011, and there is no application fee. Check the website for more information (including information on compensation).
  • Nashville Review‘s current submissions window closes June 1. “Nashville Review publishes the best in literary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and comics. Both distinguished and emerging writers are encouraged to submit. Nashville Review also publishes lyrics and audio by up-and-coming musicians. Fiction, nonfiction, and comics contributors are offered a flat fee of $100. Poetry contributors are offered $25 per poem. All submissions may be made through our online submissions manager. Nashville Review has three reading periods: January 1 – February 1, May 1 – June 1, and September 1 – October 1. Fiction, poetry, and nonfiction submitted outside of these reading periods cannot be considered. Comics and music may be submitted at any time.”
  • Reminder also that Graywolf Press is now currently open for manuscript submissions. “Graywolf Press is a literary press that publishes about twenty-seven books annually, mostly collections of poetry, memoir, essays, novels, and short stories. Our editors are looking for high quality literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that combines a distinct voice with a distinct vision….We accept submissions in the months of January, May, and September. Submissions received outside of these months will not be considered.”
  • All hail Tania Hershman, source of this extensive list of “UK and Ireland Lit Mags Which Publish Short Stories.” The list is annotated and indicates which mags pay contributors.
  • “The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts is looking for, as you might guess, ‘compressed creative arts.’ We accept fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, mixed media, visual arts, and even kitchen sinks, if they are compressed in some way. Work is published weekly, without labels, and the labels here only exist to help us determine its best readers. We pay writers $50 per accepted piece and signed contract.” (via Pam Casto’s Flash Fiction Flash newsletter)
  • “The Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences, Loyola University Chicago (LUC) seeks qualified candidates for a newly authorized position for a Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing- Poetry, for the Academic Year 2011-2012 and pending the approval of funding. The appointment will be for one year….This non-tenure-track, full-time position comprises teaching poetry writing in the core curriculum and in the Creative Writing Concentration within the English major, mentoring students, assisting in administration of the Creative Writing Program, and continuing to publish poetry in recognized venues.”
  • Columbia Magazine (New York) is looking for a Managing Editor, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (Washington) seeks a Publications Specialist, and Rice University (Houston) is advertising for a Science Writer.

    • TBR: How to Spot One of Us, Poems by Janet R. Kirchheimer

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    One of the highlights of this past week was my attendance at a conference on “German-Speaking Jews in New York City: Their Immigration and Lasting Presence.” Co-sponsored by the Leo Baeck Institute and the Baruch College Jewish Studies Center, the conference featured several panels. I was on one of those panels, and that’s where I met Janet R. Kirchheimer, fellow panelist, poet, and author.

    In our session, Janet read several poems from her 2007 collection, How to Spot One of Us. The first poem she shared, “This Is How My Opa Strauss Died,” nearly brought me to tears. (The poem is available online, so you can read it for yourself. I dare you not to be moved. Then, you can read some additional poems of Kirchheimer’s on the same site.)

    Janet is a daughter of Holocaust survivors, and her identity and familial experience are at the heart of this book. With this collection, as Rabbi Irwin Kula notes in his foreword, she “has taken a particular Jewish event—the Holocaust—a particular family’s experiences, and the personal and intimate details of particular people in particular places at particular moments and has aspired to a universal revelation of a new sense of reality. There is no easy catharsis here and yet as we read the poems and experience the intimacy of tragedy, loss, anguish, and despair we are invited with fierce grace to preserve our humanity and faith.” Or, as Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg adds in an introduction, these poems “…so shall the words written in this book not return empty-handed but will infuse the mind of every reader, giving life to the dead and compassion to the living.”

    I’d hoped to manage to return to the conference for an evening conference session, where I’d have been able to buy a copy of How to Spot One of Us and ask Janet to sign it for me. Alas, life intervened, and I had to make do with an online order. Luckily, the book has already arrived (thank you, Amazon Prime!). And somehow, it seems to be autographed.

    I really can’t wait to read this book. It’s the absolute next title on my TBR list. Perhaps it should be on yours?

    Notes from Around the Web: Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Get to know the next generation of Jewish children’s book reviewers by reading the winning entries in this year’s Moment magazine Publish-A-Kid contest.
  • UJA-Federation is looking for a part-time writer (New York).
  • This week, my short story, “The Quiet American, Or How to Be a Good Guest,” was featured on the Emerging Writers Network. This is the effective “title story” for my collection, Quiet Americans.
  • The aforementioned Emerging Writers Network is, like many other sites, celebrating Short Story Month. Which short-story collections on Jewish themes would you recommend to others? (Apart from Quiet Americans, of course!)
  • Welcome to the Web, Jewish News Archive!

    • Shabbat shalom!

    Friday Find: May Issue of The Practicing Writer

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    In case you haven’t yet seen it (or if you haven’t yet subscribed–egads!), the May issue of The Practicing Writer is now online. The issue went out to subscribers late last week, so plenty of poets, fictionists, and writers of creative nonfiction have already had several days to pursue the no-cost contests and paying submission calls included within. But it’s never too late to join us. (The newsletter is free, and we won’t share your email address.)

    Enjoy the weekend, and see you back here on Monday!

    Thursday’s Post-Publication Post: A Busy Time for Quiet Americans (and Its Author)

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
    Signing Books at Cambridge Book Party

    As I’ve mentioned, I spent last weekend (an extended weekend) in Massachusetts, where I used to live. On Sunday, one of my Cambridge friends generously hosted a “book brunch” to celebrate the publication of my story collection, Quiet Americans (thanks again, A!). It was a lovely gathering, and once again, I felt blessed to have so much support and friendship in my life.

    The latest issue of CUNY Matters (my employer’s newsmagazine) was released just before I left for Massachusetts, and I was gratified to see Quiet Americans mentioned in the issue’s books section. (Download CUNY Matters here and scroll to the side column on page 9 to see the shout-out.)

    Meantime, the reviews continue to come in. I’m humbled whenever I see that someone has spent precious time writing about my book. Here is one recent review that is especially detailed and comprehensive.

    I’m also honored to learn that Midge Raymond is providing a copy of Quiet Americans as one of her Collection Giveaway Project offerings (Midge is also spotlighting Becky Hagenston’s Strange Weather and Lori Ostlund’s The Bigness of the World).

    So it has been a busy week for Quiet Americans! Who knows what next week may bring?