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?

    The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    6

    Between an extended weekend in Massachusetts, an especially busy week at the day job, and a conference presentation coming up (gulp!) tomorrow, this hasn’t been the best week for me so far as my keeping an eye on the Web goes. But I’ve done my best, and I’m happy to share these finds with you.

  • My trip to Massachusetts was prompted by the always-excellent Muse & the Marketplace conference that is organized by the fine folks at Grub Street, Inc. Click here to read an interview with Grub’s founder, Eve Bridburg, and then move on to Nina Badzin’s conference recap. (You can also scroll through all of the #Muse2011 posts on Twitter to get a sense of some of what went on and the inspiration and camaraderie that the conference engendered.)
  • I loved Ellen Meeropol’s recent blog post on moral ambiguity in fiction (and I’d have loved it even without its generous mention of my story, “For Services Rendered.”
  • Tayari Jones (who will be our Q&A guest in the June issue of The Practicing Writer) shares “Five Things I Wish I Had Known When I Published My First Book.”
  • Time to remind you that May is Short Story Month! I’m proud to be part of the team at Fiction Writers Review that is celebrating with a slew of projects and special posts. Author and editor Matt Bell has a nice collection of other participating sites/blogs/etc. over on his homepage. Please remember that there’s still plenty of time for you to enter the short-story collection giveaway right here on Practicing Writing (copies of Midge Raymond’s Forgetting English and my own Quiet Americans are up for the winning).

    • Translation Grants Available from the Yiddish Book Center

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    This just in from the Yiddish Book Center:

    The Yiddish Book Center will award two grants of $1,000 each for the translation into English of a Yiddish text, from any genre. According to Aaron Lansky, president and founder of the Yiddish Book Center, “less than 2% of Yiddish titles have been translated into English. Most of Yiddish literature is still inaccessible to English readers. The only answer is to train and mobilize a new generation of translators.”

    The grant offering is part of a larger translation program at the Yiddish Book Center, including a translation conference, workshops, and plans for new web-based resources.

    Application deadline is June 1. To learn more and apply:
    http://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/translation-grant-program

    (I’m looking forward to hearing more about the “larger translation program”!)