Upcoming Jewish Literary Events at the Museum of Jewish Heritage

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York recently released its spring calendar, and there are some excellent literary events being planned:

Check event details for ticket prices and other information.

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
4
  • A new poetry contest (open to residents of Washington, D.C., Maryland or Virginia) is being administered in conjunction with the upcoming Bethesda Literary Festival. Cash prizes of $500, $250, and $150. “Winners will be honored at a special event during the Bethesda Literary Festival, held April 15-17, 2011. Winning poems will also be posted on the Bethesda Urban Partnership Web site.” No entry fee indicated. Deadline is coming up fast: March 11, 2011.
  • Want to submit your manuscript to Coffee House Press? Take note of these remarks: “Coffee House Press will only accept submissions during two annual reading periods: March 1 – April 30 and September 1 – October 31. Submissions postmarked outside of these two reading periods will not be considered or returned. In addition, until further notice, Coffee House Press will not accept unsolicited poetry submissions. Please check this web page periodically for future updates to this policy.” (Thanks to Duotrope for the heads-up on the reopened submission window.)
  • “‘Tales from the South’ radio show, in conjunction with William F. Laman Public Library and the 2011 Arkansas Literary festival, is looking for great true stories. Top three stories will receive $100 each, and writers will read their winning story on the internationally-syndicated radio show on Tuesday, April 12, 2011….” NB: “Writers must currently live in the South (currently limited to Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama) or be from the South originally.” For this call, they’re looking for literary memoirs connected to the following Jorge Luis Borges quotation: “Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.” Download the full guidelines for this “Telling Tales: Writing Contest for the Arkansas Literary Festival” at the website. There is no entry fee, and the submission deadline is March 13, 2011. (via Femministas)
  • Opportunity for Vermont poets: “Governor Peter Shumlin and the Vermont Arts Council invite you to submit nominations for the appointment of a new Vermont Poet Laureate.” There is no fee involved to nominate/apply, and the position confers a $1,000 honorarium. Deadline: March 25, 2011. (via @LeneAGary)
  • News from the BBC National Short Story Award: Electronic submissions are being accepted for the first time, and the deadline has moved up to May 5. “The Award is one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000.” No entry fee indicated. (via @TaniaHershman)
  • The Asian-American Writers’ Workshop (N.Y.) is advertising two part-time positions: Development Associate and Program Director.
  • “St. Lawrence University [N.Y.] invites applications for a one-year, visiting position in creative non-fiction and minority American literatures.”
  • Appalachian State University (N.C.) is looking for a Visiting Assistant Professor of English (Fiction Writing). “The candidate offered the position will teach exclusively Introduction to Fiction Writing.”
  • The University of East Anglia (U.K.) welcomes applications for a Lectureship in Literature.
  • Northeastern University (Mass.) seeks a Staff Writer, AASCU (D.C.) is looking for a Speech Writer/Senior Editor, and Ragan Communications (Ill.) invites applications for a Copy Editor position.

    • Convergences: Biguenet’s “I Am Not a Jew,” “Mishpocha,” and Arnost Lustig

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    On February 27, a few hours after I learned of the passing of Arnost Lustig, I listened to a Selected Shorts broadcast featuring John Biguenet’s story, “I Am Not a Jew.” As the series describes it, this is a story “in which a frightened tourist has a failure of nerve that resonates deeply. SHORTS literary commentator Hannah Tinti notes: ‘What makes ‘I Am Not a Jew’ so disturbing is how it dissects the ways we collectively excuse ourselves from standing up for what’s right.'”

    It didn’t take long for me to discern that the situation that the tourist faces in Biguenet’s story shares some similarities with an episode described in “Mishpocha,” the closing story in my collection, Quiet Americans. Even before I wrote the story, the episode troubled me enough that I mentioned it in a workshop led by Arnost Lustig. I wrote about this during my January “virtual tour” for Quiet Americans. Since last Sunday, Biguenet’s story–combined with Arnost’s passing–has me thinking about it all over again.

    Notes from Around the Web: Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • The Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) is digitizing its publications (AJL News & AJL Reviews), and the new issues in the new format are available online for all to enjoy (look to the sidebar on the right-hand side of the screen).
  • Margot Singer has an essay, “A Natural History of Small-Town Ohio,” in the new issue of Ninth Letter (my copy is on its way). In this interview, she discusses the essay–including the role that religion plays in it.
  • Thank you, Umberto Eco. (And thanks to Natasha Solomons, whose Twitter feed led me to Monica Ali‘s link to the Haaretz article.)
  • The new issue of JewishFiction.net features stories by Orly Castel-Bloom (translated by Dalya Bilu), Peter Orner, Racelle Rosett, and several others.
  • I continue to build this tribute page to Arnost Lustig (1926-2011).

    • Shabbat shalom!