The Wednesday Web Browser: AWP Version

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • I’m hoping that my travel plans—and those of everyone else with an itinerary leading to the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference in Washington—will continue as planned. As I draft this post, the weather is the big unknown. If you’ll be attending, here’s a quick guide to my panels and appearances. It would be great to meet blog readers in person!
  • The AWP conference can evoke all kinds of conflicting feelings. I’ll admit that I’m feeling a mix already. But I wouldn’t be able to articulate them as well as Cathy Day has in her blog post: “Anxiety + Community = AWP.”
  • Can’t make it to the big event? The Education of Oronte Churm will bring you “Radio Free AWP.” Podcasts and freebies galore.
  • And if that’s not enough, check out Meg Pokrass’s Barbaric yAWP, described here by our friends at Fiction Writers Review. Meg’s running a big virtual conference, and among the plums are changes to win signed copies of The Adults, a novel by Alison Espach, and Quiet Americans, short stories by yours truly.
  • But wait! There’s more! I’m honored that Fiction Writers Review (which will host a book-signing for me at the conference) is also currently featuring Quiet Americans as its Book of the Week. Several signed copies will be awarded to fans of the FWR Facebook page. Find all the details here.

    • I’ll miss this blog while I’m away, but I’ll try to check in via Twitter from time to time. See you back here next week

    Words of the Week: David Abrams

    by Erika Dreifus on
    3

    She’s a classic storyteller and there’s a clear, direct line from Isaac Bashevis Singer and Bernard Malamud to her 21st-century keyboard.

    Please forgive me, but I can’t resist sharing this snippet from a review of my new short-story collection, Quiet Americans. The reviewer is David Abrams, and you can read his full take on the book right here. High praise, indeed! Thank you, David.

    Assuming that the trains are running despite snow/ice/sleet, I will be on my way to the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference in D.C. tomorrow. I’m unlikely to post while I’m away, but I should have plenty to share once I return.

    Have a great several days. See you back here soon.

    Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Good news: flashquake is back! The spring issue of this “literary and art journal for the briefest of forms” will launch on March 1. In submissions news, you can send work until February 15 for the current reading period. This remains a paying (albeit low-paying) publication.
  • Want to have your essay on the writing life published in Writer’s Digest magazine? It’s a distinct possibility! (Via e-mail, I’ve been assured that this is a paying freelance opportunity.)
  • As I said on Twitter when I discovered this competition last week, this Short Story Prize is my ideal contest–or it would be, if I were still 16-25…and “resident in the UK.” From the Franco-British Council: “Do you have a passion for France? Are you a Francophile with a story to share? The FBC, in conjunction with Prospect magazine and Eurostar, is inviting those aged between 16 and 25 to submit a short story of no more than 1,500 words. This year we are asking entrants to be inspired by a few choice quotes from French literature in writing a story that touches on some aspect of France or the French. The story does not have to be set in France but should simply possess a French element, however tentative. Particular credit will be given to stories that are well plotted, set in a real rather than abstract world and illuminating unexpected rather than familiar aspects of France or Frenchness.” Cash and travel prizes. No entry fee. Deadline: April 1, 2011. (Bonne chance!)
  • Another opportunity for writers on the younger side: In conjunction with the Lex Allen Literary Festival, Hollis University (Va.) has announced literary festival prizes in poetry and fiction ($100 each). Undergraduate college students are eligible. No entry fee. Submission deadline is Monday, February 7, 2011.
  • LOTS more no-fee competitions (and paying literary markets) are included in the February issue of The Practicing Writer, which went out to subscribers over the weekend. But the current issue is also online.
  • “The English Department at Siena Heights University in Adrian, MI, seeks candidates for a full-time, Assistant Professor position in creative writing with a specialization in Fiction. The successful candidate may also be asked to help develop a potential program in Digital Media Arts and Communication. Siena Heights University is a Catholic liberal arts University sponsored by the Adrian Dominican sisters.”
  • “Southern New Hampshire University seeks candidates for the position of Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and English, and Director of the Creative Writing Program. This is a full-time position with excellent benefits, starting September 1, 2011. As the coordinator for the undergraduate creative writing major, the successful candidate will have a passion for creative writing, an excellent record in teaching undergraduates, and experience in administering a writing program.”
  • From the University of Puget Sound (Wash.), where they’re looking for a Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing: “We seek a colleague who works in fiction, with secondary areas of teaching ability in one of the following: poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, or creative non-fiction. The course load is three courses per semester and the faculty member in this position will be asked to teach composition courses in addition to creative writing. Depending upon interest and expertise, the possibility for the candidate to teach literature courses also exists.”
  • Harvard University (Medical School, Mass.) is looking for a Writer/Editor, Rice University (Texas) seeks a Communication Writer, and the Writers Guild of Alberta (Canada) invites applications for a Program Coordinator position.

    • Friday Find: The Literarian

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    This week, the Center for Fiction (New York) launched its new website. The entire site is likely to keep you busy for awhile–sections include “for readers,” “for writers,” “audio/video,” and “awards,” among others. But perhaps the pièce de résistance is the Center’s new online magazine: The Literarian.

    Go check it out. And have a great weekend.

    We’ll see you back here on Monday.