Friday Finds for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
2

Treasure ChestWriting-related resources, news, and reflections to read over the weekend.

  • Sometimes, the truth hurts. And there’s pain in this Grub Daily post, “If You Write What You Love, Will the Money Follow?”.
  • On Lisa Romeo’s blog: a guest post with tips on giving good readings.
  • Litro magazine has launched a new flash-fiction column featuring the expertise of Tania Hershman.
  • Short Story Month is nearly upon us. Do you have plans to celebrate? I’ve been remiss: I’d hoped to organize a virtual “panel” on Goodreads featuring some short-story authors of my acquaintance, but I’ve fallen woefully behind. I think that I’ll at least be able to manage a giveaway. Stay tuned! (And let me know what you may be planning.)
  • Lovely (and inspiring) dispatch from a “Poetry Utopia at the Barred Owl Retreat,” courtesy of Diane Lockward.

    • Have a great weekend, everyone. See you back here on Monday.

    My College Classmate Sheryl Sandberg, the VIDA Count, and Lessons on Literary Leaning In

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Yesterday on the Virginia Quarterly Review‘s blog, as part of the current issue’s focus on “the business of literature”:

    I doubt that Knopf/Random House planned it this way, but the publication of Sheryl Sandberg’s bestselling Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead coincided with the release of the latest VIDA Count. I suspect that Sandberg herself would be interested in the data that VIDA has provided regarding publication rates of women and men in what it calls “many of the writing world’s most respected literary outlets.” (Condensed findings: In most cases, women aren’t faring well in these venues.) Strikingly, some of Sandberg’s messages can be extrapolated beyond the worlds of leadership or corporate culture and applied to the world of poets, fiction writers, and essayists, perhaps especially as VIDA has described it.

    You can read the rest of my essay over on VQRonline.

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: A Working Writer’s Vacation

    by Erika Dreifus on
    3

    Starting today at 5 pm, I’ll be using some of my treasured paid vacation days (one of the best benefits of being a #writerwithadayjob) for a VACATION. Much of the time will be a “staycation” along the lines of last year’s break. And once again, I have a lot of plans. For starters, I’ll be spending several days at two conferences.

    ASJAFirst up: the annual conference of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), which begins tomorrow here in New York. I’ve only attended this conference once before, about a decade ago. This time, I’m going as a full-fledged ASJA member. I’m hoping to pick up plenty of freelancing tips and inspiration.

    And next week, I head up to Boston for one of the most reliably excellent events on my literary calendar: Grub Street’s The Muse and the Marketplace. For obvious reasons, I’m especially grateful for the opportunity to return to Boston now. And I’m looking forward to the panel that I’ll be moderating, “Grubbie Guide to Writing Contests, Conferences & Residencies,” which will feature Sheri Joseph and Doug Trevor. (We’re Session 8K, and a few seats remain, if you’re still in the process of registering.)grub

    I’ve got some other fun things planned, too. But don’t worry–I plan to keep blogging throughout! And while I have yet to master the art of live-tweeting, I’ll do my best to keep you posted on site from #ASJA13 and #muse2013. (UPDATE: I think I erred! ASJA hashtag seems to be #ASJA2013)

    Monday Markets for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Monday brings the weekly batch of no-fee competitions/contests, paying submission calls, and jobs for those of us who write (especially those of us who write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction).

  • “St. Francis [College] is proud to once again offer its support and encouragement to the literary community by sponsoring the biannual $50,000 Literary Prize to a mid-career author who has recently published their 3rd to 5th work of fiction.” Self-published and translated works eligible. Will consider works published June 2011-May 2013. No entry fee. Deadline: May 1, 2013.
  • Bancroft Press publishes trade fiction and non-fiction, “and we publish, quite simply, what we like. We’ve done literary and commercial fiction, books on finance, sports, parenting, humor, history, biography…No topic is out of bounds for us if we think it’s done well and will make an important contribution to society.” See also the recent Publishers Weekly article on the press.
  • File this away, freelancers: a list of 45 websites that pay writers (I’m not sure about the “instantly” that’s part of the post’s title, but still, it’s an interesting collection).
  • Also of interest: Opportunities for writing about history.
  • From WritersWeekly.com: “We’re out of features! We pay $60 for around 600 words; non-exclusive electronic rights only. Our guidelines are here: http://www.writersweekly.com/index-markets.htm.”
  • “The English Arts Department at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside invites applications for a full-time (9 month) tenure-track faculty member in English, with a focus in 20th and 21st Century American Literature and Creative Writing – Poetry beginning August 2013.”