Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: What’s Coming Soon

by Erika Dreifus on
3

I’m back at the day job today. (Not every university job comes with an automatic and lengthy “winter break.”) But I had a lovely long weekend. Got a lot done, and managed to relax, too. And I have another four-day weekend to look forward to just around the corner, so I’m pretty happy.

Among the projects I worked on during the past few days: the January issue of The Practicing Writer, our free monthly e-newsletter. The new issue will go out to subscribers just before the new year, and I happen to think it’s a pretty good one. It’s never too late to subscribe – or to recommend it to your writing friends and colleagues!

Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities 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).

  • The Google Journalism Fellowships program “is aimed at undergraduate, graduate and journalism students interested in using technology to tell stories in new and dynamic ways. The Fellows will get the opportunity to spend the summer contributing to a variety of organizations….There will be a focus on data driven journalism, online free expression and rethinking the business of journalism. The 10-week long Fellowship will open with a week at the Knight Foundation and end with a week at Google, split between Google News and YouTube. Participating organizations are based in Berkeley, CA, Columbia, MO, Cambridge, MA, St. Petersburg/Miami, FL, New York, NY and Washington, DC. They include the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Investigative Reporters & Editors, the Knight Foundation, Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, Poynter, Nieman Journalism Lab and ProPublica.” NB: “Fellows will receive a stipend of $7,500 USD for 10 weeks during the summer of 2013 (June-August) and a travel budget of $1,000 USD.” Apply by January 31, 2013. No application fee.
  • Published poets (with a minimum of three books) who live in the Greater Montreal area may want to consider applying to be “Poète de la Cité”: “The Poète de la Cité will embody the city’s soul, testifying to its creativity and effervescence, boldness and fears, diversity and harmony, bumps and bruises, joys and jubilations. With a purse of $25,000, this residency will extend over two years, from September 2011 to June 2013. In part, it will take place at the Maison du Conseil des arts de Montréal, in the aptly named Édifice Gaston-Miron, where the poet will have a work space. In addition to writing, the poet will undertake a series of public activities at the Maison du Conseil des arts de Montréal. The Poète de la Cité will also launch an annual poetic event, to be organized in conjunction with the Conseil.” There is no application fee indicated. Deadline: February 15, 2013. (via @alacarteblanche)
  • The Academy of American Poets (New York) is advertising for an Associate Director/Director of Content and for a Programs Assistant.
  • Boston-based job: “Grub Street seeks a part-time (18 hrs/week) Development Associate to work as part of its development team. The Development Associate will act as the administrative assistant for the entire development department, attend meetings, assist with all fundraising activities, and handle myriad communications tasks throughout the year. This is a brand-new position at Grub Street, and may evolve over time. “
  • “The Earlham School of Religion (ESR), a Quaker seminary [Ind.], seeks candidates for a teaching faculty appointment within the Ministry of Writing emphasis to teach introductory and advanced writing courses, advise divinity students with a Ministry of Writing emphasis, facilitate the annual Tom Mullen Ministry of Writing Colloquium, and give input into the development of and subsequent selection of writers for a ‘Writers in Residence’ program.”
  • “The Department of English at the University of Wisconsin Colleges invites applications for a full-time tenure-track Assistant Professor of English at its UW – Waukesha campus to start in the fall of 2013. The successful candidate will demonstrate experience teaching first-year college writing courses, and preferably in creative writing and/or a range of composition courses, developmental to advanced. Possession of a graduate degree in Composition/Rhetoric and/or Creative Writing is preferred.”
  • Harry S Truman College of City Colleges of Chicago is advertising for a Poetry Writing Lecturer, and the University of California, Santa Cruz, invites applications for an “on-going pool” of Part-time Temporary Lecturers in Creative Writing.

    • Merry Christmas to everyone who is celebrating!

    Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    The weekly collection of writing-related resources, news, and reflections to read over the weekend.

  • There’s lots of press these days about Ayana Mathis, but this Salon interview, which follows her “long path to sudden fame,” is, I think, one that will especially interest Mathis’s fellow writers.
  • Samples of query letters to literary agents that worked, courtesy of GalleyCat.
  • I haven’t read it yet, but this week the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) has released its latest report on the academic job market.
  • Warning: Kelli Agodon’s dispatch from a writing retreat may make you jealous!
  • I don’t know how he does it, but David Abrams always presents the most interesting posts about upcoming books to look forward to in his “Front Porch Books” features. The December 2012 edition is no exception. (Hint: Reviewers, you’re likely to find at least title or two of interest here.)

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

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Literary Citizenship

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    There are lots of ways to be a good literary citizen. I like to think that when I share news of opportunities for writers, I’m being a good literary citizen. When I “talk” about books and stories and essays and poems that I’ve read and admired–whether in a “real” conversation, in a blog post, on Twitter, or on Goodreads–I’m being a good literary citizen. And when I participate in the monthly Jewish Book Carnival, “a monthly event where bloggers who blog about Jewish books can meet, read, and comment on each others’ posts,” I’m also being a good literary citizen. Especially when I volunteer to serve as Carnival host.

    You see, each month, Jewish Book Carnival posts are curated on one of the participant’s sites. A Carnival post typically publishes on the 15th of the month. Last Saturday evening, after sundown and the end of the Jewish Sabbath, the December Carnival went live on My Machberet, the blog I maintain where I focus specifically on matters of Jewish literary and cultural interest.

    I invite you to visit and see all of the wonderful contributions from the Carnival participants. And if discussing Jewish-themed literature appeals to you, perhaps at some point you’ll want to join the Carnival, too.

    Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    1

    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).

  • New fellowship opportunity: “Princeton Fellowships in the Creative and Performing Arts, funded in part by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will be awarded to artists whose achievements have been recognized as demonstrating extraordinary promise in any area of artistic practice and teaching. Applicants should be early career poets, novelists, composers, visual artists, conductors, musicians, choreographers, playwrights, designers, graphic novelists, film makers, performers, directors, and performance artists — this list is not meant to be exhaustive — who would find it beneficial to spend two years working in an artistically vibrant university community.” NB: “While Fellows need not reside in Princeton, they will be required to spend a significant part of the week on campus. A $75,000 salary is provided.” No application fee indicated. Deadline: February 15, 2013.
  • “The Great Plains Writers’ Conference, in cooperation with South Dakota State University’s American Indian Studies Program and American Indian Education and Cultural Center, invites submissions to the first annual Great Plains Emerging Tribal Writer Award. The award is meant to encourage tribal writers in the early phases of their writing lives and to honor those of extraordinary merit and promise. The winner will receive an award of $500 and be invited to read at the Great Plains Writers’ Conference at SDSU March 24-26, 2013. This year’s conference focuses on examining the legacy of Vine Deloria, Jr. Writers from the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Minnesota who have published no more than three creative works in distributed periodicals may submit materials in fiction, creative nonfiction, drama, or the screenplay (20 double-spaced pages maximum) or poetry (15 pages maximum). There is no application fee.” Deadline: January 15, 2013. (via CRWROPPS-B)
  • “The Charlotte Observer is seeking a paid reporting intern to cover the arts for online and print. The reporter will work with the Observer’s arts staff covering a range of news and feature stories on the Charlotte-area’s thriving arts scene. Duties include reporting and writing about local people and organizations, including visual art, theater, pop music, classical music, and dance. Applicants must have journalism writing experience, and a background or interest in the arts (any discipline), and be proficient or experienced in social media, reporting and producing videos and online publishing.”
  • “The Penn State Altoona English Program is taking applications for a one-semester teaching residency in fiction and creative nonfiction. The residency is designed to offer an emerging writer substantial time to write and offers a salary of $10,000 in return for teaching one general education level introduction to creative writing workshop during the Fall 2013 semester (August 26-December 20). The resident writer will also give a public reading and work informally with our English majors. We are looking for a writer with publications of fiction and creative nonfiction in literary magazines. Emphasis will be placed on the quality of the work submitted. You will be expected to live in the Altoona area during residency for the Fall 2013 semester. Benefits and housing are not included.”

    • (more…)