Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: The Panel That AWP Rejected

by Erika Dreifus on
6

About a week ago, writers began tweeting and otherwise sharing the good news they’ve received about the panel proposals they submitted a few months ago for the 2013 Association of Writers & Writing Program (AWP) conference in Boston. And I understand the outpouring. Especially since AWP calls this year’s submission pool “more competitive than it has ever been,” those whose panels have been accepted can be forgiven for crowing. I’d probably be doing some crowing myself, had the panel proposal I organized been accepted. But it wasn’t.

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Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
7

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

  • First up: Stealing Time is a new quarterly literary magazine “about the heart of parenting. We explore the real stories of parents through fiction, essay, poetry, book reviews, and other pieces that are sad, hopeful, ebullient, resigned, reverent, wry, surprising, gut-busting, or just plain strange.” NB: “We pay! We consider this our most important priority. Writers should be paid. We’ll let you know how much we expect to pay when we accept your piece; most will be between $100 and $500, depending on length and how hard our jaws hit the floor when we start reading.” (via Duotrope.com)
  • Next: “A six-month, full-time, paid, writing internship is available at Smithsonian magazine in Washington, D.C., beginning January 2013. The internship involves writing, blogging and producing multimedia for the magazine’s Web site and writing for the print magazine’s “Around the Mall” department. Candidates should have a proven aptitude for writing and Web-journalism skills. A recent undergraduate or graduate degree is a must.”
  • “Initiated in 1998, Stadler Fellowships [at Bucknell University, Penn.] offer a recent MFA or MA in poetry the opportunity to receive professional training in arts administration and literary editing. Stadler Fellowships are designed to balance the development of professional skills with time to complete a first book of poems. Stadler Fellows assist for twenty hours each week in the administration of the Stadler Center for Poetry and/or in the editing of West Branch, Bucknell’s nationally distinguished literary journal. Fellows also work as staff members and instructors in the Bucknell Seminar for Younger Poets in June. The Fellowship stipend is $20,000. In addition, each Fellow is provided health insurance, office space in the Stadler Center, and housing. Depending on circumstances, Fellows are either housed in a furnished apartment in the Poet’s Cottage or provided with a stipend to seek housing on their own in Lewisburg.” Next application deadline is October 1, and there’s no application fee indicated.
  • Coming this week: The September issue of The Practicing Writer. Packed with no-fee competition info and paying submission calls. (Plus, a Q&A with David Abrams.)
  • “The Department of English at Skidmore College [N.Y.] invites applications from actively publishing fiction writers to fill a tenure-track Assistant Professorship in fiction writing. Secondary interests welcome. The teaching load will alternate yearly between 3/2 and 2/2. Responsibilities include periodic participation in Skidmore’s First Year Experience program. Ph.D., M.F.A, or equivalent; publications; and teaching experience required.”
  • “Hampshire College’s [Mass.] Creative Writing Program invites applications for an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and African American Literary Arts, to begin in fall 2013. We seek a writer (of poetry, fiction, and/or creative nonfiction) whose artistic and critical work is engaged with the histories, literary arts, and cultures of people of African descent, particularly in the United States. We are especially interested in candidates whose work explores the intersections of creative practice, research and issues of social justice. We seek candidates who are interested in teaching workshop-based courses as well as modeling for students what it can mean for writers to engage with literature through critical and theoretical lenses.”

    • Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    For the weekend: some writing-related reflections, news, and resources to enjoy.

  • First, a lovely post from Armand Inezian, on the general theme of “Ask not what you can do for your own sales, but how you can help the sales of others.”
  • Next: “How to Be a Contemporary Writer,” by Roxane Gay.
  • Reminders re: cliches to avoid (and a chance to win a free issue of Writer’s Digest).
  • Act fast (as in, today) to win a free Mediabistro course (or at least, a course discount).
  • An extensive list of (mainly free) readings and other literary events taking place this academic year on the campuses of The City University of New York. The list is frequently updated.

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

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Beyond the “Niceness” Debate–and Five Places to Promote Your Events Online

    by Erika Dreifus on
    5

    1. Ron Charles
      RonCharles But now does every book critic on Earth have to write a response-essay abt reviews that are too mean? (Pls tell us “No,” @silvermanjacob) 19 Aug 2012 from HootSuite


    Unless you’ve spent the past week or so entirely offline, you’ve likely caught at least some discussion regarding the practice of book-reviewing and the significance of nice–or nasty–reviews. Although I have some thoughts on these matters, they’re not yet processed. I admire those many writers who have (in some cases, nearly instantaneously) responded to various reviews, reactions, and counter-reactions in essay form. But I’m hoping that some of them are either 1) writers-who-teach who have not yet returned to the classroom and therefore have the luxury of ample time at their disposal or 2) people who are employed full-time as writers-critics. If these hopes are ill-founded, I’ll have to accept that I’m simply a lot slower (or lazier) than I thought.

    At any rate, I’m going to follow the suggestion implied in Ron Charles’s tweet; I’m going to reserve full-fledged comment. At least, for now.

    So what have I been doing with my own time-beyond-the-day-job in recent days? Big chunks have been devoted to solidifying details for and promoting some upcoming events. In brief: If you (or any of your friends/family/colleagues) live in Boston, Philadelphia, or Rochester, do I have news for you! And if you’re a writer looking for tips on how to promote your events, I have news for you, too. (more…)

    Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

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

  • First, news from Gold Wake Press regarding its print series: “We are interested in expanding our catalog with drama, mixed genre works, & novels/novellas. We are ONLY open to these at the current time.”
  • Next: “The online literary journal http://www.anderbo.com is looking for a reader/screener for its 2012 Open City Magazine No-Fee RRofihe Trophy Short Story Contest @ Anderbo http://www.anderbo.com/anderbo1/no-fee-rrofihe-trophy2012.html now in its 9th year. This is a part-time, online, paying position. A recent winning story can be read @http://www.anderbo.com/anderbo1/afiction-057.html.” (The position, advertised on craigslist, pays $20/hour; if you’re more interested in entering the contest than reading/screening for it, the deadline is December 31, 2012.)
  • If you’re already familiar with Duotrope—”a resource for writers that offers an extensive, searchable database of current fiction, poetry, and non-fiction markets, a calendar of upcoming deadlines, submissions trackers (for registered users), and useful statistics compiled from the millions of data points we’ve gathered on the publishers we list”—take a look at the sleek redesign. And if you’re not yet familiar with Duotrope, now’s a perfect time to take a look.
  • “The New Writers Project, the MFA program of the Department of English at The University of Texas at Austin, seeks applications for a distinguished faculty position as Associate Professor with tenure in Creative Writing- Poetry to begin Fall 2013.”
  • “The English Department at the University of San Francisco invites applications for a tenure-track position in poetry at the Assistant Professor level to begin Fall 2013.”
  • “Ursinus College [Penn.] invites applications for a one semester position of Science Writer in Residence for fall 2013 (8/26/13 to 12/13/13).” Review of applications begins October 1.
  • Urban Land magazine (Washington) seeks an Online Editor, North American Media Group (Minnetonka, Minn.) seeks a Senior Editor for the Cooking Club of America, and Backstage (Los Angeles) is advertising a position for an Editorial Assistant “with social-media expertise.”