Quotation of the Week: Steve Almond

by Erika Dreifus on
3

“A generation ago, when ‘Annie Hall’ won the Oscar for Best Picture, talk therapy occupied a prominent place in our collective imagination, whether or not you partook. If you wanted to spend several hours a week baring your soul to a stranger who was professionally obligated to listen and react, you went into therapy. Today you join a writing workshop.”

Source: Steve Almond, “Why Talk Therapy Is on the Wane and Writing Workshops Are on the Rise”

(I may not agree with all of this piece, and I wouldn’t say that all workshoppers are would-be analysands. But there’s no question that I’ve been part of workshops where some of the folks in the room clearly wanted/needed to be in therapy. When I recall these individuals, I always hope that they have found the peace that seemed so sadly elusive for them.)

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • “The Danish Centre for Writers and Translators has the pleasure of being able to offer a four-week working residency in the buildings on the beautiful grounds of Hald Hovedgaard, near the town of Viborg, in the period of July 16 – August 13, 2012. Four foreign authors and eight to ten Danish authors will gather for this period in a writing-conducive environment, where they will have the opportunity to work undistracted in an inspiring literary atmosphere. This working residency is available to Danish and foreign writers who have had at least two works of fiction published.” There is no entry fee indicated. Application deadline for non-Danish applicants is April 1, 2012. NB: “The H.A.L.D. residency program is supported by DIVA – the Danish International Visiting Artists Exchange Programme, a programme administered by The Danish Arts Council (link to text in Danish and English). This means that, besides staying at Hald for free, the four chosen authors from abroad will receive a sum of DKK 10,000 to cover other expenses, such as food, as well as a refund of up to DKK 5,000 (DKK 7.000 overseas) for travel expenses.”(via @femministas)
  • I’m thrilled for Jonterri Gadson, who kindly let me know via Twitter that she has won the Herbert W. Martin Fellowship at the University of Dayton–which she found out about through this list of post-MFA opportunities.
  • Subscribers, you’ll have the April issue of The Practicing Writer by the weekend. Not yet a subscriber? Click here to learn more. There’s no fee to subscribe, your email address is kept confidential, and new subscribers receive a free writing contest ebook.
  • The Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative, “[c]reated in memory of the 38-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter slain by terrorists in 2002, is designed to encourage young journalists to write in-depth stories about a modern manifestation of anti-Semitism or another deeply ingrained prejudice. The DPIJI will help writers develop their ideas, mentor them and provide them with a stipend of $5000 ($2500 upon selection and $2500 upon completion of the project). Moment will edit and publish their stories, possibly in conjunction with another media outlet. Applicants must be between the ages of 22 and 38.” No application fee. Deadline: April 4, 2012.
  • “The Authors’ Foundation was established in 1984 to mark the centenary of the Society of Authors. It has been generously supported by authors, charitable trusts and the Royal Literary Fund. The Foundation provides grants to writers to assist them while writing books. There are two rounds of grants each year, awarded in the summer and in the winter. The next closing date for applications is 30th April 2012.” No application fees indicated. Eligibility: “You may apply if: 1. You have been commissioned by a commercial British publisher to write a full-length work of fiction, poetry or non-fiction and need funding (in addition to the publisher’s advance) for important research, travel, or other more general expenditure; or 2. You are without a contractual commitment by a publisher but have had at least one book published commercially by a British publisher, and there is a strong likelihood that your next book will be published in Britain.” Note: “Maximum grants are unlikely to exceed £3,500 – £4,000. Most grants are in the range £1,000-2,000).”
  • “The Scripps College [Calif.] Writing Program seeks a distinguished visiting writer for the Mary Routt Endowed Chair of Writing during the spring semester of 2013. The successful candidate will serve as Mary Routt Chair of Writing throughout the spring semester (from mid-January to mid-May). Teaching responsibilities include one writing workshop in the area of his or her choice as well as a presentation of his or her work at two public events. We are looking for candidates with critical recognition consistent with a writer of national reputation; we prefer candidates who can show evidence of outstanding teaching ability.”
  • Harvard University Press (Mass.) seeks a Writer/Editor, George Washington University (Washington) is looking for a Managing Editor, and WomenWorking.com (New York) invites applications for a Writer/Editor.

    • Friday Finds: Free Literary Events

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    For the moment, these finds are likely to interest mainly those of you in the NYC area. But never fear: It’s kind of part of my job to keep an eye out for any recordings that may result, and I’ll be certain to share any that I discover in due course.

    All three of these conferences/events are taking place at the Graduate Center campus of my employer, The City University of New York. And all three are FREE.

    2012 Chapbook Festival
    March 28-30, 2012
    (not all events are taking place at the Graduate Center)
    “The Festival is free and open to the public, though some events require advance registration.”

    “Interwoven Worlds: A Symposium Celebrating the Literature of the Middle East”
    March 28, 2012
    (no fees indicated)

    4th Annual Leon Levy Conference
    “Varieties of Biography”
    March 29, 2012
    “All events are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required, and seating will be first come, first served.”

    And there’s a fourth event of interest to practicing writers–albeit one that requires paid registration–that is taking place next week, at CUNY’s Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn:
    The Eleventh National Black Writers Conference
    “The Impact of Migration, Popular Culture, and the Natural Environment in the Literature of Black Writers”
    March 29-April 1, 2012

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

    Thursday’s Work-in-Progress: Submission Dilemmas

    by Erika Dreifus on
    6

    So, I’ve been considering where (else) to send a fairly new essay (just two rejections so far!). It’s a brief essay, but it doesn’t necessarily have to land in a publication that focuses on micro-forms. Which means that I’m thinking about sending it to all kinds of places.

    I’m noticing that several literary journals I’d like to target–especially before the imminent seasonal shut-down–are charging fees to submit electronically. For this short piece, a $3 submission fee is no savings for me, especially when multiplied by the several journals that could be good matches. Dilemma #1.

    Dilemma #2: Sure, there’s usually an option to send the piece via snail mail. But I can’t help wondering if snail mail works to a submitter’s disadvantage these days. Any off-site editors are probably checking in only via the online systems. And how do the on-site editors feel about material submitted via postal mail? Do they even have time to open the envelopes?

    What do you think? Any of you have experiences submitting via postal mail when you could have submitted electronically (for a fee)? And would any editors care to weigh in on how they view postal submissions when the electronic option is available?

    The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

  • Coming soon: the perfect stamps for your SASEs. “With the issuance of Twentieth-Century Poets, the U.S. Postal Service® honors ten of our nation’s most admired poets: Elizabeth Bishop, Joseph Brodsky, Gwendolyn Brooks, E. E. Cummings, Robert Hayden, Denise Levertov, Sylvia Plath, Theodore Roethke, Wallace Stevens, and Wil­liam Carlos Williams. The many awards won by this illustri­ous group include numerous Pulitzer Prizes, National Book Awards, and honorary degrees. Each stamp features a photograph of one of the ten poets. Text on the back of the stamp sheet includes an excerpt from one poem by each poet. The art director was Derry Noyes. The stamp will go on sale nationwide April 21, 2012.”
  • And on a not-unrelated note: Do you save your rejection slips?
  • Several tech-y items to share: five ways to keep up with tweets, how to monetize a blog, and simple SEO for authors. (I’ve bookmarked all three to return to for closer study.)
  • Cathy Day asked MFA faculty and students this question: “Should we make it our business to teach the business of being a writer?” And here’s how they responded. I haven’t yet weighed in, but there are lots of comments accruing on Cathy’s blog.
  • Midge Raymond, on Jane Friedman’s definition of “author platform.”