Thursday’s Post-Publication Post: How My New Computer Continues to Change My Life

by Erika Dreifus on
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For those of you who have been following along the super-exciting story of my summer (yes, a bit of self-sarcasm there!), please recall that back in June I promised myself (and you) that I would acquire a new computer this summer, and not long ago, I fulfilled that promise.

To emphasize how old my previous Mac was, allow me to share the fact that it lacked a built-in camera, and, late-adopter that I am, I never even investigated purchasing an external webcam. But my new computer is dazzlingly tricked-out with all kinds of accoutrements. And thanks to a reminder from a good friend who is based outside the U.S. that once upon a time I did, in fact, have a Skype account, I have reactivated said account.

What this means is that I can now offer book groups video visits as well as chats on the phone. Sadly, I’ve had to turn down my most recent invitation (and for a variety of reasons, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to join any club meetings that are scheduled before late September). But from that point on, if you and your group are reading Quiet Americans, and you’d like me to “visit,” please invite me! I promise to learn more about how to be a good video visitor beforehand (thanks to this article, I’ve already discovered that I may need to add some lighting).

P.S. Whether you’d like me to “attend” or not, please remember that you’ll find some discussion questions for book groups right here. Enjoy!

The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • Loved Bill Keller’s piece in The New York Times Magazine on why it may be “time to add some poetry readings” to the congressional agenda.
  • Interesting ideas from Carol Tice on “ways to turn your old, dusty blog archive into cold, hard cash.”
  • Midge Raymond shares lessons learned about the art of reading aloud.
  • “Do you know what it’s like, someone giving you money to think about something for a month? I’ll tell you what it’s like: it’s pretty freaking awesome.” So says Cathy Day, in summarizing the fruits of one month’s labor, made possible by grants (and by the help of others). Terrific post (even if the photo of the John Harvard statue made me a little homesick).
  • The editorial team at Hayden’s Ferry Review shares a list of plots and plot devices that “make us yawn, wince, and occasionally scream in anger.”

    • Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
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  • “ArtFunkl is pleased to offer artists a special residency opportunity for a 1-month stay [October 2011] in the beautiful western Mediterranean city of Valencia, Spain.” There is a residency charge (£730 for the month), but there is no application fee. “Accommodation is in a comfortable apartment on the edge of the city centre. The apartment has a double bedroom, and a single bedroom/study room which can be set up as a studio space. The residency is most suitable for writers, or artists who work with digital media, since there is no separate studio space included.” Deadline: September 23, 2011 (received by 6 p.m., U.K. time). (via Trans Artists)
  • The Helen Schaible International Shakespearean/Petrarchan Sonnet Contest welcomes submissions until September 1. No fee. Cash prizes ($50/$35/$15).
  • “We are pleased to invite you to submit nominees for The New York Public Library’s Twelfth Annual Young Lions Fiction Award, to be given in the spring of 2012. This award was created expressly to promote the work of young writers, to celebrate their accomplishments publicly, and to make a difference in the lives of these artists as they continue to build their careers. The award, which carries a $10,000 prize, is given annually to an American writer age 35 or younger for either a novel or collection of short stories.” No entry fee. Nominations must come from publishers. Deadline: September 2, 2011.
  • From Library Journal’s Barbara Hoffert email to publicists: “In the October 1, 2011, issue, Library Journal will list the first novels premiering during the fall-winter season. Books published between September 1, 2011, and January 31, 2012, are eligible. To be featured in the issue, please send me a list of your fiction debuts and include the following information: author, title, publication date, and state or country of residence. In addition, we have begun presenting first novels by genre (e.g., mystery, thriller, pop fiction, literary fiction); please specify genre. Please remember that this list covers only novels, not short fiction, and that a foreign author’s novel must be his or her first publication, not simply the first publication here. We accept both hardcover and original trade paperback. In the past, we have offered a retrospective of the previous season’s most successful debuts. I’m still working on reintroducing that feature! Stay tuned. We are on a tight deadline. Please email materials by August 25, 2011, to me at bhoffert(at)mediasourceinc(dot)com.”
  • St. Ambrose University (Ia.) seeks a Director of Publications and Editorial Projects, Ohio University is looking for an Editor for Ohio Today, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of the President is advertising for a Speechwriter.

    • Friday Find: AP Sept. 11 Style and Reference Guide

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    This isn’t a fun find, but it’s an important one.

    Within a few weeks, we’ll commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Perhaps you are planning to write about the anniversary. Perhaps you’ve already written something and are waiting to post or publish it.

    As I learned from the Nieman Journalism Lab this week:

    To assist its members as they create that coverage, the Associated Press just released a style and reference guide whose content is dedicated to 9/11. It includes terms like “airline, airlines” (“Capitalize airlines, air lines and airways when used as part of a proper airline name. American Airlines, United Airlines”); “ground zero” (lower-case), “acceptable term for the World Trade Center site”; and names like “Osama bin Laden” (“use bin Laden in all references except at the start of a sentence…. Pronounced oh-SAH’-muh bin LAH’-din”).

    The guide is intriguing — not only as a useful tool for the many journalists who will be, in some way or another, writing about 9/11 over the next few weeks, but also as a hint at what a Stylebook can be when it’s thought of not just as a book, but as a resource more broadly. AP’s guide (official name: “Sept. 11 Style and Reference Guide”) is a kind of situational stylebook, an ad hoc amalgam of information that will be useful for a particular set of stories, within a particular span of time.

    It’s intriguing, all right. It’s remarkable. Go take a look.

    And then, go have a good, safe weekend. See you back here on Monday.