Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • Thanks to the team at Fiction Writers Review for the update on the Dzanc Prize’s extended deadline (which is now March 1). Per the Dzanc site, the prize “provides monetary aid in the sum of $5,000, to a writer of literary fiction. All writers applying for the Dzanc Prize must have a work-in-progress they can submit for review, and present the judges with a Community Service Program they can facilitate somewhere in the United States.” No application fee.
  • Attention, citizens of Commonwealth countries! The deadline to submit an entry for the next Commonwealth Short Story Competition is March 1. “Established in 1996, the competition aims to increase understanding and appreciation of Commonwealth cultures and promote rising literary talents. The competition calls for entries that are original, unpublished, in English, no more than 600 words in length and on any subject. The winner receives a prize of £2000 and there are four regional prizes of £500. In 2011 there will also be two special prizes of £500 each; one for the best short story for children and the other for the best short story about this year’s Commonwealth theme, ‘Women as Agents of Change’.” No entry fee.
  • Freelance opportunity: “The Center for Digital Ethics and Policy at Loyola University Chicago is looking for pieces on digital ethics.  The length of the piece should be 1,000-2,000 words.  The material must be original, not published in other forms or in other forums. We will pay $250 for a completed piece. Pieces will be published on the center’s web site, digitalethics.org.”
  • Interested in leading a workshop at The Writer’s Center (Bethesda, Md.)? The deadline to apply to lead a fall workshop is March 15. Note: “We are especially interested in expanding our online workshop offerings at this time. Online workshop leaders should have a strong online presence (blog, website, Facebook, Twitter) and meet our standard workshop leader qualifications as noted.”
  • February is going by in a flash, and by next Monday, subscribers will have received their copies of the March Practicing Writer newsletter, packed (as usual) with more no-cost competition listings and paying submission calls. If you’re not yet a subscriber, join us! It’s free, and we’ll keep your email address to ourselves.
  • Harvard University (Mass.) seeks a Speech Writer, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE, D.C.) is looking for a Magazine Editor, and Fashion Institute of Technology (N.Y.) has announced an open position for a Staff Writer.

    • Friday Find: Miriam Sagan’s 16 Ways to Not Win a Poetry Contest

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    I’m setting aside time this holiday weekend for writing–and submitting. I’ll likely confine my submissions to literary journals and magazines, but if I happened to be preparing a packet for a poetry contest, I’d read through Miriam Sagan’s “16 Ways to Not Win a Poetry Contest” for some useful reminders about what not to do.

    Have a great weekend. See you back here on Monday.

    Thursday’s Post-Publication Post: The “E” Word

    by Erika Dreifus on
    8

    Here’s one question you never used to hear authors asked at their readings and signings:

    “There’s an ebook version, right?”

    The times, they have a-changed! Despite the fact that I’m pretty up-to-date on publishing and bookselling trends and by no means a stranger to the news that ebooks are becoming increasingly popular, I’ve been surprised by how often I’m asked if/when my new story collection, Quiet Americans, will be available as an ebook. The question came up again (and again) on my recent trip to D.C. for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference and reading/signing at the National Museum of American Jewish Military History. But for someone as tech-challenged as I am (I still haven’t dared to buy an ebook reader of my own), the conversion process is a bit…intimidating.

    So I was grateful to see Joel Friedlander (“The Book Designer”)’s February 10 post:

    Every author I’ve talked to recently has questions about ebooks and how to go about getting their book ready to go on sale in the Kindle store, the iBookstore and all the other venues where people are buying ebooks to fill up their new Kindles, iPads, Nooks, Kobos and other ebook readers.

    Since most of these books start off life as print books, getting your book ready for life as an ebook is a matter of converting the print files to ebook formats like Mobi and ePub.

    So the answer to this question of how to move to ebooks involves finding someone to make these file conversions. People who create ebooks need to have skill at understanding how books are constructed, and how best to interpret them in the ebook environment.

    Joel’s post goes on to provide some excellent guidance and a new resource: a directory of companies offering ebook conversion services.

    Since I’ve worked with Joel before (he is indeed The Book Designer behind Quiet Americans), I trust his recommendations, and I’m waiting to hear back from someone he referred me to. Remember that I am working with a new micropress; my publisher can manage getting a book listed on Amazon for the Kindle, but I’d like to explore some other options and see what we can do to get Quiet Americans available as an ebook for multiple platforms.

    I’ll conclude with another blast from the past: In the “old days”–and it still happens–publishers planned hardcover releases with paperback releases to follow many months later. And with the paperback release came another round of publicity and promotional opportunities. But it’s a new day. Quiet Americans was released last month–as a paperback. And, if all goes well, it will indeed be available as an ebook–for your summer reading. In case anyone asks.

    The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Some fun offerings for you this midweek morning, my friends:

  • Are you ready to freelance? Take this quiz to find out.
  • Nina Badzin offers some excellent tips for new (and not-so-new) Twitter-users.
  • Meet the slate of 2011 Best American series guest editors.
  • Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus is home to a new M.F.A. program in Writing and Producing for Television.
  • I found this interview with translator Krishna Winston particularly interesting because one of the epigraphs at the start of my story collection is a two-line snippet from Gunter Grass’s Crabwalk (trans. Winston). (via ALTA_USA)
  • And speaking of my story collection…As my virtual book tour starts to wind down, I’ve been interviewed (and Quiet Americans has been reviewed) on the First Line blog, and I’ve guest-posted with thoughts on what makes Jewish literature Jewish on Swimming in the Trees.