TBR: Choosing Africa, by B. Susan Bauer

by Erika Dreifus on
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B. Susan Bauer is another wonderful writer I’ve had the good fortune to get to know via the Internet. We’ve been corresponding ever since we began finding that lots of our comments in online writing fora seemed to be in sync. And I’m so glad we discovered that.

Now, Susan has announced the publication of her memoir, Choosing Africa. Subtitled “A Midlife Journey from Mission to Meaning,” the book centers around the experiences of six years in Namibia, where Susan and her husband lived and taught. I haven’t yet read the book, but I have read, and much enjoyed, several of Susan’s Africa-inspired writings, which have appeared in The Apalachee Review, Transitions Abroad, and The Raleigh Quarterly.

Susan is a special soul, and I am so happy to be able to congratulate her on her book’s publication. If her story sounds interesting to you, please visit the Choosing Africa Web site to learn more.

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities: Coming Soon!

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

So, I had a fabulous weekend with my friends (and I did get to read The Atlantic issue I told you about on Friday), but my flight back to New York was delayed nearly eight hours. I just got home, and it is 1:45 a.m. as I type this, and I do owe the New York State taxpayers a full day of work not too many hours from now. Plus, I want to take some time to proof the post I’d readied late last week. I’ll get the usual Monday post up sometime before it becomes Tuesday (where I am, at least!). Promise!

Friday Find: The Atlantic’s Summer Fiction Issue (2009)

by Erika Dreifus on
3

I am off in a few hours for a long-anticipated weekend with three of my closest friends from college. We’re all celebrating big birthdays in 2009, and it’s an off-reunion year for our college class, so we’re holding our own mini-reunion and converging in the Midwest. I can’t wait!

Before I board the plane this afternoon, I’m hoping to pick up a print copy of The Atlantic‘s latest fiction issue at the airport. The contents are online, too, so you don’t necessarily need to find a newsstand.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

New Title: Contest Judge

by Erika Dreifus on
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I was recently invited to judge a short fiction contest, and I have accepted the offer! Many thanks to the kind folks at Abbey Hill Literary for asking me to judge their next literary challenge. If you’re willing to consider a contest that charges an entry fee, please check it out.

And I’d love to hear about any of your experiences judging contests–advice is certainly welcome!

The Wednesday Web Browser: Wise Words, "Virtual Yard Sale," and Poetry of Science

by Erika Dreifus on
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Wise words from Lisa Romeo: “I constantly try to remind myself that people don’t read creative nonfiction because they care about what happened to me, but because they care about whether what happened to me might have some meaning for them.”
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And a cute idea from Creative Nonfiction: a “virtual summer yard sale.” Check out the loot: journal issues, books, and more. Go visit before July 31, when the sale ends.
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You don’t often find poetry on the science blogs. But the New York Times‘s TierneyLab recently profiled poet Kimiko Hahn, whose next collection (coming from Norton in 2010) is titled Toxic Flora and “is filled with poems inspired by articles in Science Times.”