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Call for Submissions: Bride of the Golem: An Anthology of Humorous Jewish Horror

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

I don’t see calls for submission like this one every day. From the pseudonymous “Gus Ginsburg”:

I will be editing the book “Bride of the Golem: An Anthology of Humorous Jewish Horror” and am seeking stories to include in it.

The stories can employ a new Jewish twist on a mainstream horror theme (e.g. a tale about a Hassidic vampire mohel or about the Lubbavitchers reanimating Rebbe Schneerson). Or they can reinterpret horrific elements in classical Jewish folklore like the Golem or dybbuk. Or they can venture into entirely new territory.

Stories of this genre that I like: Etgar Keret’s “Quanta”, Shulamit Hareven’s “The Emissary”, Shalom Auslander’s “Prophet’s Dilemma” and Nathan Englander’s “Reb Kringle,” to name just a few.

This editor seeks “10-12 publishable stories by new and upcoming authors” and says that s/he “will see that you are paid $500 for your story, though it may take some time for you to receive your payment as I have to get an agent and publisher on board with this project. I will also solicit 2-4 stories by better-known authors in order to make this volume a bestseller at Jewish book fairs.”

For more information, check the announcement.

(via Duotrope)

Notes from Around the Web

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • Adam Kirsch reviews poet Rachel Wetzsteon’s posthumous book, Silver Roses.
  • The Boston Bibliophile reviews Howard Jacobson’s prize-winning novel, The Finkler Question.
  • The Jewish Week reminds me that I have got to get to the Hannah Senesh exhibition at the Museum of Jewish Heritage sooner rather than later.
  • One take on highlights in Jewish books for 2010, courtesy of Jewish Ideas Daily.
  • Uri Friedman examines the dilemma observant Jews face concerning reading on the Sabbath in a digital age.
  • My recent review of a new anthology of Jewish-American fiction has prompted some kind comments, one on the Jewish Journal’s website, and some I’ve received privately. Which I’ve found reassuring, because I suspected that not everyone would like what I had to say.

    • Shabbat shalom!

    Words of the Week: Gary Rosenblatt

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    It is demeaning, 65 years after the fall of Nazi Germany, to acknowledge that Joseph Goebbels’s Big Lie theory — that if you repeat a falsehood aggressively, and often enough, people will believe it — still holds true.

    But when I look at the persistent, illogical and hateful charges against Israel in the Arab world and the international community, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

    Read more at The Jewish Week.

    New Glimpses into Jewish-American History

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    I’m hoping that sometime in the next few weeks–perhaps during one of the three-day weekends coming up for Christmas/New Year’s–I’ll have some time to dig into what looks like an outstanding online resource. “Jews and the Americas” is an online exhibition curated by Dennis Landis, Curator of European Books at Brown University’s John Carter Brown Library.

    On a somewhat related note, I’m proud to share a video of a panel presentation on “Jewish Immigration to New York.” The panel was held in conjunction with the launch of a Jewish Studies Center at Baruch College of The City University of New York. My dad, a Baruch alumnus, participated on the panel and spoke about German-Jewish immigration (his family’s background). I attended the event back in November, and I found that it provided a fascinating reminder of the diversity of “Jewish” experiences, even within a single city.

    Review of Promised Lands: New Jewish American Fiction on Longing and Belonging

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    My latest book review, a discussion of Promised Lands: New Jewish American Fiction on Longing and Belonging (Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England, $26.00), edited by Derek Rubin, is now online at JewishJournal.com. As good as most of the stories in this anthology are–and they are, indeed–this was a challenging review to write. See what you think of this review, and please consider the questions that I’ve raised there about how anthologies are compiled. I’m interested in your thoughts.