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Friday Finds for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Treasure ChestWriting-related resources, news, and reflections to read over the weekend.

  • It’s always a treat to receive Diane Lockward’s poetry newsletter. If you’re not a subscriber, I highly recommend that you become one! Here’s the latest (April) issue.
  • Not surprisingly, some of the more astute commentaries on Amazon’s acquisition of Goodreads have come from Steve Almond and Porter Anderson.
  • Speaking of Amazon: Do you think it should change its policy on Kindle book returns? I do, which is why I’ve signed the Change.org petition that Galleycat brought to my attention this week.
  • Acronyms decoded: pay terms for freelancers.
  • Congratulations to Kelly James-Enger on the launch of Improvise Press and the new edition of Six-Figure Freelancing (and special thanks to Kelly for the complimentary digital review copy that she offered me–I’m gobbling it up!).

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

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: The Inspiration of “The Year of Living Autobiographically”

    by Erika Dreifus on
    8

    TomHopA couple of days ago, a good friend who is also a writer emailed me to check in on things. The message included an inquiry about what I’m writing these days. I didn’t feel as though I had a whole lot to report (although I do have a cluster of interesting freelance assignments on my to-do list). Instead, I mentioned in my response that I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, and that I’ve found this reading even more inspiring than usual. As an example, I referenced a book that those of you who follow me on Twitter or Goodreads may recall my mentioning: Ayelet Tsabari’s The Best Place on Earth.

    But there’s another book that I want to cite here. You won’t find it on Amazon or Goodreads or IndieBound. Not yet, anyway. Its title is The Year of Living Autobiographically, and its author is Thomas Israel Hopkins. (more…)

    Monday Markets for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    5

    Monday brings the weekly batch of no-fee competitions/contests, paying submission calls, and jobs for those of us who write (especially those of us who write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction).

  • Black Balloon Publishing has news for novelists and short-story writers: “We’re thrilled to announce the Horatio Nelson Fiction Prize, an award for a previously completed manuscript which comes with an award of $5,000 and a Black Balloon Publishing deal. Submissions for entry will be accepted between April 1 and May 6th. Only complete, previously unpublished works of fiction of over 50,000 words will be eligible. Please submit an excerpt of up to 4,000 words in a .doc or .docx file between April 1 and May 6th.” There is no entry fee. (via GalleyCat)
  • A quick check-in with the Chicken Soup for the Soul website reveals a number of upcoming deadlines for anthologies-in-progress, including “a book for Canadians about everything winter,” a book on dating, and “a multitasking Mom’s survival guide.” Paying projects.
  • The low-residency MFA program at the University of California, Riverside, is looking for a Visiting Assistant Professor of Poetry.
  • “The Department of Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock invites applications for a nine month tenure-track Assistant Professor (R97278) to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in professional writing, including grant writing.”
  • Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, seeks a Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing (Fiction).
  • Poets & Writers, Inc. (New York), is looking for a Development and Marketing Associate.
  • The April issue of The Practicing Writer went out to subscribers this weekend. You can also read the current issue–replete with no-fee competition listings and paying calls for submission–online.

    • Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Treasure ChestWriting-related resources, news, and reflections to read over the weekend.

  • She had me at hello. Here’s the first line from Rebecca Meacham’s recent guest post for the Ploughshares blog: “First, a confession: I’m lousy at prioritizing fiction writing.“
  • Another thoughtful post from Cathy Day, this time on the topic of “professionalization” and creative-writing programs.
  • Lots of good stuff in this Rumpus interview with author and editor Matthew Salesses.
  • Should undergraduates attend the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference? Interesting reflections (and experiences) on The Missouri Review‘s blog.
  • Courtesy of The Review Review: differing views on litmag submission fees.

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

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Quarterly Contributions, Yom HaShoah, and Recent Reviews

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    BlueCardAs I mentioned not too long ago, my book of short stories, Quiet Americans, has been out in the world for a little over two years. And at the end of every quarter, I offer a financial contribution based on recent sales to The Blue Card, an organization that supports survivors of Nazi persecution. Within the next week, Q1 for 2013 will draw to a close; if you’ve been meaning to purchase a copy of the book, now would be an especially meaningful time to do so, with Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) coming up on April 7-8.

    I continue to be surprised (and deeply moved) by the reviews that readers share online after they read Quiet Americans. Most recently, on Goodreads, I’ve discovered these assessments:

    Normally I dismiss short story collections because they do not allow me to become involved in the characters and the plot. Quiet Americans was different. All the stories revolved around the individuals and families coping with life before, during, and after the Holocaust. The characters were real, multi-dimensional, and the stories moving. Like others, I look forward to reading more from this author.

    A powerful collection of short stories. While each vignette stands on its own, they all form a cohesive, striking portrait spanning several generations. Characters, like Dr. Weldmann, are faced with crucial decisions: to speak out or to stay silent. Dreifus’s narrators may vary in point of view but they never fail to draw us in quickly. The narrator of “Matrilineal Descent” breaks through that fourth wall to speak to its readers who, like the narrator, may have researched their ancestors only to find indeterminate statements “für tot erklärkt seit..” Refreshing to pick up a book by a young US writer with a gift not only for English but for other languages. I look forward to Ms. Dreifus’s next book.

    QACover

    (The penultimate line of that second review held extra meaning for me given what some of you may remember I encountered as an MFA student.)

    In any case, as another quarter closes, and another Yom HaShoah approaches, I remain infinitely grateful for the support that Quiet Americans continues to garner. Thank you all so very much!