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Placing Your Jewish Short Stories

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

At the Jewish Fiction Writers’ Conference held at the 92nd Street Y last weekend, I shared a handout with detailed profiles of a number of publications that will consider short stories on Jewish themes or subjects. I can’t replicate the handout in its entirety here, but I can share with you the 11 publications whose editors supplied me with information and confirmed their interest in such work.

Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal (guidelines here)
The Forward (guidelines here)
Horizons: The Jewish Family Monthly (guidelines here)
Image: A Journal of the Arts and Religion (guidelines here)
Jewish Quarterly: A Magazine of Contemporary Writing, Politics & Culture
Lilith (guidelines here)
New Vilna Review (guidelines here)
Pakn Treger
Poetica Magazine: A Literary Journal on the Jewish Experience (guidelines here)
Tiferet: A Journal of Spiritual Literature (guidelines here)
Zeek

NB: Magazines/journals that did not respond to my questionnaire include Guilt & Pleasure, Heeb, Jewish Currents, Midstream, and Mishpacha.And of course, please do remember that stories with “Jewish” content can certainly find homes in “secular” publications.

The Wednesday Web Browser: Small Press Month, Resource for Poets, and A Talented Writer

by Erika Dreifus on
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March is Small Press Month, and to mark the occasion, “Oronte Churm” checks in with several big names in the world of small presses.
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Sage Cohen announces the launch of a new resource for poets.
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A little-known fact about Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, President Obama’s nominee for Principal Deputy Commissioner of the FDA—and my college classmate: Like our President, Dr. Sharfstein is a very talented writer. Back in college, I always looked forward to his articles and opinion pieces in the main campus newspaper. Here’s one writing-themed piece I recall was a particular favorite among my thesis-writing friends (yes, we were a pretty intellectual group!).

Ten Tips for Formatting Short Story Manuscripts

by Erika Dreifus on
2

Here’s a snippet from my presentation on publishing short stories, delivered before the inaugural Jewish Fiction Writers’ Conference at the 92nd Street Y last Sunday. The presentation was designed for fiction writers, but this segment happens to be relevant for essayists as well. More on the conference to follow here and at my other blog, My Machberet.

Top Ten Tips for Formatting/Preparing Short Story Manuscripts

1. Double-space your manuscript.

2. Print only on one side of the paper.

3. Use black type (no fancy colors).

4. Use a simple, conventional font (like Times New Roman 12-pt).

5. Number your pages, and unless you’re told differently, include your name and/or the story title in the header.

6. Proofread. Reading the entire story aloud is an excellent strategy that helps writers “catch” mistakes computer spelling and grammar programs don’t always find.

7. If the story is longer than a few pages (my limit is four, plus the cover letter), don’t stuff it in a regular/business size envelope. Place it in a larger (in the United States, 9″X12″) envelope.

8. Always include a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) for a response. (Here’s where those “forever” stamps really come in handy.)

9. Keep a copy of your submission for your own records.

10. Keep a copy of your cover letter. You might consider establishing a separate binder to track your submission correspondence. Otherwise it becomes all too easy to forget which story went to which publication when. And if you’ve submitted simultaneously, you’ll need to tell all the other journals you’ve sent a story to when it’s accepted elsewhere.

Anyone want to offer other suggestions, in comments?