Nonfiction

On this page, you’ll find titles of (and some links to) some of my nonfiction writing: articles on the craft/business/pedagogy of writing; Jewish literary/cultural journalism; opinion pieces/commentary; memoir; and more.

For a selected list of my published book reviews, please visit this page. For more information on the magazines and websites I’ve worked with as a freelance writer (and a sense of other subjects I’ve covered), please visit this page.

PERSONAL ESSAYS/MEMOIR

OPINION/COMMENTARY

ARTICLES  ON THE CRAFT, BUSINESS, AND PEDAGOGY OF WRITING

  • “How To Avoid Submission Fees: Lessons Learned from 20+ Years of Sending Out My Work—and Curating Opportunities for Others,” Lit Mag News, June 2023.
  • “Publishing Tip: What to Look for in Newsletters and Resource Lists,” The Malahat Review, December 2017.
  • “Making Poetry Pay: Five Ways to Increase Your Poetry Income,” AWP’s “The Writer’s Notebook,” July 2017.
  • “13 Questions to Ask Before Submitting to a Literary Journal,” Literary Hub, June 2016.
  • “Five Ways for Writers to Avoid Oversharing,” MissouriReview.com, May 2015.
  • “After the MFA: Fantasy, Reality, and Lessons Learned,” Poets & Writers (online exclusive), September/October 2014.
  • “Habits of Highly Successful Short Story Writers,” in Rachel Randall, ed., 2014 Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market, (Blue Ash, Ohio: Writer’s Digest Books, 2013). ISBN 978-1599637297.
  • “5 Free and Easy Ways to Promote Your Book,” The Writer, September 2012.
  • “Improve Your Winning Chances: Niche Literary Competitions and Awards May Mean Less Competition for You,” The Writer, February 2012.
  • “7 Reasons This Writer May Unfollow You on Twitter,” Writermag.com, December 2011.
  • “Find a Custom Home at a Niche Journal,” The Writer, November 2011.
  • “What’s in a Title?” CenterforFiction.org, July 2011.
  • “Get the Most Out of the AWP Conference,” The Writer, February 2011.
  • “Niche MFAs,” The Writer, November 2010.
  • “Choosing a Low-Residency Program in Creative Writing,” in Tom Kealey, ed., The Creative Writing MFA Handbook, rev. ed. (New York: Continuum, 2008). ISBN 978-0-8264-2886-8.
  • “MFA Grads Find Nonteaching Jobs on Campus,” The Writer, November 2008.
  • “Ethics Cheat Sheet,” Writer’s Digest, December 2006.
  • “How to Submit Your Short Story,” The Writer, October 2005. (Republished in Short-story Basics, a supplement to The Writer.)
  • “Learning Short-Story Writing By Example,” The Writer, September 2005.  (Republished in Short-story Basics, a supplement to The Writer.)
  • “Minding Your Online Manners,” Writer’s Digest, June 2005.
  • “Make the Most of Your Next Conference Workshop,” The Writer, April 2005.
  • “The Lowdown on Low-Residency Programs,” Poets & Writers, March-April 2005. (Republished in The Poets & Writers Guide to MFA Programs.)
  • “Beyond Writing Conferences & Residencies: More Summer Opportunities for Writers Who Teach, AWP Job List, January 2005.
  • “In Praise of Polyglossia,” Matrix 66 (Spring 2004).
  • “Pushing the Limits of ‘Writing What You Know,'” The Willamette Writer, May 2004. (Revised version of a paper presented at the “Limits of the Past: The Human Sciences and the Turn to Memory” conference at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., April 2002.)
  • “Keeping Silent? Writing Fiction After September 11,” Queen’s Quarterly 111(1): Spring 2004, 35-43. (Revised version of a paper presented at the “Why Write?” conference held at Columbia University in New York City, 28-29 May 2003; republished by Numéro Cinq in 2011.)
  • “A Focus on James’s ‘Surrounding Scene’: Examining the Place of Paris in The Ambassadors,” Henry James Review 25.1 (2004): 44-51. (Revised version of a presentation delivered at the “Henry James Today” conference in Paris, July 2002.)
  • “Surviving MFA Critiques,” The Writer, January 2004.
  • “‘Yeats Summer Camp,’ Or What I Did Over My Summer Vacation,” Literary Traveler, Fall 2003.
  • “Letters to a Young Writer”/”Why I Write,” Teachers & Writers, May-June 2003.
  • “Closing Shop: The Last Writing Class,” Kansas English 88.1 (Spring 2003): 79-81. (Reprinted in a revised version as “A Fine Finish” in Community College Week, May 2004.)
  • “Common Ground: Crafting ‘Fact’ and ‘Fiction,'” Arizona English Bulletin 45.1 (Spring 2003): 34-37.
  • “Making a Living, Making a Life: A Workshop in Character Development,” Oregon English Journal 24.1 (Spring 2002): 27-29. (Reprinted in a revised version as “Working Men and Women: Characters and Their Development,” by the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.)

ARTICLES AND ESSAYS ON JEWISH LITERARY AND OTHER TOPICS

“A VIEW FROM THE USA” COLUMNS IN THE JEWISH CHRONICLE (UK)