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“Grub Street [Boston] is pleased to offer $200 partial-tuition scholarships to deserving writers interested in taking our courses. Recipients may use their scholarship at any time in the year and toward any class they desire, though not for Muse and the Marketplace tuition or manuscript consulting. To apply for a Summer 2012 term scholarship, please email a 5-10 page sample of your work and a one-page letter detailing your financial need and desire to take a Grub Street class to rowan@grubstreet.org by Wednesday, June 6th at 12:00pm. Applicants will be notified whether or not they qualified for a scholarship by the end of the week.”
Here’s a chance to get some expert advice on a freelance query–for free!
In case you missed it: Our June newsletter went out to subscribers last week. As always, it’s packed with news about no-fee contests & paying calls for fictionists, poets, and writers of creative nonfiction.
From Bitch Media: “Currently we hire bloggers on eight-week long contracts, for three (or fewer, depending on the contract) blog posts per week on a topic of their choosing. Topics can be broad and general (sports, dating, television), or more specific (eco-feminism, mental illness in pop culture, web comics). The positions are paid (and fun!). If you’d like to be considered for a position as a guest blogger, send a brief description of your topic choice (including several sample-post ideas) and two writing samples (ideally blog posts).”
From Teachers & Writers Collaborative (New York): “T&W is accepting applications until July 2 for writers to teach during the 2012-2013 school year. Our roster of teaching artists includes writers whose work has been published, staged, or filmed; and who have experience teaching in K–12 schools and/or youth-serving community organizations. Preference is given to individuals who have taught in New York City or other large urban school districts. People who can teach in Spanish are especially encouraged to apply. Writers who teach for T&W do so as independent contractors. We will acknowledge your application within one week of receiving it; we plan to conduct interviews beginning in late July.”
“The English Department at California University of Pennsylvania seeks a published poet to teach upper- and lower-division creative writing, lower-division literature, and first-year composition. Teaching load is 4/4 and will include Creative Writing Poetry, Introduction to Poetry (literature), and first-year composition classes, as well as other creative writing classes…This is a one-year, temporary faculty appointment. Salary is competitive and commensurate with academic preparation and experience. An excellent fringe benefits package is included.”
The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (Va.) is looking for a Conference Coordinator, the University of Houston seeks a Managing Editor for Houston History magazine, and the Saint Louis Art Museum invites applications for a Media Relations Coordinator position.
Short Story Month celebrations end tomorrow (quick reminder: you can still enter our collection giveaway right here). There has been a lot of wonderful content online this month that focuses on short stories. I recommend especially the coverage at Fiction Writers Review and David Abrams’s terrific blog post spotlighting noteworthy story collections of 2012.
Want to know how to promote your e-book? Really want to know how to do so for free? GalleyCat has some resources for you.
And speaking of promotion, Jane Friedman recommends “4 Ways to Immediately Improve Your Book Marketing Efforts.”
Congratulations to Carol Tice on the publication of her first co-authored print book. (There’s quite a backstory here, one that will interest you especially if you’re into the subject of how your blogging may lead you to your books.)
Poet Diane Lockward has compiled a list of what she considers to be especially appealing online journals.
And Kelli Russell Agodon tells us “what’s going on in the Poetry Blogosphere these days.”
If you have the time today, you can drop by The New Yorker‘s “Ask the Author” chat with Adam Gopnik. The subject: Albert Camus, the focus of Gopnik’s article in this week’s issue of the magazine. Chat begins at 3 p.m., E.T.
Want to write a guest post for Carol Tice’s blog? Here’s what not to do.
I’ll admit that I don’t get too agitated about gender issues in publishing. (What ticks me off far more is the anti-Israel sentiment I see in the literary/publishing establishment, not any perceived bias favoring male writers.) That said, I’m a fan of Meg Wolitzer’s work, so when she writes, I read. Sunday’s New York Times Book Review included Wolitzer’s “The Second Shelf: Literary Rules for Men and Women.” Worth your time, if you haven’t yet caught it.
Writer Abroad offers some good, basic, nuts-and-bolts info on finding a literary agent.
Historical novelist Natalie Wexler reflects on what she finds in old newspapers.
I’m a contributor to this new anthology (along with a few hundred others).
From Mslexia: “We’re looking for guest bloggers for the Mslexia blog. Are you working on an interesting short-term writing project or in a key role in publishing? Perhaps you’re researching your novel or finalising your first poetry collection; freelancing as a journalist or reading submissions at a literary agency? We’re opening out our blog to a limited number of women writers with something interesting to say about the writing process, writing projects they’re involved in, the publishing industry, their particularly inspiring journey on the rocky road to publication or anything writing-related that other authors, published or not, will be inspired by.” Deadline to be considered as a blogger for a three-month “residency” starting April-June 2012 is April 16. Pays: “£100 for a three-month guest blog.”
Short-story contest from The Abstract Quill. Cash prizes ($100 and $25) plus publication to the first- and second-prize winners. Payments will be made via Paypal. No entry fees indicated. Deadline: May 15, 2012. (via NewPages.com)
“2012 is the 200th anniversary of the uprising by Luddite machine breakers, which inspired great poetry by Byron, Shelley and others. The defeat of the Luddites by thousands of soldiers led to two centuries of industrialism. Its ugliness and beauty, its wealth and its poverty have all been inspiration for truly brilliant pieces. Now we live in a world dominated by science and technology, but on the brink of environmental disaster. What do the Luddites and their mythical leader, General Ned Ludd mean to you?/Luddites 200 is launching a poetry competition, with prizes to be awarded by Andy Croft at our festival in Huddersfield on April 28th/29th. Poems can be in any style, with a maximum length of 40 lines.” First-prize poems in both categories (under 16 and over 16) will be awarded £40 each. “There will be second and third prizes of books and/or merchandise, to be confirmed on the day. There is no entry fee, but we would appreciate donations to cover the costs of running our festival.” Deadline: April 14, 2012.
Have you seen the latest issue of The Practicing Writer yet? It’s filled with additional no-fee competitions and paying submission calls.
“Babble.com is seeking an experienced Wikipedia writer/editor to help create and edit Wikipedia entries related to our company and writers. If you have a demonstrated track record of creating approved Wikipedia pages, please contact us. Much of the text for the entries will be provided, so we’re especially looking for someone who intimately understands Wikipedia formatting, requirements, and process. The person will be paid hourly, and there is the possibility for either a short-term or a more involved set of assignments.” (free site registration required to view full ad)
“Holy Family University, a comprehensive Catholic institution in Philadelphia, PA., invites applications for a full-time Assistant Professor of Writing, beginning August 2012.The position requires teaching in the university’s first-year, undergraduate writing program, as well as courses in composition and, contingent upon availability, creative writing. The ideal candidate will have specialization and teaching experience in these areas, along with a track record of related research and publication. Candidates should have a commitment to support the mission of Holy Family University and possess excellent teaching skills, an active scholarly agenda and a willingness to participate in student advising and campus service. A Ph.D. in English or Composition/Rhetoric is required. Candidates with an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) will also be considered.
Stillman College (Ala.) is looking for an Assistant Professor of English: “Minimum Requirements: Ph.D. in English. Academic experience in composition and/or technical writing is highly desirable. Applicants who have background and interest in composition and rhetoric, technical and professional communication, and/or African American literature are encouraged to apply. Instructional Duties: Teach English composition courses as well as upper level courses of English such as technical writing, creative writing, and/or special topics literature (i.e., Chaucer, Shakespeare, modern Black fiction, 20th century literature, African literature, and Caribbean literature).”
The Sun (Chapel Hill, N.C.) is looking for a Managing Editor, Chicago magazine seeks a Senior Editor to handle culture coverage, and National Geographic Society (Washington) invites applications for an Assistant Editor position (looks as though this job focuses on NG Kids and NG Little Kids magazines).
Coming soon: the perfect stamps for your SASEs. “With the issuance of Twentieth-Century Poets, the U.S. Postal Service® honors ten of our nation’s most admired poets: Elizabeth Bishop, Joseph Brodsky, Gwendolyn Brooks, E. E. Cummings, Robert Hayden, Denise Levertov, Sylvia Plath, Theodore Roethke, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams. The many awards won by this illustrious group include numerous Pulitzer Prizes, National Book Awards, and honorary degrees. Each stamp features a photograph of one of the ten poets. Text on the back of the stamp sheet includes an excerpt from one poem by each poet. The art director was Derry Noyes. The stamp will go on sale nationwide April 21, 2012.”
And on a not-unrelated note: Do you save your rejection slips?
Several tech-y items to share: five ways to keep up with tweets, how to monetize a blog, and simple SEO for authors. (I’ve bookmarked all three to return to for closer study.)
Cathy Day asked MFA faculty and students this question: “Should we make it our business to teach the business of being a writer?” And here’s how they responded. I haven’t yet weighed in, but there are lots of comments accruing on Cathy’s blog.
Midge Raymond, on Jane Friedman’s definition of “author platform.”
