Our chum “Churm” interviews poet Brian Turner.
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Deonne gives us a glimpse into the recent Literary Writers Conference in New York City.
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And I’m sorry to end on a down note the day before Thanksgiving, but Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has asked its editors to stop buying books.
The Stadler Fellowship at Bucknell University is open to applications until December 6 (there’s no application fee). “Initiated in 1998, the Stadler Fellowship offers a recent MFA, MA, or PhD graduate in poetry the opportunity to receive professional training in arts administration and literary editing. The Stadler Fellowship is designed to balance the development of professional skills with time to complete a first book of poems. The Stadler Fellow assists for twenty hours each week in the administration of the Stadler Center for Poetry and/or in the editing of West Branch, a nationally distinguished semiannual literary magazine. The Fellow also works as an instructor and staff member in the Bucknell Seminar for Younger Poets in June. The Fellowship stipend is $20,000. In addition, the Fellow is provided a furnished apartment on campus, office space in the Stadler Center, and health insurance.” Details here.
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Learn about literary agent Abigail Koons (and the submissions she’s looking for), in this interview on the Guide to Literary Agents blog.
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And get to know Algonquin Books editor Chuck Adams in this Poets & Writers profile.
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Sharing Memories from the ’70s with the Kids is the latest contest from the National Association of Baby Boomer Women (NABBW) and GRAND magazine. Prize includes $250 and free membership or renewal in the NABBW, plus publication on the NABBW Web site and in GRAND magazine. No entry fee. Deadline: October 31, 2008. Details: here. (NB: “Men may also submit!”) (via PayingWriterJobs)
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Writer’s Digest is looking for a new editor. See the announcement here.
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And, as always, Monday morning brings a medley of college and university jobs for writers.
Assistant/Associate Professor of Creative Writing (poetry), Roger Williams University (Rhode Island)
Assistant Professor of English (poetry/creative writing), Case Western Reserve University (Ohio)
Assistant Professor of English (creative writing/African-American experience), George Washington University (District of Columbia)
Jenny McKean Moore Writer-in-Washington (poetry), George Washington University (District of Columbia)
Assistant Professor of English (creative writing-fiction or nonfiction), Nebraska Wesleyan University
Visiting Appointment in Creative Writing (poetry), Reed College (Oregon)
Assistant Professor of English (creative writing), North Georgia College & State University
Editorial Director, Northwestern University (Illinois)
Assistant Director of Alumni Relations, Washington College (Maryland)
Would you enjoy a free trip to the Texas Book Festival (which takes place November 1 and 2)? Check out some Festival prize possibilities here (but do it soon–deadline is October 3). NB: Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.
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Poets & Writers reports that writers who have recently received rejection letters from Academy Chicago press with no personalized information included may still have reason to be hopeful–there’s been a “bookkeeper bungle”–and should contact the press.
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I don’t know about you, but I can always use some new writing prompts. So I’m glad to discover this concise list on The Writer magazine’s Web site.
On Tuesday night I made my first (and given the way my own writing seems to be going these days, quite likely only) visit to the Random House building on Broadway. I owe that opportunity to the wonderful people at Jewish Book World, who invited me to come to a reception held on the building’s 14th floor to celebrate their redesigned publication.
I arrived late (note to self: do not take a crosstown bus when various world leaders and [vice]presidential candidates are in town), but managed to hear a few of the speakers and, even better, caught up with a few people I was very glad to see again.
Among them was Josh Lambert. As former editor of JBooks.com, Josh was the first one there to accept my pitches and publish my work, so he has my eternal gratitude. I’d also noticed in some of his own recent bio notes–he is very much a practicing writer!–that he is about to become a published book author, so I was glad to have the chance to find out more about American Jewish Fiction: A JPS Guide), which will be published in January (JPS, for those who may not know, is the Jewish Publication Society. Expect to hear more about that book from me in due course.
(cross-posted on My Machberet)
I’ve recently stumbled on remarks from two authors of debut short story collections focusing on, in each case, the road toward that elusive prize: book publication.
Allison Amend’s book, Things That Pass for Love, will be out in October from OV Books. You’ll find Amend’s first-person tale of her road toward getting the collection published here. And there’s some seriously good advice mixed in with that lighthearted tone.
And for background on how one writer got his collection agented, read Jason Boog’s interview with Donald Ray Pollock (author of Knockemstiff, published by Doubleday in March). Pollock’s experience supports the idea that agents do indeed approach and accept clients based on discoveries within the pages of literary magazines and journals.
Thanks to the NewPages blog for pointing me to Copper Canyon Press’s “advice to poets” articles (including some very good tips for those submitting poems for publication, like the ones concerning cover letters you’ll find here).
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Hot off the screen! This profile of Peter Carey, penned by my colleague Jill Jarvis for the series she and I have been working on that focuses on Distinguished Professors who teach at The City University of New York, is now available for your reading pleasure. Those interested in the Hunter College MFA program will find it especially worthwhile. NB: As the profile notes, Carey is currently in the running for the “Best of the Booker” prize.
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As far as I’m concerned, any Atlantic piece by Sandra Tsing Loh will be among its issue’s best reads. Her latest is now online. And the bio note reveals that she has a book coming soon, too.