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Friday Finds for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
2

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

  • Statistically speaking, it’s easier for poets and nonfiction writers to have their work accepted by Colorado Review than it is for fiction writers. But it isn’t exactly easy for anyone.
  • Some of the young ‘uns may not quite appreciate Nick Ripatrazone’s “Miss You, SASE: On Postal Submissions” as much as some of the elders among us are likely to.
  • From Publishers Lunch: “The latest VIDA statistics assessing gender representation in book reviews continue to draw comment and response. But VIDA’s lens, expanded this year to include more publications, still primarily examines periodicals and journals and overlooks the substantial body of daily and weekly book reviews in large-circulation newspapers. That’s exactly the world we have tracked for years in our Publishers Marketplace Book Reviews database (also shown via our cool Top Reviewers tool), which offers a rich data set for analysis. In examining that data over the past 5 years, there are some interesting findings that may expand on the view that VIDA has depicted.” Indeed.
  • Speaking of book reviews: I’ve always heard nice things about Laurie Hertzel, books editor for Minneapolis’s Star Tribune, so I was intrigued to discover this interview with her. (Fun fact: Hertzel is also an MFA student!)
  • And last, but absolutely not least, I recommend that you spend some time this weekend with David Gessner’s smart and thoughtful take on “The Essay’s Place.”

    • Have a great weekend, everyone. (Practicing Writer subscribers, look for your March issue to arrive shortly!)

    Wednesday’s WIP: Nonfiction on the Brain

    by Erika Dreifus on
    4

    brainIf you’ve been following my bylines for the past year or so, you may have noticed something: They’re almost all for nonfictional writings. Book reviews. Arts coverage. Commentaries. Even a few personal essays.

    There are likely lots of reasons behind this shift nonfiction-ward, but I’m not going to speculate on/delve into them today. Today, I simply want to take note of the change. Maybe it’s a phase. But it seems to be lasting.

    One of my latest bylines appeared on The Forward‘s arts blog last week. It’s an opinion piece that encompasses art (theater) and politics. Titled “Why I’m Going to See an ‘Anti-Israel’ Play,” it’s something that I wanted (and needed) to write, but had been struggling to get started. I suspect that I would have written it eventually, but I got a helpful nudge in an online class I took earlier this month. That class, “How to Publish Op-Eds and Commentaries,” is one of several offered through The Thinking Writer. (more…)

    Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    12

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

  • One year later: Remember Richard Blanco’s poem for President Obama’s second inauguration? Did you know that Blanco would have preferred reading another poem he wrote for the occasion?
  • I love this essay by A. Papatya Bucak: “An Address to My Fellow Faculty Who Have Asked Me to Speak About My Work.” (It’s part of the new issue of Brevity.)
  • Sandra Beckwith suggests “7 Things You Can Do to Promote Your Book As Soon As You Finish the First Draft.”
  • There’s much in Lisa Romeo’s post “Poetry for Prose Writers” that resonates with me–especially concerning the influence of my MFA experience on expanding my comfort level with contemporary poetry.
  • And for your weekend viewing/listening pleasure: video from the “hangout” featuring Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro (some rough techno-patches, but of course delightful overall). (h/t @JewishFictioNet)

    • Have a wonderful weekend.