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Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Rejections, Redux
Remember the new poem I mentioned last week? Well, it continued to glean rejections this week. (I’m mildly irked by one editor’s feedback, but I’ll be discreet and let that go un-amplified for the moment.)

I’ve been tweaking the piece and am still holding out hope for it. And if the one publication I’ve yet to hear back from right now also says “no,” that’s okay, because I think that after that, I’ll bite the bullet and send it somewhere that doesn’t take simultaneous submissions. (That’s something I normally hate to do, but every so often, I’ll yield.)

Jewish Lit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
Last Wednesday evening, I had the pleasure of attending a public forum featuring the 2015 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature authors at the Museum of Jewish Heritage here in New York. 2015 Sami Rohr Prize Winner Ayelet Tsabari, Choice Award recipient Kenneth Bonert, and finalists Yelena Akhtiorskaya, Molly Antopol, and Boris Fishman all participated in a discussion moderated by Austin Ratner. (I was not present at the following evening’s award ceremony/reception, but luckily, Ayelet Tsabari’s acceptance speech can be viewed on YouTube.)

My Creative Cousin
Finally, I’d like to honor some special songwriting that I encountered this week. (more…)

Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

by Erika Dreifus on
5

Oh, what a busy time it has been!

A Book is Born

BookBirthdayShelfieIt’s a BIG week for all of us at Fig Tree Books. Yesterday was the official publication date for our first title, a novel by Alan Cheuse titled Prayers for the Living. (Let’s just say that I spent a lot more of my weekend time working for the “day job” this past Saturday/Sunday than I normally do! But I certainly wasn’t alone in putting forth some extra pre-publication efforts.)

If you’re in Brooklyn or Washington, you can attend readings that Alan will be giving this week at BookCourt and Politics and Prose, respectively. Details on the Fig Tree Books website. Oh, and there’s a new issue of the Fig Tree Books newsletter available, too. (more…)

Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

by Erika Dreifus on
6

Singing for My Supper (Technically, Lecturing for My Lunch)

I’ve written here about the New York Society Library before. It’s a lovely, lovely institution where yesterday I gave a brief “Writing Life” talk titled “Writing Contests 101.”

NYSocLib

The group was delightful, and I had a wonderful time. After the session, the librarian who had invited me to speak, Carolyn Waters, treated me to a delicious lunch at a nearby restaurant.

(I didn’t “advertise” this event ahead of time, because it was limited to Library members only. But I’m happy to share the resource handout that I distributed there.) (more…)

Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

by Erika Dreifus on
4

doctoredAn Evening Out

One evening this past week, my sister and I ventured out together for an author talk here in Manhattan by our family friend Dr. Sandeep Jauhar (Sandeep is married to a sister of one of my sister’s best friends). We looked on with pride while Sandeep discussed the issues at the heart of his latest book, Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician, and responded to questions from the audience.

I haven’t yet read the new book (but the copy circulating among our family members, pictured to the left, is now in my possession). But I did read (and admire) Sandeep’s previous book; you may remember the Q&A that I conducted with him in a long-ago issue of The Practicing Writer. (more…)

Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

by Erika Dreifus on
11

Watching my grandfather--a refugee from Nazism and a U.S. Army WWII veteran--kindle the Hanukkah candles in 1972.
Watching my grandfather–a refugee from Nazism and a U.S. Army WWII veteran–kindle the Hanukkah candles in 1972.

HANUKKAH

Since Hanukkah began last night, I planned to share something I posted here last year: this photo of my grandfather and me, accompanied by a link to the archived story of mine that was included on National Public Radio’s “Hanukkah Lights” broadcast back in 2011. That story, “Fidelis,” was on my mind again last year when I caught this article in The New York Times Magazine on the anniversary of a World War II battle (Tarawa) that is central to it.

Lo and behold, I returned from a Hanukkah celebration last night (to which I happened to wear, as I often do, a ring that belonged to my grandfather on a silver chain around my neck), to discover that “Fidelis” has been “re-upped” to be part of the 2014 “Hanukkah Lights” broadcast, too. Icing on this cake (or jelly doughnut, as the holiday case may be): NPR is calling the story “a classic” from its “vault.” To which all I can say is: Wow.

‘TIS THE SEASON: FOR LITERARY AWARDS

Last week I had the pleasure of attending two literary-award events. (more…)