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Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Thoughts About Linked Short-Story Collections

by Erika Dreifus on
5

If you follow me on Goodreads, you know that a few days ago I finished reading Shani Boianjiu’s soon-to-be published debut novel, The People of Forever Are Not Afraid. And if you’re a member of the Jewish Book Carnival group on the Goodreads site, you may also know that one of the lingering questions I’m considering is whether anyone considered publishing this book as a collection of linked stories rather than a novel (and also, perhaps, omitting the final section, composed of two chapters which in my view are the weakest pieces in the book–but taking that discussion any further will send us on a tangent from which we are unlikely to return).

I wanted to love Boianjiu’s book without reservation. I’d been anticipating it since Boianjiu–recommended by Nicole Krauss–was named one of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” for 2011. I was delighted to find an excerpt included in the Publishers Lunch “BEA Buzz Books” compilation, and I quickly obtained an electronic galley (thank you, NetGalley!). Then, The New Yorker published another excerpt. And I was hooked.

And there’s so much in this book that I do admire, especially considering a) the author’s youth–it seems that she is the youngest person ever to be honored among the “5 Under 35”, and b) the fact that English is not her native language. Not to mention the complicated political issues embedded in the work and its in-the-middle-of-things perspectives on life in Israel, matters of ongoing interest to this practicing writer-who-reads.

But I hadn’t progressed all that far in the book when I realized that I was going to have trouble accepting The People of Forever Are Not Afraid as a novel. Perhaps because, as a fiction writer, I’m somewhat obsessed with these distinctions? Perhaps because recent work on one of my own stories-in-progress, which I’ve realized could easily be linked with another four or five I’ve published over the years (but not yet in book form), has given me a case of linked-stories-on-the-brain?

In the meantime, Junot Diaz has gone ahead and fueled my cerebral struggles with a Q&A for The New Yorker. A new Diaz story appears in the magazine this week (sorry–it’s paywall-protected). And in discussing this story, which appears in his forthcoming collection, This Is How You Lose Her, Diaz says: (more…)

Friday Finds for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
6

For the weekend: some writing-related reflections, news, and resources to enjoy.

  • First up: Some marvelous items produced in connection with the latest Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing program residency. I recommend that you spend a good chunk of time with Patrick Ross’s “MFA Nugget: An Entire MFA in Writing Residency in One Post” (warning: you’ll actually end up reading more than one post) and with new graduate Sarah Seltzer’s graduation speech.
  • Still thinking about the fact that there was no Pulitzer awarded in fiction this year? So is one of the fiction jurors. Check out Michael Cunningham’s two-part commentary for The New Yorker.
  • Making the Internet rounds: Patrick Somerville’s Salon essay titled “Thank You for Killing My Novel” (subtitle: “The New York Times panned my book, then had to correct the review to fix all their errors. So why am I not angry?”)
  • As usual, I find myself agreeing with much of what Carol Tice shares in “5 Stupid Things You Do in Social Media that Brand You a Pariah.” (Numbers 1 and 5 happen to irk me especially, too.)

  • Last, but definitely, definitely not least: Algonquin Books presents its fall 2012 “Reader,” comprising brief introductions to (and excerpts from) the publisher’s forthcoming fiction titles. The introductions, which explain the genesis of each book, are written by the respective authors. I’m always fascinated by the origins of others’ fiction, so this would have pulled me in even if I didn’t already admire Algonquin’s list and didn’t know some of the authors represented this fall. Side note: If you’re looking for a forthcoming title for your book-reviewing practice, you may well find one here.

    • Have a great weekend, everyone. See you back here on Monday!

    Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Monday brings the weekly batch of no-fee contests/competitions and paying gigs for those of us who write (especially those of us who write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction).

  • Let’s begin with the Six-Word Story Prize! “Fleeting Magazine is looking for the best six-word story in the world. In return, we’re offering a stay at The Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan, where Hemingway bet the Round Table, “I can write a story in six-words.” You can send up to five six-word stories (no entry fee). Deadline: September 30, 2012. NB: “The winner’s room must be booked in arrangement with Fleeting Magazine within a year of the closing date. Alternatively, it may be exchanged for cash: £100 ($160 /€130). By entering the competition, you give permission for your name and six-word story to be used by Fleeting Magazine and other publications.”
  • Anthology call: “Margaret River Press invites short fiction, poetry, photo essays and creative nonfiction submissions that illuminate the theme of ‘fire’. The anthology seeks works that illustrate experiences of and relationships to fire: its destructive, creative and redemptive powers, its social impact, its cultural and ecological role, its terror, symbolism and its beauty.” Deadline: August 31, 2012. Pays: “Payment is a flat fee of AUD$200 for fiction and creative non-fiction works, $150 for photo essays and poetry for both Australian print rights and International Digital rights, plus a contributor’s copy of the print edition.”
  • From WritersWeekly.com: “We’re out of features! We pay $60 for around 600 words; non-exclusive electronic rights only. Our guidelines are here: http://www.writersweekly.com/index-markets.htm.”
  • From Persea Books: “We have a longstanding commitment to publishing extraordinary contemporary poetry and maintain an active poetry program. Although our program is small, we are always on the lookout for a poet we simply must publish. Currently, our open submission period for poetry is the month of July: any submissions sent must have a July postmark.”
  • Northumbria University (U.K.) seeks a Senior Lecturer/Lecturer in Creative Writing.
  • Oklahoma State University is advertising a “tenured or tenure-track open rank position in Poetry.”
  • WRITE BOSTON, an organization within the Boston Redevelopment Authority, is looking for a Part-Time Writing Coach.
  • Los Angeles-based job: “Zócalo Public Square, a Koreatown-based non-profit that blends live events and digital ideas journalism, seeks a smart, ambitious, intellectually curious Editorial/Events Coordinator to help plan events, handle logistics, conduct outreach, manage the office, and proofread and post editorial content on our website.”
  • “The MFA Program for Writers located at Warren Wilson College (N.C.) seeks candidates for the position of Project Manager/Web Manager. The person in this full-time, twelve-month position performs a wide range of duties requiring computer/technical, organizational, customer service expertise in service of the MFA students, faculty, alumni, and prospective students, under the supervision of the Assistant to the Director. She/he maintains the MFA Program’s website as well as the alumni (Friends of the Writers) website; she/he hires and supervises the undergraduate crew; as the Program’s liaison with vendors, she/he develops and negotiates contracts; she/he aids in the production of semi-annual residency session. Among the his/her major duties beyond the maintenance of the websites are the management of the websites are the management of the application process annually, and the compilation, and the compilation and production of student manuscript books for the residency.”

    • Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    For the weekend: some writing-related reflections, news, and resources to enjoy.

  • First up: Rachel Unkefer, whose many roles include leading Charlottesville’s WriterHouse, explains why she’s adding yet another facet to her identity: poet. There’s much here that resonates as I remember the path that led me to four online poetry workshops. For instance: “Recently there have been a few nagging ideas, though, that I haven’t known what to do with. They weren’t enough to base a short story on, even flash fiction. They could have been musings in the head of a character in a novel, but they had too much weight for me to relegate them to such a minor role. And they wouldn’t go away. Looking out my window or walking in my neighborhood triggered them. Maybe these are poems, I thought, but I don’t know how to write poems.” And so a new field of study–and writerly practice–is born.
  • In praise of the semicolon.
  • Hey, book reviewers! Looking for some fall titles to review? The Millions offers quite a preview.
  • Did you miss The International Conference of the Short Story, which recently convened in Little Rock, Ark.? Me, too. Luckily, Creating Van Gogh has a conference recap.
  • Finally, author Kyle Minor has made available an online “Sketchbook: Selections from my Writer’s Notebook, 2010-2012 (45,000 Words of Interview Excerpts, Links, Quotations, Mini-Essays, and Thoughts about the Craft and Art of Making Literature).”

    • Have a great weekend, all. See you back here on Monday!

    Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    It’s Friday, folks! Here are a few noteworthy links for you to explore at your leisure this weekend.

  • Planning to write about the London Summer Olympics? Check out this style guide from The Associated Press.
  • “Opportunities” to avoid.
  • Next up: “4 Ways to Land Travel Writing Assignments by Thinking Creatively”–great post, totally aligned with my own “think outside the box” philosophy for freelancing.
  • A few “black lit mags to watch.” (via The Review Review)
  • And if you’d like to know how an essay-review on The Millions has rekindled my interest in the fiction of Etgar Keret, please hop on over to my other blog.

    • Happy weekend, all. See you back here on Monday!