The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

  • I wish I had the time to comment on Elise Blackwell’s article, “What Defines a Successful Post-MFA Career?” It contains some excellent points, and it sparks additional thoughts. But my to-do list is already too crowded with things to take care of outside my full-time, no-summers-off, no-sabbatical day job.
  • Especially for anyone teaching composition/expository writing: tips on running a “speed-dating” peer-review workshop.
  • Happy Birthday to The Short Review! “This month The Short Review turns four years old. Over that time our forty or so reviewers worldwide have reviewed 439 story collections and anthologies, and we have interviewed over 250 authors … We all do what we do for love of the short story and to spread the word about as many short story collections as possible so readers can get hold of them, demand them from their local bookshops or libraries, buy them as presents.” P.S. Did you know that it is National Short Story Week in the U.K.?
  • I LOVE this advice from Leslie Pietrzyk: “How to Give an Excellent Reading.” Spot on.
  • If you’re participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), you probably don’t have the time to read these writing-related e-books right now (even if you can do so free of charge), but all writers may want to check out the batch of complimentary offerings. (Offers expire November 12!)
  • Speaking of NaNoWriMo, check out Susan Woodring’s inspirational blog post on the subject.
  • How great was it to open Sunday’s New York Times Magazine and find an interview with Philip Levine inside?
  • The International IMPAC DUBLIN literary award longlist has been released. Just in case you’re looking for another book to read.
  • Quotation of the Week: “Herr Andreas Kellerman”

    “‘Your father told me how he and Anna were saved by the man whose life Max saved on the train in the Great War. How extraordinary. But you know, everybody who survived has an extraordinary story. Otherwise, he’d be dead.'”

    Spoken by the character of “Herr Andreas Kellerman,” in Martin Fletcher’s new novel, The List. Emphasis added.

    This week–marking the anniversary of the Kristallnacht–I’m not quoting a writer on writing or citing something from an interview. I’m taking something directly from Martin Fletcher’s new novel. For my full review of The List, please click here.

    The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

  • Go ahead and judge this book by its cover.
  • Leslie Pietrzyk, on her first novels (please note the plural).
  • Attention, Bostonians: Get to know my publisher (Last Light Studio) and meet another LLS author (Jane Roper) this “Small Press Saturday” at Newtonville Books!
  • If it’s November, it must be time for NaNoWriMo (otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month). Any of you taking part?
  • Not to be outdone by the novelists, poets also have reason to celebrate in November, a time for a Poem-A-Day (PAD) Chapbook Challenge, courtesy of Robert Lee Brewer.
  • Quotation of the Week: Leslie Epstein

    Responding to an interview question (“Are there a lot of plotless stories in your [Boston University M.F.A.] program?”), Leslie Epstein said:

    When they enter the program, but not when they leave. I’m always stressing these things. Plot and dialogue. I say just sit your people down at a dinner table and have them start talking. One of the main things: keep out of people’s heads. Do not write like Virginia Woolf if you want to get through this year. What people do and what they say is, for the most part, all we need to know. No dreams, no memories, no photographs. Nor wind chimes. Nor moonlight. Show us what people do an d say. Of course every one of these rules is meant to be broken, but you have to justify breaking them.

    What do you think?

    (This snippet comes from an interview, conducted by Spencer Wise, in the latest issue of The Southeast Review. The print copy is one of the reasons I sign up for SER‘s writing regimens.)

    Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

    • Really interesting opportunity for poets in the five boroughs of New York City: “Poets House is proud to inaugurate its Emerging Poets Residency Program. Funded by a generous grant from the Jerome Foundation, this program offers focused, rigorous and nurturing peer support, as well as a robust professional network of contacts and advisors who assist each emerging poet with his or her artistic development. The program includes weekly workshops, mentoring sessions, guest speakers, free access to Poets House’s events and resources and culminates in a final reading. Childcare and transportation support is available for participants.” There is no application fee. Deadline: December 1, 2011.
    • “The Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival is pleased to announce the establishment of the ‘Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize.’ The Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize, a cash award of $400, will be awarded to the best Brooklyn-focused non-fiction essay or short story which is set in Brooklyn and is about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people/characters. We are seeking compelling Brooklyn stories from writers with a broad range of backgrounds and ages who can render Brooklyn’s rich soul and intangible qualities through the writer’s actual experiences in Brooklyn. From the collection of selected Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize submissions, five authors will be selected to read from their work and discuss their Brooklyn stories with the audience at our December 16, 2011, Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival program in partnership with St. Francis College in the Maroni Theatre. These stories and several other submitted stories will be published on the Brooklyn Film and Arts Festival website and made available to the public.” There is no entry fee. Deadline: November 25, 2011. (via Poets & Writers)
    • Tomorrow, Orion magazine opens for a (brief) window during which unsolicited work may be submitted. The window closes on November 15, 2011. NB: “No unsolicited poetry, please.”
    • paid media project internship (20 hrs/week) is available with the California Council for the Humanities (San Francisco). Pays: $15/hour.
    • The November issue of The Practicing Writer went out to subscribers on Saturday. As usual, the newsletter features LOTS of paying calls and no-fee competitions for poets, fictionists, and writers of creative nonfiction. If you’re not a subscriber, you can find the current issue here.
    • Nonprofit Quarterly (Boston) seeks a Senior Online Editor, the Children’s Literacy Initiative (Philadelphia) is looking for an Executive Director, and Columbia University (New York) invites applications for a Director of Publications (req. #064000).
    • Fitchburg State University (Mass.) seeks an Assistant Professor (English/Professional Writing): “Full time, tenure track assistant professor position in English Studies, with a specialty in creative nonfiction and fiction writing. Courses include, but are not limited to: Feature and Magazine Writing and Editing and Publishing, as well as first-year writing. Development of new courses that support the English Studies curriculum is also required. All courses will have a focus on writing in the digital environment as well as for traditional media.”
    • “The Department of English at Northern Michigan University invites applications for a tenure track position in creative writing: Fiction. MFA or PhD required. Expectations include publications, successful teaching experience at the college level, the ability to teach undergraduate and graduate workshops, and undergraduate composition and/or literature courses.”
    • From Colorado State University: “Assistant Professor of Creative Writing:

      Nine-month, tenure-track appointment with a 2-2 courseload to begin August 15, 2012. Specialization in Fiction and Creative Nonfiction.”

    • “The Department of English and Communications at Norwich University [Vt.] invites applications for a tenure-track English faculty position in creative writing, with specialization in creative nonfiction and poetry, to begin fall 2012. All faculty teach a 4/4 schedule of courses; for this position, the schedule will include freshman composition, world literature surveys, and introductory and advanced creative writing.”