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The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
2
  • One reason that I love Midge Raymond’s latest writing prompt is that the story I’m drafting right now actually began with the working title, “Mistake.” (It may return to that title, too, but for now it’s got another name.)
  • Coming soon in The Writer: my review of Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little, by Christopher Johnson. Curious about this book? You can win one of 20 free copies via Goodreads! Enter by July 16 (U.S. addresses only).
  • The Story Prize blog is featuring a series of posts (mini-essays and Q&As) with the authors of collections that have been submitted for the 2011 prize. These posts make for great and thoughtful reading. See, for instance, Charles Baxter’s response to the question “What do you think a good short story collection should deliver?”.
  • I’ll be mentioning this again on my other blog, but I’m delighted to learn that poet and professor Rick Chess has joined the team over on Good Letters, the blog of the literary journal Image, which prides itself on presenting “the best writing and artwork that is informed by—or grapples with—religious faith.”
  • Basic guidelines for social media etiquette, courtesy of Robert Lee Brewer.

    • Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Attention, practicing writers in the Boston area: “Grub Street is happy to be able to offer fifteen partial (50% discount) scholarships for our newly expanded daytime course curriculum to writers who have been impacted by the economic downturn. Scholarships are valid for one year from date of issuance, and can be used towards any weekday Grub Street class that takes place between the hours of 9am – 5pm. To see a sampling of our current daytime offerings, click here: http://bit.ly/pf5gnv. Starting in Fall 2011, we’ll have a more robust calendar of daytime events.” Application deadline: July 25, 2011. No application fee indicated.
  • Wordrunner Electronic Chapbooks plans an anthology e-chapbook (fiction only) on the subject of “loss”: “We want to read about any kind of loss and its impact, be it serious or humorous or both.” Writers may submit up to three stories; at least one of the submitted stories must be previously unpublished. This mini-collection will feature work by up to six authors. Submission deadline is August 21, 2011. Pays: “Per story: $10 to $20, depending on final selections.”
  • This one’s for you, practicing-writers-who-are-also-high-school-teachers: “The Norman Mailer Center and the National Council of Teachers of English are pleased to invite submissions for the 2011 Norman Mailer Writing Award for High School Teachers. Full- and part-time high school teachers are eligible to enter the competition….From five finalists, one winner will be selected to receive a $10,000 cash prize along with travel and lodging to attend the Norman Mailer Center’s Annual Gala on November 8, 2011, in New York City, where the Mailer Prize and the Norman Mailer High School and College Writing Awards are also presented. The winner will also receive a fellowship to the prestigious Norman Mailer Writers Colony during the summer of 2012.” Application deadline is July 27, 2011 (noon, CST), and the work entered–which must be fiction–may be previously published (if publication took place within the last 12 months). The competition is open to teachers who live outside the U.S. but work in American-accredited schools. No entry fee indicated.
  • “The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the editorial team of film.culture360.org are inviting potential writers (comprising of film journalists, filmmakers, film academics, festival programmers, film professionals and film enthusiasts) from ASEM countries to submit proposals for articles. The selected articles will be published on culture360.org website dedicated to connecting Asia and Europe through film.” Proposals are due before July 31, 2011. Pays: “The writers will receive a financial remuneration of 250 Singapore Dollars (SGD) per article.” (Find a list of ASEM countries by scrolling down this page.)
  • The University of Wyoming seeks a Managing Editor for UWyo Magazine, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (Toronto) is looking for a Web and Social Media Editor (25 hrs/week, one-year position), and the College Art Association (N.Y.) is advertising an Editorial Assistant position.

    • Thursday’s Post-Publication Post: Happ(ier) Days

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Thanks so much for the supportive responses re: last week’s post-publication post. I’m pleased to tell you that although I’ve continued to have a few trials and tribulations in the days since, there are plenty of bright spots to report as well.

    First, I had a great day out at the Manhattanville College Summer Writers’ Week. Many thanks to Karen Sirabian and her team for making me feel so welcome (and feeding me lunch!). If you haven’t yet seen the online version of the social-media resource list that I shared at my session, you’ll find it here.

    Next, although I found out this week that I didn’t win a(nother) fellowship I’d applied for (in this case, the Emerging Writer Fellowship administered by The Writer’s Center of Bethesda, Md.), I was honored when I learned that at least, I’d made the finalist list. (And what a list it is, filled with names of writers I admire. I’ll try to keep tabs on the award announcement, and if the finalist list is made public, I’ll share it with you.)

    Finally, I’m proud to present a new essay of mine on the Center for Fiction’s lovely website. The essay appears within the site’s “Writers on Writing” section. And if you’ve been at all curious about how my story collection, Quiet Americans, got its title, you’ll want to read this essay.

    The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Charging admission for bookstore events. What say you?
  • On The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Arts & Academe blog, Elise Blackwell spotlights independent presses.
  • Natalie Wexler wonders if characters must be likable.
  • Unsure about connecting with editors on social media? Consider this.
  • In a similar vein, check out these sensible tips from Kelly James-Enger on how not to make a freelance friend.
  • Nice shout-out from the NewPages.com blog re: a new literary journal, Adanna. (I have a poem in the inaugural issue.)
  • Until tomorrow, everyone can access all contents of the Publishers Weekly Fall Announcements issue (excellent for book reviewers seeking a heads-up on new titles).
  • And once again on a related note: Coffee House Press has a lot to share about its “Fall Fiction Preview, BEA Recap, and Fall Fiction Galley Giveaway.”

    • Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2
  • Opportunity for a long-form nonfiction writer: “Gothamist is interested in adding long-form non-fiction features to our website. Since we’re new to this game, we’re going to dip our toes in the water slowly, by publishing a single feature next month. How it will work: We will pay one journalist $5,000 to write a long-form non-fiction piece in the 5,000 to 15,000 word range. Subject: Something relevant to our audience of over one million 20-36 year-old readers in New York, timely but with a shelf-life longer than a week. We’re open to any topic, although we would like something that could be well-illustrated with photos or infographics. We’ll cover the editing and production and then publish the piece to the various eBook singles platforms (Kindle, Apple, etc.) with a reasonable price: $1 to $3. Then we’ll handle advertising the piece on our NYC site. If this experiment makes a profit, we’ll share them with the writer once we’ve recouped our initial costs. Will this work? We’re not sure—but we want to find out.” Proposal deadline is coming up fast: July 1. (via GalleyCat)
  • Since I’ve long believed that “To Build a Fire” is one of the all-time great short stories in existence, I’m sorry to share news of a fiction contest named for its author only a few days before the July 1 deadline! But better late than never, right? From Up Here magazine (Canada): “Can you spin gruesome, harrowing and heartfelt tales of misadventure and drama in the spirit of legendary Klondike gold-rush era adventure writer Jack London? If yes, we want to hear from you. Here’s your chance to write the next best North of Sixty adventure story. The contest is open to all, and the winning story will be published in the September 2011 issue of Up Here. Along with publication, the first-place author will win $750, second-place wins $250.” (Prizes are presumably conferred in Canadian dollars.) There is no entry fee. (via @femministas)
  • Attention, Britons: English PEN is offering “a fulfilling three month internship from July to September/October 2011, working on a range of challenging issues with a diverse team based in an exciting new centre for literature, literacy and free speech.” Even better: This is a paid internship! Application deadline is July 1. (Are you getting the idea that July 1 is a popular deadline date? I sure am!)
  • “Underwired publishes personal essays (800-1200 words) every month and is always looking for new contributors. Essays should somehow relate to the chosen theme for the month and be on topics of interest to women. Underwired buys one-time rights, and payment is $100.” Upcoming themes include “The Budget Issue” (deadline is–wait for it–July 1) and “The #5 Issue” (the latter celebrates the publication’s fifth anniversary). (via @femministas)
  • Do you know about The Evertalis? “We accept flash fiction (max. 1000 words) and short poetry such as haiku, senryu, tanka, Englyn etc. We will also accept non-formalist and custom construct short poetry no longer than 15 lines – it is expected that your submission has a gradient of surrealism, or at the very least is not overly conformist to any specific genre.” Pays: $10/poem and $.01/word for flash fiction. No simultaneous submissions. (via Duotrope.com)
  • From the Community-Word Project: “CWP is looking for energetic teaching artists who are committed to bringing the best, high quality arts programming to grades 1-12 in NYC public schools. In addition to dedication to practicing their own art form(s), Teaching Artists (TAs) interested in working with CWP must be 1) committed to working with young people from underserved communities, 2) committed to continually improving their teaching practice and 3) interested in collaboration and experimentation with other artists and art forms, as our residencies are multi-disciplinary and designed and implemented by two teaching artists (i.e., writer and visual artist) working in collaboration with classroom teachers.” Apply by July 5.
  • By this time next week, The Practicing Writer newsletter will have gone out to nearly 3800 subscribers. As always, it will be packed with opportunities and submission calls. Are you on the subscriber list?
  • Southern New Hampshire University seeks a Digital Publisher, Northwestern University (Ill.) is looking for an Associate Director of Editorial Content, and Duke University (N.C.) is advertising a position for an Associate Director of Communications.