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The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • There’s a lot to absorb in this Fiction Writers Review interview with Joan Leegant. Stick with it to the end–especially if you’re one of us writers who didn’t have a first book published in our twenties (or thirties).
  • Daniel Nester asks, “What are the ‘rules’ of a creative writing workshop?”
  • On a related note, Lily Hoang presents the syllabus for the first MFA workshop (fiction) that she’s teaching.
  • And while we’re still talking about pedagogy: Congratulations to Stephanie Vanderslice, whose book Rethinking Creative Writing is now available in hard copy as well as in e-book version. (Stephanie is running a contest to mark this milestone: check her blog for details, and revisit our interview here.)
  • There are some real gems in this issue of Nieman Reports, “Writing the Book.” Given the source, the material will appeal especially to nonfiction writers, but there’s likely something useful for all practicing writers in these virtual pages. Sections include:”Concept to Content,” “Platform to Audience,” and “Voice to Visual.”
  • It’s the last day for you to become eligible to win a free copy of Quiet Americans!

    • Friday Find: Free Books!

    by Erika Dreifus on
    7

    As hard as it may be to believe, my short-story collection, Quiet Americans, is almost one year old! Its official pub date was January 19, 2011.

    To celebrate this milestone, I’m offering three lucky people free copies of the book. If you’re in the U.S., you can have a signed print copy. If you’re outside the U.S., I can offer you a Kindle copy. (If you’re in the U.S. and prefer a Kindle copy, you can opt for that instead of the print version. It will be totally up to you. And if your name is chosen and you already own a copy and would prefer to gift one instead, we can do that, too.)

    All you have to do is follow me on Twitter OR “like” my Facebook page.

    That’s it. Simple.

    Prizewinners will be chosen randomly and announced on January 19, 2012. Of course, if you follow me on Twitter AND like my Facebook page, you will improve your chances of winning.

    I’d love it if you’d spread the word. (Even if that decreases your own chances, you’ll earn karmic points.)

    Thank you so much. Have a great weekend, and see you back here on Monday!

    UPDATED: To avoid confusion, let me explain that there will be a total of 3 winners. I wish I could spare up to six print copies right now, but I just can’t!

    The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Scott Nadelson’s new story collection, Aftermath, is this week’s Fiction Writers Review Book of the Week. Follow @FictionWriters for a chance to win a copy. (Having read Nadelson’s two previous collections, I’ll admit that I would love to be a winner this week.)
  • My fellow Last Light Studio author, Ericka Lutz, has posted her first book trailer for The Edge of Maybe, her forthcoming LLS novel. Take a peek (but be forewarned that you should be wearing headphones if you’re listening at work and/or in the vicinity of children).
  • Thanks to the Yiddishkayt site, I discovered a fabulous video profile of author Arnost Lustig (1926-2011) that was produced for Czech TV. Thankfully, there are English subtitles. And the profile perfectly captures Arnost, with whom I had the privilege of studying in the Prague Summer Program in 2004. Arnost would have turned 85 last week.
  • D.G. Myers remembers those writers, like Arnost, who left this world in 2011. (Myers also comes up with his own set of the year’s top 10 literary news stories.)
  • In case you haven’t heard about the latest brouhaha in the poetry world, here’s a pretty good summary. Disclosure: I have never studied with Rita Dove, but I have taken courses with Helen Vendler (a British lit survey as an undergrad and a summer seminar on Yeats after I’d finished graduate school), and I think she is brilliant.
  • Lest you believe that anthology quarrels are new to our modern moment, Benjamin Ivry recalls some older literary history. Hint: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Emma Lazarus are key players here.
  • On a less fraught note, author Alan Heathcock recommends a poem a day. (And so do I.)

    • The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • 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.