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Monday Markets for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

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

  • ICYMI: The February issue of The Practicing Writer went out to subscribers at the end of last week. As always, the issue is replete with information on upcoming no-fee contests and competitions for poets, fictionists, and writers of creative nonfiction, plus a slew of submission calls from paying journals/publishers.
  • “The Elizabeth Kostova Foundation offers its seventh annual summer fiction writing seminar in the ancient town of Sozopol, Bulgaria….Fiction writers from Bulgaria and fiction writers from English-speaking countries, including but not limited to the U.K. and the U.S., are invited to apply. A total number of ten applicants will be selected for participation and funding.” No application fee. Deadline: March 5, 2014.
  • Paid internship: “Bustle.com is searching for an intern to assist with its Books vertical two days per week in our Brooklyn, NY office (Wednesday availability required). Duties will include a combination of pitching and writing books features, articles, and essays, as well as checking in all new books, upkeep of the database, and research on upcoming titles. It’s a little of the glamorous stuff, a little of the necessary stuff.”
  • “The SUNY Geneseo Department of Residence Life welcomes applications for the position of Area Coordinator of Ontario Hall and Writers House. Area Coordinators are 12-month, live-on professionals who are responsible for the administration of two (2) residence halls.
  • From Tennessee: “Nashville Prep, a grade 5-12 college preparatory charter school, is immediately searching for a committed, intelligent, hard-working 7th Grade Writing Teacher.”
  • Mediabistro is looking for instructors to teach online and in New York. (NB: You must register to access the job listings.)
  • Poets & Writers, Inc., is looking for an online editorial assistant (New York).
  • “The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is looking to hire a Program Director to curate, publicize and manage literary events that are quirky, progressive, and (to use the jargon of postcolonial theory) awesome.” This position is in New York, and may be full-time or part-time.

    • Wednesday’s WIP: Nonfiction on the Brain

    by Erika Dreifus on
    4

    brainIf you’ve been following my bylines for the past year or so, you may have noticed something: They’re almost all for nonfictional writings. Book reviews. Arts coverage. Commentaries. Even a few personal essays.

    There are likely lots of reasons behind this shift nonfiction-ward, but I’m not going to speculate on/delve into them today. Today, I simply want to take note of the change. Maybe it’s a phase. But it seems to be lasting.

    One of my latest bylines appeared on The Forward‘s arts blog last week. It’s an opinion piece that encompasses art (theater) and politics. Titled “Why I’m Going to See an ‘Anti-Israel’ Play,” it’s something that I wanted (and needed) to write, but had been struggling to get started. I suspect that I would have written it eventually, but I got a helpful nudge in an online class I took earlier this month. That class, “How to Publish Op-Eds and Commentaries,” is one of several offered through The Thinking Writer. (more…)

    Jewish Playwriting 101: Let’s #MakeItHappen

    by Erika Dreifus on
    3

    SchustermanlogoIf you follow my Practicing Writing blog, you may recall that over the past several months, I’ve been trying to learn a little more about playwriting.

    As with much of my creative work, I’m drawn especially to the idea of writing a play with specifically Jewish content. (Actually, I might adapt a short story by another writer, although I’ve also considered adapting work of my own.)

    Part of my learning process to date has consisted of attending plays and, to stretch a popular phrase, “watching as a writer.” In the past 10 days or so, in fact, I’ve seen three Jewishly-focused productions: “The Model Apartment” (Judith Miller’s review for Tablet echoes my thoughts on that one); “Bad Jews” (about which I’m less enthusiastic than Miller is); and the standout: “Arafat in Therapy.”

    A solo show written and performed by Australian-Israeli Jeremie Bracka, “Arafat in Therapy” came to my attention via The Jewish Week. Its format and style remind me of Anna Deavere Smith’s “Fires in the Mirror,” which I saw many years ago in Massachusetts (although Bracka did not use interviews to shape his characters). Again, I’m struck by the extraordinary talents that are involved in writing and performing these solo shows that feature multiple characters.

    My personal ambitions are much more modest. At the moment, my main ambition is simply to learn how to write a play. Ideally, I’d do this in a Jewish context.

    And if the Schusterman Foundation funds my #MakeItHappen micro-grant proposal, “Jewish Playwriting 101” will become a reality.

    Read all about my idea. “Like” it! Share it! And let me know what you think about it!

    Thank you.

    Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    4

    Treasure ChestWriting-related resources, news, and reflections to enjoy over the weekend.

  • “6 Reasons a Workshop Jolts Your Writing,” courtesy of The Writer magazine.
  • Dinty W. Moore shares some thoughts on the advantages of the MA (not just the MFA) in Creative Writing.
  • An interview with literary critic Dwight Garner.
  • Kate Hopper on her memoir’s 10-year journey to publication.
  • A Q&A with Kate Gale, managing editor of Red Hen Press.

    • Have a great weekend, everyone.