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The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
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  • Kelli Russell Agodon is coordinating another Big Poetry Giveaway!
  • Warning: This post is likely to make you want to move to Indiana and sign up right away for Cathy Day’s Advanced Fiction Writing course for fall 2011.
  • Also on the subject of the teaching of writing: Andy Selsberg’s “Teaching to the Text Message” in Sunday’s New York Times offers suggestions for teaching “shorter”: “I don’t expect all my graduates to go on to Twitter-based careers, but learning how to write concisely, to express one key detail succinctly and eloquently, is an incredibly useful skill, and more in time with most students’ daily chatter, as well as the world’s conversation.”
  • Curious about Goodreads? Canadian mag Quill & Quire recently interviewed Patrick Brown, the site’s community manager.
  • Coming soon: a free workshop here in NYC for would-be literary translators. Susan Bernofsky is the workshop leader. (If it weren’t taking place during a very busy week for me, I’d apply to participate.)

    • Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Poet Kelli Russell Agodon provides this week’s writing prompt on Midge Raymond’s blog, and it’s a good one
  • Cathy Day interviews John Vanderslice on the nuts-and-bolts of teaching a novel-focused workshop (in two parts).
  • Another teaching-related item: writer Chloé Yelena Miller helps you figure out if you should teach online.
  • Melanie Bishop reminds us of an essential truth about short stories: Something happens.
  • In Sunday’s New York Times, “[Joyce Carol] Oates and [Meghan] O’Rourke discussed how they wrote about their own grief and why the literature of loss resonates with readers today.”
  • Philip Graham, on narrative structure.
  • Last, but by no means least: author Arnost Lustig passed away over the weekend. I am building a tribute page/post.

    • Quotation of the Week: Charles Baxter

    by Erika Dreifus on
    1

    A reviewer is entitled to any opinion at all, but he or she earns that opinion based on a description and a judicious citation of evidence.

    –Charles Baxter

    Taken from “Owl Criticism,” the title of Charles Baxter’s presentation for a panel on “The Good Review” at the latest conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), and published last week on Fiction Writers Review.

    Now, if we could only/also get everyone writing critiques in workshops to go along with this concept, we’d all be in a much more productive business.

    Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2
  • “The Elizabeth Kostova Foundation offers its fourth annual summer fiction-writing seminar in historic Sozopol in Bulgaria. Fiction writers from Bulgaria and fiction writers from English-speaking countries, including but not limited to the U.S. and the U.K., are invited to apply. A total number of ten applicants will be selected for participation and funding.” No application fee. Deadline: February 15, 2011.
  • New prize in German-to-English literary translation: The Frederick & Grace Gutekunst Prize for Young Translators. Open to college students and translators under the age of 35 who have not published or are under contract for a book-length translation. Applicants must live in the U.S., and will be required to translate a literary text that will be made available upon request from the Goethe-Institut New York. Prize includes a $2,500 award. No application fee indicated. Deadline: February 28, 2011. (via ALTA_USA)
  • For our practicing writers in the U.K.: How would you like to earn a bit of money for writing a letter of complaint? Check out this monthly competition, which awards prizes of £30. (And also take a look at the list where I found the competition in the first place, over on the Mistakes Writers Make blog. It’s a nice resource for nonfiction writers, especially those based in the U.K.)
  • The New School (N.Y.) is advertising for two visiting associate professorships in writing (fiction).
  • The University of Central Missouri is looking for an Assistant or Associate Professor of Creative Writing: “The successful candidate will have a terminal degree (MFA or PhD), significant publications, and outstanding promise as a writer and teacher. Past editorial experience is essential. Duties will include teaching composition, survey literature, and all levels of creative writing, as well as editorial responsibilities at Pleiades: A Journal of New Writing and Pleiades Press. Teaching load is 4-4 with the possibility of a course reduction for work on Pleiades.”
  • Denison University (Ohio) “seeks a one-year visiting assistant professor in creative writing with an emphasis in fiction. Ability to teach introductory creative writing classes is required, with capabilities in poetry and nonfiction. The 3/3 teaching assignment may include introductory and advanced creative-writing courses, first-year writing, a literature course in the candidate’s field, and supervision of senior creative-writing projects.”
  • Plymouth State University (N.H.) seeks a staff writer/editor. Weill Cornell Medical College (N.Y.) is looking for an assistant editorial specialist. And the American College of Nurse-Midwives (Md.) has posted a call for a part-time writer and editor (30 hrs./week).

    • Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2
  • Wondering what to do after finishing the MFA? It’s your lucky day! Check out this freshly updated compilation of post-MFA fellowships.
  • It’s been a week since the December issue of The Practicing Writer went out to subscribers, but it’s not too late to take advantage of the fee-free contest/opportunity listings and calls for submissions from paying literary publications that are listed there.
  • Speaking of paying literary publications: Cream City Review has announced that starting with work submitted during its current reading period, it “will be paying authors ‘semi-pro rates’.” Still pretty low, though: $3-$5/page for “fiction/comics/essays (excluding book reviews or interviews)” and $5-$10 per poem. Still, this is nice news. (via Duotrope.com)
  • As mentioned yesterday on my other blog, The Forward is looking for politics bloggers.
  • The next Workers Write! volume will be Tales from the Combat Zone “and will contain stories and poems from the soldier’s point of view (all branches welcome). We are interested in everything from command to grunt work. We will also consider war stories and peace keeping missions, as long as the job is the central theme. Drop us a line if you have a question.” Pays: $5-$50 “depending on length and rights requested.” They’ll also consider reprints. Deadline: December 1, 2011 “or until the issue is full.”
  • Got a poem about Nantucket? (No, not that “poem”!) Nantucket Directory is running a poetry contest. “Submit up to three unpublished poems about any aspect of Nantucket Island or life on Nantucket written in English.” Pays: “The winning poet will receive $250 and have his or her work published in the print and online editions of the 2011-12 Nantucket Directory.” There is no entry fee. Deadline: March 1, 2011.
  • Published Canadian authors (citizens or permanent residents): You may be intersted in applying for the Historic Joy Kogawa House residency program. The residency will run September 15, 2011-March 15, 2012 as part of a writer-in-residence program designed “to foster greater appreciation for Canadian writing with the Metro Vancouver community, offer members of the community an opportunity to interact with the resident author, and provide the space, time and resources for a Canadian author to write.” Pays: $2,500/month, plus free accommodation valued at $1,500/month, with assistance for travel expenses. No application fee. Applications must be received by midnight (PST) on December 15, 2010. NB: The Historic Joy Kogawa House has also compiled information on other opportunities for Canadian writers. (via Arc Poetry Magazine)
  • From the University of Edinburgh: “Applications are invited for a part-time (0.8) post combining the roles of Writer in Residence and Tutor in Creative Writing, based in the department of English Literature.”
  • Lifting Voices (D.C.), “a nonprofit, grassroots organization which helps young people discover and share their voices in order to grow, find joy, and accomplish change,” seeks a Writing Workshop Leader/Teacher. “The workshop leader contributes approximately 17-18 hours per week and is compensated at a rate of $1,300 per month from January 1 – June 15, with the possibility of a renewal at the end of the school year. 12 hours per week are spent teaching workshops, mainly on weekday afternoons, at locations around D.C. 2-3 hours per week are spent preparing for and following up on workshops, which may be done from home. 2 hours per week are spent preparing reports, which may be done from home. 1 hour per week is spent in a staff meeting, which is done in the Lifting Voices office. An estimated 10 to 15 hours per semester are spent assisting with special events and fundraisers, as needed.” Apply fast (by Friday, December 10).
  • Suffolk University (Mass.) is looking for a Web Writer/Editor, The Child/Mind Institute (N.Y.) seeks a Writer/Editor, and the William J. Clinton Foundation (N.Y.) invites applications for a Prospect Researcher/Writer.