The Wednesday Web Browser: Carlson's Counsel, Reading Poetry, and Language Issues

Simple but specific writing advice from Ron Carlson, via After the MFA.

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We all know that reading is part of a writer's job. But just how much poetry should (or can) a poet read? Paisley Rekdal has tried to find out.

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You still have time to ask questions of Philip B. Corbett, who oversees language issues for the New York Times newsroom and is answering readers' queries this week.

Poetry Practice Update #2

Good news! I've had a poem accepted for inclusion in an anthology currently titled Migraine Expressions. My poem, "Cure," was "inspired" by witnessing another of my mother's migraine attacks one weekend this summer (and watching my father's assiduous caregiving).

Mom laughed when I told her about the acceptance, and asked for a commission. I suggested that maybe I can buy her a gift with the payment instead--so long as I don't select chocolate or red wine!

Although I wish my mother never had to manage this problem in the first place, I'm very pleased and encouraged by this happy development in my poetry practice. Needless to say, I'll continue to send my poems out (a set of three is beginning its snail mail trip to a literary journal today).

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

The November issue of our newsletter went out to subscribers this weekend. Among the many writing and publishing opportunities profiled there subscribers found information on:

The Missouri Review (seeks author interviews);
Cintas Fellowships;
UNO Press;
Carolina Wren Press; and
Noemi Press.

Plus a dozen others! It's never too late to subscribe--it's painless and free to do so, and your e-mail information will not be shared. Click here for subscription instructions.

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This week's non-teaching college/university jobs for writers include:

Publications Officer/Editor, Gannon University (Pennsylvania);
Communications Manager (Provost's Office), Temple University (Pennsylvania);
Public Relations Writer (part-time), Community College of Philadelphia;
Assistant Director of Communications, Millersville University of Pennsylvania;
Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, Harvard University (Massachusetts);
Senior Writer and Communications Coordinator, Northeastern University (Massachusetts);
National Media Coordinator, University of Delaware;
Curriculum Editor, Grand Canyon University (Arizona); and
Senior Development Writers (Medicine), Stanford University (California).

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And this week's teaching jobs include:

Assistant Professor of English (fiction), Adelphi University (New York);
Assistant/Associate Professor of English (primary specialization in fiction-writing and American literature), Wabash College (Indiana);
Assistant Professor of English (fiction specialist), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee;
Assistant Professor in Creative Writing (fiction), Northern Michigan University;
Assistant Professor of Creative Writing ("Successful candidates will possess a significant publications record including work in mixed media or hybrid-genres and fiction."), Eastern Michigan University;
Assistant Professor of English ("fiction writing or fiction-writing/poetry"), Goucher College (Maryland);
Assistant Professor in English (composition, fiction-writing, and literature), Hawai'i Pacific University;
Visiting Assistant Professor in Poetry, St. Lawrence University (New York);
Full-time Faculty in Writing, Maryland Institute College of Art; and
Two positions, one in Feature Writing and one in Nonfiction, Ithaca College (New York).

Friday Find: James Scott on Completing a Short Story

I recently mentioned my fondness for the author interviews posted at the One Story Web site. The latest features James Scott, who wrote the story I received most recently, "The Strings Attached." Here's one of my favorite segments from the interview:

How long did it take you to complete this story?

This story went through the wringer. It started in a craft class taught by Daniel Wallace at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. Then I worked on it off and on (mostly off) for two years or so. Next it went through this amazing class at Emerson's MFA program taught by Pam Painter called "Revision." You basically play the part of butcher, eviscerate your story, see what's edible and what gets tossed, stitch it all back together, and hope it's delicious (Yes, I know—and am very glad—that butchers don't actually sew meat together, but the metaphor worked up until then, don't you think?). I also have to thank Urban Waite, Laura van den Berg, and Taylor Rogers for their close readings. And Hannah and everyone at One Story were so patient and wonderful and kind. So all in all, "The Strings Attached" honestly took at least twelve major edits and I don't know how many—twenty?—little clean ups and tightenings over the course of three years.

Got that? Three years. We short story writers really do sweat this stuff. And that's OK.

In the Time of the Wildfires: A Reminder Resource

What's going on in California is astonishing and scary. I send my very best wishes out to all the practicing writers and their loved ones who are dealing with the situation.

This may be a good time to remind everyone about a link maintained here on emergency resources for writers. Please comment as necessary to help update/expand that page. Thank you all!

And here's a quicklink to FEMA's California Wildfires information.

The Wednesday Web Browser: Health Care for Freelancers, Poets & Writers Online, and a Carrot-based Craft Lesson

I sense we'll have some agreement on this: "Freelancers Need Universal Health Care Too." (via Ed Champion)
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Among the online offerings in the new Poets & Writers magazine: Kelly Ferguson, MFA candidate in creative nonfiction, offers "Confessions of a Teaching Assistant"; my pal Andrew Furman writes about authors ending the lives of their series characters; Kevin Nance reports on a new "contest alternative"; and Kevin Larimer interviews the director of the new MFA program at CUNY's Queens College. (This is a particularly good issue--if you don't regularly read it, try to get yourself a copy.)
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And the ever-instructive Oronte Churm writes in praise of carrots.

Sigrid Nunez Reading and Conversation This Evening

If you're in New York City this evening, you may want to check out a free event at Baruch College: "A Reading and Conversation with Sigrid Nunez." Nunez is the Fall 2007 Harman Writer-in-Residence at the College (and I've previously mentioned her work here).

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

If you're interested in the Axton Fellowships for recent MFA grads, the deadline is earlier this round than it was last time. You need to have your application postmarked by November 2.

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Are you a Canadian writer with a novel manuscript for young people (ages 13-18) ready to go out? Orca Book Publishers is running a novel contest (no entry fee), with a deadline of October 31, 2007, and a prize of $5,000, a publishing contract, targeted promotion, and a trip to Book Expo Canada in Toronto in 2008. Be sure to read all the details at the Web site before submitting. (via placesforwriters.com)

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Eye on Kansas, an online magazine "about what makes Kansas our home," looks for "stories about our state." Pays: $100/published story. See the guidelines here (and click "about us" for the pay rate information). (I found this one via the Kansas Authors Club's "News for All Members" page.)

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Familiar with the San Francisco area? Love pets? A new Web site for pet owners is looking for writers. Pays: $.50/published word. More info at the J-Jobs database.

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The November issue of our own e-newsletter is almost ready. Subscribers should expect to receive it at the end of this week (Friday or Saturday). Another big batch of competitions and submission calls. If you haven't subscribed yet, click here for easy instructions. And remember, the newsletter is free and we DO NOT share your e-mail address with anyone.

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Shifting to the non-teaching job market for writers:

Writer/Editor, Center for Corporate Citizenship, Boston College;
Web Writer/Technician, College of the Holy Cross (Massachusetts);
Writer/Media Relations Specialist, Nicholls State University (Louisiana);
Assistant Director of Media Relations for Athletics, Nicholls State University (Louisiana);
Global Online Information Writer and Marketing Coordinator, California University of Pennsylvania; and
Associate Director/Publications Project Manager, Admissions Marketing, Simmons College (Boston)

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And here are some new teaching possibilities:

Adjunct Instructor in Creative Writing (fiction/poetry), College of New Jersey (NB: This position is for the Spring 2008 semester);
Assistant Professor Creative Writing, University of Northern Iowa;
Visiting Assistant Professor of English ("Three-year position. Background in teaching all forms and levels of writing, especially fiction and/or creative nonfiction; secondary expertise in U.S. ethnic literatures or Anglophone literatures desirable. The successful candidate will also teach the department's introductory course in textual and cultural interpretation"), College of Wooster (Ohio);
Assistant/Associate Professor of English (fiction writer with "demonstrated commitment to environmental writing or writing with a strong sense of place"), Chatham University (Pennsylvania);
Assistant Professor of Nonfiction Prose or Media Production, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and
"Established poet with Ph.D. and ability to teach introductory and advanced poetry-writing workshops, courses on the theory and history of poetic forms, and British and international authors and literatures," Middlebury College (Vermont)

Friday Find: Post-MFA Fellowship Compilation

What next? That question confronts many MFA candidates nearing graduation. The soon-to-be degreed writer has just spent (typically) two years submitting manuscripts to workshops and receiving critiques. She has completed a book-length work and therefore fulfilled the creative thesis requirement. Now she possesses readers' comments on that work, too. It's clear that she must revise to get that first book fully ready for publication. But who can guarantee the time or resources to support this next crucial stage?

Some fellowship and writer-in-residence opportunities allow emerging writers to continue crafting their work, often with both financial and intellectual support. Most offer the comfort and camaraderie of an artistic or academic community, as well. While not all programs require a graduate degree in creative writing, some do; others often expect the teaching ability and level of accomplishment frequently associated with having earned a graduate-level degree. For some programs, in fact, teaching is an integral part of the fellowship.

On this page I will try to keep a comprehensive (and current) list of these opportunities. Please let me know (in comments) about additional programs you think belong here, and/or about any problems you may encounter with the links.

Please note that I am not intending for this list to focus on relatively short-term residencies, or, with one or two exceptions, on programs that seem to expect writers to have published a book before application. If you want to locate more opportunities along those lines, I suggest that you consult the NYFA Source database (which requires free registration) and the Alliance of Artist Communities and ResArtis Web sites.

Note also that deadlines (and application fees, when applicable) can vary and may even change within a given fellowship program from year to year. Be sure to check with each program for updated information, as well as for detailed eligibility and application guidelines.

Finally, recognize that some fellowships are not offered yearly, and some rotate disciplines/area of literary focus (alternating between poetry and prose, for example).

Good luck!

Akademie Schloss Solitude Fellowships
Axton Fellowships (University of Louisville)
Bard Fiction Prize
George Bennett Fellowship (Phillips Exeter Academy)
Gaius Charles Bolin Fellowships (Williams College) (added on November 16, 2008)
Children's Writer-in-Residence Program (Boston Public Library)
Eva Jane Romaine Coombe Writer-in-Residence Program (Seven Hills School; click "Welcome" and then "Employment") (added on December 19, 2008)
Emory University Creative Writing Fellowship
Fine Arts Work Center Fellowships
Hodder Fellowships (Princeton University)
Houston Writing Fellows Program (University of Houston) (added on April 9, 2008)
HUB-BUB.COM Artists-in-Residence Program
Richard Hugo House Residencies
Jesse J. Jones Writing Fellowship/Dobie Paisano Fellowship (for writers who are native Texans, have resided in Texas at least three years "at some time," or have published work with a Texas subject)
Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts Transitional Residencies (These residencies don't last quite so long as the other opportunities listed here, but I'm including the program because a) the "transitional residencies" are targeted specifically to recent graduates and b) the KHN Center graciously hosted me for two weeks right after I finished my MFA program.)
Milton Center Fellowship at Image (Seattle Pacific University)
New York University Postdoctoral and Transition Program for Academic Diversity Fellowships (added January 1, 2009)
Olive B. O'Connor Fellowship in Creative Writing (Colgate University)
Pew Fellowships in the Arts (for artists/writers in the Philadelphia area)
Charles Pick Fellowship (University of East Anglia)
Philip Roth Residence in Creative Writing (Bucknell University)
Stadler Fellowship (Bucknell University)
Wallace Stegner Fellowships (Stanford University)
Steinbeck Fellows Program (San Jose State University)
Elma Stuckey Emerging Poet-in-Residence (Columbia College-Chicago)
Teachers & Writers Collaborative Fellowships (added March 6, 2009)
Reginald S. Tickner Writing Fellowship (The Gilman School)
University of Pennsylvania ArtsEdge Residencies (added March 30, 2009)
Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing Fellowships (University of Wisconsin)

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Some opportunities do not maintain "permanent" Web pages. For example:

Gettysburg College Emerging Writer Lectureship. Look for announcements during the fall semester (for the following academic year) within the employment listings on the Gettysburg College Web site and within the AWP Job List, HigherEdJobs.com, and similar venues.
Summer Residency. Check the Poetry Center of Chicago Web site for updates.
The Herbert W. Martin Fellowship in Creative Writing and Diversity is based at the University of Dayton. Check the faculty job listings at the University of Dayton site for updates (added October 3, 2009)
The Southern Review Resident Scholar. Check The Southern Review's Web site for an announcement of the next application season.

Thinking Ahead: Seasonal Supplies for Your Writing Practice

This week a big box from VistaPrint arrived, bearing my new holiday cards as well as a new set of pretty Practicing Writer postcards I plan to have on hand at AWP in January. Yes, I do think ahead! You should, too. Stock up now on holiday cards, business cards, and other items you need for your writing practice! If you use this link you'll get a 25% discount (and I will get some credit toward future purchases of my own). Try it, you'll like it!

The Wednesday Web Browser: Writing Acronyms, Poetry-on-Demand, Agent Tips, and Advice for MFAs

Writing acronyms translated, courtesy of the Renegade Writer blog.

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There's a lovely article in new American Scholar on "poetry-on-demand." (Thanks for the tip, B.J. Epstein!)

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Don't alienate a prospective agent right from your query letter. Heed Janet Reid's warnings. (via the Guide to Literary Agents Editor's Blog)

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Not-so-new (but still largely valid) advice for MFAs.

Poetry Practice Update

Time to update you on my nascent poetry practice:

You'll recall that this past summer I took a big (albeit virtual) leap, and enrolled in an introductory-level online poetry writing class. After writing a new poem every week for my instructor's feedback (and placing my work in the critique "booth" twice for my classmates' responses as well), commenting on my classmates' work, and absorbing our instructor's weekly lectures (and the discussions he launched following each one), I was pleased with my progress.

I've even started submitting a few of my poems. And as of last week, I have also received the first rejections thereof (technically one rejection, covering three poems).

How's that for living the life poetic? (That's for you, Sage Cohen!)

Last week also saw the beginning of my second course (I promoted myself to the post-introductory class). Several of my classmates from last "term" have shown up on the roster, too, which is nice. And we have our same, solid instructor leading us. Which is also a good thing. (Curiously, this seems to be a more international group than the summer one. At least four of the 14 student poets are signing in from locations outside the United States [and someone located in the Midwest comes from another country, too]. I like that diversity.

And here's another positive point to report: I saved $60 by enrolling early, and by virtue of my status as a "returning student."

Already I've written another new poem (and received my instructor's response to it), and submitted something from the summer for group critique. Meantime, I'm now waiting for responses from print and online journals considering my work in three genres! I'll let you know how everything progresses!

Post-MFA Career Resources

There's been quite a bit of discussion on two sites I visit fairly frequently (the MFA Weblog and on a couple of threads at the Poets & Writers Speakeasy) on the general topic of what kinds of employment opportunities there are for writers who have earned an MFA.

I've just posted a bunch of resource links over on the Speakeasy. And right away, I thought it made sense to offer them here, too. Here they are:

Academic360.com: (free access) Helpful not just for links to employment offices, but also if you want to compile lists of colleges/universities to contact for adjunct positions within a given geographical area);
HigherEdJobs.com: (free access) This is where I saw the posting that led me to my current job;
Chronicle Careers: (free access) Some overlap w/HigherEdJobs.com, but also offers good articles/features on jobs in (and, occasionally, outside) academe. NOTE: Each summer they advertise for (paid) diarists to chronicle their job searches over the following year. Look out for that, if it interests you (you can do this pseudonymously);
Idealist.org: (free access) Limit your search to "editing and writing" jobs;
MediaBistro.com: (free access, but requires registration to view complete job listings) Good source for jobs in publishing/editing.

AWP JobList listings and the MLA Job Information List are also good, but you need to be a paid subscriber to access them. (I receive the former with my AWP membership; I no longer subscribe to the latter.)

Finally, as everyone who visits this blog regularly already knows, Monday I post a list of "Markets/Jobs/Opportunities." Today's post, for example, included eight non-teaching jobs at colleges/universities; nine teaching jobs; and four (I think) freelance opportunities, plus one paying internship (that one's in Canada).

And as I told everyone over at the Speakeasy, stay tuned for another resource-rich post on fellowships available to MFA grads. (Coming soon, I promise!)

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

WOW! Women on Writing, seeks submissions for upcoming issues. Pays: $50-$150. Check this announcement for more information on topics and guidelines.

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Got a snowshoeing essay handy? Perhaps you'll be able to place it (for $1/word). Check the announcement here.

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Found this one on craigslist: "Are you a player, coach or fan of the great sport of RUGBY (or participant sports like it), who also happens to be a terrific magazine or feature writer? Rugby Magazine, the authority on the sport in America, is in its 33rd year of publication and is looking for entertaining freelance wordsmiths as department or feature writers. Minimum payment for stories is in the .20 per word range, but fees are also based on your experience and the story’s degree of difficulty. There is also a possibility of contributing to the magazine’s companion website erugbynews.com." See the posting here.

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And this one also showed up on craigslist: "As the only lifestyle magazine dedicated to Newport, Rhode Island since 1993, Newport Life Magazine has showcased all that is unique about our City-by-the-Sea. From its people and places, to events, homes, weddings, history and of course its distinctive lifestyle, this glossy, bi-monthly lifestyle magazine covers it. If you are a freelance writer in the Southern New England area and want to write for us, send us your query." Pays: "per word pay rates competitive with other magazines our size." See the posting here.

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A four-month editorial internship with Avenue magazine in Edmonton, Alberta, is available and pays $1,200 (presumably in Canadian dollars) per month. Application deadline: October 19. See the announcement here.

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This week's non-teaching jobs for writers at colleges and universities include:

Associate Director, Rose O'Neill Literary House, Washington College (Maryland);
Assistant Director and Editor of Web Publishing, Saint Anselm College (New Hampshire);
Assistant Editor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Maryland);
Writer/Editor, Roosevelt University (Illinois);
Writer, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science/Northwestern University (Illinois);
Manager, Community and Media Relations, Mt. San Antonio College (California);
Web Writer, North Harris Montgomery Community College District (Texas); and
Communications Specialist, Texas A&M College of Architecture

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And the teaching jobs:

Jenny McKean Moore Writer in Washington (Fiction), George Washington University;
Assistant Professor of Literature (fiction specialist) and MFA Director, Roosevelt University (Illinois);
Assistant Professor (Creative Writing, Fiction), Western Carolina University (North Carolina);
Visiting Assistant Professor of English (fiction), Franklin & Marshall College, Pennsylvania;
Assistant Professor of Creative Writing (poetry and fiction), Nebraska Wesleyan University;
Assistant Professor of English (poetry), Bridgewater State College (Massachusetts);
Assistant Professor ("writing generalist"), Guilford College (North Carolina);
Assistant Professor of English (composition and creative writing), Shawnee State University (Ohio); and
Assistant Professor of English (creative writing, composition, and/or literature), Florida Southern College.

Friday Find: Short Fiction from Five Points

My most recent birthday is now several months in the past, but I've only recently dug into one of my gifts--a wonderful anthology signed by the editor and two contributors, sent to me by a practicing writer friend. The volume is titled High 5ive: An Anthology of Fiction from Ten Years of Five Points, and it has a lot to offer anyone who enjoys reading and/or writing short fiction.

Five Points has an excellent reputation--it's the sort of journal I can't imagine any emerging writer wouldn't want to be published in. But I confess that I've refrained from submitting to date because of the journal's pesky proclamation that it doesn't want to see simultaneous submissions. (And while statistics on Duotrope, indicating an average response time of 62 days, could certainly be worse, two months is still not inconsiderable.)

But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the work that the magazine does publish. And while I wasn't enthralled by every story in the book (to be perfectly honest, not every one held my attention), I admired a whole lot of them.

The 19 stories are divided among three categories: "Self," "Family," and "Others." The ones I expect to remember longest include:

Nancy Reisman, "No Place More Beautiful";
Leslie Epstein, "Malibu";
Alice Elliott Dark, "Maniacs";
Ann Hood, "The Language of Sorrow";
Richard Bausch, "Riches";
Frederick Busch, "Manhattans"; and
the extraordinary "Rowing to Darien," by Pam Durban, a work of historical fiction based on the life of Fanny Kemble.

Several of these stories have been republished in their authors' subsequent books. I enjoyed these stories and, I admit, I am trying to learn from them. I am trying to grasp how Hood crafted a perfect ending to her story. I am trying to understand how Busch evoked depression without once using the word (unless I missed it somewhere along the way). I am trying to learn from the distinctive dialogue and choice detail and titrated backstory here/there/everywhere.

Have any of you read this anthology? The stories I've mentioned? Any thoughts on/experiences with Five Points? Please comment!

Doris Lessing: Nobel Laureate

This just in: Doris Lessing has won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The Wednesday Web Browser: Promotion, Publishable Poetry, and Philip Roth

This article by J.A. Konrath, on using technology to promote one's work, goes a little too far for my comfort. For example: For some reason I've avoided the MySpace frenzy. Sage practicing writers, do you think it's essential? Thoughts on the rest of the article?

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And here's one from the Writer's Digest archive: Miriam Sagan's helpful hints on writing "poems that get published." I'm certainly considering her advice!

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No, I'm not going to link to every review of Exit Ghost. James Wood's will certainly do. But one thing I'm realizing as I read through many of the discussions of this book: I am very glad that I finally got around to reading The Ghost Writer this fall. Seems as though that might be the essential "prequel" to have read among all Roth's Zuckerman novels to best appreciate this one.

One Story Site Redesign

I've mentioned the journal One Story here before, but it's time for another shout-out. A non-profit literary magazine featuring one short story mailed to subscribers every three weeks (and a paying market), One Story has recently redesigned its Web site.

One thing I really like about the Web site is the space accorded to interviews with each story's author. The blog's nice, too. Check it out. (And while you're there, take a look at the "Save the Short Story" campaign info as well.)

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

Existere, a semiannual journal based at Canada's York University, "will now pay a small honourarium to writers upon publication." Next submission deadline is December 31, 2007. Find out more about what Existere is looking for here ("All genres and forms are welcome, including poetry, short plays, short stories, postcard stories, arts and literature reviews, critical essays, interviews, sketches, photos, etc."). (via placesforwriters.com)

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Northern Virginia Magazine is looking for "a freelance contributor to write book, independent film, DVD and CD features on a semi-monthly basis. Interested applicants MUST demonstrate savvy in all areas of the world of media. Contributor will also have the opportunity to write profile features on artists, authors, philanthropists and notable performing arts figures in the Northern Virginia region." See the announcement here.

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Northern Virginia Magazine is also seeking a freelance contributor to write a semi-monthly, humorous column on pets. See the announcement here.

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"The American Federation of Teachers seeks a consultant to serve as part-time articles editor for American Academic, a 100-150 page annual journal on higher education issues for academics and policy makers. Working with an outside advisory board and AFT staff, the articles editor will be responsible for reviewing, editing and preparing all articles for publication (7-10 per issue.) Candidates must have editing experience, preferably with an academic and/or policy related journal. The work may be done in locations remote from Washington, DC (such as a college campus); the salary is $15,000." See the announcement here.

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Gather.com "is looking for writers to contribute to our travel series on North American destinations. Stories will be about local attractions. Writing must be family-oriented." Pays: $50/assignment of 600-700 words. See the list of cities to be covered, and submission information, here.

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This week's non-teaching writing-related college and university jobs include:

Writer/Assistant Editor, LaGuardia Community College (CUNY, New York)
Deputy Chief Communications Officer, Baruch College (CUNY, New York)
Senior Press Officer, The New School (New York)
Communications Coordinator, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service (Tufts University, Massachusetts)
Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications, Boston College
Senior Development Writer, University of California/Santa Cruz

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And this week's teaching jobs include:

Assistant Professor of Creative Writing (fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction), Eugene Lang College (The New School, New York)
Assistant Professor (primary specialty in fiction, secondary specialty in poetry), Montclair State College (New Jersey)
Assistant Professor/Director of Creative Writing Programming (fiction or creative non-fiction specialty), Cleveland State University
Assistant Professor of English (fiction), Colgate University (New York)
Visiting Professor of Creative Writing (fiction), Murray State University (Kentucky)
Tenure-track faculty in English, "with primary area of interest in creative writing (poetry) and with secondary expertise in American literature," Hampden-Sydney College (Virginia)
Associate to Full Professor of Fiction or Poetry, University of California at San Diego
Tenure-track English/Creative Writing Instructor, Monterey Peninsula College (California)
Tenure-track Composition/Developmental Writing Instructor, Monterey Peninsula College (California)

Friday Finds: Gotera's Guides

Yesterday I happened to run across some very intriguing guides from Vince Gotera, who teaches at the University of Northern Iowa (and edits poetry for North American Review). Although they are not targeted specifically to MFA applicants/students recently admitted to MFA programs, I thought Gotera's background merited my mentioning the guides here.

They include:

"How to Write a Great Statement of Purpose";

"How to Get Great Recommendations"; and

"The Grad School Letter Arrives...Now What?"

Hope this helps those of you going through the application process this year!

Seek and Ye Shall Find: Past Work Rediscovered

So the other day I did something most of us do far more often, I suspect, than we'd like to admit: I Googled myself. And I found something pretty interesting.

One of my freelance projects back in Massachusetts was for Barnes & Noble. I researched and wrote an introduction to an edition of Stendhal's Charterhouse of Parma that was planned for reissue within the B&N Library of Essential Reading Series. (To be perfectly honest, one of the reasons I was happy to take on this assignment was because of the many occasions throughout both my teaching [of modern French history and literature] and MFA student years [among fellow fiction writers] that demonstrated not merely how "non-essential" Stendhal has come to be, but how utterly unknown he is, even within those quarters where he should be most familiar.)

I've had my complimentary copies of the finished book for quite awhile now. But I've only just realized that my introduction is available online (click "Features" to get to it). Granted, the online formatting is not perfect, but I don't think it will get in the way of your reading. Enjoy. And please do take a moment to honor Stendhal. He deserves it!

The Wednesday Web Browser

"When awards are doled out, should the criteria include the candidates' character?" So wonders Chris Tonelli on the Ploughshares blog, in the context of L'Affaire John Hollander. What do you think? (And for another thoughtful exploration of the questions involved here, see Stephen Burt's Harriet post.)

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What motivates someone to launch a literary journal? Summerset Review Editor Joseph Levens explains his perspective on the Luna Park blog.

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Teaching jobs are on the minds of the Kenyon Review's bloggers. See this "interpretation" of job ads and these thoughts on the MFA degree as a credential to teach composition.

Cup of Comfort Anthology Call Update

(Received via e-mail on October 2, 2007, and reprinted with permission)

Six Great Publishing Opportunities for Great Personal Stories

Comfort is on the way for:
Loved Ones of People with Alzheimer’s (last call)
Divorced Women (deadline extended)
Breast Cancer Survivors (with Redbook Magazine; deadline extended)
Military Families (new)
New Mothers (new)
Adoptive Families (new)

The bestselling A Cup of Comfort book series is now seeking submissions for these six new anthologies. Stories must be true, original, positive, narrative essays (creation nonfiction), and 1,000-2,000 words. Entrants pay no fees. Writers' guidelines: http://www.cupofcomfort.com/share.htm.

A Cup of Comfort for Loved Ones of People with Alzheimer’s (last call)

What happens when the person who raised you or the person with whom you raised your children slowly becomes a child who doesn’t know you? What if that loved one changes so drastically that he or she is virtually a stranger to you? What if that person is difficult to deal with and requires substantial assistance? How will the reality of having a spouse or parent with Alzheimer’s affect you and your family—emotionally, financially, physically, socially, personally, professionally? The inspiring stories in this collection will answer those questions and more—and will show how love prevails and how lives thrive when a spouse or parent has Alzheimer’s.
Submission deadline: October 1, 2007 (but will accept stories through Oct. 10)
$500 grand prize; $100 each, all other published stories; plus copy of book

A Cup of Comfort for Divorced Women

Divorce in the 21st century should come with an instruction manual, a release valve, and a support system. This anthology will serve essentially those three purposes, in the form of comforting, insightful, and inspirational stories about surviving and thriving during and after divorce. We seek uplifting, contemporary stories on a wide range of topics of importance to divorced women—including but not limited to: dating, children, relationship with ex, in-laws, finances, friends, solitude, personal transformation, healing, revenge, mending fences, the ex’s new wife or lover, empowerment, rediscovery of self. Most, if not all, of the stories published in the book will be written by women who are or have been divorced. Stories can be poignant, irreverent, humorous, witty, or wise.
Submission deadline: November 10, 2007 (extended)
$500 grand prize; $100 each, all other published stories; plus copy of book

A Cup of Comfort for Breast Cancer Survivors (with Redbook Magazine)

It has been said that “stories are medicine” and that “one of the most valuable things we can do to heal one another is to share our stories.” This collection will include inspiring and uplifting personal essays about the experiences and emotions of living with—and living after—breast cancer. Possible story themes include but are not limited to: diagnosis, treatment, emotional impact, support systems, healthy lifestyle practices, emotional healing, coping mechanisms, impact on loved ones, effect on friendships, effect on career/work, effect on romance/intimacy, life lessons learned, personal transformation, silver linings, gratitude, triumph over trials, body image, and more. All themes and writing styles considered, as long as the story is positive.
Submission deadline: December 31, 2007 (sooner is better)

**Exclusively for the Breast Cancer Survivor volume, the Cup of Comfort publisher, Adams Media, is working in partnership with Redbook Magazine and will award a $5,000 grand prize, $5,000 donation to the Susan G. Fomen Breast Cancer Foundation in the grand prize winner’s name, and a bonus prize to each of three runner-up stories. An announcement about the Redbook/Cup of Comfort contest appears in the October 2007 issue of Redbook.**

A Cup of Comfort for Military Families (new)

It has been said that military life is “not for the faint of heart.” But neither is it without its benefits and blessings. One thing is certain: it is an experience like no other—for both the soldiers and their families. For this book, we want positive stories about how military life affects the personal lives of service men and women (enlisted and officers), how family affects soldiers’ on the job, and how military life affects family members (primarily spouses, children, and parents but also siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts/uncles, fiancés, etc.). Any situation or subject that is significant and/or unique to military personnel and their loved ones is acceptable. Our goal is to compile a collection of inspiring or uplifting stories that cover a wide range of topics and reveal a variety of perspectives, experiences, and emotions specific to military families. Stories may be written by the service man or woman or a close family member; military service may be current, recent, or past.
Submission deadline: March 1, 2008
$500 grand prize; $100 each, all other published stories; plus copy of book

A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers (new)

Few experiences bring forth as many anxieties, blessings, challenges, wonders, and changes as having a baby—whether it’s your first child or fifth, your birth child or adopted child. And nothing is as miraculous as giving birth to or witnessing the birth of your baby. This heartwarming anthology will be filled with birth stories and newborn homecoming stories as well as a wide range of stories about the various experiences, emotions, and concerns involved in adding a new baby to one’s life and family. Potential topics include but are not limited to: nursing (or not), caring for a newborn, bonding/falling in love with infant, lack of sleep, relationship with spouse, how siblings respond, returning to work, balancing responsibilities, post-partum depression, self transformation, unexpected joys, life lessons, small miracles, etc. The majority of the stories will be about birth children, but the book will likely include a couple adoptive stories as well. Likewise, most of the stories will be written from the new mother’s perspective, but we are open to including a few stories written from the spouse’s or a very close family member’s perspective. All stories will be uplifting and positive, no matter how difficult the situation portrayed in the story might be. We do not want stories that simply recount misfortunes and sorrows and that do not clearly reveal a positive outcome or redeeming result (silver lining).
Submission deadline: April 1, 2008
$500 grand prize; $100 each, all other published stories; plus copy of book

A Cup of Comfort for Adoptive Families (new)

The primary purpose of this book is to celebrate adoptive families and to recognize the extraordinary and challenging experiences that are unique to “chosen children” and their families. We are most interested in stories written by adult adoptive children and their adoptive parents and siblings, but the book will also likely include some stories written by members of the extended adoptive family (grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin), close friends of the adoptive family (i.e. godparent), and birth family members. Virtually any topic relevant to adopted children and their adoptive parents is acceptable—as long as it is authentic, positive, insightful, and uplifting or inspiring. We do not want heartbreaking stories about adoptive parents or birth families that regret the adoption; there is a place for stories of that ilk, but this book is not that place. All of the stories in this collection must show a positive aspect of adoption and must bring comfort or joy or inspiration to those who have been adopted and/or to the families who adopted them—no matter how difficult the experience and emotions portrayed in the story might be.
Submission deadline: June 15, 2008
$500 grand prize; $100 each, all other published stories; plus copy of book

Copyright 2007, Adams Media Corporation, an F+W Publications Company

On Publishing a Second Novel and Other Matters: An Interview with Joshua Henkin

On Publishing a Second Novel and Other Matters: An Interview with Joshua Henkin

by Erika Dreifus

Among the books to be released in October you'll want to take note of Joshua Henkin's second novel, Matrimony. (Book Sense already has, and the book is an October "pick.")

I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of Matrimony several months ago. It's a difficult novel to summarize, in part because it travels so far in both time and place: Protagonists Julian Wainwright and Mia Mendelsohn meet during their freshman year in a New England college; their path to matrimony (and well beyond) takes us to New York, Montreal, Ann Arbor, Berkeley, and Iowa City. And in part it's difficult to summarize because, to put it bluntly, "life happens" to Julian and Mia along the way. They face birth, death, illness, infidelity, and more; their relationship is tested again and again.

Author Joshua Henkin lives in Brooklyn, New York, and teaches in the creative writing programs at Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn College, and at the Unterberg Poetry Center of the 92nd Street Y. Recently he responded to our questions.

Erika Dreifus (ED): Matrimony is your second novel; Swimming Across the Hudson was published 10 years ago. Tell us how your approach to publishing and promoting Matrimony differs from your approach to those processes with your first novel. I imagine, for example, that the Internet is playing a far greater role in your publicity efforts this time around?

Joshua Henkin (JH): Publishing Matrimony was harder; promoting it has been easier. I sold Swimming Across the Hudson to Putnam based on the first 50 pages, which is almost unheard of now for a first-time novelist. The publishing world even in the last 10 years has gotten so much worse, so much more bottom-line. And as hard as it is to sell a first novel, selling a second novel can be harder unless your first novel was a huge commercial success, because with a second novel there are numbers in the computer and unless those numbers are great, publishers begin to worry. With a first novel, anything seems possible. And though Swimming Across the Hudson did very well critically, its sales were middling.

This time around, I wanted to finish the book before I sold it. But there were many rewrites along the way, literally thousands of pages thrown out, and it took my agent a while to find the perfect editor and perfect house. But I'm glad to say she did exactly that. My editor and publicist and everyone else at Pantheon have been absolutely amazing, and they've really gotten behind the novel. I'll be going on a big book tour, and everyone's really hopeful. As for the impact the Internet has had on book promotion, I can't even begin to describe it. The things that are possible now that weren't possible 10 years ago are flabbergasting. I wouldn't be doing this interview, for one, and that's just the beginning of it.

ED: You are fast earning a reputation as a voice of authority on MFA programs. Next month you'll have an article on the subject in Poets & Writers; you've also published a series of terrific posts on M.J. Rose's well-known blog (Buzz, Balls and Hype). You teach in two MFA programs and demonstrate a considerable faith in their worth. Yet several years after finishing college, Matrimony's Julian rejects his wife's suggestion that he seek admission to the University of Michigan MFA program (they're living in Ann Arbor, where Mia is pursuing graduate work in psychology, at the time). And if I'm reading the novel correctly, Julian doesn't finish the MFA program he ultimately does apply to and begin (the Iowa Writers' Workshop); he goes to Iowa after having separated from his wife, and seems to leave the program as soon as he and Mia reconcile. Formal graduate study really doesn't seem essential to Julian's success. Late in the book, we read this: "Not until after [Julian] came back to her did he tell Mia the truth: that he'd stopped working on his novel when he left her and hadn't been able to return to it until he came back." As someone who teaches in two MFA programs, what kind of counsel might you offer someone like Julian? How could an MFA program benefit (or have benefited) him?

JH: You're right--I'm a big advocate of MFA programs. That said, they're not for everyone. You have to be of the right mindset. Julian kind of backs into the Iowa Writers' Workshop, in that he's convinced by someone else to apply, and he really does it from a position of weakness. He's in a rut, he's been teaching composition for several years, and he needs to get out of Ann Arbor and away from Mia. So I don't think he's predisposed to like his experience at Iowa. Also, he's trying to get back to his novel, and while it's certainly possible to discuss novel chapters in a writing workshop, workshops are really made more for the short story. Unless you're in a workshop geared exclusively toward the novel, it can be difficult to have a meaningful discussion of novel excerpts. Finally, Julian took writing workshops throughout college, so in a way he went to an MFA program as an undergraduate. I myself didn't start to write fiction until after I finished college, so workshops were a fresh experience for me. But you do start to see more and more people who took six workshops in college and then they move on to an MFA program, and by the time they get there they're jaded--they're workshopped out.

ED: Julian achieves significant success with his short fiction (publishing in The Missouri Review and Harper's) many years before he sells his novel. You, too, have enjoyed success in both these fictional forms. It seems to me (and the writing workshop scenes in Matrimony, as well as your comment just above, would appear to bear this out) that short stories are far more easily suited to the workshop setting. Yet novels are often what writers (and agents) want to be dealing with outside the workshop. Given your experience both studying and teaching fiction in workshop settings (and your evident continuing commitment to both the short story and the novel as forms for your own writing), I'm curious about any specific advice you have to offer those writers seeking to develop their novels in workshops, as well as tips that might help those of us leading workshops with a "mixed" population of short story writers and novelists.

JH: There certainly is a tension between MFA programs, which emphasize stories, and the publishing world, which has no interest in story collections. This wasn't as true 10 years ago. What I'd say is this: I think there are things novelists can learn from story workshops that will help their craft as novelists. The two forms are quite different, but not so different as to have nothing to say to each other. In general, I believe novels are easiest to discuss in workshops that are dedicated to the novel. At Sarah Lawrence and Brooklyn College, the two programs where I teach, there's one novel workshop a semester. I also think that, whatever kind of workshop you're in, it's best not to bring a novel in unless you're very far into it--ideally not until you have a first draft completed. A lot of people get feedback too early. That's one of the hard things about a novel. You're swimming on your own for a really long time. But that process is necessary. People try to help you before you're ready to be helped. You need to make your own mistakes in order to figure out what the book is really about.

As for mixed workshops, where some students are writing stories and some are writing novels, I've taught a lot of those, and I think it's important with the novelists to treat the work differently because you're seeing something partial. You need to be a lot more tentative. You tell the writer what seems most promising, what interests you most, what you think the work is going to be about, what potential problems you see, even as you recognize that you may be wrong because you simply don't yet know where the novel is going, and sometimes the writer herself doesn't know, either. The potential pitfall here is you can be so tentative that you end up being unhelpful. Novel excerpts can promote laziness in the reader. The students say, "Well, I'm sure you'll take care of that in 100 pages." And maybe the writer will. But, in the meantime, the reader hasn't really said anything.

ED: Your next novel, a work-in-progress provisionally titled The World Without You, focuses on a family reunion commemorating the loss of a son who was a journalist in Iraq. And there are snippets of major public issues and events in Matrimony as well. I'm thinking of one example in particular: "It was late August when Julian and Mia moved to New York, just weeks before the Twin Towers fell. Welcome to New York City, Mia thought at the time [....] She and Julian were leaving for work when the planes blew up, and from in front of their apartment building they could see the smoke and hear sirens." At this point, it seems that fiction writers have begun to approach the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, almost as an "historical" topic (even here, we hear about it in retrospect). What challenges are you encountering now, writing a novel that appears to be intimately connected with something that's part of the daily news, something that's still so "present," and ongoing?

JH: That's a great question. In Matrimony, the World Trade Center attacks are used merely as a backdrop, a kind of positioning in place and time and a contextualizing of the novel's central relationship in the face of bigger world forces. The novel is in no way about 9/11, unlike a lot of novels that have come out recently that focus on 9/11 much more centrally. Matrimony certainly has political and cultural references (the anti-apartheid shanties when the protagonists are at college in the eighties, O.J. Simpson's slow car chase on the California freeway a number of years later, and other instances), but in no deep way is it a political novel.

The next book is different. It's not a political novel, either--at least not in the traditional sense--but it's certainly a novel that grapples with world events, and there are dangers to that. What if world events surprise you as you're writing? Imagine a novel being written in August 2001 set in lower Manhattan that is about characters in the here and now. Well, then the World Trade Center gets hit, and everything changes, and the book has to change along with it. I think that's why some writers set novels in imaginary locations, so as to prevent world events from interfering. In my own small way I was doing that with Matrimony at the beginning of the book. By setting the first section in the fictional town of Northington and at the fictional college of Graymont, I gave myself more free rein.

In terms of The World Without You, I've already had reality sideswipe me. When I started the book, I had this idea that the mother would in a very public and incendiary way be opposed to the war in Iraq. Her son is a journalist who gets killed there, and when President Bush invites her to the White House in an act of consolation but also of PR, she publicly refuses to meet him. Well, that meant something else at the time when I wrote it than it means now. It's not meaningless now, certainly, but with so many people protesting the war, it's a lot less significant, a lot less stark. It characterizes the mother in an entirely different way, and so I'm going to have to go back and rethink things. I believe every novelist lives in fear of the real world making his work obsolete. It's an incentive to get the book done--you need to beat world events before they beat you.

ED: Where can writers learn more about you, and your work?

JH: The best place to go is my Web site, www.joshuahenkin.com. It has lots of information about Matrimony. It also has my blog, a schedule of events and readings, a couple of videos about the book, a contest (the winners get free books) for individual readers as well for reading groups, and much more.

ED: Thanks so much for taking the time to "talk" with our readers, Josh.

(c) 2007 Erika Dreifus

(A very slightly altered version of this interview originally appeared in the October 2007 issue of The Practicing Writer.)

New No-Cost Novel Contest: "Amazon Breakthrough"

I wouldn't be conscientious if I didn't tell you about a new no-cost novel competition mentioned in the New York Times yesterday. But I can't be totally objective/enthusiastic about it, and you'll soon see why.

The "Amazon Breakthrough Novel" competition looks interesting for anyone with an unpublished novel written in English (and residence in one of the appropriate countries). Grand prize includes a contract with Penguin and a $25,000 advance.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't be following my own conscience if I didn't note that someone I've referred to on this blog before--and not in a very happy context--is a member of the competition's panel of final judges. (His initials are J.F.)

And because life is full of contradictions at every level, there's also someone on that panel I happen to admire as much as (okay, probably more than) I have come to dislike J.F. So maybe there's some kind of cosmic balancing act going on there.

In any case, to find out more about the competition, including entry guidelines and prize details, click here. Deadline: November 5, 2007.

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

First, here are a few competitions that were detailed in the Practicing Writer newsletter that went out to subscribers at the end of last week:

Chaim Bermant Prize for Journalism (no entry fee);
Ellen Meloy Fund for Desert Writers (no entry fee, for literary/creative nonfiction writers only working on projects "set in desert environs"); and
Willesden Herald International Short Story Prize (no entry fee).

And here's a new market our subscribers already know about:
WAHMmagazine is "not just a magazine for WAHMs, we're also for and about WAHDs, freelancers, telecommuters, veteran work-at-home parents and future work-at-home parents." Pays: $65-350. Guidelines here.

And here's a submission call our subscribers have heard about, too:
Workers Write, an annual from Blue Cubicle Press, has posted a new call for stories and poems: "Tales from the Couch will contain stories from the mental healthcare worker's point of view (psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and social workers). You story can be set anywhere mental and emotional care is given." Deadline: August 1, 2008. Pays: $5-$50, depending on length of the work and rights requested. Will consider previously published material. Find out more here.

Sorry you missed finding out about all these opportunities first? You can subscribe to our newsletter here. It's free, your e-mail address won't be shared, and you'll get access to a literary competition e-book, too.

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Now, not everyone who earns an M.F.A. is going to be able to get a teaching job (and not everyone wants one in the first place). Still, you have to put food on the table and pay all those bills before Oprah anoints you. I'm one writer--and I'm increasingly aware of how many others are out there--who found a full-time job (with regular paychecks! with health insurance! without grading responsibilities!) in higher education, but OUTSIDE the classroom. So from now on, as intimated earlier, I'm going to include similar opportunities on the blog as well. Here's the first batch:

Assistant Managing Editor, Binghamton University (New York) (appears to be a half-time position);
Staff Writer, Boston College (Massachusetts);
Publications Writer, Cochise College (Arizona);
Senior Development Writer/Team Leader, Rice University (Houston); and
Part-Time Writer/Editor, Rutgers-Newark (New Jersey; pays: $25-$35/hour).

But don't worry--I'll still include teaching jobs here, too!

Assistant Professor of Creative Writing (poetry, fiction, or performance), Pitzer College, California;
Assistant Professor of English (fiction writing focus; secondary emphasis in creative nonfiction or screenwriting), Columbus State University, Georgia;
Assistant Professor of English (fiction writing), Western Kentucky University;
Assistant Professor of Creative Writing (fiction), Old Dominion University, Virginia;
Mina Hohenberg Darden Endowed Chair in Creative Writing, Old Dominion University, Virginia;
Visiting Lecturer in Creative Writing ("Candidate's primary interest should be in either fiction or poetry writing with a secondary interest in nonfiction and literary nonfiction"), Muhlenberg College, Pennsylvania;
Tenure-track faculty in English (creative writing-poetry), Shippensburg University (Pennsylvania);
Assistant Professor in English (poetry), Gettysburg College (Pennsylvania); and
Assistant Professor (creative nonfiction); Visiting Writer/Instructor in Creative Writing (creative nonfiction and poetry, for spring 2008); Director of the Composition Program, all at Northern Arizona University.