Wise Words for Freelancers

My main source on all things translation-related, Brett Jocelyn Epstein (her Brave New Words blog is linked to the right) has recently published an excellent article ("Educating the Customer") in Translation Journal that calls to mind many of the issues other freelancers/writers share when it comes to getting paid a fair wage for their work. Read it!

No-Cost Poetry Contest

Here's an interesting contest I stumbled on recently: the first Stolpman Vineyards Haiku Contest for Poetry-Inspired Wine Label. Two winners (one for red wine, and one for white) will win $250 plus a case of wine (each) and name recognition on the label.

What's needed? "One haiku on the subject of wine. G-rated only which will be used for (red wine and white wine labels), named 'Poetry in Red' and 'Poetry in White.'" Deadline: December 1, 2006. Submit online.

Check the full contest description here.

Stadler Fellowship Stipend Increase

Here's a bit of good news from Bucknell University, where the Stadler Fellowship is administered. The fellowship's stipend (which was $12,000) is now $20,000. That's a nice increase (the fellowship also includes housing in a furnished apartment on campus, office space, and health insurance). The next fellowship application deadline is December 2, 2006. For more information about this fellowship, which "offers a recent MFA, MA, or PhD graduate in poetry professional training in arts administration, literary editing, and teaching" and "is designed to balance the development of professional skills with time to complete a first book of poems," visit the Stadler Center Web site. NB: No application fee!

MFA Update

Back in February I posted news about a low-residency MFA program that was just getting organized. It seems that this program, at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, is now up and running, planning its first residency for July 22-August 5, 2007. Find out more about the program (poetry and creative nonfiction only) at its Web site.

From My Bookshelf: Residency Reading

I know you're all waiting breathlessly to hear about the residency. (For those of you new to the blog, I've just spent a month at the Robert M. MacNamara Foundation on Westport Island, Maine; the photograph shows "MacBarn," the Foundation's main building, where the very talented visual artists had their studio space [and four of them were housed].)

I did a lot of writing, and a lot of reading. And plenty of sleeping, I admit. That's what happens when there's no TV and I can't feed my cable news addiction at night.

I can't tell you how great it was to have so much time to read, especially. What did I read, you ask? Here's the list:


The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel, edited by Nathalie Babel
The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch, 1743-1933, by Amos Elon (I couldn't resist Shira Nayman's recommendation, which you can read in this Q&A on JBooks.com)
The Painted Drum, by Louise Erdrich
Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Woman from Hamburg and Other True Stories, by Hanna Krall (translated by Madeline G. Levine)
The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, by Daniel Mendelsohn
A Changed Man, by Francine Prose
Israeli and Palestinian Narratives of Conflict: History's Double Helix, edited by Robert I. Rotberg
The Counterlife, by Philip Roth

I reread some Chekhov stories and Flaubert's Madame Bovary, too.

It wasn't totally divorced from my "other," bill-paying writing work while I was at the residency. Several editors and I persevered through Internet challenges so I could review galleys of work published during my absence (like this review of Carmen Callil's Bad Faith: A Forgotten History of Family, Fatherland, and Vichy France, which appeared in the October 10 Christian Science Monitor), and work that will be appearing soon elsewhere.

Maine was beautiful, and I'm so grateful for the gift of time to work in such a supportive environment. It's great to be back, but I feel pretty safe betting it will be quite awhile before I can once again provide such a (relatively) long list of books-read-for-myself.

Back Soon!

Hey, everyone. I'm still at the residency, but I'll be leaving soon and posting again next week (expect photos of the beautiful spot where I've spent the past month)!

Meantime, wanted to let you all know about this job opportunity I just learned about:

Lilith Magazine is seeking a webmaster! We are looking for someone to fill a part-time position, working a small number of hours per week (exact number to be determined later in the process). There is little website design involved-we are looking for someone to focus on technical upkeep, although design abilities would be an added benefit. Initially, this job will entail helping us move our site from its current server to a new one, and setting up an additional e-commerce system. Later tasks may include creating/installing a user-friendly CMS, and general site upkeep, including frequent updates. Although we do not require that applicants live in the greater New York area, we will expect daily availability based on Eastern Standard Time.

For more information, or to send us your resume and short cover letter, please contact Melanie at lilithmag(at)aol(dot)com.

And please forward this to other people you think will be interested!

See you back here next week!