THE PRACTICING WRITER
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Volume 7, Number 1:
February 2010
Editor: Erika Dreifus
Copyright (c) 2010 Erika Dreifus
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Editor's Note: What's New 2. Article/Lessons Learned 3. Featured Resource 4. Upcoming/Ongoing Contests, Competitions, and Other Opportunities of Interest 5. Submission Alerts!!! 6. Blog Notes 7. Around the World:
Literary Event Calendar 8. Newsletter Matters
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1. EDITOR'S NOTE: WHAT'S NEW
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Hello, practicing writers!
I write this note just after spending several days flattened by the flu. It is really
good to be upright and writing again.
At this time of year, it is a special joy to pause and mention the newsletter's anniversary. Our first issue was dated February 2004. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to bring you The Practicing Writer for six years, and I hope that we'll
continue together for a long time to come.
Thank you all for your subscriptions and support. All so very much appreciated!
Have a wonderful and productive February (no flu bouts allowed!).
All best, ERIKA
P.S. Lured by a "Twitter Book Club" launched by the Jewish
Book Council, I finally caved and joined Twitter. You're invited to follow me at
http://twitter.com/erikadreifus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. ARTICLE/LESSONS LEARNED: Listening to Giants of
Small Publishing: A Review of *Against the Grain: Interviews with Maverick American Publishers*, edited by Robert Dana
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LISTENING TO GIANTS OF SMALL PUBLISHING
*Against the Grain: Interviews with Maverick American Publishers*, edited by Robert
Dana. University of Iowa Press, 280 pages. Paper, $22.95
Review by Erika Dreifus
When I learned that the University of Iowa Press was releasing a book titled *Against the Grain: Interviews with Maverick American Publishers*, I thought the book would interest practicing writers for
several reasons. First, writers really should have a grasp of how the publishing process works, and I imagined that these interviewees would have a lot to share on that front. Second, as technology makes self-publishing increasingly attractive to writers, "maverick" publishers might have
particularly useful insights to impart. Finally, and quite simply, Q&A formats have the potential to be very readable and engaging.
What I did not realize before receiving my review copy is this: *Against the Grain* is a republished volume, available now in paperback edition. But the
book's first appearance came back in 1986, and some of the material within it dates from the late 1970s.
Which does not mean that you should not read it. Clearly, anyone with an interest in the history of independent publishing will benefit. For this book, poet Robert Dana interviewed some
truly "big names" in the history of the field: James Laughlin (New Directions), Harry Duncan (the Cummington Press), Lawrence Ferlinghetti (City Lights), David Godine (David R. Godine), Daniel Halpern (the Ecco Press), Sam Hamill and Tree Swenson (Copper Canyon Press), John Martin (Black Sparrow)
and Jonathan Williams (the Jargon Society). Nearly all of their presses have survived and thrived into the 21st century, and if you are considering sending your work to any of them, you'll doubtless gain a sense of the animating spirit and purpose behind them.
There's also a somewhat
comforting "plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose" quality to the book. If you think there's a glut of creative writing programs in the United States these days, you may be interested to hear some of Dana's interviewees saying the exact same thing a generation ago. And the contemporary hue and
cry about how hard it is to get books reviewed? It turns out that those sentiments are hardly new, either. Finally, if you've ever worried that you might not be able to make a living from your own independent press, perhaps you'll take some comfort from the experiences these publishers recount,
because without day jobs, inheritances, or rich patrons, they wouldn't have been able to manage it, either.
Nonetheless, the book has weaknesses. When it was originally published, a reviewer for *The Washington Post* called it "an uneven but provocative look at small publishers," noting
that "a book-length question-and-answer format is like a meal composed entirely of pudding -- you lose your sense of having something to bite down on." That may be a fair criticism.
And while there is something undeniably alluring about listening in, for example, while James Laughlin talks
about his history with Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein, the book exudes a clubby tone that some readers may find alienating. One exception that some readers may wish to applaud comes in remarks from The Jargon Society's Jonathan Williams. He reveals that he is "only interested in homemade people and
homemade writers. Out of the mainstream. Nonacademic. Nonurban....That's why we are sitting on a hillside in a very remote county in North Carolina....Why I don't have lunch with [John] Ashbery or Stanley Kunitz or Mark Strand three times a week. All that stuff." (It is important to recall,
however, that many of these small presses emerged as alternatives to the mainstream, publishing new voices that only later may have earned widespread recognition.)
As for the practical aspects of running a publishing enterprise, the book does throw light on certain areas, such as
distribution, while offering fewer lessons elsewhere, perhaps because the machinery of publishing has, quite literally, changed so much in the past few decades. The elements of typography and design that merit detailed discussion in some of these interviews are, I imagine, handled quite differently
by most independent publishers today.
Still, as much as independent literary publishing changes, certain of its components do -- or should -- remain the same. One hopes that the genuine spirit and passion for books and literary art that guided the work of Dana's interviewees in *Against
the Grain* will last for many generations to come.
(A version of this review appeared in the January 2010 issue of *The Writer* magazine.)
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3. FEATURED RESOURCE: Lemon Hound's "10
Questions On Reviewing" series
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The Lemon Hound blog has begun a series of interviews with poetry reviewers. Definitely worth a look to see how others approach the reviewing process. Should interest reviewers and those whose work is the subject of
reviews alike!
http://lemonhound.blogspot.com/search/label/10%20Questions%20on%20Reviewing (full link required, so please cut and paste as necessary)
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4. UPCOMING/ONGOING CONTESTS, COMPETITIONS, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITES OF INTEREST
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Binghamton University John Gardner Fiction Book Award
http://tinyurl.com/yzgccnf Deadline: March 1, 2010 (received) NO ENTRY FEE
This $1,000 award recognizes "the book of fiction selected by our judges as the strongest novel or collection of fiction published in 2009."
For full contest rules and the application form, please consult the Web site.
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Binghamton University Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award
http://tinyurl.com/yzgccnf Deadline:
March 1, 2010 (received) NO ENTRY FEE
This $1,000 award recognizes a book of poems, 48 pages or more in length, selected as the strongest collection of poems by a poet over 40 published in 2009. For full contest rules and the application form, please consult the Web site.
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Bread Loaf Writers' Conference Fellowships and Scholarships
http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/blwc (click "admissions" and then "financial aid applicants")
Deadline: March 1, 2010 (April 1 for the Fairbanks International Fellowship or Tuition Scholarship for African and Caribbean Writers, also described at the site) NO APPLICATION FEE
Depending on a writer's level of achievement, a variety of fellowships and scholarships can help cover
tuition and fees at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, held in Vermont each August. Check the Web site for application forms and guidelines. See the site also for information on the Fairbanks Fellowship and the Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Foundation Scholarships for "women whose writing shows
exceptional promise."
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Bucknell University Emerging Writer Fellowship
http://www.bucknell.edu/x36381.xml Deadline: February 10, 2010 NO APPLICATION FEE
"Initiated in 2007 and modeled on the Stadler Fellowship [also offered by Bucknell], the Emerging Writer Fellowship program offers poets who have recently completed their graduate work the chance to contribute to a thriving poetry center while providing time for the completion of a first book
of poems. Like the Stadler Fellow, the Emerging Writer Fellow assists for twenty hours each week in the administration of the Stadler Center or in the editing of *West Branch*, Bucknell’s nationally distinguished literary journal. The Emerging Writer also serves as an instructor
and staff member in the Bucknell Seminar for Younger Poets in June. The stipend is $20,000. Unlike the Stadler Fellowship, the Emerging Writer Fellowship does not currently include health insurance and housing." Look for application guidelines at the Web site.
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Bucknell University Philip Roth Residence in Creative Writing
http://www.bucknell.edu/x3745.xml Deadline: February 20, 2010 NO APPLICATION FEE
"Named for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Bucknell
graduate and initiated in the fall of 1993, the Philip Roth Residence in Creative Writing offers an emerging writer four months of unfettered writing time during Bucknell's fall semester, without formal academic obligations. The Residence is designed to grant the writer time to complete a first or
second book. The resident presents a public reading of his or her work and otherwise constitutes a literary presence on campus during the fall. Providing lodging on campus, an office in the Stadler Center for Poetry, and a stipend of $4,000, the Residence is awarded to writers of prose (fiction or
creative nonfiction) and poets on an alternating basis. The Stadler Center is accepting applications for the 2010-11 Philip Roth Residence, which will be awarded to a poet. The Residence will extend from late August through mid-December 2010." Look for application guidelines at the Web site.
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Charles Johnson Student Fiction Award
http://johnson.siuc.edu Submissions: Must be postmarked during February 2010 NO ENTRY FEE
"The Charles Johnson Student Fiction
Award from Southern Illinois University Carbondale is an annual award competition intended to encourage increased artistic and intellectual growth among students, as well as reward excellence and diversity in creative writing. Each year, $1000 and a signed copy of a Charles Johnson book will be
awarded to the winner. The winning entry will also be published in the Winter/Spring issue of CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW. The award is co-sponsored by Charles Johnson, CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW, and the SIUC Department of English and College of Liberal Arts." Open to all undergrduate and graduate students who
are U.S. citizens or permanent residents currently enrolled full- or part-time in a U.S. college or university." Visit the Web site for details.
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Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest
http://www.kenyonreview.org/contests-sf.php Submissions: February 1-February 28, 2010 NO ENTRY FEE
Open to writers who are 30 years of age or younger at the time of submission. Stories must be no more
than 1200 words in length. No simultaneous submissions. The journal will publish the winning story in its Winter 2011 issue, and the author will win a scholarship to attend the 2010 Writers Workshop (June) in Gambier, Ohio.
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Naomi Long Madgett
Poetry Award
http://www.lotuspress.org Deadline: March 31, 2010 (received) NO ENTRY FEE
Open to African American poets, this book competition from Lotus Press, Inc., awards $500 in cash and publication with Lotus Press.
Check the detailed competition guidelines at the Web site.
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Helen McCloy/Mystery Writers of America Scholarship for Mystery Writing
http://mysterywriters.org/?q=AwardsPrograms-McCloy Deadline: February 28, 2010 NO APPLICATION FEE
"The Helen McCloy/MWA Scholarship for Mystery Writing seeks to nurture talent in mystery writing - in fiction, nonfiction,
playwriting, and screenwriting." Open to U.S. citizens/permanent residents. Two scholarships up to $500 each will be presented in summer/fall 2010. "The scholarship may be used to offset tuition and fees for U.S. writing workshops, writing seminars, or university/college-level writing programs.
Applicants must select a specific writing class/workshop/seminar to which scholarship funds would be applied." Check the site for details and the application form.
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Sozopol Fiction Seminars
http://www.ekf.bg/sozopol Deadline: March 15, 2010 NO APPLICATION FEE
"The Elizabeth Kostova Foundation offers its third annual summer fiction-writing seminar in historic Sozopol in Bulgaria. The seminar consists of intensive daily workshops, roundtable
discussions, readings and lectures by faculty and fellows. 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."
The 2010 seminars will run from May 27 to June 1. Check the site for more information.
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5. SUBMISSION ALERTS!!!
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Just a reminder that *CV2: The
Canadian Journal of Poetry and Critical Writing*, invites submissions for a "Poetry Only" issue until February 10, 2010. "In this issue, we let poetry do the talking. Nothing but the poetry folks - no theme and no critical writing." Details and pay rates available at
http://www.contemporaryverse2.ca -------------------------------------------
*Subtropics*, which was previously reading for a translation issue, is once again open to receiving fiction, essays, and poetry
(but no simultaneous submissions for poetry). Pays: "a flat fee of $1,000 ($500 for a short short) for North American first serial rights. Poets are paid $100 per poem. Subtropics pays upon acceptance for prose; for poetry, we pay after the publication of the issue preceding the one in which the
author's work will appear." Visit
http://www.english.ufl.edu/subtropics/submit.html for more information.
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*Crab Orchard Review* will consider
submissions for its next general issue from February 1 through April 30. Considers fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction (query regarding interviews prior to sending them). Pays: "Payment for accepted work is twenty dollars per published magazine page (fifty US dollars minimum for poetry, one
hundred US dollars minimum for prose). Accepted authors will also receive two copies of the issue in which their work appears."
http://craborchardreview.siuc.edu -------------------------------------------
You have until March 1 to submit to *Arts & Letters*, which accepts unsolicited work in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and dramatic work. Queries are encouraged for the journal's "World Poetry Translation Series," "Mentors Interview Series," art work, and book reviews. Submissions
will then reopen on September 1. Pays: $10/printed page of original work (minimum payment: $50) plus one copy of the issue in which a contributor's work appears and one-year subscription."
http://al.gcsu.edu/submit.htm
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*Ploughshares*, which "welcomes unsolicited submissions of fiction, poetry, and a limited amount of nonfiction," will close the submission season on March 31. Pays: "$25/printed page, $50 minimum per title, $250 maximum per author, with two copies
of the issue and a one-year subscription." Check out the redesigned site at
http://www.pshares.org -------------------------------------------
*Kaleidoscope* magazine "creatively focuses on the experiences of disability through literature and the
fine arts." Considers nonfiction, fiction, poetry, book reviews, and visual arts. Theme for the next issue, with a submission deadline of March 31, 2010, is "the Power of Friendship": "We are looking for essays, stories, and poems that reflect meaningful, significant freindships in people's
lives. This might be in a time of crisis, celebration, or just the difference friendships make in our everyday lives. It seems that life would be very empty without these special relationships. What impact have friendships had in your life?" Pays: "$10-$125, plus contributors
receive two complimentary copies of the magazine."
http://www.udsakron.org/news/detail.asp?id=12 -------------------------------------------
"*Tin House* is seeking to invest in fiction, essays,
and poetry that address the often taboo subject of CLASS IN AMERICA. We are looking for all perspectives: from or about the rich to the middle class to the poor and those who have moved up or down. We want to know more about those who identify with a non-traditional class, or consider themselves
classless, along with those who have immigrated from class-bound or class-less countries or societies. What are the new class indicators in our increasingly digitized, global, and green world? The issue will be out September 1, on stands through November. To be considered for this theme issue,
unsolicited submissions should be in by May 1."
http://tinhouse.com/mag/mag_submit.htm -------------------------------------------
Noted on the Poetry Ireland Web site: "Poet, educator, academic, opera
librettist, song lyricist and 'rudimentary' rhythm guitarist Paul Muldoon has been announced as guest editor of *Poetry Ireland Review 100*." Use the regular guidelines for *Poetry Ireland Review*:
https://www.poetryireland.ie/publications/submissions.html . (Per those guidelines, contributors receive a copy of the journal and payment.)
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Based at Vanderbilt University,
the new *Nashville Review* "publishes the best in literary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and comics. Both distinguished and emerging writers are encouraged to submit. *Nashville Review* also publishes lyrics and audio by up-and-coming musicians. Contributors are offered a flat fee of $100." Visit
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/english/nashvillereview for more information.
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*Page Forty-Seven* is an online anthology of literary short fiction that
invites original work from new and established writers and pays $25-$75 (CAD) per story. Visit the website for guidelines, submission form and sample stories.
http://www.be-a-better-writer.com/read-short-stories-online.html -------------------------------------------
More markets! Updated versions of both THE PRACTICING WRITER'S DIRECTORY OF PAYING ESSAY MARKETS and
the DIRECTORY OF PAYING MARKETS FOR BOOK REVIEWERS are now available! Check them out (and peruse the free sample listings) at
http://www.lulu.com/erika-dreifus .
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6. BLOG NOTES
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The newsletter is published just once each month, but there's *always* something new at our Practicing Writing blog: fresh market news, current contest and job listings, links to writing-related articles, newly-discovered craft and
business resources, and so much more.
Regular blog features:
--Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities --Quotation of the Week --The Wednesday Web Browser --Friday Find
Plus these treats:
--New Criterion for Considering MFA Programs: Smoke- or Tobacco-Free
Status --J Journal Giveaway
Please visit, and comment!
http://practicing-writing.blogspot.com And for those of you practicing writers who are interested in matters of specifically Jewish cultural
interest, please also visit My Machberet, accessible at
http://machberet.blogspot.com (for the curious, "machberet" is the Hebrew word for "notebook"). Recent writing-focused posts there include:
--Writing
Contests from Moment magazine --Susan Suleiman on Irene Nemirovsky and the "Jewish Question" in Interwar France --JBC Launches "Twitter Book Club and Twunch" --Journal of Modern Jewish Studies Launches Essay Prize --Jewish Currents Call for Submissions
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7. AROUND THE WORLD: LITERARY EVENT CALENDAR
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The Art of the Pitch New York City U.S.A.
http://writersinstitute.gc.cuny.edu/2010/01/the-art-of-the-pitch Wednesday, February 3, 2010 Appears to be free.
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Savannah Book Festival Savannah, Ga. U.S.A.
http://www.savannahbookfestival.org February 5-7, 2010 Free and open to the public.
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Boston University Creative Writing Program's Annual Faculty Reading Boston,
Mass. U.S.A.
http://www.bu.edu/writing/ Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Free and open to the public.
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An Evening of John Keats Paris France
http://www.villagevoicebookshop.com/author_events.html Thursday, February 11, 2010 "Readings are open to all...Suggested participation: The purchase of a book."
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Poetry Reading with Seamus Heaney Dublin Ireland
http://www.nationalgallery.ie/html/programevents2.html#4 Wednesday, February 17, 2010 Appears to
be free.
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Writers Talking: Bonnie Jo Campbell Portland, Ore. U.S.A.
http://www.multcolib.org/events/writers.html Wednesday, February 17, 2010 Free.
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Capital Lit: CLMP's First-Ever Albany Lit Mag & Small Press Fair Albany, N.Y. U.S.A.
http://tinyurl.com/yjqcx5r Saturday, February 20, 2010 Appears to be free and open to
the public. Note that in addition to other activities, "hundreds of regional and national independent publishers will converge to sell their journals for only $2 an issue and books for $4 each."
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Beyond the Workshop: The Creative Writing MA
and the Market Edinburgh Scotland U.K.
http://tinyurl.com/yagtjye Wednesday, February 24, 2010 (Note that the last date for registration is February 5: "No charge, but we reserve the right to charge a GBP 15 non-attendance
fee." Note also that "Literaturetraining is offering a limited number of bursaries to support any part-time teachers who will precluded from attending because they have to cover their own travel costs." Contact Philippa Johnston per the instructions on the site for further details.)
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Are you planning a literary event (conference, exhibition, etc.)? I'd love to feature more events (especially happenings taking place outside the United States) in this space. I'm looking ONLY for events that offer complimentary admission. (I can
find plenty of information on those that charge registration fees on my own!) Information on fee-charging events that offer discounted admission for students will also be considered. Please contact me via the Practicing Writer Web site,
http://www.practicing-writer.com , to let me know about your event. Thanks in advance!
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8. NEWSLETTER MATTERS
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Information contained in THE PRACTICING WRITER is collected from many sources, with the purpose of providing general references. It is researched to the best of our ability but readers should verify information when necessary and appropriate. THE PRACTICING WRITER and its editor/publisher
disclaim any liability for the use of information contained within. Thank you for subscribing.
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For updates and additional opportunity listings between newsletters, please check in with our "Practicing Writing" blog:
http://practicing-writing.blogspot.com.
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ABOUT THE EDITOR: Based in New York City, Erika Dreifus has published prose and poetry in dozens of magazines,
journals, newspapers, and other publications. She is a Contributing Editor for *The Writer* magazine and a member of the advisory board for *J Journal: New Writing on Justice*, and has taught for Harvard University, the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Center for Adult Education, and the low-residency MFA
program in creative writing at Lesley University. Please visit
http://www.practicing-writer.com to learn more about Erika's work.
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