THE PRACTICING WRITER

Web site: http://www.practicing-writer.com "Practicing Writing" Blog: http://practicing-writing.blogspot.com

Supporting the Craft and Business of Excellent Writing

Volume 6, Number 10: November 2009

Editor: Erika Dreifus

Copyright (c) 2009 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!

This month, I'm bringing you something unusual: a feature article written by someone other than yours truly. The simple truth is that when I read "Improve Your Ability to Say No" in Chris Brogan's newsletter, the advice resonated. Strongly. And I know - I simply know - that many of you will find it relevant as well.

If you're not yet familiar with Chris Brogan, let me explain that he's an expert when it comes to social media and community. So if enhancing your Web presence is something that you're working on in your writing practice, he is certainly someone you should know.

The newsletter article isn't about social media per se. But it is about dealing with the additional demands on your time that may arise the wider your community becomes and the more contacts you make in your writing practice (or in any field). When I couldn't find the article online to link to it, I contacted Mr. Brogan directly and requested permission to share his sage advice with all of you. I am deeply grateful for his permission to republish this piece.

If you find "Improve Your Ability to Say No" as helpful as I suspect you will, why not visit http://chrisbrogan.com and sign up for the newsletter yourself?

Meantime, enjoy the November issue, and, as always, here's wishing you all the best with your writing practice!

ERIKA

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2. ARTICLE/LESSONS LEARNED: IMPROVE YOUR ABILITY TO SAY NO
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IMPROVE YOUR ABILITY TO SAY NO

By Chris Brogan

I'm learning how to say no better. I've got only so many hours in a day and there are so many requests for my time and attention from various sources that it's become a really important thing to know how to do. Saying no isn't easy, you know. Do you have a problem with it, too?

I've learned a few things that have helped me. Maybe these will be useful to you.

*Just because someone has a good cause doesn't mean you have to say yes.* Instead, you can always say, "That's a great cause, and I wish you all the best success. I'd love to tweet or blog (or whatever you're willing to do) about it to get you more awareness. Is there a good URL I can point people to?"

*Saying yes to too many things gives you less effectiveness on what you're already signed up to do.* There are only so many hours in a day. It's easier to say no when you keep a VERY visible list of what you've said yes to already, so that you can weigh which of your other projects will suffer when you say yes to this new one.

*Sometimes saying no is giving someone else the opportunity to say yes.* Can you refer the person to someone else who can also benefit from the opportunity? Passing someone along is another way to be helpful.

*Saying yes to everything means you won't be ready when an important opportunity comes up.* Just because you have a few last minutes in the day that you could cram the new thing into doesn't mean you won't need those moments soon. (If you get sick, for instance, how many of your projects will suffer? Wouldn't it be good to have a buffer?)

Now, what's most difficult is knowing HOW to say no. I've learned that some variation on the following is the best I can manage: "Thank you so much for thinking of me. It's a great opportunity, and I'm thankful that you thought of me. I'm not available to work on it right now, as I've many other obligations competing for my time. I wish you success." (For all I know, you might've received an email like this from me.)

What do you think? Make sense?

Reprinted with permission from Chris Brogan, http://chrisbrogan.com

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3. FEATURED RESOURCE: "50 WAYS TO TAKE YOUR BLOG TO THE NEXT LEVEL"
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Maybe once I carve out some time by following Chris Brogan's advice above, I'll be able to follow up on the excellent tips offered in this blog post, "50 Ways to Take Your Blog to the Next Level."

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ways-to-take-your-blog-to-the-next-level (full link required)

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4. UPCOMING/ONGOING CONTESTS, COMPETITIONS, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITES OF INTEREST
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Andrews Forest Writers' Residencies http://springcreek.oregonstate.edu/residencies.html Deadline: December 31, 2009, for spring 2010 residencies NO APPLICATION FEE

Part of the Long-Term Ecological Reflections Project, the Andrews Forest Residency program welcomes "creative writers whose work in any genre reflects a keen awareness of the natural world and an appreciation for both scientific and literary ways of knowing." For one-week sessions, resident writers are provided a 3-room apartment at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest; access to a major forest, opportunities to publish their writings in *The Forest Log*, and a $250 stipend. Download the application and read the full guidelines at the Web site.

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*Atlantic Monthly* Student Writing Contest http://www.theatlantic.com/a/contest.mhtml Deadline: December 1, 2009 NO ENTRY FEE

For "full-time undergraduate or graduate students currently enrolled in an accredited degree-granting U.S. institution." Welcomes unpublished submissions (work may have appeared in student periodicals) in poetry, fiction, and personal or journalistic essays. Prizes in each category include a $1,000 first prize, a $500 second prize, a $250 third prize, and one-year subscriptions to the magazine for seven runners-up.

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Camargo Foundation Fellowships http://www.camargofoundation.org Deadline: January 12, 2010 NO APPLICATION FEE

The Camargo Foundation is currently accepting applications for fellowships in fall 2010 and spring 2011. Located in Cassis, France, the Foundation "is an interdisciplinary and multicultural residential center for scholars pursuing studies in the humanities and social sciences related to French and francophone cultures as well as for composers, writers, and visual artists (painters, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers, video artists, and new media artists) pursuing creative projects." The fellowship includes a residency and a $1,500 stipend. NB: "Academic projects must have a connection to France or Francophone cultures. Artistic projects do not have this requirement." Note also that translation projects appear to be very welcome. Check the Web site for more information.

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El Gouna Writers' Residency http://www.elgouna.com/writers-residency/residency-program.html Deadline: November 30, 2009 NO APPLICATION FEE INDICATED

"El Gouna (Egypt) Writers' Residency will be launched in 2010 and will host three sessions a year during the months of February, May and June. The length of each session is one month. During each session, four to six writers are invited to enjoy a full month's complimentary stay at a beautiful villa in El Gouna, where they will enjoy an intellectual haven providing them with opportunities to interact and exchange thoughts with writers from different walks of life." Check the site for more information and required application form.

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David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction http://www.langumtrust.org/histlit.html Deadline: December 1 NO ENTRY FEE

"The David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction is offered annually to the best book in American historical fiction that is both excellent fiction and excellent history. Any press may publish the work, with the exceptions that the book may not be self-published or published by a subsidized publisher. The prize and $1,000 stipend is awarded every July at Wheeler Theater, Port Townsend, Washington, in conjunction with Centrum Foundation's annual Writers Conference. Winners are asked to come to the ceremony and make a few remarks about the writing of the book. All travel expenses are paid."

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J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award http://tinyurl.com/2slqhj Deadline: November 20, 2009 (received) NO ENTRY FEE

"The J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award, in the amount of $30,000, will be given annually to aid in the completion of a significant work of nonfiction on a topic of American political or social concern. Recognizing that a nonfiction book based on extensive original research often overtaxes the resources available to its author, the committee envisions the award as a way of closing the gap between the time and money an author has and the time and money that finishing a book requires." Applicants must already have a contract with a publisher.

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Andres Montoya Poetry Prize http://www.nd.edu/%7Elatino/poetry_prize/guidelines.htm Deadline: January 10, 2010 NO ENTRY FEE Final Judge: Silvia Curbelo

Open to "Latino/a poets who have not had a book professionally published. Authors of chapbooks and self-published works are eligible, but the manuscript submitted should not have been published as a whole in any form. Manuscripts may be submitted elsewhere simultaneously, but authors must notify the Institute for Latino Studies immediately if a manuscript becomes committed to another press. It is understood that, in the absence of such notification, the winning author is committed to publishing his/her manuscript with the University of Notre Dame Press. A manuscript committed to another press is not eligible for the Andres Montoya Poetry Prize." Prize includes $1,000 and publication with Notre Dame University Press, plus an expenses-paid reading at the university's Institute for Latino Studies (the reading will also feature the competition's judge).

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The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award http://tinyurl.com/n4u5p4 Deadline: November 30, 2009 (received, by 5 p.m., London time) NO ENTRY FEE INDICATED

New prize, administered by Booktrust and open to writers previously published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Submit an unpublished (or published after January 1, 2009) story. "The winner will receive GBP 25,000, making this competition the largest prize for an individual short story in the world. There are prizes of GBP 500 each for the five runners up." Check detailed guidelines for more information.

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5. SUBMISSION ALERTS!!!
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From *The Pedestal Magazine*: "For the December 2009 issue, Bruce Boston and Marge Simon will be jointly guest-editing a special speculative flash fiction issue. Speculative includes science fiction, fantasy, horror, slipstream, and experimental. All fiction submitted between October 28-December 14 should be speculative and not exceed 1,000 words." Pays: $.08/word. Visit http://thepedestalmagazine.com for more information.

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"WordTech Communications LLC welcomes submissions of book-length poetry manuscripts from residents of the United States. Unlike most poetry publishers, we do not charge reading fees. All chosen manuscripts are published under a royalty contract." Next reading period is November 1-December 31, 2009. Check http://www.wordtechcommunications.com for list of imprints and additional instructions.

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"Indiana Review is looking for art, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for a special feature on Blue in our Summer 2010 issue. What do we mean by blue? We mean the color, the mood, the music. We're looking for work that honors, laments, declares war on, reinterprets, reinvents, and redefines 'blue.' Our door is wide open and the possibilities are endless. We're thinking the color blue; the blues; narrators named Blue; Holden Caulfield; Miles Davis's 'Kind of Blue'; William Gass's 'On Being Blue'; a melancholy mode; blue ghazals; blue sonnets; blue sestinas; blue short shorts; blue memoirs; blue suede shoes; the blue lagoon; Paula Abdul leaving American Idol; Ellen judging American Idol; tragedy; blue roses; familiar blue tropes (see clouds, sky, moon, dolphins) turned on their ears. As always, we want work that is well crafted and original." Deadline: December 1, 2009. Pays: $5/printed page ($10 minimum), plus 2 copies and the remainder of a year's subscription. See http://indianareview.org for more information.

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December 1 is also the deadline (it's an extended one) for the following call: "*The Georgia Review* is now taking submissions for a planned special feature, 'A *Devil's Dictionary* for the Twenty-First Century' - an update of sorts of Ambrose Bierce's brilliant satirical work *The Devil's Dictionary - published just about one hundred years ago. Taking Bierce as a model, all writers are invited to send one or two original dictionary entries - maximum length, two hundred words each - for publication consideration; those writers who include with their submission a paid order for a new, renewed, or gift subscription to The Georgia Review ($30) may send up to six dictionary entries. All entries will be considered for publication in our pages and/or on our website." Pays: "All accepted authors will receive an honorarium and also will be eligible to receive "The Devil's Due" in the amount of $500 for first place, $150 for second, and $100 for third." Details: http://www.uga.edu/garev/devil.html

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*Existere*, a semiannual journal based in Canada, welcomes submissions for its Spring/Summer 2010 issue until December 31, 2009. "All genres and forms are welcome, including poetry, short plays, short stories, postcard and flash fiction, arts & literature reviews, critical essays, interviews, sketches, photos, etc." Pays: "a small honourarium" plus two copies. Visit http://www.yorku.ca/existere/submissions.html for more information.

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Based at the University of Idaho, *Fugue* is constructing a 20th anniversary issue "in the form of a regionally based issue. Bruce Barcott said, 'We created the northwest with words,' but we are adding that it is this region which causes writers to write. This latter thought is what we are developing our anniversary issue around – the writers of the west, but more specifically the insiders, the born, the original settlers versus the outsiders, the migrators, the transplants, the carpetbaggers. What causes the insiders to stay here and write about this place, and what causes the outsiders to come to this place to write?" Deadline: January 1, 2010. "All contributors receive payment and two complimentary copies of the issue." See http://uidaho.edu/fugue for more information.

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*Kenyon Review*'s submission season began September 15 and will run until January 15. Considers short fiction and essays, poetry, plays, excerpts from longer works, and translations of poetry and short prose. No simultaneous submissions. Pays: on publication. See http://kenyonreview.org for more information.

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I'll admit that when I saw *Artful Blogging* magazine on a newsstand the other day, I was somewhat taken aback. A print magazine about blogging? So I did a bit of investigating and learned that the quarterly magazine is part of the Stampington & Company family of magazines. *Artful Blogging* "showcases the most visually inspiring art blogs from across the internet." So if you can combine your artwork and your writing savvy, this may be a magazine to look into. "Please note that the artwork itself often sells the article....Competitive editorial compensation is provided for all published articles." Visit http://www.stampington.com/html/wanna_get_published.html to find out more.

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Want to discover over TWO HUNDRED MORE potential paying homes for your work? Consider our e-directories to paying essay markets and paying markets for book reviewers. We ONLY list publications that publish their guidelines (AND pay rates) online. Our guides were freshly checked/updated in June 2009. Find out more (and read complimentary previews with 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.

Here's a sampling of posts added since last month's newsletter went out:

--TBR: Five Titles on My Nightstand --How Old is Too Old for a Traditional MFA Program? --Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities --Genre Confusion: Help Wanted! --The Wednesday Web Browser --Friday Find: Creating Van Gogh --Informal Poll: Reading Dickens --Friday Find: The New Yorker's Remnick at the CUNY J-School

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:

--TBR: Anna Solomon's THE LITTLE BRIDE --Irina Reyn Wins 2009 Goldberg Prize --Becoming Americans: Writing the Immigrant Experience --Poetry Competition: Anna Davidson Rosenberg Awards for Poems on the Jewish Experience --TBR: Allison Amend's STATIONS WEST --Story (and Backstory) Online at Scribblers on the Roof --Notes from Around the Web --Upcoming Event: "Writing Between Two Worlds: On Being a Jewish Writer, with Tova Mirvis"

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7. AROUND THE WORLD: LITERARY EVENT CALENDAR
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Disturb the Universe: Modernism Across Europe Chicago, Ill. U.S.A. http://poetryfoundation.org/programs/events.html Thursday, November 5, 2009 Free admission

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*Interfictions 2* Book Release New York City U.S.A. http://tinyurl.com/ygnxnx5 Friday, November 6, 2009 Free admission

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Aldeburgh Poetry Festival Aldeburgh, Suffolk U.K. http://www.thepoetrytrust.org November 6-8, 2009 Some events are free.

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Creative Writing for Performance with Tim Crouch Boston, Mass. U.S.A. http://www.grubstreet.org/calendar.php Monday, November 9 Free, but reservations are necessary

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Oprah's Book Club on CNN Live with Facebook Everywhere! http://www.oprah.com/static/webcast/cnn/webcast_register_cnn.html Monday, November 9 Free

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Winter Wheat: The Mid-American Review Festival of Writing Bowling Green, Ohio U.S.A. http://www.bgsu.edu/studentlife/organizations/midamericanreview/wwhome08.html (full link needed: please cut and paste in a new browser as needed) November 12-14, 2009 "There is no set fee, but participants who are able are encouraged to contribute; we suggest $50."

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Eastern European Res Artis Meeting (International Conference on Artistic Residencies) Warsaw Poland http://resartis.org November 16-19, 2009 "Due to funding received from the European Commission, attending this regional Res Artis meeting is now free of charge"

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Hammer Readings: New American Writing, with Dylan Landis and Mary Otis Los Angeles, Calif. U.S.A. http://hammer.ucla.edu Thursday, November 19, 2009 "All Hammer public programs are free."

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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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Missed a newsletter issue? Want to review our articles and opportunity listings? Check out our archived messages (for subscribers only) at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/practicing-writer/

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