NewPages Blog

On Battered Suitcase is worth the second click to enlarge: Randy Thurman, Aunia Kahn, Jessica McKelvin, Jesus Garza Jones, Delbert Michel, Brad Kendall.

River Bend Film Festival (April 30-May 1, 2010, Edwardsburg, MI). Open to all filmmakers, including high school and college students. Seeking Features and Shorts in the following categories: Narrative, Documentary, Music Video, Experimental, Animation, Industrial/Commercial, and Student Project. Deadline: October 1, 2009 (early), January 1, 2009 (regular), March 15, 2010 (late). ENTRY FEE: $0-$30

Chicago’s Barbara’s Bookstore could be in some trouble.

The shortlist for the 2009 T.S. Eliot Prize has been announced by the Poetry Book Society:

The Sun-fish by Eil

Apparently, the folks at Creative Nonfiction have done some excavating and recently unearthed a box of classic creative nonfiction books by editor-in-chief Lee Gutkind. Long out of print, limited copies are again available of Lee’s landmark work Many Sleepless Nights: The World of Organ Transplantation and One Children’s Place. They also have a limited number of Lee’s one and only novel, God’s Helicopter, for sale. That’s right, the “Godfather of Creative Nonfiction” briefly dabbled in the world of fiction.

Arlo Haskell interviews Richard Wilbur, the only living poet with two Pulitzer Prizes. In it, Wilbur talks about the influences of Robert Frost and Wallace Stevens, playing Anagrams in Key West with James Merrill and John Ciardi, his reputation as a formalist poet, and his forthcoming collection of poetry.

Penn State University Press Editor in Chief.

The Department of Writing in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Ithaca College invites applications for a tenure-eligible position in creative writing (fiction), beginning August 16, 2010.

The Department of English at Rhode Island School of Design invites applications for an Assistant Professor in Literature and Writing. November 13, 2009 for full consideration.

Assistant Professor Creative Writing Western Illinois University. Dr. Mohammad Siddiqi, Interim Chair of English & Journalism. Interviews at MLA. Screening begins Nov 30.

The Writing Program in the School of the Arts, Columbia University, announces several full-time positions as Lecturer in Discipline in its undergraduate Creative Writing Program with concentrations in fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction, effective July 1, 2010.

Jason Nelson wrote to share his most recent digital poetry game: Evidence of Everything Exploding

It’s ‘a blast’ in more ways than one, but even better – I must admit – was his sharing a link to his and Davin Heckman’s digi-poetry portal, “a group site of sorts” which can be joined by interested writers/theorists/artists: NetPoetic

Lots here for writers and readers interested in digi-lit of many forms. The most recent post (with comments) asks where the digi-lit-focused MFAs are – so if you’re looking or you know, stop on by NetPoetic.

Guernica – the online magazine of art and politics – October 2009 features Stranded: “Amy Stein’s photographs document stranded motorists on roadsides across the United States – and meditate on how the country was stuck in a similar space between distress & relief after Katrina.”

From the editors of FREE INQUIRY magazine:

In our October/November 2007 issue, FREE INQUIRY featured “Dealing with Dying,” a selection of essays from readers describing their experiences with dying, death, and end-of-life rituals. This feature was very well-received, so in June/July 2010 we plan another such symposium in print. FREE INQUIRY solicits brief essays (or proposals for essays) from readers concerning secular humanist responses to:

serious, debilitating, or chronic illness;
caring for a seriously ill loved one or friend;
end-of-life phenomena; and
issues relating to physician aid in dying, assisted suicide, or other forms of beneficent euthanasia.

Essays or proposals are invited from persons suffering serious illness, who have recovered from serious illness, and from family members, loved ones, caregivers, and concerned professionals. Completed essays will be due no later than February 26, 2010, and may be submitted at any earlier time. If submitting a completed essay, total word count should ideally be shorter than 750 words and must not exceed 1,200 words. You may also write a brief proposal describing the essay you have in mind.

Send your essay or proposal to:

Donna Danford
FREE INQUIRY
P.O. Box 664
Amherst, NY 14226-0664

or e-mail:

ddanford-at-centerforinquiry.net

Essays submitted by mail must be accompanied by a file in rich text or Microsoft Word format on CD, diskette, or flash drive. Essays submitted by e-mail may be included in the body of the e-mail or attached as a file in rich text or Microsoft Word format. Please note, these special submission requirements apply only to this feature.

Unless otherwise specified, submissions become the property of the Council for Secular Humanism. Submissions will be accepted or rejected and may be published in print or online at the exclusive discretion of the editors. Sorry, FREE INQUIRY is unable to offer payment for submissions.

Canada Council for the Arts announced the finalists for the 2009 Governor General’s Literary Awards. The finalists include authors, illustrators and translators from ages 27 to 78. The English and French awards are in the categories of fiction, non‑fiction, poetry, drama, children’s literature (text and illustration) and translation. In total, 70 books are shortlisted.

Monica Hesse via journalgazette.net gives it a shot – but probably not enough for the Nobel naysayers.

According to Praveen Madan on the Huffington Post, Indie Bookstores:

Provide a Cultural Experience for Readers
Provide a Nurturing Environment for Lesser Known and Emerging Writers
Enable Positive Social Change in Local Communities

Where are your local indie bookstores? How about finding a few when you travel? Check out the NewPages Guide to Independent Bookstores – and please let us know if there are any you think we should add to our guide (denisehill-at-newpages-dot-com).

From David and Robin at Blue Cubicle Press:

Blue Cubicle Press announces the publication of our tenth hour of Overtime: “The Home Front” by Paul Silverman, a story of war, racism, and courage set in the kitchen of a Boston deli.

Paul lost his battle with depression this past August, which we discovered while preparing his story for print. You can read a little about Paul’s life in this article from The Boston Globe.

In honor of Paul’s passing, we’d like to offer his story for the cost of a first class stamp. Send us a stamp (no letter needed, we’ll know what it’s for), and we’ll send you a copy. You can also log on to our site and order a copy of “The Home Front” for a dollar (the extra money will help cover the PayPal fee).

For you teachers out there – or book clubbers – we’re offering 10 copies of Paul’s story for $5.00.

Blue Cubicle Press
P.O. Box 250382
Plano, TX 75025-0382

Press 53 has announced for a new anthology series called Press 53 Spotlight that will showcase five poets and three short story authors who are gaining recognition and building solid reputations through publication and awards but have yet to publish a book-length collection in that particular discipline. Press 53 Spotlight will debut in January 2010.

Founding editor Kevin Morgan Watson and poetry editor Tom Lombardo will co-edit the anthology. The featured writers were found by way of the Press 53 Open Awards, through the general submissions process at Press 53, and from reading print and electronic literary journals and magazines.

The selected poets for the inaugural issue of Press 53 Spotlight are:

Alexa Selph of Atlanta, GA
Austin Segrest of Birmingham, AL
Clinton B. Campbell of Beaufort, SC
Lisa Zerkle of Charlotte, NC
Malaika King Albrecht of Pinehurst, NC

The featured short story writers are:
Ray Morrison of Winston-Salem, NC
Shaindel Beers of Pendleton, OR
Taylor Brown of Asheville, NC

Eat Me Daily – besides being one of the greatest website names I’ve seen in a long time – is a website/blog “about food with a critical (and sometimes cynical) take on the culture at large, including media, books, cookbooks, art, design, celebrity, fashion, robots, and cookery.” It was this post that led me there in the first place: Food Writing in Magazines is Alive and Well. And a nod to Alimentum Journal: The Literature of Food for getting on the comment radar – let’s get the foodies to expand those literary horizons, shall we?

Alan Kaufman’s essay The Electronic Bookburning on The Evergreen Review addresses a number of issues on “the impact of Hi-Tech on Book Culture.” An essay from which every single line is integral and effective quoting nearly impossible, but, alas, if you are still resisting going to read it, here are a few lines that might take you there:

“One wonders why Nourrey cannot simply advise E- Book to go fuck itself…”
“The book is fast becoming the despised Jew of our culture.”
“I know many writers who do not see anything wrong in any of this…”
“Not since the advent of Christianity has the world witnessed so sweeping a change in the very fabric of human existence.”
“And its endgame is the disappearance of not just books but of all things human.”

While its “Holocaust as metaphor” may be strong for some, its position of resistance is a valid voice in this ongoing discussion.

Beyond Austerity; Facing Recession, Massive Reductions in Funding and Personnel-Librarians Plan for Fiscal Survival

Publisher: major, long established, in the library field

Editor: Carol Smallwood, MLS. Writing and Publishing: The Librarian’s Handbook, American Library Association 2010; Librarians as Community Partners: An Outreach Handbook, American Library Association, 2010; Thinking Outside the Book, McFarland 2008. Some others are Peter Lang, Libraries Unlimited, Linworth, Scarecrow

Foreword: Dr. Ann Riedling, Associate Professor, University of South Florida; An Educator’s Guide to Information Literacy, Libraries Unlimited, 2007; Writing and Publishing: Contributor, The Librarian’s Handbook, American Library Association, 2010. A two-time Fulbright Scholar included in Contemporary Authors

Afterword: Dr. Loriene Roy, Professor in the School of Information, the University of Texas at Austin, Past President of the American Library Association, Director/ Founder, If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything Reading Club.
Contributor, Librarians as Community Partners: An Outreach Handbook, American Library Association, 2010

Articles sought by practicing academic, public, school, special librarians sharing their experiences on how librarians are handling the recession. Concise, how-to articles using bullets, headings, by librarians in the trenches using creativity and innovation

No previously published, simultaneously submitted material. One article sharing the range of your experience, 2100-2300 words total. If you must use citations, use MLA style faithfully. Articles welcomed by one librarian, or co-authored by two

Possible topics: creative staffing, financial planning, grant writing, community donations, sharing facilities, cooperative buying, maximizing the media, legislative participation, workshops for job hunters

The deadline for completed articles (Call #1) is November 30, 2009. Contributors will receive an agreement to sign before publication. Compensation: a complimentary copy, discount on additional copies

To avoid duplication, please e-mail up to three topics each clearly proposed with three separate short paragraphs by October 31 along with a 75-85 word bio beginning with: your name, library of employment, employment title, awards, publications, and career highlights. If co-authored, each of the two librarian-writers will need to send a separate bio. You will be contacted as soon as possible telling you which one (if any) of your topics will work, inviting you to e-mail your article; an invitation doesn’t guarantee acceptance. Please place AUSTERITY/your name on the subject line to: smallwood-at-tm.net

The Big Trip Up Yonder by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., published in Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1954, and, having fallen out of copyright, now reproduced on The Project Guttenberg. Includes an illustration by Kossin

Spanish author Angeles Caso has won the prestigious Premio Planeta, the second richest literature prize after the Nobel, for her novel about an African woman’s travails in Europe. The Asturian writer was awarded the prize late Thursday in Barcelona for her novel Contra el viento (Against The Wind) centered around a woman from the tiny African island nation of Cape Verde who emigrates to Portugal and then to Spain. Misfortune hounds her in Portugal and even after she leaves for Spain. Caso, born in 1959, is also a newspaper columnist. The prize comes with a cash award of 601,000 euros (895,096 dollars). (AP)

Assistant Professor in Creative Writing – Nonfiction University of Alabama. Prof. Michael Martone, Search Committee Chair, Assistant Professor (Creative Non-Fiction). Review begins Oct 15.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas invites applications for Assistant/Associate/Full Professor of English. Dr. Donald Revell, Search Committee Chair. Review begins Nov 16.

Delta College tenure-track Mainstream and Developmental Composition Instructor. Review begins Nov 1.

Saginaw Valley State University Assistant Professor of English-Creative Writing

University of Alabama Assistant Professor of Creative Writing in Fiction. Dr. Wendy Rawlings, Search Committee Chair, Assistant Professor (Fiction) Search. Review begins Oct 15.

The English Department of Eastern Michigan University invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in Creative Writing. Review begins Nov 15.

The English Department at Rhodes College seeks a Fiction Writer to join the Department at the level of Assistant Professor (Tenure Track). Tina Barr, Chair, Search Committee, Department of English. Deadline Nov 6.

The English Department at St. Lawrence University invites applications for a one-year, visiting position in poetry. Mr. Pedro Ponce, Department of English. Review begins Nov 15.

Audio, manuscripts, and photos from Reckoning with Torture: Memos and Testimonies from the “War on Terror” are now available online at PEN.org. Listen to Don DeLillo, A.M. Homes, George Saunders, and others read from recently disclosed documents, legal memorandums, and first-hand accounts of government abuse.