Internship Opportunity

Super Interns Wanted!

Are you looking for the best internship ever? Super Interns is
seeking students who want to learn about media, marketing and
how to turn a small business into a big business!
Please email your contact information and resume to:
Julie Braun, marketing guru of julie braun design,
julie.braun.design@gmail.com
Check out www.juliebraundesign.com to be inspired!

Get Your Workshop Requests In!

All students who will be attending the August residency can find descriptions of the residency workshops at the program website: http://www.wcsu.edu/writing/mfa, under Links for Students. The link is called "Residency August 2008-Workshop Descriptions." Please review and submit your preferences. All workshop requests must be received by the coordinator no later than June 27.

Finding a New Home...

Hi everyone!
My name's Stefanie Botelho, and with this blog comes the program that hopefully changes my life. A recent graduate from Southern Connecticut (I just can't seem to get away from these state schools), I received my B.A. in English, and spent a year discovering just how little that meant to the working world. After several dead-ends, including an internship which may have been one of the most futile endeavors I've encountered in my short 23 years, I stumbled upon this program, and managed to squeak in at the last minute. I can't begin to explain how very excited I am to be back in a community of people that take writing as seriously as I do, and am so looking forward to the support that I am sure to find in this group. I find that being surrounded by talented writers fuels the healthy(!) competitive side in me, and forces me to stretch to my best.

In a world where television has destroyed the need to read, and the Internet has dissolved the need to think, I think that I finally found where I need to be: in this program, with this group of people. August can't come fast enough, and I can't wait to meet you all at the residency.

Introducing myself

Greetings,

Here I write in my pajamas, after a long, exhausing weekend of camping in eastern Kansas! Kansas - Overland Park, namely - is my new home. My husband, Bryan, accepted a job in this suburb of Kansas City, which began June 2. He's an engineer, a straight and logical thinker (ha!). We get a kick out of making fun of each other because we're so different. (Yesterday, for example, I was writing in my journal by the campfire and he asked what I was writing about. I told him I was thinking about nakedness and all it implied. He thought that was weird.)

Anyway, we moved here from Indiana just over a month ago, following Bryan's graduation from Purdue University. While he finished school, I was the "breadwinner" for a couple of years, pulling in the big bucks as a staff writer for a local daily newspaper. I worked on the crime beat - quite the challenge for a quiet, mild-tempered girl who grew up in a tiny Wyoming town where crime was more or less a foreign concept. My "crime reporting" experience certainly broadened my horizons: I wrote about dumb criminals jumping over snowbanks to get away with a pair of stolen nail clippers, covered the trial of a drug-dealing man whose arm was shot off in a police raid, and plenty more in between! This summer, as we switch roles and my husband starts pulling in the big(ger) bucks, I am finishing a family history and doing freelance work as time allows, until school starts in August!

I received my undergrad in English from Gustavus Adolphus College, a small liberal arts school in southern Minnesota, in 2006. Got married that summer in the mountains where I grew up, then moved to Indiana, and now we're here, in the suburbs of Kansas City. Someday, eventually, we'll settle down ... actually plant our own roots somewhere.

I look forward to hearing your own stories and meeting you in August!

August Residency Workshops

All students who will be attending the August residency can find descriptions of the residency workshops at the program website: http://www.wcsu.edu/writing/mfa, under Links for Students. The link is called "Residency August 2008-Workshop Descriptions." Please review and submit your preferences. All workshop requests must be received by the coordinator no later than June 27.

Call me Deb

Years ago I was Debbie...then I turned forty and became, more suitably, Deborah, until I grew weary from answering "do you spell that with a...?" so, after 50 I dropped the issue and settled into "Just deb" which suits me fine. I teach English at Danbury High School...completing my 17th year this very day.

I'm excited about this commencement of work that will lead to collections I've been wanting to construct for a long long time...tried it here and there...Goucher, Manhattanville, Wesleyan...and never could make the geography work with my professional commitments and the life I livcd raising my kids alone.

Kids are now moved away--along with them went the granddaughter who was my constant sidekick. Too much time on my hands mandated a new lifestyle, so this is a vacation all for me. Going to school is my favorite thing to do.

Introducing myself

Hi all! My name in Elizabeth and I'm just starting my MFA this year.  I made the decision to continue my education very last minute without giving it more than a day's thought, so I'm not sure the magnitude of my undertaking has sunk in yet, but I am beyond excited.  (And may I point out the tremendous pressure in writing a blog that will be read by other writers? "beyond excited?" I'm am so very excited I can't think of an appropriate synonym...) 

Anyway, I'm a corporate flight attendant, did undergrad at Fairfield University, and like long walks on the beach.  Just kidding.  I mean I do, but... oh well, I mean we're introducing anyway; I prefer to eat all my food with chopsticks or sundae spoons and I am weirdly afraid of goldfish.  Finally, I believe that being slightly eccentric, a la Greta Garbo, is a prerequisite to being a writer.  I can't wait to meet you all in August! See you soon!

August Workshop Requests

All students who will be attending the August residency can find descriptions of the residency workshops at the program website: http://www.wcsu.edu/writing/mfa, under Links for Students. The link is called "Residency August 2008-Workshop Descriptions." Please review and submit your preferences. All workshop requests must be received by the coordinator no later than June 27.

Editor Experience

Ducts.org, the literary webzine of personal stories, is looking for a young, hungry someone or other to take over the duties of editor-in-chief. We're looking for someone who cares deeply about the literary community, has some experience working on a literary magazine and also has some technical skills. We put our site together in Wordpress so experience using that would be a bonus, but not necessary as long as you're willing to learn. The position is voluntary (no pay), but will allow the new editor to gain invaluable experience and make tremendous contacts.

If any of you know someone who might be interested, please have them contact me, Jonathan Kravetz, at Jon@ducts.org and put "Editor-in-Chief" in the subject line.

Many thanks!

--Jonathan Kravetz

No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs

Faculty, staff, and students,

I'm cast in the off-Broadway production "No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs." No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs, is the story of a Black family in the South living under the rigors of racism. Rawl Cheeks is a loving family man devoted to his wife Mattie and children Joyce and Matoka. The Cheeks are a close-knit church going family struggling to make ends meet. In order to supplement their income they allow Yaveni Aaronson, a sociologist, to do research on their family. Yaveni, a Jew, is gathering material, comparing the trials and tribulations faced by the Blacks under racism with that of the suffering of the Jews under racism, both in Europe and in America.

Spoon Theatre
Address:
38 West 38th Street, 5th FloorNew York, NY 10018

Schedule: Wed-sun at 8PM July 9 to 27

Cost:$20 gen. admission, $15 for students/seniors (need student ID)
Buy Tickets Online or Call: TheaterMania at 212-352-3101

Congrats to Lisa Smith-Overton

Third-semester MFA student Lisa Smith-Overton was accepted into the Community College System Minority Fellowship program for teaching at Asnuntunk Community College. Good luck with the teaching, Lisa!

Editorial Position at Hyperion

Many of you will remember Hyperion editor Brenda Copeland's visit last year. She's just informed Don S. of a position working under her:

Hyperion has a terrific entry level opening, working as assistant to an executive editor (Brenda!) and the associate publisher (Kristin Kiser) . It's a fine opportunity that would give the right person some real big-picture experience. A brief job description below. If you want to apply, please send an email to Brenda, with resume attached. Please feel free to forward this email. Brenda Copeland Executive Editor HYPERION 77 W. 66th Street - 11th Floor New York, NY 10023 P: 212.456-0143 brenda.copeland@abc.com

Job Description The editorial assistant provides editorial and administrative support to one Executive Editor and one VP/Associate Publisher. It is the responsibility of the assistant to ensure that the editor's and AP's offices are well-maintained, specifically: answer telephones, keep accurate files, and maintain calendars. For the editor, the assistant will also do the following: record submissions and rejections, draft rejection letters, make sure that author checks are requisitioned in accordance with contractual obligations, and make sure that fact sheets and other materials are submitted on time. For the editor, the assistant will also track book projects from the manuscript stage through to the arrival of the finished books and deal with post-production matters. He or she must look out for potential problems, keep an eye on deadlines, and keep editors, authors, and agents informed about production schedules and other significant deadlines. In addition the assistant will be called upon to read and evaluate manuscript submissions and draft promotional material such as flap copy, catalog copy, and audio copy. For the Associate Publisher, the assistant will keep lists for several seasons and update accordingly, schedule campaign meetings and assist with follow up with various departments (editorial, publicity, marketing, and sales), schedule sales meetings and assist with follow up.

An instructing opportunity

Unfortunately, I don't have the writing instruction experience. But I know one of you guys might have the right stuff for this opportunity. See below.

ESSAY WRITING INSTRUCTOR positions are available at ASA’s College Admissions Prep (CAP) program held on the campus of Tufts University. CAP is a 12-day summer programs for high school students aimed at fully preparing them for the college admissions process.

ESSAY WRITING INSTRUCTOR(S) Essay Writing instructors will be responsible for leading a 14-hour essay writing class — one of the crucial components of this 12-day College Admissions Prep program. Over the course of seven (7) two-hour classes, instructors will lead students through the process of crafting a college application essay (personal statement). These small classes are meant to be workshop-based and very interactive. Instructors are to lead the students from the inception of an idea to a polished final essay over the course of the class.

QUALIFICATIONS:
1. MA or MFA candidate or graduate preferred (or PhD).
2. Must have writing instruction experience (preferably at the college level) and must be confident in instructing a class on the personal essay. 2008 DATES: June 30 - July 9 SALARY: $1,000 TO APPLY: Please submit a CV to teach@asaprograms.com

My story at McSweeney's

My story "A Word to the Graduates," came out at McSweeney's Internet Tendency today.
If you're up for it, you can read it here.

And now a humble, mini pep talk on rejection: According to my records, I've submitted 18 pieces to McSweeney's since late 2002. Part of it is figuring out precisely the kind of stuff they publish. But there were some submissions I sent them that I was sure were so incredibly right for them.
Another thing: As happy as I am to finally gotten a piece past them at McSweeney's, this piece was rejected by two other publications and was sitting in piles at four other pubs when it was accepted.
This is all to say that the value of our work and the opinions of others, even "serious editors" are so subjective. We all know this but we need to repeat it to ourselves daily. In fact, say it right now. Go on, say it.

Anyway, here's an excerpt to whet ye olde appetite:

I feel like it's my obligation to make this commencement speech something you won't ever forget, and doing that with mere words and wisdom and funny stories is, frankly, impossible.

And that's why I've decided to release a family of lions into the audience. Granted, some of you will lose your lives and some will be mauled to that icky point where you'd rather be dead. Some will lose limbs but go on to secure respectable employment with reasonable wages, assuming they've retained the use of at least one arm. Others will mark great achievement in the artificial-limb industry—if not for yourself, then as a tribute to a fellow graduate. For the rest of you: Congratulations, you've made it. Welcome to the real world.

That Whacky Corporate World

Just in case any of you think that you’re too “out there” for the corporate world consider this oddity. A few posts below you’ll see a call for a writer by a company called Strategic Insight. You can read it and see what they do. I can tell you that they have their own brand of “insight” and apply at your own risk.

Since I have strung words together for a variety of business entities and I used to sell variable annuities and mutual funds, I thought I’d be a good match. After I sent them my writing samples, resume` and let them know that I knew the market and mechanics of variable annuities they thought so too. Then I was asked to fax a handwriting sample. I thought, well, this is odd, but what the heck. Since they’re going to spend money to have it analyzed I counted it as a good sign. I didn’t hear from them for a week so I called Tomiko Toland (her of fine literary genes) and asked of my status.
“They passed on you,” she said.
“Oh. Okay. May I ask why?”
“Loved the samples, loved your knowledge of the product, but...”
“But what?”
“The handwriting.”
No interview. No references. Apparently my handwriting alone revealed a less-than-stellar character. What insight! It’s funny how the legal authorities in the state of Connecticut and the countries of America and China didn’t catch these flaws when I applied to adopt a baby girl from China. Neither did the voters of my town when they reelected me to take care of their budget; the students of WCSU that I taught and tutored had no idea they were dealing with a flawed individual; neither does my wife, Mary Ann (check out Mary Ann Lamb’s pics, by the way on Playbill.com search The Visitat the Signature Theater) or my children, or the senior citizens and school kids that I do volunteer service for, and I’m certainly glad I got my MFA before they found out about my handwriting!!!

Google handwriting analysis and you’ll see it placed on par with astrology and tarot cards. But don’t tell that to Strategic Insight. And I saw their material. It’s poorly written and abuses the rules of English – but as a friend said, “I bet they all have neat handwriting.”

This is a longwinded venting to warn you to tread carefully if you are answering any ads for employment from this company. For what it’s worth, the young lady that I dealt with, Tomiko, seemed pleasant and fair. I plan to submit an article to the Wall Street Journal on my experience – typed, of course: I wouldn’t want them finding about me too.
Best Wishes!
Don

"Globalization: A Fuck Story" in FUCKING DAPHNE

Forgive the seeming Tourette's Syndrome, but that's postmodernism for ya...

Today I received my contributor copies of the fiction/non-fiction anthology Fucking Daphne (warning: cover image behind this link may not be safe for work!), edited by San Francisco performance poet Daphne Gottlieb.

The anthology has an interesting history — the germ of the idea began when Daphne got a call congratulating her: she was to appear in the annual anthology Best American Erotica. However, she doesn't write erotica. She was told she'd be appearing as a character in someone else's story. Then two other authors also happen to write stories featuring Daphne as a sexualized character of some sort. So, an anthology was born. My own piece, "Globalization: A Fuck Story" is an experimental work about the sex toy import-export trade and sweatshops. (And also fucking Daphne.)

The first publisher to accept the anthology later killed the title because the stories weren't "sexy" — instead many were postmodern ruminations on identity and sexuality and often had surreal or fantastical elements. Luckily, Seal Press quickly picked up the book despite exclusively publishing non-fiction and women writers. (Just under half the contributors to Fucking Daphne are male; many of the stories are fiction or at least have fictional elements.)

Anyway, check it out if you're pomo-minded, dirty-minded, or both.