Congratulations to Ann Kelly, winner of PIECES OF MY MOTHER by Melissa Cistaro
From the 2016 Debs
Louise Miller is working away at her copy edits while trying to ignore the terrible fact that this is the last time she can tinker with the story. In other news, she was interviewed for the Grub Daily blog. If you would like to check it out, click here.
Jennifer S. Brown didn’t reach her 50,000 word goal on NaNoWriMo, but is okay with it because halfway through she figured out what was wrong with the novel, and she has completely torn it apart and is rewriting. She was also thrilled that Deb Abby came to town and they got to meet in person (though she’s pissed at herself for forgetting to document it with a picture).
Heather Young vowed to start Book Two this week, because she’s starting to feel less like a professional writer and more like a professional copy editor, and also vowed to stop eating food made with more than half a stick of butter. (One of these vows will be broken by the end of the weekend.)
Abby Fabiaschi took the week off to eat, drink, and be merry. Back to reality Monday.
Aya de Leon turned in her acknowledgements/dedication/discussion questions for Uptown Thief to her editor. She also turned the draft in to her agent of the book proposal for her essay collection. By the way, that working title is Relentless Optimism and Persistent Outrage. However, she is decidedly underwhelmed by her NaNoWriMo output on novel #2.
For Writers
Here are some of the best things we saw on the internet: This week, the writing community was buzzing with two powerful essays about the sexism women writers and readers face from the male-dominated literary elite. First, Tin House published Claire Vaye Watkins’ “On Pandering,” which is both a ruthless dissection of the ways male writers belittle their female counterparts and an examination of how women unconsciously write “toward” the male gaze. Then Jennifer Weiner called out mainstream critics for “Goldfinching” literary works by women writers and disparaging the women who read them in her article for The Guardian, “If You Enjoyed a Good Book and You’re a Woman, the Critics Think You’re Wrong.”
Places to submit:
Soundings Review is now a paying market! They offer $25 for each piece of prose and $10 for each poem, paid on publication. The fall reading period runs from September 1 to December 1. Soundings Review welcomes submissions of high quality, accessible poetry, fiction (including genre such as fantasy, science fiction, or mystery), nonfiction, and writing for children & young adults.
Ashland Creek Press is currently accepting short story submissions for the second volume of Among Animals, a book-length anthology of fiction focused on animals. They are looking for stories of how the lives of animals and humans intersect, particularly in regards to the conservation and protection of animals. Stories should be from 2,500 to 7,500 words in length. Previously published stories are fine, as long as you have retained the rights to reprint your story in an anthology. The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2015.
Door Is a Jar is open to submissions of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama and artwork for the spring issue of its bi-annual online publication. The submission period for closes April 1, 2016.
Mothers Always Write is a website that wants to “1) to offer parents beautiful and insightful reading that will elevate and deepen the parenting experience, and 2) to offer mother/father readers and writers a place to congregate during the sometimes isolating years (both early and late) of parenthood.” For December’s issue, they are seeking Christmas-themed pieces as well as personal narratives or poems about grandmothers. These pieces can be submitted anytime now through December 10th.
Congratulations Anne Kelley for winning Pieces of my Mother!