Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- June 1, 2018 Edition

> How much can you imagine winning in a writing contest? A New Jersey writing professor won the Sunday (London) Times EFG short story contest -- a cool £ 30,000 (around $40K).

> Have a hankering to transform your prose to a play? Nancy Davidoff Kelton, whose memoir Finding Mr. Rightstein, is heading to the stage, explains "five ways playwriting is similar to essay writing."

> In the category of hey-why-didn't-I-think-of-that, Andrea Askowitz has challenged herself to write 50 essays in 50 weeks. 

> Oh, the things I'm learning as a new author...Did you know there's a website where you can see a list of libraries around the world where your book is in circulation? Check out WorldCat.  

> At The Millions, novelist Tom McAllister asks, "Who Will Buy Your Book?" The answers are sobering (and sometimes, a little comical).

> I haven't looked into it deeply yet, but the new-to-me online reader/book social site GoRead, seems promising. And they promise to donate a book for every one bought there.

> A few weeks ago, The Quivering Pen (David Abrams' blog) ran my post, "My First (Disastrous) Writing Retreat)" as part of their My First Time column. The same day, Brevity's blog featured a post by Laura Rink, about her failed writing retreat. Both of us wrote about what we learned about ourselves as writers via the experience...which means, I suppose, they were a kind of success. (Great minds and all that, I guess.)

> Finally, feast your eyes and find out why "Finland is Home to the World's Most Radical Libraries"!

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- April 20, 2018 Edition

>Publishers Weekly reports on "A New Generation of African-American-Owned Bookstores."

> In case you missed it, the 2018 Pulitzer Prizes were awarded this week. Of note: the novel prize went to Less, by Andrew Sean Greer, which addresses love and growing older in the same breath and with humor. And in general nonfiction, Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by Caroline Fraser, the first complete and intricately researched biography of the beloved author.

> At a workshop I led recently, many memoir writers were working through stories of trauma and grief (as is usual), but at one point we explored why readers also need to experience some happy moments amid the sadness. Then I came across Laura Gilkey's post in the Brevity blog, and she said it so well.

> At The Writers Circle blog, Michelle Cameron's post, "Lack of Control" probably speaks for every writer with a manuscript their agent has sent out on submission to publishers. 

> Funds for Writers has advice for authors on how to connect with book clubs.

> At the Front Porch Journal blog, a look at a failed novel and the (fixable) problem of writing what you don't know. 

> Finally, two items for fun. In the maybe-I'm-not-so-odd category: "20 Quirks and Strange Habits: The Weird Side of Famous Writers." Someone opens to a random dictionary page when faced with writing description, then uses word he finds there to complete the task. And, always dependable for a laugh with his reports on humans (not writers) acting strangely, there's Dr. Grumpy in the House.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- March 16, 2018 Edition

> Assay Journal asked many writers attending the AWP conference last week to each report on one specific break-out session. I was happy to contribute this piece covering a panel presentation on chapbooks as a viable publishing option for (not poets, but) creative nonfiction writers. And if you want more on CNF chapbook publishers/ contests/opportunities, see Chelsea Biondolillo's post and generous list at Brevity's blog. 

>Many more AWP reports on a variety of sessions are at the Assay blog.

> What would it be like to get news only from print for two months? This guy found out.

> Poet Stephanie McCarley Dugger, on what it's like to win a book publication contest, ordering poems in her manuscript, and the ups and downs of submissions, at the Prairie Schooner blog.

> Gayle Greene, at Women Writers, Women's Books, on how she shaped her grief memoir, Missing Persons.

> Creative nonfiction writers have to make their characters come alive on the page, too. Shuly Cawood has some good advice for this. For novel writers, here's Jessica Morrell with tips on "Creating Vivid Minor Characters."

> Feeling lucky? You can win a bookstore. Yep, an entire store, to own and operate. Deadline to enter is this Sunday, 3/18.

> Finally, if you are one of my local northern NJ readers, come work with me on Sunday morning, 3/18. As part of the Montclair Literary Festival, I'm leading a 90-minute workshop, "Writing from Memory," geared to helping memoir, personal essay, and family history writers pry prose from partial memories.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- January 12, 2018 Edition

> Charles Simic, at the New York Review of Books, pays homage to "The Poet's Pencil" (and that would be a non-metaphorical pencil).

> The Authors Guild wants writers to know that a Senate floor vote is now assured on a bill to reverse the FCC's recent repeal of Net Neutrality. If you haven't made your voice heard, do so now, before the anticipated vote on Monday, 1/15.

> If you're anything like me, your book buying reach extends way beyond your book reading grasp. And Jessica Stillman, at Inc. (plus a whole bunch of people she interviewed), say that's okay; in fact, it's a good thing.

> Jane Friedman looks back at the book publishing issues that shaped 2017.

> Finally, watching this video/song parody both calmed and worried me, as I'm currently asking bookstores and libraries to host me when my book publishes this spring. Forget that Waldenbooks has been gone for eons; author Parnell Hall nails the angst (and, if you're smart, good humor) that accompanies author appearances. 

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- September 22, 2017 Edition

> It's book award season, and over at the PBS NewsHour site, we can watch and listen in as "National Book Award Nominees Share their Advice on Books, Fear, and Love."

> Meant to post this a few weeks back: one of my favorite authors, Roger Rosenblatt, with an insightful essay in the New York Times on "The Invisible Forces that Make Writing Work." 

> Speaking of favorite writers, here are two more of my crushes -- Elizabeth Alexander and Atul Gawande in conversation on the New York Public Library podcast (#182).

> Carolyn Howard-Johnson has advice on "Making the Most of Writers' Conferences" at the BookBaby Blog.

> Who knew there is a Book Signing and Event Directory, to track book tours of authors you want to see? I haven't had a chance to explore the site yet, but just the idea is intriguing.

> Finally, what's not to like about reading a book or two while at sea? How about thousands of books on the world's largest floating bookstore? (h/t @KateWhouley)

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons-JDHancock

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- September 15, 2017 Edition

> This-just-in department: "House Votes to Save Library Funding, NEA and NEH" according to Publishers Weekly.

> As they mark their 10th anniversary, Fiction Writers Review is featuring interviews from the archives, including this one with Jesmyn Ward about "Getting the Sough Right" on the page.

> Speaking of Ward, her novel, Sing, Unburied, Sing, is on the 2017 National Book Award longlist.

> Bookish offers its Fall 2017 Nonfiction Book Preview. And now I need an eighth day in every week.

> Shelf Awareness reports how some Florida bookstores are getting back to business after Irma, and what one publisher is doing to help.

> Thomas E. Ricks tells the story of how his latest book was vastly improved during a long, thorough revision/rewriting process, after his editor trashed his initial manuscript.

> The WOW! Women on Writing newsletter features (and connects to) myriad topics of interest, including craft and technique, submission, publishing, and marketing issues facing writers. I'm pleased to be featured in the current issue in "Success Stories From You," amid so much other helpful information.

> Here's what's new in the just-published 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. (Or, as it's known in my house - Mom's Paperweight.)

> Wondering if the newish American Writers Museum in Chicago is worth a visit? Wonder no more.

> Finally -- We've all seen the article or blog post about how publishing a book is like birthing a baby or having kids (I even featured a guest post like that.) But the way Austin Gilkeson does it at The Rumpus in "Congratulations on Publishing Your First Baby" is an entirely new and fun take on the trope. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons 

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- August 11, 2017 Edition

> Publishers Weekly reports that The Great American Read, to be broadcast on PBS next spring, will focus on how reading fits into American life, the top 100 American books, and other literary news, over eight episodes.

> When a much-loved author stops a book tour, citing a need to protect his mental health, as Sherman Alexie did, people notice. And some, like Melanie Brooks writing in Modern Loss, are applauding the strong message his action sends about the repercussions of writing about grief, the topic of Alexie's new memoir.

> Is the content of books getting more empathetic? An article in The Guardian, "Up lit: the new book trend with kindness at its core," says yes.

> Kind of odd and kind of cool. RecommendMeABook shows you the first page of a book without (at first) any author or title info.

> What happens when a self-designed writing retreat yields only blank pages? Mary Katherine Spain's intuitive post, "The Work," says that was just what she needed, after all.

> With so many reputable writing programs and workshops, any good writer should be able to find a spot. But what if you're a writer of a certain age who noticed that no one that age ever gets into your program of choice? Someone is suing the Iowa Writers Workshop.

> I've been exploring the (new-to-me) blog, Published to Death, where Erica Verrillo rounds up news, observations, book/writing marketing tips, submission calls, writing conference listings, and more.

> Finally, my emailed Summer Newsletter has been sent out. You can also read it online. And subscribe.

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons-FelipeSasso

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- July 21, 2017 Edition

> Interesting interview with Julia Fierro about new new novel, The Gypsy Moth Summer.

> Also at The Millions, lists and capsule previews of 40+ "great" books coming in the second half of 2017.

> Looking for a few good outdoorsy / adventure books for the rest of the summer?

> And now: are some modern male novelists channeling George Eliot?

> Check out these drool-worthy vintage bookstores of Los Angeles.

> What would your shelves look like if you had 4,000 books? How about 40,000, or 400,000?

> Finally, you may have wondered why Jane Austen was trending on Twitter yesterday. Sigh. 

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons--JunqueChicDoll

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- June 2, 2017 Edition

> In case you missed it, do read Susan Shapiro's smart, incisive rebuttal, "Taking It Personally: A Feminist Defense Of The First-Person Essay", at Forward, written in response to Jia Tolentino's piece on the New Yorker's website that declared "The Personal Essay Boom is Over."

> I'm not, like so many of my writing friends and colleagues, in Iceland for the biannual NonFiction Now! Conference, so am periodically checking out the Twitter stream #nfnow17. 

> And I also wasn't at Book Expo in New York City this week, so followed some of the action via #BookExpo and #BEA17. Publisher's Weekly has extensive coverage, too. (Oh, and a NYC tabloid says anti-Trump books were in evidence. True fact!)

> Leslie Pietrzyk has some advice for recent MFA grads, re: keeping in touch with your professors. 

> This past week, I was sad to learn of the passing of Brain Doyle, a remarkable essayist whose work I've long admired. Here is Brevity's round-up/tribute of some of his most memorable passages in their pages. If you've never read his work, go find it! (Start with "Being Brians" because it's fun and unusual.)

> Likewise, we lost Frank Deford, one of the best narrative sports writers, an NPR Morning Edition commentator, and author of a memoir about his daughter's shortened life (from cystic fibrosis)--Alex: The Life of a Child, 1983--at a time when that kind of book was an anomaly. He was one of my early writing idols (I started out writing about sports--ice hockey and equestrian.)

> Recently, as I edited a memoir manuscript for a publisher client that was mostly about the mid- to late-1960s in Haight-Ashbury (as in, it contained plenty of S, D & RnR!), I did a bunch of fact-checking. You can just imagine what my Google and Facebook ad stream looked like after that. I should have been using Incognito mode!

> Finally, do you too have a super duper, always admirable writing process like Hallie Cantor?

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons--FaceMePls

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- March 17, 2017 Edition

> For now, essayist Phillip Lopate's regular column in The American Scholar, "Full Disclosure," is focused on his teaching experiences in Shanghai. (hat tip @NStuckeyFrench)

> What does it mean to "read above your head"? And why is it important for all writers to do so? Marion Roach Smith, an excellent memoir teacher, will tell you.

> The Open Notebook is a database of successful pitches to noteworthy media, sent by freelance writers who mostly cover science stories. But if you're any kind of freelancer who routinely must query editors for assignments, you will learn a ton from this deep and smart trove. While there, also check out this survey on gender differences among querying writers.

> Did you know Submittable (the submissions portal) now has an app? (Heaven help those who already can't resist checking their status multiple times a day...)

>Not new (from Summer 2016) but very interesting thoughts at Solstice from DeWitt Henry on what makes a "contemporary" writer.

>Writers - your coffee break humor is here. Check out "What Happens When Bookstore Employees Get Bored" (and pose with book covers).

> Finally, here's my  piece at Grown and Flown about what filling out March Madness NCAA brackets means to me (who knows nothing) and to my son (who definitely does).

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons-Pieces of the Past

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- February 3, 2017 Edition

>Rejection notes are never fun. But the Baltimore Review has found a way to at least make them helpful. Witness the ending of one I recently received: "...I hope that you enjoyed writing on this theme and that you will soon be able to place the work in another publication. See long lists of other publication possibilities at... " followed by links to four places to find submission opportunities --  New Pages, Creative Writing Opportunities Listserve, Poets & Writers, and The Review Review. 

>If you're trying to establish a write-every-day habit, you might try 750words.

>Not new, but useful/entertaining: authors whose significant other doesn't read their books. 

>Since last fall, I've been editing the craft essays about nonfiction writing for Cleaver Magazine, and I'm so pleased with the latest two pieces: Vivian Wagner with how poetry writing is changing her nonfiction, and Megan Culhane Galbraith on the way playing with dolls (!) is helping unlock her memoir writing.

>Finally, two fun items: if you're also a middle-of-the-night scribbler, enjoy Sarah Broussard Weaver's post at the Brevity blog. But if days are a problem, try Colin Nissan's cry for help Daily Shouts piece at the New Yorker, "I Work From Home."

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons-ScanDog

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- January 27, 2017 Edition

> At Women on Writing, Chelsey Clammer's series on submissions this time tackles formatting -- how and why writers are asked to submit their work differently for different venues. And more.

> Helpful interview/craft advice about writing backstory, from Lisa Cron, author of Story Genius, over at Writers in the Storm blog.

> At the Penguin/Random House site, a friend stumbled across this short round-up of (PRH-published) books by authors from, or about, New Jersey. Looks like it's part of their United States of Books series.

>AWP, the largest gathering of writers in North America, takes places in February in Washington, D.C. If you're going, and are interested in writing about any part of it, I'd love to talk about a guest post. Email me! (see side margin)

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons-1950sUnlimited

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- January 20, 2017 Edition

> Most writers like to know how other writers get it done. Emma Donoghue (author of Room and other works), offers excellent insight in a Guardian piece, including time management, allowing herself to write badly, and more. 

> Like podcasts? A batch of new episodes of Exactly are available, with host/originator Kelly Corrigan interviewing Mary Roach, Nicholas Kristof, Margaret Atwood, and others.

> Devotee of Edgar Allen Poe? For his 208th birthday, Electric Literature gathered up audio of five (living and dead)  celebrities reading The Raven.

> I mentioned last week a Resolve to Write event I led with local writers. One of them, a write-at-home, mom-of-a-toddler, summed up how it's going as she tries on some new writing-day organizing advice.

> If you haven't yet visited the blog of novelist Caroline Leavitt, do it! She features many many interviews with authors, and always asks unique questions.

> At the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, contemplating the purpose of a columnist today.

> Ever wonder, what writers think about questions students are asked to answer about their literary works? Poet Sara Holbrook wrote this funny/not funny account: "I Can’t Answer These Texas Standardized Test Questions About My Own Poems."

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons - Felipe Sasso

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- December 2, 2016 Edition

Looks like there are a bunch of new subscribers: Welcome! If you don't already know, Friday Fridge Clean-Out is me clearing out links I've gathered in the past week (or more)...much like how I sometimes feed my family on a Friday night, pulling leftovers out of the fridge. Enjoy!

> Jane Friedman with good (and in many cases, overlooked) advice about "How to Smartly Evaluate a Small Publisher." Just because a press is traditional (and not a self publisher), doesn't always translate to a desirable partner.

> Check out Christelle Lujan's "20 Apps for Writers Who Want to Get Serious" at SheWrites. I definitely need a few of these!

>Is an official book launch worth the effort? Dorit Sasson weighs in with some recent experience.

> At WOW! Women on Writing, Chelsey Clammer encourages submission, and offers her 1,278 rejections since 2011 as proof that the prize (in her case, 150+ publications!) goes to those who stay in the game.

> If you like Pinterest: a whole bunch of nifty lists and cheat sheets here with writing, revision, and editing advice.

> Short stories printed on wine bottle labels! What's not to like? (Okay, they're in Italian...)

> Finally: breathe. Or at least have a laugh with Daveena Tauber's "Post Election College Paper Grading Rubric" at McSweeney's.

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons-Rusty_Clark

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- November 4, 2016 Edition

> I'm not much of a baseball fan, but I am a fan of beautifully written, sport-related essays and feature writing, especially a piece that bring together big team events with the humans who love them. Like this one, which ran on ESPN the morning after the Cubs' World Series win.

> Beautiful review by Alexis Paige at Brevity, of the new essay collection by my brilliant MFA thesis advisor Barbara Hurd, whose lyrical prose always astonishes.

> In New York City, legislators have introduced a bill to protect freelancers from editorial clients who don't want to pay.

> This is not new, but I read it again yesterday while passing along reading suggestions to some writers who are struggling with the concept of massive revision. Imagine tossing out an entire novel? Laura Dave explains.

> If you teach writing, or act as a writing coach, or simply help another writer with a project from time to time, I think you will appreciate Jane Bernstein's honest assessment of her behavior working with a former workshop participant.

> How about some levity? What if "Election: 2016" were a novel? Can you imagine the rejections from literary agents? Devorah Blachlor did.

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons - WackyStuff

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- September 23, 2016 Edition

>I love reading about all the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant recipients, but of course pay special attention to the handful of stellar writers always on the list. Included among them for 2016 is Claudia Rankine, who says the "prize is being given to the subject of race."

>My kids aren't young enough to have enjoyed "Llama Llama Red Pajama," and other books in that series by Anna Dewdney. But I fell in love with the author when, after she passed away this month, instead of funeral services, she asked everyone to read to a child.

>I learn from coaching clients all the time. Recently, a writer looking for new ways to approach complicated essay topics, found "Let's Discuss Shredded Romaine Lettuce," an essay from 2014, by Wendy Rawlings. Whoa. It immediately became suggested reading for my MFA students.

>Part sounds-like-fiction horror story, part you-can't-make-this-stuff-up nonfiction, and altogether creepy/fun reading: Lesley's Kinzel's "The Writing Retreat From Hell: Or, a Completely Weird and Slightly Terrifyig Adventure in Small Town New England."

>I reported over the summer that Beyond Your Blog--a helpful trove of advice and resources for submitting essays and articles--had stopped putting up new material. Now I'm happy to say it's resumed doing so, with a few tweaks.

>Finally, I know I'm late to the Taylor Mali party, but caught on when my college freshman son sent me the link to Mali's  hilarious video send-up on "The Impotence of Proofreading" which he saw in his freshman comp class.  

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons - 1950s Unlimited

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- August 5, 2016 Edition

 > At the L.A. Review of Books, Tarn Wilson takes a close look at "How to Write a Collage-Style Memoir" by examining the craft and structure in A Piece of Sky, A Grain of Rice by Christine Hale. (Tip: Don't let #1 fool you!)

> Wondering what college students will be reading this fall? (Humor me, I have one of these species.) NPR rounded up some of the books being read campus-wide at a variety of universities.

> Yet one more site that rounds up links of interest to writers on Fridays -- Being Rudi.

> Has anyone (I'm thinking about you, list essay writers) explored (or tried posting at) Li.st? 

> Now that Oprah has named his new novel, The Underground Railroad, her newest book pick, Colson Whitehead talked to the New York Times about "Slavery, Success, and Writing the Novel That Really Scared Him."

> Department of Shameless Self-Promotion. My nonfiction narrative, "The Amazing Technicolor Horse Dream" appears in the July Hippocampus Magazine (part of their "Firsts" theme issue). It's my second essay on the site; I'm proud to have my work appear in the same venue beside so many excellent examples of the creative nonfiction genre. Have I mentioned (maybe only a zillion times!) that last summer Hippocampus put on a stellar first conference for CNF writers, one where every writer, at every level, was made to feel welcome? And that I'll be presenting once again when the second installment convenes next week in Lancaster, PA?

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- July 1, 2016 Edition

> Lit Hub has two interesting posts this week for those who write and send out literary work. Before you get into action collecting No's, as suggested in Kim Liao's "Why You Should Aim for 100 Rejections in a Year," consider the tips Erika Dreifus shares in "13 Questions to Ask Before Submitting to a Literary Journal." 

>For those who publish regularly on more mainstream sites and are curious about the reach of your work (especially if your payment is partially determined by clicks), have you tried out Muck Rack, which claims to track all blogging and social media shares?

>I won't get to see Hamilton on Broadway until January 2017, but later this summer some teaching colleagues and I will be incorporating it in our Teen Creative Writing Intensive workshops, which makes the timing of Roy Peter Clark's article in Poynter this week, "Learn From the Word Craft of Hamilton and Make Your Stories Sing," just perfect.

>When a normally savvy, professional, and experienced author (both traditionally- and self-published) apparently gets ripped off by a book PR "firm," it illustrates how easy it is to lose money and waste time while seeming to be doing the right thing for a book launch. Linda Formichelli, of The Renegade Writer, bravely shares her cautionary tale. Later, Sandra Beckwith, of Build Book Buzz, posted about how others can avoid Linda's experience.

>Write a book (even a slim one) under contract in two weeks is a crazy idea, right? Right. Even Sonya Huber, who did it (The Evolution of Hillary Rodham Clinton - SquintBooks/Eyewear Publishing), will agree. But her generous post this week about exactly how she did it, isn't crazy at all.

>Brag Box: I'm so proud of my former coaching student Emily Klein for her essay, "Variations on a Theme: Sing it James" now up at Entropy. It's always a little thrill for me to read the final, polished, published piece, having once seen it in its infancy. It's a lovely essay about what the music of James Taylor means to an ill baby--and aching mother.

>Finally, for typewriter lovers (I know there are still a bunch of us out there), check out Chryselle D'Silva Dias's City Lab article on the state of the typewriter industry in India (bonus: photo of cool typewriter sculpture).

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons-Erix!

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- June 3, 2016 Edition

> Running out of ideas of where to write away from your house/office? Read Shaun Levin's two-part guest post at Aerogramme Writers' Studio: "Taking Your Notebook for a Walk," an A to K  (and L to Z) of interesting places to write. I thought I knew them all, but many of these surprised me (mostly in a good way).

> Writer Jac Jemc shares her acceptance/rejection stats for applications to writer residencies. 

> Judy Blume has joined the growing list of bestseller authors who have opened independent bookstores. 

> Check out Brooklyn Magazine's "50 Fictional Women We're Obsessed With."

> Planning a blog tour to promote your book? Women on Writing has a few tips.

> At the blog of The Writers Circle (where I teach locally), founder and co-director (and historical novelist) Judith Lindbergh recently posted Part Three (finding an agent) of an excellent, detailed series on getting published. Part Two tackles "the dreaded synopsis," while Part One focuses on the elevator pitch / query letter.

> Interesting, short interview by Debora Black with Mira Ptacin (about the writing, and the difficulty of selling), her memoir, Poor Your Soul, at Bill & Dave's Cocktail Hour. (For a bonus, follow the link at the end to Ptacin's lovely post on her journey to E.B. White's writing shed--and her own move to a Maine island.)

> Finally, enjoy this Yankee magazine essay about a quirky bookstore customer, by my Bay Path University MFA teaching colleague Kate Whouley.

Have a great weekend!

Image:  Flickr/CreativeCommons - Don O' Brien DOK1

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers -- May 27, 2016 Edition

A big bunch of links to last you through the long weekend. Enjoy!

> Richard Russo and Jenny Boylan team up in a Studio 360 podcast, on "Plot Twists in Books--and Life," and I can't think of a better writer-friend combo to tackle this topic.

> From the front lines (or front office, anyway) of the O.Henry Prize Stories, Kelly Luce reports, in Electric Literature, on "12 Things I Noticed While Reading Every Short Story Published in 2014-15 (or, Extremely Long Titles That Are Complete Sentences Are Still Very Much a Thing)" 

> Authors, need help coordinating book promo events? Check out Have Book Will Travel, which is "connecting authors with reading series and venues."

> On Saturday and Sunday, May 28 and 29, you can listen in on, and ask questions, during a select few live sessions at the Creative Nonfiction Magazine Writers Conference including "Write This Way: How to Find and Develop a Niche in Your Writing" moderated by Keysha Whitaker, with Shannon Reed, Jason Bittel, and Christina Marusic; and "Ask an Editor Panel," moderated by Ellen Ayoob, with Hattie Fletcher, Geeta Kothari, and Jessica Bylander.

> The new app Litsy aims to be a place to "share and discover your favorite books with your favorite people." At Book Riot, Brenna Clarke Gray characterizes it "as if Instagram and Goodreads had a beautiful, perfect baby."

> Looking for more places to find good links for writers? Try this "Afterthoughts" newsletter from Chantel Hamilton.

> New Pages is now doing Lit Mag Reviews. (Correction: STILL doing reviews! Don't know why I thought they were a new feature at the New Pages site. I stand corrected. Still excited to know of this resource.)

> In Britain at least, The Guardian reports that paper books are outselling ebooks.

> At the Los Angeles Review, Corey Ginsberg weighs in with some rules about rejection for writers--and for editors, too.

> Finally, earlier this week, I had a horrible, no-good, very bad Monday of rejections--four in my inbox before lunch! The next morning I found Kathleen Siddell's great funny/not-funny piece, "How to Face an Inbox of Rejection" on the Brevity blog. Bravo.

Have a great weekend!

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons - Billie Grace Ward / wwward0