Victoria Strauss on Writers Beware has once again posted a must-read blog: “The Perils of Searching For Publishers on the Internet.”

21: Journal of Contemporary and Innovative Fiction is a peer-reviewed, online critical journal exploring contemporary and innovative fiction: “We are interested in cutting edge fiction from the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, whether in the short story, the novel or hybrid forms; in print or hypertext. This includes all literature written in English or published as translation.”

Issue 1 (autumn/winter 2008/09) contains essays and articles on authors including J.G. Ballard, Anne Enright, A.M. Homes, Tim O’Brien, Annie Proulx, Jenefer Shute and Graham Swift written by Elizabeth Baines, Brian Baker, Kym Brindle, Alison Kelly,Paola Trimarco, Ursula Hurley, and Rob Spence interviews Charles Lambert, and Ailsa Cox writes on the Edge Hill Prize.

From American Book Review:

Richard Ford once said that it takes as much effort to produce a bad book as a good book.

And as disheartening as that sounds, what Ford’s assertion might raise, and what most everyone who has attempted the task of a book-length work already knows, is the notion that effort alone does not ensure a book’s success, and that there are probably more ways for a good book to be overlooked than a bad book to never make it into print.

That said, what constitutes a bad book? Is it an overrated “good” book? Can an otherwise good author produce a “bad” book? Is the badness in style, in execution? Or is it in theme or outlook?

In the spirit of such focuses as 100 Best Last Lines of Novels and Why Teach Creative Writing? and the most recent Fiction’s Future, American Book Reviewseeks entries for consideration in an upcoming “Bad Books” focus. Whether it’s a novel, memoir, collection of poems, how-to or self-help book, select a book that you think belongs on the “Bad Books” list and accompany it with a two hundred and fifty word essay illustrating just what’s bad about it.

Submissions are due by Nov. 1, 2009

American Book Review
School of Arts & Sciences
University of Houston-Victoria
3007 N. Ben Wilson
Victoria, TX 77901
USA

The Lynchburg College School of Humanities & Social Sciences announces the Thornton Writer Residency, a fourteen-week residency at Lynchburg College, including a stipend of $12,000, will be awarded for the Fall 2010 term to a fiction writer with at least one previously published book.

The residency also includes housing, some meals, and roundtrip travel expenses. The writer-in-residence will teach a weekly creative writing workshop, visit classes, and give a public reading.

Denison University seeks a tenure-track assistant professor in fiction writing; possible secondary interests may include playwriting, screenwriting, hypertext, graphic novels, or new media. Nov 13. MLA Interviews.

Submit a copy of a one book (will be returned), a c.v., a cover letter outlining evidence of successful teaching experience, and contact information for three references by October 15, 2009 (postmark deadline).

There is no entry fee.

These are the complete guidelines.

Lynchburg College
Thornton Writer Residency
c/o Joanna Turner
School of Humanities & Social Sciences
1501 Lakeside Drive
Lynchburg, VA 24501

(434) 544-8820
(434) 544-8820

Allison Wilkins, contact

The University of Dayton is accepting applications for the Herbert W. Martin Post-graduate Fellowship in Creative Writing, with possibility of renewal for a second year. Review begins Nov 6.

The Department of English at Ohio University tenure-track assistant professor in Creative Writing: Non-Fiction. Review begins Nov 6.

The Department of English and Modern Languages at Shepherd University seeks to fill a tenure-track position in Creative Writing, beginning in August 2010. Dr. Heidi M. Hanrahan, Department of English and Modern Languages. Oct 30 for full consideration.

The Department of English at the University of San Francisco invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the assistant professor level in creative writing with an emphasis in creative nonfiction.Kimberly Garrett, Program Assistant Department of English. Nov 1

The Amherst College Creative Writing Program invites applications from fiction writers for the position of Visiting Writer, to begin July 2010. Nov 15

The Department of English and Philosophy, Murray State University seeks a Visiting Professor in Residence for the Nancy and Rayburn Watkins Endowed Professorship
in Creative Writing. This full-time, nine month, non-tenure track position begin August 2010. Nov 27 deadline.

In anticipation of future openings, Ashland University’s MFA Program in Creative Writing is accepting the submission of resumes by creative writing faculty in poetry and creative nonfiction for their low-residency MFA program. Stephen Haven, Director, MFA in Creative Writing.

The Creative Writing Program of the Department of English at the University of Houston is seeking to fill a tenure track or tenured position in poetry at a level to be determined by relevant experience & publications. J. Kastely, Director, Creative Writing Program, Dept. of English. Nov 1

The English Department at Western Kentucky University seeks applicants for Distinguished Visiting Professor in Creative Writing (Creative Nonfiction), Summer 2010. Dr. Dale Rigby,Department of English. Review begins Nov 2.

The Northern Kentucky University Department of English announces an open position for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of English in Creative Writing. P. Andrew Miller, Search Committee Chair, Department of English

Jesse Glass, publisher, of Ahadada Books. We met him at AWP Chicago, 2009. He flew in from Japan to attend the conference and staff the publisher’s table at the book fair. I’ve never met anyone suffering from jet lag who was as energetic and humorous as this guy, and wholly passionate about books, publishing, meeting writers, and talking reading. His energies are as boundless as his compassion for words and people alike. He also runs a mean blog and is himself a damn fine poet. You can read his work and see/hear him read on the site.

From Roland Prevost (with collusions with curry):

john curry, certainly a world class poet living in our community, is presently facing almost certain eviction.

Stephen Brockwell alerted me of this precarious situation, by phone, and asked if I would get the word out, most recently at the TREE Reading Series on September 22, where we were able to scare up enough to cover one of his 5 months owed rent & save his telephone service.

curry’s been in constant production of his own and hundreds of others work since 1979. He’s mainly ineligible for grants. His bookstore is mainly an unused resource. His archive documenting the growth of avant-garde writing in Canada is one of the key collections in the country. Nicky Drumbolis has said: curry and his work are the best-kept secret in Canada.

Since time is of the essence, if curry is to avoid eviction, there are a few ways you can help:

Start to use his goddamn store!
Room 302 Books is the only bookstore in Canada ever to focus specifically on the avant-garde and overlooked outsiders, specializing in concrete/visual/sound poetries (mainly Canadian) with a stock of over 20,000 mainly rare titles, including elusive ephemera, and probably the only source of most of jwcurrys various imprints and titles (which number in the thousands). currys current lists finally focus on his own work as artist & publisher, virtually the first time everything that’s (still) available has been made commonly available. You can purchase bookstore IOUs (or set up an account) today in any amount for those who would like to do that.

Subscribe to Curvd H&z, curry’s serial imprint.
Donor subscriptions (please indicate) of $100 or more get the stash in a sampling of available titles from various of his imprints immediately, the remaining put on account for forthcoming titles.

Donate outright.
I would like to encourage you to donate something so as to keep this excellent bookstore, publisher, archive and artist alive, and at the same time help prevent curry’s eviction from his apartment. For those who would like to purchase bookstore IOUs, Id ask you to write (#302-880 Somerset Street West, Ottawa Canada K1R 6R7) or call him at (613) 233 0417. Please contribute as you can.

NewPages Book Reviews

From Science Daily: Reading a book by Franz Kafka – or watching a film by director David Lynch – could make you smarter. “The idea is that when you’re exposed to a meaning threat –– something that fundamentally does not make sense –– your brain is going to respond by looking for some other kind of structure within your environment,” said Travis Proulx, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSB and co-author of the article. “And, it turns out, that structure can be completely unrelated to the meaning threat.”

My colleague watched Ace Ventura 2 with his daughter and swears it lowered his IQ. Can the same be said for some reading? Where’s that study?

To celebrate over 25 years of publishing, Wasafiri asks 25 international writers to name the top 25 most influential novels over the past 25 years.

One of my favorite lines of all time is delivered by Joan Cusack’s character Cyn in Working Girl (1988): “Sometimes I sing and dance around the house in my underwear. Doesn’t make me Madonna. Never will.”

I feel the same way about the explosion of “performance poets” and “spoken word artists” thanks to the advent of YouTube. ‘Just because you have a poem and a video camera doesn’t make you a performance poet.’ At least there’s still hope you could become one, however. And for an great example of what it means to be a performance poet and spoken word artist in this digital age, check out Cassandra Tribe.

And, of course, there’s the indomitalbe Maggie Estep with one of my favorites: “I’m an Emotional Idiot.” For aspiring spoken word artists, she should be on your list.

Jesse Ball, noted poet, novelist, and winner of the Plimpton Prize, debuts his novella, Pieter Emily, to be presented in three parts on Guernica: A Magazine of Art and Politics.

Tupelo Press offers a number of free PDF Reader’s Companions for its poetry books – some written by the authors, some including additional materials such as interviews. These are not simple guides, but more like supplemental readers! In the reader’s companion to her book, Pslams , Carol Ann Davis includes two pages on “How to Read a Poem.” This is a bonus stand-alone for teachers and readers, coursing through a serious of questions, coming to this final one: “Let the questions go until there’s only one remaining: How does it make you feel?”

The Dartmouth College Department of English seeks to hire a tenure-track assistant professor in creative nonfiction. Nov 2. English.department-at-dartmouth-dot-edu

The University of Connecticut English Department seeks a poet to serve as Assistant/Associate/Full Professor In Residence to begin fall 2010. Wayne Franklin, Head, Department of English, POET Search.

Western Michigan University invites applications for a tenure-track academic year position in English, Creative Writing (Fiction). Dr. Richard Utz, Chair, Department of English. Start date: Dec. 14,2009

The Creative Writing Program at the University of Oregon welcomes applications for a tenure-track Associate or Assistant Professor in Poetry. Karen J. Ford, Director, Creative Writing Program. Nov 15

Davidson College invites distinguished poets to apply for a one semester, non-renewable professorship, the McGee Professor of Creative Writing, for appointment either the fall of 2010 or the spring of 2011. Responsibilities: teach two poetry writing courses, offer one public reading, and advise two honors students; commitment to teaching excellence required. Qualifications: extensive high quality publications, significant awards and/or fellowships. $50,000 salary, furnished apartment. Send letter of application, c.v., a list of references, & copies of recent books to: Alan Michael Parker, Director of Creative Writing, Davidson College, Box 7010, Davidson, NC, 28035-7010.

Northwestern University has “reaffirmed its commitment to publishing and disseminating scholarly writing” in a nationwide search for a new director of the Press. This same commitment takes a different approach in the announcement that TriQuarterly Magazine “will be going online within the year.” Other communications besides the university’s PR machine would suggest that the funding for the print pubication has been cut and the shift to online is the only means of TriQuarterly‘s survival. A bit of a mixed message from NU.

It really is well written.

Still trying to understand the whole Google-publisher-author-settlement deal? Carol Kellog’s LA Times blog on Jacket Copy gives a nice overview. As of now, the whole deal is on hold.

The Cartier Street Review, a three-year-old literary magazine, is seeking someone creative who knows about poetry layout to do issue layouts only. This is an unpaid position combined with desirability of editorial responsibility based on staff choices. Send letter of interest to: Violetwrites-at-nyc.rr-dot-com

Thanks Mark Stratton for this update on the Philly Free Library.

That’s right – September 24 is National Punctuation Day.

As a teacher in a rural college, I am faced with students whose daily financial struggles affect their ability to attend and be fully prepared for classes. Even more so now, living in a state with the highest unemployment, I have students who cannot afford to buy textbooks, or who will miss class because they can’t afford the gas it will take to get back and forth to campus.

I have been using online lit for a long time – online lit mags as well as print publications with online supplements. But I am always appreciative to find publishers who offer completely free online books. I have posted on “free books” before, and was reminded of the public library as a resource, but in this case, I’m talking about being able to access 15-25 copies of a book – for free. I certainly don’t expect all publishers to offer this – those who do have their own philosophies of open access.

What it allows me to do is put collections of poetry into the hands of students who otherwise might never “own” such a book. And, oddly enough, I’ve found students treat these books with a greater respect – even if they don’t “like” them – than when I was having them purchase such books. I’ve never found a copy of a free book in the trash, whereas I have the ones they’ve paid for – go figure.

Here are several sources I have found for qaulity, free books and some of their authors – and what I mean are those that can be accessed and printed in book form (PDF or like platform), not formatted for web reading only. Something students/readers can print and carry with them.

Certainly, if you know of other such sources, please let me know.

Beard of Bees
Constantin Acosmei, Gregory Fraser, Jacques Roubaud, Rae Armantrout, H. Patrick Glumm, Morten S

What if your heroes are found in the bookstore instead of the ballpark? What if books are your game?

Novel-T offers an opportunity to express your support for the all-stars of literature. For those who feel a connection to certain writers or characters – be it Walt Whitman’s expansive exultations, Huck Finn’s mischievous morality, or Bartleby’s inscrutable insubordination – these super-soft, jersey-style tees are the way to “wear your read.”

The first “team” of nine players, representing a selection of writers and characters from the American literary canon, will take the field for the first time at the official Novel-T launch on 9.20.09 at Freebird Books in Brooklyn. New teams, featuring an increasing roster of domestic and foreign players, will join the Novel-T Word Series league shortly.

To help ensure that there will always be new names to add to the Novel-T line-up, Novel-T donates $1 of the purchase price of each shirt to 826NYC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills.

I’m not allowed to post one without paying for it, so a link will have to suffice: Poet-Bot Cartoons on Savage Chicken.

Literary mania is a year-round preoccupation in Sidney, a seaside town of 11,000 people, who live about 30 kilometres from British Columbia’s capital Victoria. Wherever you are, there’s a store on the next block. There’s one next door. There’s another a few doors down. And there’s one around the corner. There’s even one underground. There are 30 bookstores in all. Booktown? That’s an understatement. Read more about the experience from Steve Quinn.

The award goes to the actor, Colin Firth, but the source material is from a novel by Christopher Isherwood and the subject is gay literature academic George Falconer. The film: A Single Man, directed, in his film debut, by fashion designer Tom Ford.