The Abacot Journal, an online short story magazine, is looking for quality magic realism, urban fantasy, and fabulist fiction for its first issue. Please see our website for full guidelines. Electronic submissions only. The Abacot Journal is a quarterly publication, with new issues appearing in January, April, July, and October. It will debut in January 2008.

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Northern Arizona University. Visiting Writer/Instructor of English in Creative Writing for Spring 2008. Dr. Jane Armstrong Woodman, Chair of Instructor/Visiting Writer Search Committee. October 24, 2008.

Central Michigan University. Creative Writing: Poetry. Two tenure-track positions as Assistant Professor of English, beginning fall 2008. Dr. Marcy Taylor, Chair, Department of English Language & Literature. October 26, 2007.

Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY. Full-time Associate or Full Professor (Fiction Writing). Michael T. Hewitt, Assistant Vice President for Human Resource Services. Application Due: Open Until Filled.

The English Department at Washburn University is seeking a Creative Nonfiction writer to join a vital writing program, with well-published colleagues in fiction and poetry. Professor Thomas Fox Averill, Department of English. October 29, 2007.

University of Kansas. Assistant Professor of Fiction Writing. Tenure-track; expected start date: August 18, 2008. Dorice Elliott, Chair, Department of English. November 15, 2007.

The University of Iowa Department of English invites applications for a Director of Undergraduate Creative Writing within the English major to be appointed as tenured or tenure-track Associate Professor of English. Professor Judith Pascoe, Undergraduate Creative Writing Search. November 2, 2007.

The National Association of African American Studies Conference
Baton Rouge Marriott, Baton Rouge, LA
February 11-16, 2008

The ALA African American Literature and Culture Society Symposium
“Traditions and Revisions: New Directions in African American Literature and Scholarship”
Saint Louis University St. Louis, MO
October 25-27, 2007

The first black woman in 20 years to make the country charts. More crossover than country, you can’t help but be charmed by her smile and style. Her first CD comes out today, and I have to admit, I’m going to be listening…

The Autumn issue of Contrary is now published:

poetry: Grace Wells, Katie Kidder, Lindsay Bell, Amy Groshek, and Allison Shoemaker

fiction: Edward Mc Whinney, Thomas King, and Damian Dressick

reviews: At the Axis of Imponderables by Neil Carpathios; Museum: Behind the Scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Danny Danziger; The Boy in the Ring by Dave Lordan; Later, At the Bar: A Novel in Stories by Rebecca Barry; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert; The Story of French by Jean-Beno

From Bookselling this Week, by the American Booksellers Association
September 19, 2007
As part of its Save the Book Review Campaign and overall mission to promote book discussion, the National Book Critics Circle [NBCC] held a symposium, “The Age of Infinite Margins: Book Critics Face the 21st Century,” last week in New York City. At the Friday, September 14, afternoon roundtable, “Grub Street 2.0: The Future of Book Coverage,” NBCC President John Freeman moderated a discussion focusing on the state of book review coverage, its expansion to include blogs, podcasts, and other Web formats, and more. Panelists were Emily Lazar, producer of The Colbert Report; Melissa Eagan, producer of The Leonard Lopate Show; Erica Wagner, literary editor of the Times (UK); Jennifer Szalai, NBCC member and senior editor of Harper’s magazine; Steve Wasserman, incoming literary editor of Truthdig.com; and Dwight Garner, senior editor of the New York Times Book Review.

Read a synopsis of the panel here.

The English Department at Illinois Wesleyan University invites applications for an Assistant Professor (Creative Writing) to begin 2008-2009. Alison Sainsbury, Chair, Department of English. November 15, 2007.

Creative Writing Job: SUNY Purchase. The Creative Writing Board of Study offers an undergraduate major in Creative Writing.

Poetry and Fiction Fellowships (2 positions). Writers who have received their terminal degree within the last five years in Creative Writing are invited to apply for an Axton Fellowship in Creative Writing. Paul Griner, Director of Creative Writing, Department of English. November 2, 2007.

Gettysburg College: one-year appointment as a sabbatical replacement, beginning August 2008, for a fiction/nonfiction writer with demonstrated expertise in both genres to teach three courses per semester (“Introduction to Creative Writing” and advanced writing courses in memoir, personal essay, and fiction writing) and assist with departmental writing activities. Prof. Jack Ryan, Chair, Department of English. November 16, 2007.

University of Albany. The Department of English invites applications for a tenure-track position in creative writing & literature at the rank of Assistant professor to begin August 2008. Pierre Joris, Chair, Search Committee, English Department. November 9, 2007.

University of Wyoming. The English Department invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Nonfiction to join the MFA faculty, appointment to begin in the fall 2008 semester. H. L. Hix, Director, Creative Writing. November 1, 2007.

Stetson University. Assistant Professor of English. Stetson University seeks a Fiction Writer for a full-time, tenure-track position in English. Terri Witek, Chair of the Search Committee. November 15, 2007.

Feminist Studies
Volume 33 Number 1
Spring 2007
Triannual

Free Inquiry
Volume 27 number 6
October/November 2007
Bimonthly

Maisonneuve
Issue 25
Fall 2007
Quarterly

Rad Feys DC
Volume 34 Number 1 Number 131
Fall 2007
Quarterly

Sing Out!
Volume 51 Number 3
Autumn 2007
Quarterly

Verbatim
Volume 31 Number 1, Spring 2006
Volume 31 Number 2, Summer 2006
Quarterly

No Taking Pictures
by J. D. Riso
September 5, 2007

“Here. Eat this,” my sister Stephanie says as she plucks a small green fruit-looking thing from a street vender’s cart.

I look at it for a moment. The middle of the fruit is hollowed out and stuffed with a white paste.

“It’s betel nut. The white stuff is a stimulant. Some say it’s cocaine, but I doubt it. It does give you a good rush, though.” She waits. “Don’t worry. It won’t stain your teeth red, unless you mix it with this green mustard paste.”

I take a breath and pop it into my mouth. At least she hasn’t tried to make me eat the fish eyes or chicken feet for sale in the night markets of Taipei.

I chew on the nut as we walk through the garishly lit streets, searching for Snake Alley…[read the rest on Identity Theory]

Kennesaw State University invites applications for a nine-month, tenure-track assistant professor to teach specifically courses in fiction writing for the M.A. in Professional Writing Program and undergraduate fiction-writing courses as well as other courses depending on the new hire’s interests and other expertise. Dr. Jim Elledge, Search Committee Chair. November 15, 2007.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland at Historic St. Mary’s City is seeking a tenure-track assistant/associate professor of Creative Writing, PhD or MFA, to begin August 2008. Ruth Feingold, Chair. October 15, 2007.

The Columbia College Chicago Fiction Writing Department invites applications for a full-time tenure track/ tenured faculty position beginning with the Fall 2008 semester, teaching fiction to undergraduate and graduate students. Randall Albers, Chair, Fiction Writing Department.

Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, is accepting applications for a tenure-track position as either Assistant or Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing, with a primary specialty in literary nonfiction and a secondary specialty in either fiction or poetry, beginning August, 2008. Review of applications will begin October 8, 2007 and continue until the position is filled.

Saving Two Birds with a Stone
The Deaf and Animals — Striving to Be Heard
By Avery Posner

“As a filmmaker, I do my best everyday to remind others to be more perceptive and sensitive toward the deaf, hard-of-hearing and especially animals. Some of you may want to know why I classify the deaf and hard-of-hearing together with animals. It’s comparatively simple. At birth, I was diagnosed with profound and permanent deafness in both ears, a hereditary attribute that resulted in the inability to neither hear my own voice nor others’ for the rest of my life. Yes, deafness is a disability in the mainstream society I live in, yet, I am privileged to have integrated deaf culture into my soul and I am a native user of American Sign Language, a language used by millions of hearing, deaf and hard-of-hearing peers throughout the country and Canada. American Sign language has enabled me to express my feelings and thoughts to others. But what about the countless people not familiar with American Sign Language? I am sure you can understand the difficulties I confront daily — but what about animals? Do we, as humans, understand what animals are trying to communicate? Do we ‘hear’ animals speaking about their afflictions or discomfort? In fact, I strongly empathize with animals for being incapable of clearly expressing illness, happiness, frustration, hunger, and, especially, pain. It is in this area that all our ‘voices’ about our feelings fall upon deaf ears.”

Read the rest at Vegetarians in Paradise.

Excerpted here – the whole blog entry is a must-read for anyone who has ever thought they were the only one to share the power of English slang with non-native English speakers. I can remember a similar experience, the chalkboard covered with every English slang word, attempting to help the students understand the variety of uses of the f-word. I’d thought for sure I’d lose my job if my department chair saw it – but since the students had asked, I felt the door had been flung wide open. Teachable moments should never be ignored.

Teaching the f-word
Combative English: lesson one
By Hauquan Chau / Tokyo
Sunday, September 2, 2007

“Very sorry. I have question. What do you say, ‘don’t touch me’ in English?” she asked, in broken, uncertain English.

I asked what she meant. And she began to tell me a story in a pidgin mix of English and Japanese about what had happened to her.

It was at an art museum, she said. While she was examining a print, a man came up to her and began stroking her on the buttocks. She pleaded with him in Japanese to stop, but he continued to harass her, and then began touching her breasts with impunity.

I asked why she didn’t scream out for help or run away, but she only said she didn’t want to make trouble, and therefore endured the harassment. Then she told me it was not the first time. Her pleas in Japanese were always ignored.

If her pleas were in English, she said, everything would change. She’s seen the movies — the Western women on celluloid who take no shit from anyone. Even if the guys who touched her didn’t understand a word, it wouldn’t matter. The English would be enough to send them scurrying away.

From one of many intriguing blogs maintained by In the Fray.

Palm Beach Poetry Festival
January 21-26, 2008
Palm Beach Poetry Festival, is held in partnership with Old School Square Cultural Arts Center in the heart of Delray Beach, Florida. The lineup for 2008 includes Kim Addonizio, Claudia Emerson, Major Jackson, Thomas Lux, Campbell McGrath, Malena M

Check out some of the content in this latest issue (Summer 2007) of Dissent. Some of it is available full-text online:

Genocide Without End? The Destruction of Darfur

Multiculturalism and Democracy
by Shalom Lappin

Justice Denied in Bosnia
by Courtney Angela Brkic

Why Aren’t U.S. Cities Burning?
by Michael B. Katz

Against Academic Boycotts
by Martha Nussbaum

Designer Babies and the Pro-Choice Movement
by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow

Squeezing Public Education: History and Ideology Gang Up in New Orleans
by Ralph Adamo

Universal Health Insurance 2007: Can We Learn From the Past?
by Theodore Marmor

No Refuge Here: Iraqis Flee, but Where?
by Joseph Huff-Hannon

How to Tax the Rich—And Live Happily Ever After
by Robin Blackburn

Notebook A Non-Zionist Reflects on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
by Eugene Goodheart

Who Named the Neocons?
by Benjamin Ross

Plus numerous, in-depth book discussions around relevant, current topics.

The College of Wooster, Ohio: Assistant Professor of English, tenure-track position, beginning Fall 2008. Expertise in African American literature OR in African-American literature and fiction writing.

Texas State University-San Marcos Assistant Professor of English, tenure track, specialty in fiction writing.

University of Tennessee. The Department of English seeks an Assistant Professor in Fiction Writing, tenure track. David Goslee, Associate Head, Department of English.

Creative Writing Fiction. The Department of English at West Virginia University invites applications for an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing with a specialization in Fiction Writing. Donald Hall, Department of English.

Pitzer College invites applications for a tenure-track appointment in creative writing (poetry, fiction, or performance) beginning Fall 2008. Areas of interest include nature-writing, urban issues, or gender and feminist issues. Ability to teach multiple genres desirable. Alan Jones, Dean of Faculty.

“Bad Subjects, founded in 1992 at UC Berkley, is a collective that publishes a magazine (Bad Subjects: Political Education for Everyday Life) and provides access to it via a public-access website. In 1998, Bad Subjects founded a small educational nonprofit corporation, also called Bad Subjects, which promotes the progressive use of new media and print publications. Donations to the nonprofit go toward funding printed copies of the magazine Bad Subjects (distributed for free), and other related projects, such as Bad Subjects books. Bad Subjects seeks to revitalize progressive politics in retreat. We think too many people on the left have taken their convictions for granted. So we challenge progressive dogma by encouraging readers to think about the political dimension to all aspects of everyday life. We also seek to broaden the audience for leftist and progressive writing, through a commitment to accessibility and contemporary relevance.”

Issue 78 (July 2007), devoted to “Hope,” includes the following:
Introduction: Hope Floats on a Paper Boat by Zack Furness
The Moral Politics of Hope by Gary McCarron
Utopia and the City: An Interview with David Pinder by Zack Furness
The War FOR Illegals by Helen Hintjens
The Sanctity of Life by Tamara Watkins
Future Now! Criticism Machines Strengthen Communities by Mike Mosher
(The Invisibles) Hope: A Comic Interlude by Maxwell Schnurer
Reflections on the Sixties by Anonymous
Our Arrest: Four Women’s Antiwar Action in Chicago by Rosalie Riegle
If George Bush Were a Religious Man… Cartoon by Myrrh
Snapshots of Hope, Part One: The New Bird Flu by Chelsea Robinson
Snapshots of Hope, Part Two: Trapped in a Box by Brandy Betz
Snapshots of Hope, Part Three: The Situation by Bianca Wylie
Snapshots of Hope, Part Four: The American Shabbiness by Braxton Marnus

Bound Off is a monthly literary audio magazine, broadcasting literary short fiction with the new podcasting technology. “We aspire to showcase work that is compelling and driven by narrative, with a force that keeps the listener listening. We are dedicated to publishing stories by both the established and emerging writer. Bound Off‘s editors, Ann Rushton and Kelly Shriver, live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. When they turn 75, Ann intends to start smoking again, and Kelly will stop wearing sunscreen.” Women after my own heart… Bound Off seeks original literary fiction between 250 and 2500 words long for upcoming podcasts. See site for submission – and possible recording – guidelines.

Brooklyn Book Festival
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Major free public event: A.M. Homes, Dave Eggers, Edwidge Denticat, Mary Gaitskill, Jonathan Safran Foer, Gloria Naylor, Francine Prose, Jonathan Lethem,George Packer, Chuck Klosterman, Melissa Marr, Jim Carroll, Kimiko Hahn, John Leland, George Saunders, Joshua Ferris, Uzodinma Iweala, Pete Hamill, Paula Fox, Colson Whitehead, David Bouley, Amy Sohn, Reverend Run, Charles Hynes, and more!

Habitus: A Diaspora Journal, the new magazine of international Jewish literature, Brooklyn, NY, is looking for a part-time Managing Editor with a record of success to assist with marketing, distribution, production, and administration. This is an excellent opportunity for a creative, independent candidate who values flexibility and diverse responsibilities. The Managing Editor will play a vital role in shaping public awareness of our work.

Some nice responses on the The Anthology Question blog posted earlier. To answer one point – it’s not that I won’t list the kinds of anthologies I called into question at all. I have, and I will. I am just trying to be select in what I let through to the blog. I look for well-organized operations and those that are connected in some way with a publisher, publication, academic institution, non-profit, or just a down-right good cause. No fee for submissions is a must. Some I list because it seems like good-intentioned editors making a go at being editors and publishing. I don’t see a point (yet) in discouraging them, and in fact, want to encourage their energy and efforts. As I get older, maybe I see this as a way to mentor the younger generation in their literary dreams. They’ll get plenty of squashing later…

One comment I received supported not only my own concerns, but my sense of humor: “I think you’re correct to be suspicious of these anthologies about left-handed mothers of triplets and dyslexic spouses of insomniac electrical engineers. Don’t list them. You do a good job with your posts. More is not necessarily better.” (Pat)

From Dinty W. Moore, editor of Brevity :“I honestly don’t know the answer, but thanks for asking all of the right questions. If an anthology ‘packager’ doesn’t at least have a plan to find distribution, it seems unlikely anyone will read the book other than the authors and the authors’ friends. Which begs the question: if a book falls into the forest of books, and no one hears it fall …”

This note from Dave really takes a stand I hadn’t as fully considered, but have given thought to its merit since: “Good for bringing the anthology glut up, good for you and NewPages right down the line… Writing that’s merely thematic and anthologies of pieces organized thematically is writing that’s typically soulless. The oomph is in the inspiration, not the motive. Anthologies can be worthwhile as literary documents — think of John Bennett’s classic old Vagabond Anthology out of the mimeograph era — maybe in the way working manuscripts are valuable, but they aren’t literary creations.”

Evan was as curious as I had been in his consideration of the calls for submissions, and wrote: “What an interesting post! It never occurred to me that those anthologies might just be revenue generators. It’s very telling that of all the anthologies you queried, you got only one response. I’ve seen their listings, calling for mss in the back of P&W, and they always seemed a little suspicious (i.e., ‘Who are these guys, and why have I never actually seen one of these anthologies in a bookstore?’). If, however, a well-known and well-regarded magazine solicits for a theme, I might send something. “

Absolutely. This isn’t meant to knock the lit mags who run themed issues. Certainly, those publications are the most adept at being able to work with themed content to create strong, unified, lasting works of literature, since their purpose is, first and foremost – literature, not the experience of the theme itself as an entity.

Erika Dreifus, publisher of Practicing Writing Blog, admitted to facing the same situation in choosing what to post and not to post: “Typically, I do not post anthology calls for projects that a) do not yet have a publishing plan and b) do not pay their writers. And I’m also opposed to anthologies that require a ‘reading fee.'” She also posted a thoughtful article on her blog about this very topic: Five Signs of Auspicious Anthologies.

My thanks to everyone who responded; though I didn’t mention all of you here, your feedback has been most instructive in this discussion.

Making Black Girls “Ladylike”
by kameelah rasheed
August 22, 2007

“Looking at the intersection of race, gender, capitalism and pedagogy, the disciplinary efforts and hidden curriculum are working toward a desired young Black woman — one who does not ask too many questions, accepts the power arrangements in schools and becomes a proper young lady — pink bows and all. Schools since their inception have been focused on the poetics of assimilation and thus are sites of production not only for the ready-made American citizen who does not challenge his government or is a depoliticized consumers, but the ‘acceptable’ Black woman who is docile, domesticated and unchallenging.”

Read the rest on WireTap Magazine.

Land-O’-Plenty Shubunkin
by Sally Molini

Nothing breathes so well
as my little fish tank life,
its self-protective see-through
will, pink-pebbled with a
sylph or two of plastic grass.
Food dimples the water —
easy to eat and drift as trees
outside wave green fins…
[Read the rest]

From Mad Hatters’ Review
Issue 7, February 2007

Anarchy
Volume 25 Number 2, Fall-Winter 2007
Quarterly

Humor Times
Issue Number 189, September 2007
Monthly

In These Times
Volume 31 Number 9, September 2007
Monthly

Kyoto Journal
Number 67, 2007
Quarterly

Labor Notes
Number 342, September 2007
Monthly

Lilith
Volume 32 Number 2, Summer 2007
Quarterly

Off Our Backs
Volume 37 Number 1, 2007

Our Times
Volume 26 Number 3, June/July 2007
Bimonthly

Sierra
Volume 92 Number 5, September/October 2007
Bimonthly

Socialism and Democracy
Volume 21 Number 2, July 2007
Triannual

Space and Culture
Volume 10 Number 3, August 2007
Quarterly

Voices from the Earth
Volume 8 Number 2, Summer 2007
Quarterly

White Crane
Number 73, Summer 2007
Quarterly

Z Magazine
September
Monthly

The English Department at Western Kentucky University seeks applicants for the following position: Distinguished Visiting Professor in Creative Writing (Fiction or Creative Nonfiction), Summer 2008. Contact: Dr. Dale Rigby, Department of English Chair.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of English & Comparative Literature & the Creative Writing Program seeks to bring an emerging talent to campus for a one-year teaching appointment as the Kenan Visiting Writer, a position that alternates between poetry & prose. Contact: Bland Simpson, Director, Creative Writing Program/Visiting Writer Search Committee.

Wichita State University Director of Creative Writing & Assistant/Associate Professor of English in Creative Writing, tenure eligible, beginning spring or fall 2008. Contact Margaret Dawe, Chair, Department of English.

Western Washington University Tenure-track assistant professor of Creative Writing beginning September 2008. Deadline: November 6, 2007.

Summer Literary Seminars is “premised on the not-so-novel idea that one’s writing can greatly benefit from the keen sense of temporary displacement created by an immersion in a thoroughly foreign culture and street vernacular; that one’s removing himself/herself from the routine context of his/her life, of one’s own free will, tends to provide for a creative jolt, as it were, by offering up a wholly new perspective, new angle of looking at the customary and the mundane.” Upcoming seminars include Nairobi & Lamu, Kenya (December 14-28, 2007) and St. Petersburg, Russia (June 15-July 8, 2008).

Let’s start the day out with a nice controversy, shall we? Lately, I’ve been running across a lot of “calls for submissions” for anthologies – anything from first-time mom stories to stories from women with diabetes to gay experience poetry and stories to writing from self-abusers – the specialty focus list seems never ending. Now, at first glance, these seem “legitimate” subjects to cover in an anthology, which means to gather together like-experiences to share with others who may be seeking to connect or to understand the experiences of others. So far so good. Where this begins to fall apart for me in terms of legitimacy is when the publisher of the anthology seems to mimic the all-too-famous poetry contest scams (which also seem never ending). That is, the anthology publishes three or four dozen writers, offers a pre-order discount for those whose works are published, and provides no marketing for the book. Basically, all costs are covered and *perhaps* a tidy profit is made from the sales of just those whose work is published. I mean, c’mon – Ellen gets her baby story published in an anthology – how many copies do you think she, her family and her friends are going to buy? There’s at least half a dozen book sales (not to mention putting two copies away for when baby is grown up, so make it eight copies).

Okay, that’s my cynical self. Let’s try the flip side. Anthologies really are a cool creation. They bring like-minded people together, they help us to connect with others in this vast world of ours in which we so often feel disconnected. They put voices out there that might otherwise have never had a chance all on their lonesome and give space to and validate human condition and experience. All good, yes? And let’s face it, it’s not easy to slog through hundreds of submissions and pick out, edit, layout and publish a solid collection of writing. So if anthology publishers do make any money, they’ve earned it for their work in publishing you.

I don’t know. I guess I’m stuck on the more cynical perspective at the moment. Help me out readers – I try to post valid calls on this blog – not wanting to become just another clearinghouse where anyone and everyone can get listed. Are these random anthologies valid? Should they be listed? Would you want to send your writing in to them? Would you list it as a publishing credit on your vitae?

To clarify – I’m not talking about ALL anthologies. Generally, the ones I question are those that are not associated with any other organization or publication, that seem to only publish this one book and that’s pretty much all they do. I also often e-mail the contact people for these and ask them two questions: Who is sponsoring this publication? How do you plan to market the book once it’s published? So far, of the dozen or so queries I’ve sent out, only one has replied answering both questions. The answers? No one and none. At least they were honest.

Tell me what you think: newpagesdenise (at) hotmail.com
Subject line: Anthology blog

Director of Professional Writing Program, University of Southern California. The USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences seeks an outstanding full-time director of the Master of Professional Writing (MPW) Program beginning January 2008.