At the end of last year, I won a year subscription to Poets & Writers magazine from Gus on Out Where the Buses Don’t Run. To make sure I say ‘THANK YOU’ loudly enough. I’ve decided to write a summary of the magazine here after each issue. Here we go.
The Human Library’s Many Books– Amanda Calderon’s article covers a new trend, the Human Library, where people tell their own story to ‘readers’ live. Their goal is to encourage dialogue between participants and to try to eradicate prejudices and stereotypes. The topics discussed are frequently controversial and there are reports of an organizer in Russia being attacked. The website has a map of locations and dates. The only one I found near me was in 2010. Darn.
Widbook Widens the Writing Network– Rachel Lieff Axelbank’s article introduce me to a writing website I’ve never heard of, but and now interested in trying. Widbook allows users to upload their writing, collaborate with other users and browse uploaded content. The site does not allow users to save something their working on, only to upload it directly to the site for review. That’s a kind of scary thought, isn’t it? But there’s no better way to get feedback than to let the whole internet see it.
Byliner Brings Binge Culture to Books– Article by Rachel Hanel. I have to admit to binge-watching shows on Netflix, especially New Girl and I cannot wait for the new season to be available so I can ignore my husband for a week and watch it. The app Byliner is hoping to do the same thing to readers. The app offers tens of thousands of short pieces (articles, essays, short stories) to readers for a flat rate of $5.99 per month. Publishers and editors can submit any previously published material by established and emerging authors. Even a better reason to find some representation!
Scratching Out a Living as a Writer by Joanna Scutts- We all know how hard it is to find a magazine that will pay but now that information is being analyzed. Scratch Magazine keeps a running list titled Who Pays Writers? that can be accessed free. As a side note, one of the founders of the magazine, Jane Friedman, is an alum of my Alma mater! Yay for small school success!
Agents & Editors: Susan Golomb by Michael Szczerban- The woman who represents Jonathan Franzen gives some great insight into an agent’s world. She says that she helps her clients make their book into what they want it to be, not what she thinks will sell best. When discussing why non-fiction requires a proposal and fiction requires an entire manuscript, she says that she needs to be sure her potential clients can command an entire story arc, not just a beginning and end. Non-fiction doesn’t always require the same command of storytelling. She says that the best times for an agent to be sending out a book are September and October to time up with book fairs and that she’ll avoid sending something in the summer because so many people are on vacation. She admits that in a query letter, she is looking for what program the author came out of and if they’ve been published in magazines. Another note is that there’s something called Nielsen BookScan which can return the sales of an author’s book based on a name and most editors can look that up. (gulp)
Free (or cheap) Writing Contests:
Glimmer Train, American Antiquarian Society Fellowship for Creative Writers, Bard Fiction Prize, Chicago Tribune Nelson Algren Literary Award, Ladies’ Home Journal Personal Essay Contest, Lake Forest College Madeleine P. Plonsker Residency, National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships, Real Simple Life Lessons Essay Contest, Pushcart Press Editor’s Book Award, San Jose State University Steinbeck Fellowship in Creative Writing, Stadler Center for Poetry Philip Roth Residencies, University of Iowa Press Short Fiction Awards, Akron Poetry Prize, Comstock Review Muriel Craft Bailey Award ($5), River Styx International Poetry Contest ($10), Rosebud William Stafford Award for Poetry ($12 for three), Dancing Poetry Contest ($5 for three), Stage of Life
Magazines Accepting Submissions:
Spark, The Briar Cliff Review, Anterior Review, Changes in Life, the prompt, Third Wednesday
Until next time, write on.
You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!
Taking On a World of Words 
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