...because the lovely poets and writers at Poets & Writers have made the submission process too easy for you to *not* give it a whirl.
In the past 3 months, Poets & Writers has added thirty-three journals to their database of over 273 literary magazines. The database is free and easy to use, and you’ll no doubt find the perfect place to send that poem, short story, novel excerpt, or essay you’ve been polishing in class.
Access the database at the Poets & Writers website.
We had a great crowd come by last night to have a drink and chat and make some new connections. (Sorry, I was so busy chatting that I forgot to take pictures!).
Happy Holidays!
‘Tis the season…and we’re ready to PARTY!
Join us on Wednesday, December 10, 2007, from 6:30pm to 10pm for this year’s annual Holiday Party at StoryStudio Chicago. It’s our fifth anniversary so there will be a lot to celebrate. Come by to meet other writers, artists and generally cool people.
Libations and hors d’oeuvres will be provided.
Bring your spouses, partners, friends, and artsy acquaintances.
SPECIAL NOTE: In the spirit of giving this season, StoryStudio is supporting The House of Good Shephard, which provides a three month recovery program for women and children who are survivors of domestic violence.
So during this season, and especially at the Holiday Party, we invite you to donate items from the wish list below, or gently used clothing, household goods, and non-perishable food items. Monetary donations are also appreciated.
Your gift will serve as a reminder to these families that their courage and journey are supported by their greater Chicago community.
StoryStudio Chicago will have a display with information regarding House of the Good Shepherd and collection area for donations .
It’s tough times all around, but giving makes us all stronger.
HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD WISH LIST:
- Diapers size 3 and 4
- Shampoo and conditioner
- Girls’ jeans/pants size 5, 6, 7, 8
- Boys’ jeans/pants size 5, 6, 7, 8
- Boys, girls, and women’s socks (all sizes)
- Boys, girls, and women’s underwear (all sizes)
- Thermal long underwear
- Blenders (new or gently used)
- Toasters (new or gently used)
- Gym shoes (new)
- Dress shoes (new or gently used)
- Paper towels
- Toilet paper
- Feminine hygiene products
- CTA bus cards
- Gift cards (Jewel, CVS, Target, etc)
Babes With Blades proudly announces Joining Sword & Pen 2009-10, a play writing competition devoted to increasing the number of quality scripts featuring fighting roles for women, sponsored by Fight Master David Woolley.
The 2009-10 theme is “FILM NOIR” by Chicago artist Kristine Borcz. BWB is soliciting scripts for productions that are inspired by this image. In order for a script to qualify for the competition, the scene depicted in the image must appear within the script.
The winning script will be produced in Spring 2010 as part of Babes With Blades’ 2009-10 Season. The winning playwright will receive a $1000 cash prize.
Scripts due: FEBRUARY 28, 2009
Winner announced: APRIL 2, 2009
For more info, visit the website.
There are plenty of things to do in Chicago during the busy holiday season, and Women & Children First has a packed December schedule for your enjoyment!
Friday, Dec. 5, 7:30pm: Make/Shift Magazine Reading
Featuring co-editors/publishers Daria Yudacufski and Jessica Hoffman and Chicago contributors Keidra Chaney, Lisa Factora-Borchers, Yasmin Nair, Lewis Wallace, and Chelsey Clammer.
Friday, Dec. 5: Late Night Andersonville
Women & Children First will be open until 10:00pm! Stop in for hot cider and cookies, and get a leg up on your holiday shopping.
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 4:00pm: Marian Wright Edelman
For a very special way to celebrate the day, have tea with Marian Wright Edelman at Hull House. She’ll be talking about and signing copies of her new book, The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small: Charting a Course for the Next Generation.
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
Residents’ Dining Hall
Reservations not required, but suggested: 312.413.5353
Check out the Women and Children First website for more information about these events, and others.
The good news is that you’re writing. Every single day you work to put words on paper, to gather the wispy intangible echoes and whispers from the far corners of your imagination and weave them into beautiful, true sentences, you’re taking part in the grandest tradition of humankind. You’re a storyteller, and your job is to remind us of who we are and what it means to be a human being, here, now. Your struggle, your long hours and your sleepless nights are not for nothing. Writing is important. Writing is holy work.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that Joe the Plumber has a book coming out.
In the New York Times yesterday, guest columnist Timothy Egan railed against the Joe the Plumber books of the world. “Most of the writers I know work every day, in obscurity and close to poverty, trying to say one thing well and true. Day in, day out, they labor to find their voice, to learn their trade, to understand nuance and pace. And then, facing a sea of rejections, they hear about something like Barbara Bush’s dog getting a book deal.”
While books like “Joe the Plumber—Fighting for the American Dream” (I can hardly type the words without wanting to punch a fist through the screen), Meghan McCain’s My Dad, John McCain (because writing a children’s book is SO EASY! I wrote four of them this morning!), and yes, Millie’s Book, may make you lose faith in the publishing system, not to mention the general justice of the universe, take heart friends. For one thing, you’re not alone. Everyone hates Joe the Plumber. And though freckle-faced Millie the dog may have been a famous author and even earned herself a cameo on Murphy Brown while you were still lost in a twisted plot maze of your own making, in the end, she was still a dog. At least you have opposable thumbs.
More importantly, what “authors” like Joe the Plumber, Meghan McCain, and Millie the dog Bush are missing is the truth at the very heart of writing, the reason we all keep coming back to the blank page day after day: in the end, writing isn’t about the paycheck. It’s not about the money. If it were, we’d all be fools to pursue it for years, to spend so much time worrying about subtly revealing details and perfectly unspooling plots. If it were all about the money, we’d be better off sleeping with someone famous and then finding a ghostwriter. If it were all about the money, Harper Lee’s friends wouldn’t have supported her for a year so she could write To Kill A Mockingbird. John Kennedy Toole’s mother wouldn’t have worked tirelessly to publish A Confederacy of Dunces. Thomas Paine wouldn’t have written The Age of Reason, Milton wouldn’t have bothered to reach through his blindness and dictate Paradise Lost, and I would have majored in computer science.
The good news is that the very trials and struggles of crafting a good story are worth the effort. The work of writing is its own reward, regardless of celebrity authors and huge payouts for crappy books. Joe and Meghan and Millie might get the book deal, but they’ll miss out on the best part: actually writing a book.
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