APRIL Festival Underway!

I'm the writer-in-residence this week at the APRIL Festival in Seattle. I'll be blogging the good times over there at their tumblr, so come take a look at what's happening over there!

APRIL

Fence Poetry Collection Rejection

I have a book of poetry. It is homeless. It has been homeless for years. I have submitted it many times. I keep swapping poems in and out of it every year or so. I like these poems. The book is called, "My Neighbor is Dead." I think I've submitted it to the Fence open reading periods twice now, thinking maybe different judges would feel differently about it, but I just received another rejection from them. Someday this funny little book will find the right home.

I have often said finding a home for my poetry has been way harder than finding a home for my fiction. It is a difference of experience I think about regularly. I am inclined to think that my poetry is weaker than my fiction for this reason, but I re-read my poems and I still really like them. They are dark and fragmented. I believe I can only say this because I've experienced luck in some realm of my writing, but it's sort of nice that this collection just won't land. Admittedly, I'm picky about where I want it to land, but I don't feel any real urgency about it. Perhaps it's also nice to think that I just have this body of work waiting to be put into the world. Maybe that's a comfort? I think that might be part of it, too.

New Story up at Spork!

Those lovely gentlemen at Spork have published my brutal story, Get Back. Please give it a visit, but take off your sensitivity hats. Thar she blows!

Hodder Rejection

Staying warm in Chicago.

Alas, I will not spend the next year writing at Princeton under a Hodder fellowship. No surprise there, but it's always worth a shot, right?

In other news, Jessica Treat wrote a lovely review of My Only Wife over at Drunken Boat. It's always nice to remember that books go on living and being read after that initial release hubbub. 

Also! Time Out kindly put A Different Bed Every Time on their "Books to Read in 2014" list. 

Shirley Jackson Story Contest

Classy lady!

I didn't win Tin House's contest in which they called for people to finish a Shirley Jackson Story. Rude. 

Jokes! Actually, I don't know that I've ever submitted to such a specific contest like that, where you had to write something specifically for the contest itself, and it was a great deal of fun and was a really nice break from other writing I've been doing. I may now attempt to hold a one-person contest in which I try to write an opening to match the ending of this partial story written by Jac Jemc. 

But, man, Shirley Jackson: what a dream boat, amiright?

NEA Rejection and Little Bits of Good News

Let's all dress up like giant poinsettias and get our priorities straight. 

I don't know why the NEA wouldn't like to give me gobs of money this year, but they don't. I'm going to go ahead and blame the sequester and Obamacare,for distracting the judges from the incredible merits of my work. I did, however really like how on Facebook there were a slew of people making posts about being rejected. I'm so glad so many people are trying for it and smart enough not to take the rejection the least bit personally.

I recently also learned that one of my (only) essays ("Notes on a Definition of Luck" from Hobart 13) was included on the "Notables" list in the Best American Essays 2013. I'm floored by this news because I generally consider myself to be a lousy essayist, but I'm very excited about trying to improve my meager skills. 

The lovely Sandra Allen just let me know that she nominated my story, "Filch and Rot," featured in Wag's Revue this year, for the Best American Short Stories 2014, and, to my knowledge, that's the first time I've been nominated for one of those, so that's fun. 

Trying to get back on the regular writing horse. Wrote a new story for this Revenge Reading tonight at the Upstairs Gallery: https://www.facebook.com/events/654767331229472/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming. Hoping to get to work revising the new novel by Christmas at the latest. Finished editing the forthcoming story collection. Trying to think about reviewing some things. Trying to meditate on how to make some mini-essays on compassion. Picked up reading subs for decomP  again (I was on hiatus) and reading subs for Hobart for the month of December. Happy holidays, fools! 

Residency Rejection

Keeping chin up. Naturally.

I'm actually rather excited about this rejection. I applied to the Vermont Studio Center as a back-up for MacDowell, and it is interesting to learn that I am a cocky jerk. I thought because I'd been to VSC twice, they'd welcome me back with open arms, but, in fact, they have not. 

In the long, run, I believe this is for the best. I have a good amount of traveling to fit in in the coming year, and a month in Vermont was probably pushing it budget and vacation-time wise. I also think it's a great lesson in humility. I really thought VSC was a sure-thing, and I'm curious about why it wasn't. I believe my application was the strongest it's ever been, both the writing sample and the items I've added to my resume in the past years. I wonder if it might be too soon after my previous residency? I wonder if I might be at a funny career point where I'm not good enough to get into MacDowell, but I'm perhaps not "in need of support" enough to return to VSC? Perhaps I filled out the financial need requirements incorrectly, so they thought I wasn't open to coming if I couldn't get a full ride. 

Anyway, it was a surprise, which seems silly of me, to expect anything of this sort ever, but it was a surprise I feel I've taken pretty well. I more than realize I've had remarkable luck in most areas of writing recently. I'm incredibly excited to be the first ever writer-in-residence for the APRIL Festival this spring, and I'll definitely be using that time to immerse myself in a writing community, and get loads of work done. I'll also try my best to use some time off around the holidays to be productive and make movement on the current novel draft. 

Many good lessons learned! Keeping chin up.

Residency Rejection, Agent Signed, and new fiction in Black Candies

I was hoping for some isolation, but I will settle for insulation.

Several updates today! First of all,  I was sadly not accepted to MacDowell for a residency this spring. I knew it was still a dream, but every time I apply I hope I'm getting just a hair closer. This year has been rather surreal. I've had incredible and unexpected good luck with some writing endeavors, but while all of that has been going on I changed jobs and also found myself turning over a large portion of my free time to my aging parents and their declining health. Hopefully that is on the up and up, and the busy season at work is finally starting to calm down, so I am excited to get back into a regular schedule of writing in the mornings, and focusing on all of the good that has come of this year. And, who knows? Perhaps another opportunity to sneak away and get lots of work done will present itself.

One of the other amazing bits of luck I've happened upon in the past few months is that I've signed on to work with the illustrious Claudia Ballard at William Morris Endeavor. I couldn't be more thrilled and honored to get to work with her in the coming years. At the moment she's made some terrific suggestions on how to improve the novel I'm currently working on, and I'm eager to get started on that!

I'm also so excited to have a small excerpt of that novel coming out in the new issue of Black Candies, themed "See Through." The issue is available for pre-order now, and if you get out your credit card right this second, you can also get the first issue included in your mailing. I know I can't wait to read spooky work by the likes of Ken Baumann, Aaron Burch, Sarah Rose Etter, Lindsay Hunter and Jim Ruland, among others. Get it now!

That's all for the moment. Back to work on polishing up the story collection now!

Paula Anderson Book Award and Story in Bodega!

Fun news all around. My Only Wife  is the proud recipient of the Paula Anderson Book Award. The Paula Anderson Book Award is be granted to the author of a work of literary fiction, either a novel or short story collection, that was published by a small or independent press in 2012. The award honors work which embodies the bold spirit of Paula Anderson the late co-founder of Word Riot Press and has increased awareness of or otherwise drawn attention to the small press community because of the merit of the work. So many thanks to Jackie Corley for choosing it and to the kindly gentlemen at Dzanc for nominating it. 

I also have a new story up at Bodega, alongside an interview with Colum McCann and new work from C Dylan Bassett, John Gibbs, and Quinn White. 

And finally, likely the best rejection I'll every receive, My Only Wife  was not chosen as the 2013 winner of the PEN/Robert W Bingham Prize for debut fiction. Sergio de la Pava's magnificent novel, A Naked Singularity , was named the winner, and I don't think it there could be a better pick for the PEN Foundation, what with it's focus on human rights. 

Reading at Tuesday Funk