Rejection 322

Got it.

Black Warrior Review doesn't want the story I sent them. It is a shame for I love them so. 

Rejections 320 and 321, Residency Grant and NEW BOOK ACCEPTED!!!

First things first: Copper Nickel doesn't want the story I sent them. Mid-American Review doesn't want the poems I sent them. 

I received a grant to cover a partial cost of a residency at the Dickinson House in Belgium, but not the full fellowship. The dates they suggested also won't work with teaching for me, so it looks like that one is deferred for the time being. 

But finally: My next novel, The Grip of It, was sold to FSG Originals for publication in 2017. I'll work with bold, female voice advocate Emily Bell and all thanks goes to my agent, Claudia Ballard, for working so closely with me on the manuscript and for her prowess in the selling field. 

I'm so, so excited. 

Rejections 318 & 319, and a Residency Aceeptance

My setting for late May/early June.

Granta and American Short Fiction don't want the story I sent them, sadly. 

But the Rensind Center in South Carolina has invited me for a residency in May/June, so I'll be spending more time in the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Tomorrow I'm headed down to the Thicket Residency an hour outside of Savannah for 3 weeks in the Georgia lowlands. So excited to spend some time with the alligators and sand gnats. Road trip: commence!

Waitlist for Millay Colony

ESVM - Isn't she just the grooviest?

Today I heard two bits of good news: 1) VCCA was able to find time for me to come in March, so now that means I'll be able to do residencies in February/March/April this year, which was exactly my plan in taking this time off. 2) The Millay Colony waitlisted me. Even the waitlist with them is a huge honor, so I feel terrific.

Rejection 317

Space is public.

A Public Space declined the essay I sent them. Gosh, I still love them though.

Rejections 312 - 316

Yeesh. Here's a good post of solid rejection. 

I submitted a story to Ploughshares Solos. Declined. 

Then I decided to do some end-of-year clean-up. 

I realized an essay I'd submitted to both Lucky Peach and Vice Munchies had run out of their submission time, aka the submission guidelines say, "If you haven't heard from us in X amount of time, we couldn't use your work."

I also check in at two places where an essay had been in submission for a good long time. Guernica rejected the essay within a couple hours.

Willow Springs had kindly suggested some edits, which I'd submitted back to them, but they still declined, encouraging me to send more stories or essays, which I did. 

I guess I was asking for it in checking in on submissions, but yesterday felt a little rough on the hopefulness front. 

UNTIL I saw my adorable nephew perform in his kindergarten holiday sing which was the cutest and most hopeful thing ever. Kindergarteners were performing with third- and fourth-graders, and I cried when watching the older kids perform because it seemed so clear how soon most of those kids would be too embarrassed to comply with singing holiday songs in front of a group of people. My sister was like, "You don't even have a kid up there. Why would you cry?" Doesn't matter that the kids weren't mine. The sentiment holds.

Rejection 311 and Residency Rejection

Yes, I would have happily lived and written here.

I sent a paper submission to Conjunctions and it came back with lightning speed. I guess paper subs are being returned a bit more quickly these days! 

I was also rejection from Lighthouse Works, but that seems reasonable. They get 300+ applications for 6 spots. It sounds so dreamy to live on a little island though, right? 

Rejection 310

Rejections would be worse if they were wrapped up like this. 

Black Warrior Review declined the story I sent them.  They are a magazine I've admired for so long, and have been submitting to for close to a decade. There are moments like this where I wonder if I'm not improving or if we're just not a match. 

Rejection 309 and Residency Rejection

Thank you to the birds and the squirrels and the fish and the...handsaws.

The Normal School didn't want the essay I sent them and Hedgebrook let me know I have not been accepted for 2016. No prob! I just had my last class with my undergrads today and I will miss them so much! They're such wonderful, smart, creative and compassionate people. It's been an honor to work with them this semester and they gave me lots of helpful feedback on what they liked and didn't this semester. They even put up with me reading a thank you note/graduation speech to them.  #thankful

Residency Acceptance and Waitlist

Afraid my spring was going to look like this to an outside eye. (I am all of these guys.)

VCCA accepted me for a residency this spring! It might take a little finagling to make the timing work, but I'm super psyched!

UCross has put me on their alternates list. 

Let's take a running tally of residency application status so far for 2016 planning: 

3 Acceptances

4 Wait lists

2 Rejections

7 Not yet announced

I know I'm a maniac with the applications, but I wanted to make sure taking this time off in the spring ended up looking full and worthy on a resume because of said mania. 2016 is shaping up!