Jewish Literary Festival Writing Contest Announced

From the DC JCC, home to the Hyman S. & Freyda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival (October 17-27, 2010):

Community Prize for Writing on a Festival Theme
Strangers in a Strange Land: The Lives of Jewish Immigrants

We surround ourselves with communities that sustain and enrich our lives. When we leave those communities—by choice, by force, or both—our lives are upended. What do we choose to take with us to the new environment, and what do we leave behind? This year’s Opening Night explores these questions of immigration and home.

Jews have often found themselves strangers in strange lands, but new environments are not always the result of physical displacement. Tell us a true story—from your life or a family member’s—of finding oneself alone in a new place or situation.

Submissions are open to all and will be judged blindly. Work will be considered in two categories: 1) 18 years and under, and 2) over 18. Please include your contact information and age category on the first page only. Send submissions of 500 words or fewer to litfest(at)washingtondcjcc(dot)org by September 27, 2010.

A selection committee will choose three entries in each category to honor during the Festival and online. These winning entries will be published on the 16th Street J’s website and The Blog at 16th & Q. The first place selection in each category will win the Community Prize for Writing and a $100 Visa gift card.

Note: No previously-published work, please.

High Holiday Poetry Contest 2010

MyJewishLearning is running a High Holiday Poetry Contest--and you're invited to participate.

Submitted poems "can be funny, or serious, or both. They can rhyme. They can be long (though we are from the Internet short-attention-span-generation). We want to be entertained, and we want to be inspired."

Submit by August 25. Winning entries will be published online in time for Rosh Hashanah.

There will be prizes!

For more info, check MyJewishLearning.

(via the Jewish Book Council)

Hadassah-Brandeis Institute Research Awards

"The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute awards grants to support interdisciplinary research or artistic projects on Jewish women and gender issues. Scholars, activists, writers and artists who are pursuing research on questions of significance to the field of Jewish women's studies may apply."

Grant categories include: film and video, biography, history, social science, the arts (performance arts, visual arts, and creative writing), Judaism, and the Yishuv and Israel.

Junior grants (up to $2000) are awarded to graduate students enrolled in recognized Ph.D. programs and new scholars; senior grants (up to $5000) are awarded to established scholars and professionals.

Proposal deadline is September 15, 2010.

For more information, please click here.

Notes from Around the Web

Author Allison Amend blogs for the JBC/MJL Author Blog series on Jews in odd places and on the real-life store that inspired a fictional one in her new novel, Stations West.
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Tablet Magazine is looking for a part-time (25 hrs/week) publicist/outreach coordinator.
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Assaf Gavron's Almost Dead (translated with James Lever by the author) is already on my tbr list, and I was pleased to see it reviewed favorably on the Three Percent website.
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Barbara Krasner gives a report on her recent research trip to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
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Jordana Horn reviews a "puppet show about Auschwitz." Read the review--all the way to the end.
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Looking for more weekend reading material? This week, the American Jewish Press Association announced its latest Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism. You can download/read winning journalism in nearly 20 categories.

Shabbat Shalom!

Notes from Around the Web/Twitter

So excited to see more attention directed toward Ludwig Lewisohn and his novel, The Island Within. For additional info on this important book, see the essays by Josh Lambert and yours truly.
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Comme j'adore l'oeuvre de Patrick Modiano! And how happy I was to see this write-up on Monsieur Modiano from Benjamin Ivry!
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From Tablet: an excerpt from Benjamin Balint's new history of Commentary, focusing on the fiction published in the magazine's early years.
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Just in time for summer: The Forward's special summer books section. (I am especially grateful for the reminder about Joan Leegant's upcoming book!)
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Did you miss the Canadian Jewish Book Awards? Me too. Hence, my interest in Ezra Glinter's post (which prompted me to order a copy of What the Furies Bring, by Kenneth Sherman, right away).
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Learn about Artists4Israel through this interview on the New Vilna Review site.
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Did you miss Wednesday's Jewish Book Council lunchtime Twitter book club? The JBC has posted the transcript. (I thought it was a particularly good chat. I wonder how the transcript will read to someone who wasn't "there," though.)
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And last, but (hopefully) not necessarily least: The Jewish Journal has just published my review of Every House Needs a Balcony, a debut novel from Israeli author Rina Frank (translated by Ora Cummings).

Shabbat shalom!

Notes from Around the Web/Twitter

Adam Kirsch writes about the newly-translated biography of Irène Némirovsky.
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Despite efforts to prevent it from happening, a literary prize goes to Amos Oz. (via MassWriter)
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In the Forward, Benjamin Ivry reports: "One of France's most daring postwar writers, perhaps best known for writing an entire novel without the letter 'e' (a lipogram), French-Jewish author Georges Perec, is coming back into vogue. Two of his books were reprinted by publisher David R. Godine last year, and new interest is being taken in his Polish-Jewish roots."
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Another name that comes up in Ivry's article is that of another French-Jewish writer, Patrick Modiano, who recently won the Prix mondial de la Fondation Simone et Cino del Duca, which is worth €300,000.
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Quite a lively interview with Gary Shteyngart here. (via the Jewish Book Council)
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Sholom Aleichem's granddaughter turns 99.
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The death of Chaim Grade's widow may signal the rebirth of the writer's works and reputation.
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Congratulations to Joanna Smith Rakoff, winner of the 2010 Goldberg Prize for Jewish Fiction by Emerging Writers for her novel, A Fortunate Age.

Notes from Around the Web

"Germau Mangistu (35), who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia 16 years ago, is a new star that has surfaced in the world of Hebrew short stories. Several weeks ago, he submitted a story to the annual Haaretz Hebrew short story contest and won first place. The award came as a surprise to Germau." Read more here.
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Attention, Twin Cities writers: "We're looking for film/book/theater/music writers for @TCJewfolk's new Jewish culture column. Unpaid but awesome. Hit us up." (via a retweet from @JewishPub)
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Dispatches from the International Writers Festival, Mishkenot Sha'ananim, Jerusalem.
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Nice article on PJ Library's positive impact on Jewish children's book publishing.
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Lots of super content in the current (35th anniversary) issue of Moment, and some of it is available/excerpted online: a symposium on Jewish identity (featuring the likes of authors Geraldine Brooks, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, Gary Shteyngart, and others); a "guide" to Jewish American literary sites; and an interview with Lois Lowry.

Shabbat Shalom!

Notes from Around the Web

In case you couldn't make it to the latest Jewish Book Club Twitter "Twunch and Talk" (featuring Dara Horn responding to questions on All Other Nights), you can read the Twitter transcript (twanscript?) here. NB: The next JBC Twitter Twunch and Talk is scheduled for Wednesday, June 2, and will feature Jennifer Gilmore's new novel, Something Red.
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From David Kaufmann, writing for Tablet: "Ilya Kaminsky and Matvei Yankelevich are not the only Russian-born Jewish poets in the United States these days, but they might be the best known."
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I'm always glad to see Anzia Yezierska's Bread Givers receive more attention, but you'll forgive me if I'm not so quick to dispense with the feminist interpretations.
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Debates over Irene Némirovsky's attitudes toward her fellow Jews continue.
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Helpful insights on Israeli literature in Eric Herschthal's Jewish Week profile of author Alex Epstein.
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Mazel tov to the winners of the 22nd Annual Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Awards.

Moment Magazine's Emerging Writer Awards Announced

Founded in 2004, Moment Magazine's Emerging Writer Awards "recognize talented writers who have published at least one book and whose books confront themes that are of interest to Jewish readers. An emerging writer is defined as someone of any age who has not yet received widespread recognition and has not yet won a major literary award." Selections are made by committee (there is no published nomination process).

Congratulations to this year's awardees: Abby Sher (nonfiction winner), for Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn't Stop Praying; and Sara Houghteling (fiction winner), for Pictures at an Exhibition.

Notes from Around the Web

Thank you, Josh Lambert, for telling us about new translated fiction from Israel.
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And thanks to Naomi Firestone for sharing more information about the new Dalkey Archive Press series of translations of Hebrew literature to which one title Lambert mentions (Eshkol Nevo's Homesick, translated by Sondra Silverston) belongs.
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Speaking of translation, reviewers of literature written in Hebrew (as well as in other languages) will be happy to learn that Massachusetts Review is amplifying its translation content--and adding a new annual translation award: the Jules Chametzsky Prize in Literary Translation.
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Reviewer Margot Lurie finds David Lehman's latest poetry collection, Yeshiva Boys, "at times excellent and at times conspicuously bad, but always unfailingly interesting," and calls the long title poem the book's "beating heart."
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Finally if you have access to PBS this evening, try to catch Blessed is the Match, a remarkable film about poet-diarist-heroine Hannah Senesh. (If you're in Boston, though, you have a tempting option: novelists Anita Diamant and Jennifer Gilmore will be reading from their books at Brandeis in an event titled "The Personal and the Political: Historical Fiction and the Jewish Experience.")

"The Confessions of Noa Weber" Wins Best Translated Book Award

Given my enthusiasm for The Confessions of Noa Weber, a novel by Gail Hareven translated from the Hebrew by Dalya Bilu, it's no surprise that I was delighted to hear this news: The book has won this year's Best Translated Book Award for fiction. Congratulations to Hareven and Bilu (and the U.S. publisher, Melville House) on jobs very well done!

Coming Soon: American Academy in Jerusalem

From the Foundation for Jewish Culture:

"Mishkenot Sha'ananim and the Foundation for Jewish Culture are collaborating on the creation of an institute at Mishkenot, modeled after the successful American Academies in Rome and Berlin. Groups of distinguished artists and scholars, leading experts in their fields, will be in residence at Mishkenot for two ot three month periods. They will work on projects inspired by Jerusalem and connect with cultural and academic institutions, thereby enriching the city's cultural discourse. We expect they will return home with new connections and share their appreciation of the rich diversity and potential of this extraordinary city.

We are currently planning a pilot mini-residency for June 2010, which will include literary artists Jonathan Safran Foer and Nicole Krauss, urban planner Joshua Sirefman, and theater artist TBA. The selection process for the full residency will be by nomination. Details will be provided after the pilot residency is complete.

Initial research support for this initiative was provided by the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, and support for the pilot residency has been provided by the Bracha Foundation."

Very exciting news! I just hope that the residencies will be open to those of us who are slightly less well-known than Jonathan Safran Foer and Nicole Krauss!

Congratulations to Kevin Haworth

Warm congratulations to Kevin Haworth, who recently won the Lawrence Foundation Prize, an annual $1,000 award by the editorial board of Michigan Quarterly Review to the author of the "best short story" published in the journal that year. Kevin's winning story, "The Scribe," appeared in the fall 2009 issue. "The Scribe" features as its narrator-protagonist a self-described "sofer, a writer of the sacred letters of the Torah," and the travails of his job.

As you may recall, Kevin is a past winner of the Goldberg Prize for Jewish Fiction by Emerging Writers. In 2006, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kevin about that prize and his novel, The Discontinuity of Small Things.

MQR is by no means a specifically "Jewish" literary journal, which reminds us of an important point I brought up about a year ago at the Jewish Fiction Writers' Conference: As wonderful and welcoming as Jewish-focused publications can be, writing on Jewish subjects can be placed in many different venues.

Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists

"The Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists is accepting applications for its next cohort of artists.

The fellowship program will support nine individual artists in New York City between the ages of 22 and 38 who are working in the visual arts, music, and performing arts and who want to develop a new project with a Jewish focus, theme, or element.

The program seeks projects that reflect or embody a thoughtful engagement with Jewish experience, history, values, issues, or concerns and that will resonate with a broad range of audiences but with particular emphasis on the artist's peers. During the two-year fellowship, artists will create and present their diverse projects to young audiences in the New York area through programs such as live performances, concerts, and gallery events.

To be eligible, artists need to have lived in New York City for one year prior to the fellowship start date (October 2010) and should already have networks and connections in New York City, which Six Points can help them use and leverage.

Each of the fellowships will provide a stipend of up to $20,000 over two years, a project grant of up to $20,000 over two years, and retreats, monthly workshops, coaching, and mentorship."

Letter of intent is due March 1. Visit Philanthropy News Digest for a link to the RFP.

Goldberg Prize Welcomes 2010 Submissions

"Established in 1999 and supported through a generous grant from the Samuel Goldberg & Sons Foundation, the Goldberg Prize for Jewish Fiction by Emerging Writers is among the very first of its kind to highlight new works by contemporary writers exploring Jewish themes. The prize spotlights promising new talent, and is awarded to an American fiction writer for a first or second full-length work that was published in the previous calendar year. Submissions must be made by the publisher. The award includes a prize of $2,500, as well as a one-week residency at Ledig House International Writers Colony in New York’s Hudson Valley." There is no entry fee. Deadline: March 1, 2010.

Sydney Taylor Book Award Celebrates Honorees with Blog Tours

From the Association of Jewish Libraries blog: "The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2010 gold and silver medalists and special Notable Book for All Ages with a Blog Tour, February 1-5, 2010! (A blog tour is like a virtual book tour. Instead of going to a library or bookstore to see an author speak, you go to a website on or after the advertised date to read an author’s interview.)" For details on books and participating blogs, click here.

Writing Contests from Moment Magazine

FOUR contests to tell you about:

New: Moment Magazine Memoir Contest: "Everyone has a story. Moment wants to hear yours. To celebrate the rich and diverse narratives of its readers, Moment is holding a memoir writing contest. We are looking for short personal essays/memoirs (no more than 3,500 words) about you or your family that have some kind of Jewish connection or content. Moment will review all submissions and award one first place award and two honorable mentions to works of outstanding writing."
Deadline: December 31, 2010.
Reading fee: $35 (pretty steep, in my view--I'm not sure I've seen many fees this high for a single-piece [vs. book-length] competition, and although this fee is more than twice the price of entering the fiction contest [see below] the first prize is only half as lucrative, but Moment didn't ask for my input when they came up with the rules).
Prizes: First prize includes $500, plus possible publication; two honorable mentions of $150 apiece.

And three annual contests to remember:

You Can Change the World Essay Contest: social action writing contest for high school students in grades 9-12.
Deadline: February 15, 2010.
No entry fee.
First prize: $500.

Publish-A-Kid(book review contest): open to anyone ages 9-13.
Deadline: February 15, 2010.
No entry fee.

Moment-Karma Short Fiction Contest: for "outstanding works of unpublished short fiction with Jewish content."
Deadline: December 31, 2010.
Reading fee: $15.
Prizes: $1,000/$500/$250, plus possible publication. "Winners may be invited to an awards ceremony. If so, the contest covers a round trip flight or train fare and one night hotel, if necessary. All travel arrangements are to be made by Moment."

The Good, the Bad, and the Very Exciting

First, the good news:

The Jewish Book Council's first Twitter Book Club meeting took place yesterday. Check out the discussion of Jonathan Tropper's This Is Where I Leave You here. Many thanks to the author for stopping by and answering questions.

Now, the bad news:

I was totally unable to post anything! I do not know what I was doing wrong. But none of my "tweets" showed up (and yes, I did include the hashtag). I kept trying to ask what seemed a perfectly simple question: Given how funny the book is (despite some basically sad subject matter), what advice would the author give writers who want/need to hone their humor-writing skills?

And moving on the the very exciting news:

The Jewish Book Council has also announced the latest slate of winners of the National Jewish Book Awards. Congratulations to all!

Journal of Modern Jewish Studies Launches Essay Prize

"Journal of Modern Jewish Studies has inaugurated an annual essay prize for scholars in the early stages of their career. Papers are invited on topics in Jewish history, social studies, religion, thought, literature and the arts from the 16th century to the present day. They should not be under consideration for publication elsewhere, and should not be under consideration for publication elsewhere, and should not be submitted to any other journal until the outcome of the competition is known."

The prize includes a cash award of £150 ($244 USD) and publication of the winning essay in Journal of Modern Jewish Studiese as the opening article for the July 2011 issue.

Deadline: November 15, 2010.

Download the essay prize announcement at the journal's Web site.

Notes from Around the Web

In the Jewish Journal, Rob Eshman describes a recent encounter with Israeli author Amos Oz. (via Ten Minutes of Torah).
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Mark Robichaux reviews We Were Merchants, a new book that "recounts the journey of Erich and Lea Sternberg, Jewish immigrants who escaped with their daughter and two sons from the Nazi terror in Germany in the 1930s and, speaking no English, went into the department-store business in the Deep South. 'We Were Merchants' also describes how the Sternberg family— Erich and Lea would eventually be joined at work by their sons, Hans and Josef, and daughter, Insa—spent the next half-century building up what became the country's largest family-owned department store, acquiring other stores along the way."
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"The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives is pleased to invite applications to its annual Fellowship Program for the 2010-2011 academic year. The Marcus Center's Fellowship Program provides recipients with month long fellowships for research and writing at The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, located on the Cincinnati campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Fellowship stipends will be sufficient to cover transportation and living expenses while in residence in Cincinnati. Applicants for the Marcus Center Fellowship program must be conducting serious research in some area relating to the history of North American Jewry." Deadline: March 18, 2010.
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Naomi Firestone shares news of the debut of YM Books, a new venture from Yaldah Magazine. YM Books will focus on books for Jewish girls. (Writers, take note: YM Books is open to queries.)
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And speaking of the younger set: Over on Literary Mama, Rebecca Steinitz offers holiday reading suggestions - and features a number of Jewish holiday titles.
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Finally, I can't tell you how great it was to open an e-mail from Lilith and find out that my friend Rachel Hall's story, "The Things We Do," has launched a new fiction podcast series. "The Things We Do" won Lilith's inaugural fiction contest and was originally published in fall 2001. Yay, Rachel!