8 RULES FOR WRITING HISTORICAL SHORT FICTION

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IMAGINE
WRITE
PUBLISH
August 2016 Volume 129 Number 8

FEATURES
16
The shadows
that transform us
Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts says all
experiences light and dark have
created the man, the poet he is today.
BY JULIE KRUG

22
Page turner
Author/editor Heidi Pitlor knows how
to get inside a characters and a
readers head.
BY NICKI PORTER

26
Fiction: The
House They Built
Read the first-place winner of our
Great Break short story contest.
BY SIGNE BERGSTROM

30
Looking to
the past
When historical fiction meets the
short story.
BY TODD JAMES PIERCE
 DEPARTMENTS IN EVERY ISSUE
10 WRITER AT WORK 4 From the Editor
Put me in, coach
Writing coaches can boost & 5 Take Note
bolster a career. Jennifer De Leon, Susan Ito,
BY RYAN G. VAN CLEAVE
blogger Colin Wright and more.

12 WRITING ESSENTIALS 42 Markets

Productive procrastination
47 Classified advertising
Instead of staring at a blank
screen, get distracted.
48 How I Write
BY ANICA MROSE RISSI
Stephanie Danler: I dont know
how to separate myself from my
22 14 BREAKTHROUGH love of food I know that I learned
it, but its so much a part of who
Lost and found
I am now, of how I participate in
Try tossing the roadmap and
the world, that it feels intrinsic.
letting characters not plot
lead you.
BY ANNA STOKELY

34 FREELANCE SUCCESS
Grant some kindness
Grant writing offers significant
altruistic and financial
rewards.
BY JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

30 36 CLASS ACTION
Television writing 101
Nothing good on TV? Learn
ON THE WEB:
www.writermag.com
how to write your own shows.
BY JEFF TAMARKIN
Put our free e-mail newsletter
to work: Check out our
38 CONFERENCE INSIDER bi-monthly newsletter, which
Hollywood heads south offers highlights from our website
Screenwriters strike gold at and the magazine, and directs you
the Austin Film Festival.
to more articles about craft from
BY MELISSA HART
The Writers vast archive. Find the
Free Newsletter box on our

40 LITERARY SPOTLIGHT home page, enter your e-mail

address, and youre in business.
The best policy
Carve seeks honesty
and authenticity. LIKE
BY MELISSA HART TheWriterMagazine

FOLLOW
26 Cover Photo: Thomas Bethge/Shutterstock
@TheWriterMag

writermag.com The Writer | 3

FROM THE EDITOR
A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick a couple of thousand
words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
Neil Gaiman
W
henever I finish a novel, I feel like Ive just exited
another world, some far-off planet, as if Im stealing my
way out of Alices rabbit hole and heaving myself onto
dry land. Ive spent hours, days, weeks with these char-
acters; we part ways as old friends.
I exit a good short story feeling like someones just punched me in
the gut. Im hunched, doubled-over; the story lingers in my thoughts
for days. I still remember the goosebumps on my arms after finishing
The Lady, or the Tiger? or seeing Madelines face, hearing her fingers
claw at the tombs door for weeks after The Fall of the House of Usher.
I remember tossing Shirley Jacksons The Lottery across the room, so
horrified at the conclusion I swore off reading for three days straight.
Short fiction creeps up on you like that. Shakes you up, spins you
around, ties on a blindfold and turns you loose on the world with a bat.
Thankfully, were happy to report short fiction is alive and well.
Within the pages of our annual short story issue, youll find advice
from reigning queen of the American short story, Heidi Pitlor, who
spends her days reading hundreds of literary journals to hunt down
the premiere work for The Best American Short Stories.
Youll also find a toolkit for crafting historical short fiction why
let novelists have all the heavily- researched fun? in addition to the
winning story from our Great Break short fiction contest. (For more
information on our latest contest, which launches July 1, visit us at
writermag.com/contests).
Summer, like a well-crafted short story, ends much too soon. If you
havent read a short story since senior-year English, add a volume to
your warm-weather reading list. Borrow George Saunders or Alice
Munro from the library. Read Kelly Links daring Get in Trouble or pick
up Karen Russells St. Lucys Home for Girls Raised by Wolves or Megan
Mayhew Bergmans Almost Famous Women.
A novel is a war, but a short story is a landmine. And there are
wealths of writing knowledge to be gleaned from each.
Keep writing,
Nicki Porter
Senior Editor
4 | The Writer August 2016
IMAGINE
WRITE
PUBLISH
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COMPILED BY NICKI PORTER
DRILLING DOWN
A universal story must also be a specific one.
By Jennifer De Leon
W
riting short stories takes hard work. Im not just
referring to the work of drafting or to the never-
never-done land of revision, to laboring over the
right image, painting believable characters or cre-
ating sentences that cut. If you are someone like me, some-
one who writes with a tremendous amount of self-imposed
pressure to get the story right, but also with an allegiance to
ones culture and history, then you can understand how
challenging it is to face the blinking cursor. The particular
pressure I face as a writer who is the daughter of Guatema-
lan immigrants is not unlike the pressure many writers of
color, and those who write from marginalized spaces, face.
When I first started writing short stories, I wrote tales that
were drenched in clichs and where all the characters spoke in
cartoon-like dialogue. The white people were nice. The brown
people were poor. The little girl wanted a doll. She didnt get
it. But then, in the end, she did! Later I began writing
vignettes. They were often true, maybe even pretty good, but
ProStockStudio/Shutterstock
when strung together, they still never told a complete story.
This is what was happening: Every time I sat down to
write, I became paralyzed by the weight on my shoulders, by
the burden of being a messenger, a representative of my
tribe. Write about a Guatemalan housekeeper? Nah. Tell the
story of a Latina teenager who gets pregnant? Pft! How
Write a short story every week. Its not possible to
write 52 bad short stories in a row. Ray Bradbury
about a story about a man who abandons his family? Never.
I couldnt bear to tell these stories, which I equated with
running a permanent magic marker over the already-deep
stereotypes written on the bathroom stall.
I needed to understand that I wasnt writing about all
Guatemalan people and certainly not all Latinos. I wasnt
writing about Latino men or Latina teens. I definitely
wasnt writing about an entire country. Talk about pressure!
So what did I do? I got some great advice. The universal
is in the specific. I wrote it down on a Post-it. Its meaning
clicked when I began to read like a writer when I searched
for examples of how other writers managed to dip their
pens into the ink jar of history and succeed in telling a
good story.
Sherman Alexies short story What You Pawn I Will
Redeem immediately comes to mind. The story follows
Jackson Jackson, a homeless Indian man, around the streets
of Seattle. He wants to buy his grandmothers dancing rega-
lia from a pawnshop for a thousand dollars. Every time he
gets money, he ends up spending it. In the end, the pawn-
shop owner gives the regalia to him for the five dollars Jack-
son originally offered. Jackson leaves the shop wearing the
regalia and dances on the street. The whole story takes place
in 24 hours. And yet, Alexie takes the reader along on this
journey, this exquisite yarn, through history and culture and
family, and in doing so, the reader grasps the importance of
this object. It is, of course, worth more than money itself.
Alexie does not bore the reader with long appositives full of
historical information; he keeps the focus on Jackson Jack-
son and his concrete desire, and with a ticking clock.
Likewise, Vietnamese-American fiction writer Angie
Chau explores large themes the American Dream, racism,
poverty, assimilation in her beautiful and powerful short
stories. In Hunger a group of young cousins in San Fran-
cisco collect change and head for the pool on the Fourth of
July, braving verbal abuse from a hostile white neighbor so
they can share a single slice of pizza. Chau shows the strug-
gle of Vietnamese families to adjust to life in the United
States all in one hot summer afternoon.
How about one morning? Edward P. Jones begins his
short story The First Day with the lines: In an otherwise
unremarkable September morning, long before I learned to
be ashamed of my mother It is a brilliant story that tells
of one mother trying to register her daughter for school.
Ultimately, the mother requires help completing the regis-
tration paperwork because she cannot read.
In drilling down to this one character and her one
desire, Jones, like Chau and Alexie, tells a story that is so
specific it becomes universal. These characters are vulnera-
ble. Their desires are real. What better measures for telling
a good story?
Jennifer De Leon is the editor of Wise Latinas: Writers on Higher Educa-
tion (University of Nebraska Press, 2014) and her short story, Home
Movie, originally published inThe Briar Cliff Review, was chosen as
theOne City, One Storypick for the 2015 Boston Book Festival. Named the
2015-2016 Writer-in-Residence by the Associates of the Boston Public
Library, De Leon currently teaches creative writing at GrubStreet.

STORY SAMPLERS Writing Prompt

In our interview with Heidi Pitlor (page 22), Pitlor said one of her best pieces of advice for writers is to
read a lot, and theres no denying shes one of the best-read writers in the country thanks to her work as
series editor for The Best American Short Stories. But while Pitlor may have the advantage of subscribing
to dozens of literary journals, the beginning short fiction writer may not be as lucky. Here are some ways
to sample a lot of American short fiction without subscribing to every literary journal on the newsstands:

The Best American Short also extremely helpful for widen-

Stories ing your knowledge of the market Find the key emotion; this
This is Pitlors best recommenda- for writers looking to submit short may be all you need to know
to find your short story.
tion for fledgling short fiction fiction for publication.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
writers. It gives you a sampler
of whats in a lot of different Morning Short A short story must have a
magazines, and it does have [a Wake up your midmorning coffee single mood and every sen-
list of] all the magazines I look break with Morning Short, a curated tence must build towards it.
at in the back, she says. It is service that delivers one daily short Edgar Allan Poe
a way to say, alright, in these story to your inbox at 10 a.m. Com- Write as manydifferent
20 stories, there are two I like muters can opt to listen to daily emotions as you can think
what magazines are those in? audio stories instead. On a tight of onto small slips of pa-
The 2016 annual is guest-edited budget? No worries here: Both print per.Draw one at random
by Junot Daz and comes out in and audio services are free. and write a short story
October. based around that emotion.
Howdo your characters
One Story
react based on this emo-
Journal of the Month Love short fiction, but dont have tion? Howdoes this par-
Much like a book-of-the-month time to commit to a whole book
flower travelin' man/Shutterstock

ticular feelingdrive their

club, Journal of the Month deliv- or literary journal? Consider One actions?Always remember
ers a different literary journal to Story, which mails out one short to show and nevertell what
your doorstep each month. Its a story to subscribers each month. your characters are feeling;
good way to sample a wide va- Recent selected authors include Lily a reader should sense the
riety of different journals before King, Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes and
emotional tension in your
story via your characters
committing to a subscription. Its Charles Bock.
actions anddialogue.

6 | The Writer August 2016


C A R E E R
C H O P S
I want to traditionally
publish my novel. Can I
submit directly to a
publisher?
The short answer is yes with
diligence and for a reason. If you are
submitting directly to a publisher, ask
yourself why. If its because agents
have turned down your fiction sub-
mission, perhaps it isnt ready. Before
you begin submitting to anyone,
make your book the best it can be.
Most big publishers dont accept
unsolicited submissions. Refer to
the LMP or the market listings in this
magazine for the contact information
of those that do. Also, know your
genre: This doesnt mean knowing
what your book is, but knowing who
your book is for.
Do your research. Submit to
publishers specializing in the type of
book youve written.
Follow the guidelines. No excep-
tions. If open submissions are the
first Monday of every month from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m., do not submit on Tues-
day. If they only want a query letter
and the first 15 pages, do not send a
synopsis, and do not send page 16,
even if it only contains a single word.
Edit instead.
Be professional, courteous and
precise. Remember, publishing is a
business. Dont call an editor on the
phone or stop by their office to chat.
Do not write that your book is the
next best-seller. Theyre the experts;
theyll decide.
Dont forget that if you submit
to an editor and are rejected, you
cannot resubmit via an agent to the
same editor.
Finally, NO legitimate publisher
charges an author a fee. Ever. Read
the fine print and never sign a
contract that requires you to open
your wallet.
Dionne McCulloch, U.S. manag-
ing editor, Cornerstones Literary
Consultancy, cornerstonesUS.com
Notes from the blogosphere
NAME
Colin Wright
WEBSITE
exilelifestyle.com
How have your many experi-
ences abroad helped your writ-
ing change and grow?
Everything we do feeds back into
the work we produce. For me, its
changed everything, over time
and iteratively.
Sometimes its been more
direct: When writing collections
of stories from the road, for
instance, theres a direct link
between what happened and
what ends up on the page.
More often, though, its the
little things. Radically different
people with wildly different per-
spectives inform the characters I
write. Different architectural
styles or even color palettes
inform the locations. Paces of life
and cultural backgrounds inform
the structure and rhythm of the
words. You wouldnt necessarily
When you read a short story, you come out a little
more aware and a little more in love with the world
around you. George Saunders
be able to trace any of these
things back to the travel on a
one-for-one basis, but its defi-
nitely there.
How did you go about build-
ing your readership?
In many different ways. I write
my blog, and I share different
elements of my lifestyle and
craft on social media. I interact
with folks directly, via email, via
the aforementioned social net-
works and in person as I travel.
Sometimes I do book tours,
sometimes I give talks on various
subjects, sometimes I experi-
ment with new platforms and
media: videos on YouTube, real-
time services like Periscope and
Snapchat, secondary blog-plat-
forms like Medium.
It all ties back to the same
collection of ideas and work,
though, so expanding outward
like this, sometimes slowly,
sometimes more recklessly, but
always experimentally, allows
me to find the channels of
writermag.com The Writer | 7
communication I really enjoy, and
which allow me to better interact
with the people who might dig
my books.
I think if you try to force your-
self into a marketing stance and
do things that feel like work, you
probably wont do it as regularly,
and it probably wont sound like
you or fit within your larger body
of work. If you can identify some
means of reaching out and con-
necting with people, though, you
tend to build over time a social
gravity that pulls like-minded
potential readers your way. It
also makes life that much more
enjoyable, because the reader-
ship building becomes just
another exercise in
self-expression.
You write about a wide vari-
ety of topics how would you
describe your blog and your
identity as a writer?
I typically describe my work dif-
ferently based on the context Im
in. To some of my readers, Im a
guy who writes books on vaguely
philosophical topics. To others,
Im that guy who travels full time.
To still others, Im the science fic-
tion writer. To some of my newer
followers, Im that guy on You-
Tube or Snapchat whos given
some TEDx talks; they dont even
know Ive written books yet.
This is kind of ideal for
someone like me, whos terrified
of being pigeonholed and stuck
writing about one thing forever.
The idea that I could be success-
ful in a field and then limited to
just that subject matter forever
is hellish to me.
ASK THE WRITER
Ive entered many short story contests and Ive
placed in a few, but havent won yet. I feel like
Im missing something. What are judges
looking for?
Placing in contests is no small feat. Congratulations!
Figuring out how to make the leap to the winners circle
can feel like a mystery. Your best course of action is to
keep writing, continue to strengthen your work and
submit more. There are few ways to anticipate what a
judge is looking for. Most reputable contests are going to
value strong craft, and some contests give a brief
description of what they hope to see in a winning entry.
You could read work that has won that particular contest
in the past. This will be most useful if the contest has had
the same judge for several years. Many, though, have
new judges each year.
But, ultimately, what you can do to gain insight into a
particularly judges criteria is quite limited. Different
judges will value different elements. In an article
detailing the deliberation process for the 2012 Pulitzer
Prize in Fiction, Michael Cunningham describes what
each member of the jury most valued. Maureen Corrigan
was drawn to writers who told a gripping and forceful
story. Susan Larson was a tough-minded romantic. She
wanted to fall in love with a book. Cunningham
describes himself as the language crank, the one who
swooned over sentences. All readers are captivated by
something a little different, and thats going to come into
play anytime writing is assessed.
While there are certainly standards of craft that most
can agree upon, there is always a subjective element to
the reading experience. Perhaps Michael Cunningham
says this best in that same article:
Fiction involves trace elements of magic; it works
for reasons we can explain and also for reasons we
cant. If novels or short-story collections could be
weighed strictly in terms of their components ...
they might satisfy, but they would fail to enchant. A
great work of fiction involves a certain frisson that
occurs when its various components cohere and
then ignite. The cause of the fire should, to some
extent, elude the experts sent to investigate.
While this doesnt necessarily demystify a process that
can feel quite mysterious, it can give you the freedom to
relinquish yourself from further work in trying to figure
out how to please the judges. Write. Continue to
challenge yourself. Improve your writing. And keep
sending those submissions.
Brandi Reissenweber teaches fiction writing and reading fiction at Gotham
Writers Workshop.

---b BOOKISH c---
iAs the beginning
writer starts racking
up the writing hours,
and thus gradually
becomes the interme-
diate or advanced
writer, she notices that
the success of her work often hinges
on finding answers to seemingly
minor questions: How should I
describe the exterior of a house? Does
it work better to say Fiat Spider or
just a sports car? How much of a
softball game can I show readers
without boring them? In Danger on
the Page: A Fiction Writers Guide to
Sex, Violence, Dead Narrators, and
Other Challenges, Brian Shawver
attempts to navigate the intermediate
fiction writer through these ques-
tions, covering topics such as sex
scenes, physical character descrip-
tions, using brand names in fiction
and many others. The ultimate goal?
To embrace these everyday technical
difficulties, since they make up the
bulk of a fiction writers work.
iInterested in telling
your life story but
intimidated by the tow-
ering length of a mem-
oir? Theres still a way
for aging writers to
have one last say,
argues Alan Gelb in Having the Last
Say: Capturing Your Legacy in One
Small Story. Aimed at beginner or
brand-new writers, the book coaches
readers through the process of writ-
ing ones life story in a 500- to 1000-
word personal essay that can be
shared with family and friends or
read aloud at a memorial. Each chap-
ter covers a certain technical aspect of
writing (Finding Your Topic, Point
of View, The First Draft) and is
then followed by a real-life Last Say
that illustrates the skill at work.
iWhat is a book
proposal? Why do
you need one? And
what makes a really,
really good one?
These are the ques-
tions Patricia Fry,
author of more than
50 books, attempts to answer in Pro-
pose Your Book: How to Craft Persua-
sive Proposals for Nonfiction, Fiction,
and Childrens Books. If youve
resisted the task of writing a book
proposal or if those youve submit-
ted have been rejected, this book is
for you, Fry writes. Fry also
includes submission tips, including
chapters on finding and approaching
a literary agent and landing a pub-
lisher, plus Tips for Surviving the
Dreaded Rejection.

8 | The Writer August 2016

 Body full of words
Stuck on the page? Take your story to the stage.
I
was breathless as I watched the woman on
stage pick up an invisible pair of scissors. Sit
still! she admonished, her hands hovering
over an empty chair. Snip. Snip, snip, snip. I
couldnt see the curls falling to the stage, but I
could feel them in my gut. Then she sat down in the
chair and was transformed into a tearful little Afri-
can-American girl, whose hair had been shorn
because her adoptive white mother couldnt manage it.
It was one of the most powerful moments Id ever wit-
nessed on a stage. I approached the performer, Lisa Marie
Rollins, after the applause died down, and stammered,
What was that? I mean, what do you call this? I fanned at
my chest. She laughed. Sis, this is solo performance.
My next question: Where can I learn to do this?
I had been stuck in writers block with my memoir for
what felt like years. Wrestling with my own story around
family, identity and adoption was emotionally draining
and seemed as if it had no end. I kept circling around the
narrative, writing endless drafts and feeling frustrated
with all of them. I needed a different perspective or a
break or something.
Lisa Marie invited me to join her in the next class of the
San Francisco Solo Performance Workshop, then taught by
the comedian W. Kamau Bell. I had never taken an acting
class and was terrified of being on stage, but something
about seeing that haircutting scene electrified me. Perhaps
this was what my own story needed.
When I walked into the subterranean, 60-seat Stage
Werx Theatre in San Francisco, I was more nervous than Id
been in a long time. But Kamaus relaxed-yet-professional
approach set me at ease. The first thing he did was have us
sit quietly onstage, one at a time, while the class checked off
a list of characteristics and characters that came to mind
when they looked at us: such as funeral director sweet,
dangerous or cheerleader. Then he handed us our list to
tally up the ones that had the most checkmarks. (Apparently
I impressed my classmates with my ability to embody a
librarian or travel agent.)
Over the next two months, Kamau led us through exer-
cises designed to coax our inner stories into the light. It was
unlike any other writing class Id ever taken or taught.
Larissa Kulik/Shutterstock
Kamau would ask questions about an incident, and when
something struck him as particularly hot or compelling,
hed say, Show us! not unlike a writing teacher who
admonishes, Show, dont tell.
Writing for solo performance needs the same. In those
same moments where a fiction writer or memoirist
needs to slow down, to open up a scene with dialogue
and gesture and detail, to show the action happening,
we learned to make the stories come alive with our
bodies. Instead of saying, It was startling to see myself
in the mirror, wearing my mothers dress, I learned
how to be in that moment, in my body, re-living it. I
stepped to the edge of the stage, gazing at the invisible
mirror. I lifted the imaginary fabric over my head and
zipped it up, then twirled from side to side. My mouth
dropped open in astonishment, and I could tell that the
audience could feel the memory.
Good writing should make your readers feel the same
way. But there are important ways in which writing for the
stage diverges from memoir or fiction. All that lush descrip-
tion of setting had to be cut or condensed into a single line
of dialogue. The internal monologues would be slashed, too,
or else changed into a separate soliloquy that I delivered
directly to the audience.
Over eight weeks, I developed my first 15-minute solo
show called My Brothers Wedding. Doing this changed
my relationship to the story in profound ways. Telling it in
such a physical, verbal way, using my entire body, helped
me to own it in a way that manuscript writing hadnt.
My story deals with family secrets, about feeling con-
cealed, hidden. So to stand onstage, in a room of strangers,
and belt out, arms flung upward, This is who I am! was
exhilarating and shocking. And it was addictive.
After the eight weeks was over, I immediately signed up
for another round. I went on to study with other teachers
and directors, and eventually began performing my show,
The Ice Cream Gene, to audiences around the country, to
audiences of all sizes. Its now a full-length performance
piece that has been seen by thousands.
Since I discovered solo performance nine years ago, Ive
found that its helped my page writing as well. My writers
block was shattered. I now love writing dialogue, the ele-
ment I once dreaded the most. When Im stuck writing a
scene, it helps me to get up and move through it physically,
mouthing the words, feeling the gestures with my own
limbs. When I sit down at my computer again, the kinetic
memory transforms more easily into words. The borders
between lived experience and memory, imagination and
language, all fall away and in the end its all just a good
story, emerging.
Susan Ito writes and teaches at the San Francisco Writers Grotto.
writermag.com The Writer | 9
WRITER AT WORK
BY RYAN G. VAN CLEAVE
Put me in, coach
Writing coaches can boost & bolster a career.
I
ve been teaching creative writing at colleges and univer-
sities for nearly 20 years, and Ive been a writing coach
for nearly as long. But heres something you likely dont
expect: I use a writing coach, too. In fact, I recently
invested in my own writing career by getting five one-hour ses-
sions with Florida writing guru Jamie Morris. In that short but
focused time, I had two breakthroughs on a semi-comatose
project thats been languishing away for a year. I also felt ener-
gized, clear-headed and excited about writing again. Her fresh
eyes on my work and my career was exactly what I needed.
Morris explains that hiring a writing coach is like hiring a
guide, a Sherpa. Your writing coach knows the terrain you
want to travel; she knows how long the road is, how steep the
10 | The Writer August 2016
climb and where obstacles are likely to lie. And shes got
enough distance from you and your work to see things as they
truly are. If shes talented like Morris is, shell shorten the learn-
ing curve on your writing career.
Lets put it plainly if youre interested in breaking through
the ceiling of your writing career, moving past baggage thats
getting in the way of your success or transforming the entire
process into something more enjoyable and effective, then
bringing in a writing coach can be a great choice. Yet there are
some crucial considerations to make to ensure you get the
most for your writing coach buck. Lets face it: Youre paying
for a high level of expertise and skill, and that doesnt and
shouldnt come cheaply.
Cienpies Design/Shutterstock
1. One of these things is not like the
others. (And thats a good thing.)
Not all writing coaches are the
same. Some are like your grand-
mother. Some are all business.
Some allow you to forge your own
path. Some will insist you follow
their routine and route to success.
Some only do phoners. Some do
phone, Skype, face-to-face and
anything in between. Make certain
that the coaches youre consider-
ing are open to your preferred
coaching style and communica-
tion method.
Bonus Tip Ask them if they think
theyre the right coach for you or
not. You might be surprised at how
many have the integrity to say, Per-
haps not. Some might even steer
you directly to another coach whos
a great fit. I do that often.
2. Get all matchy-matchy.
Its reasonable to seek out a writing
coach whos got deep experience in
your specific arena, such as food
writing, travel writing, memoir
writing, etc. Each of these areas has
special conventions and nuances,
and, realistically, few writing
coaches can appropriately cover
every single type of writing. Hold
out for the real literary love connec-
tion unless you feel that an outsid-
ers perspective on your work might
have ample value.
3. Trust but verify.
Do check out a potential writing
coachs credentials to ensure shes in
a position to give you what you
need. Dont just assume whats
listed on her website is correct. Do
a bit of sleuthing a few have been
known to say theyve written for
The New Yorker or some other
large-scale publication, and its sim-
ply not true. Dont be tricked by
someone looking to make a fast
buck by teaching.
Bonus Tip Feel free to reach out to
people whose names appear on the
coachs testimonial page. Asking
them a quick question or two by
email is completely appropriate.
4. Dare I sample the goods?
Most coaches have some kind of
lets-see-how-we-work-together
option to start things off. Hey,
when Im in Sams Club, I always
accept the samples regardless of
whether I just scarfed down some
McDonalds or not. Sometimes I
am horrified Sams Club is giving
this stuff out. Sometimes Im de-
lightfully surprised. For exactly this
reason, I give prospective clients a
free taste of what my coaching is
like for 15 minutes.
Bonus Tip Even if they dont
advertise a free session, ask for one.
Most will be open to a reduced
rate or even a short free trial run if
youre truly serious about engaging
their services
5. Whats a fair rate?
A fair rate is whatever youre willing
to pay for coaching that you believe
is helpful. But $75 to $125/hour
seems like a reasonable range to
start with, though factors such as
geography and levels of expertise
might affect that range.
Bonus Tip Consider asking for a
bulk rate, such as getting six one-
hour sessions for the price of five if
you pay in advance. It never hurts
to ask!
6. To contract or not to contract?
Its best to have something in writ- way to supplement what you learn in
ing that outlines your agreement,
even if its just a clear email that
details rates, terms of service and
expectations for how youll com-
municate and work together. This
doesnt need to be written in heavy-
duty legal language, though with
some coaches, it will be.
7. Be realistic.
Morris offers this advice: If she
tells you she can help transform
your rough-draft novel-in-progress
into a best-seller or even a good
fit for a big publishing house
in less time than it takes to, say,
renovate your kitchen, be sure to
ask exactly how she is going to help
you accomplish that. Remember
that writing coaches can work
magic, but this type of magic does
take time.
Whether youre new to the game or
youve got a big list of writing credits, a
writing coach can be an invaluable
career partner. She can give you extra
accountability, create action steps
toward specific goals, help you get
unstuck and offer a fresh perspective
on your work. She can also guide you
to find clarity on why you feel the need
to write, who you intend to reach and
what impact you wish to have on that
audience. Who wouldnt benefit from
all this?
The best coaches, too, dont just
offer a temporary fix. They teach the
clients how to coach themselves
through difficult times. Those are the
true success stories. Thats the right
critique groups, in writing classes and
in the pages of magazines like this one
to get your career into high gear.
Ryan G. Van Cleave is a Florida-based writing
teacher and author of 20 books, including most
recently Memoir Writing for Dummies and The
Weekend Book Proposal.
writermag.com The Writer | 11
WRITING ESSENTIALS
BY ANICA MROSE RISSI
Productive procrastination
Instead of staring at a blank screen, get distracted.
E
very writer has experienced
it: a day when youve made
the time to write but the
words just arent flowing.
Whether youve lost your writing
rhythm or never found it, part of fin-
ishing a manuscript is to suffer
through and keep pushing ahead
with a reminder to self that its OK characters and their world even better
for the draft to be terrible. After all,
you will revise it in the end. But forc-
ing your focus isnt the only path to
productivity. Sometimes the best way
to write your novel is to do something
else instead.
Im not advocating that you suc-
cumb to social media, Internet head-
lines and other temptations that would
remove you from the headspace of
your manuscript. The following dis-
tractions will allow your mind to
wander while staying deep within the
world youre creating.
The next time youre stuck on a plot
12 | The Writer August 2016
point, not in the mood, distracted by
life or focusing hard but still missing
the right words, get your brain unstuck
and your creativity flowing again with
one of these forms of productive pro-
crastination. Youll get to know your
them, and read up on common traits
and perhaps inspire yourself to write.
Picture this.
Step away from the words and focus on
the visuals. Use Google image search,
Pinterest, Instagram or stock photog-
raphy sites to gather images to create a
photographic mood board or visual
outline. Juxtapose pictures of impor-
tant or incidental details from your
story the red ribbon from the miss-
ing girls hair, the anti-anxiety medica-
tion the detective downs with his
whiskey with atmospheric photos
evocative of the moods and emotions
your characters experience. Approach-
ing your story visually with details
and broader strokes may help you
picture whats needed next.
Consult the stars.
Check your characters horoscopes to
see what the zodiac has in store for
of their astrological signs. Whether
you consider astrology fiction or fact,
looking up your characters star signs
and considering the ways they do or
dont fit the type can be an entertaining
and useful way to delve deeper into
their instincts, attributes, weaknesses,
strengths, tendencies and dispositions.
Mark your calendar.
Take out a blank calendar from the
vasabii/Shutterstock
year(s) when your story takes place
regardless of whether those dates are
explicit in the text and chart the tim-
ing of minor and major events. What
are your characters weekly routines,
including work, school and family obli-
gations? When does the plot follow or
deviate from those? Do major holidays,
birthdays and other yearly disruptions
fall within the timeframe of your novel?
How do those events affect the plot?
Do the details in your manuscript
from the weather and tides to the tim-
ing of sunrises and sunsets, phases of
the moon and which flowers are in
bloom fit accurately into the calen-
dar? Even if your manuscript makes no
mention of the dates, the timeline will
strengthen the novels structure and
internal logic, including making time
pass on the page in a realistic way.
Map what matters.
Draw maps of the places your charac-
ters inhabit. Sketch the floor plans
and diagram the logistics of the
spaces where they sleep, work, argue
or play. Learn the layout of the rooms
in your protagonists apartment,
where her office is situated in rela-
tionship to her boss (and to the eleva-
tors, bathrooms and coffee pot), how
the buttons are patterned on her
rocket ships control board and what
path she follows through the woods to
Grandmothers house. The more you
know about the physical world in
which your story is set, the more real
it will feel to your readers.
Tell a different story.
Free-write about an event in a charac-
ters past or future that falls outside the
scope of the novel: an embarrassing
moment in the elementary school cafe-
teria, a revelatory conversation with an
aunt about a parent, a first date with an
insignificant ex, a first encounter with
an illegal substance, a white lie all too
easily gotten away with, a sleepless
night over a concern later forgotten.
Exploring who your character is or was
outside the events of the book may
help you better understand who they
are within it.
Sound it out.
Use online audio clips, your personal
music collection and the recording app
on your smartphone to create a sound-
scape of a scene in progress. This sen-
sory outline is less a soundtrack, more
a sound collage of the aural and emo-
tional beats within the scene from
crickets, snoring, traffic and waves to
sadness, confusion, elation and lust.
Layer and link the sounds together for
a musical map of where your chapter
might be going.
Anica Mrose Rissi is the author of Anna,
Banana, and the Friendship Split and other
books for kids.
writermag.com The Writer | 13
BREAKTHROUGH
BY ANNA STOKELY
Lost and found
Try tossing the roadmap and letting characters not plot lead you.
E
ither some intern made a
horrible typographic error, or
I was reading my first accep-
tance letter. I read the email
over a dozen times, grinning stupidly
and trying not to laugh. A literary
journal actually wanted to publish my
short story and the funny thing was,
I hadnt intended to write it.
The story started as an Intro to Fic-
tion assignment. For weeks, Id been
writing and rewriting a scene with
characters I knew well, plotting the
brief encounter in the margins of class
notes. Despite my planning, the emo-
tion always came out forced and flat.
With only a few days before my due
date, I scrapped everything and went
with a new idea. As in, I have no idea
who this character is or why shes lug-
ging a pumpkin through a graveyard,
but I have to find out.
14 | The Writer August 2016
This was not normal for me. I was a
plotter. I kept detailed notes about a
characters family tree, her motiva-
tions, her fears. With my other work,
Id map out the bulk of my plot, setting
and cast of characters before I started
writing a scene. This time around, I
started with a nearly blank slate. I
didnt know where this graveyard was
or in what year my character had
arrived there or who she was visiting. I
didnt know her occupation, back-
ground or age. But I felt her grief and
confusion, and her sharp retorts came
as black and bold as the ink from my
ballpoint pen.
I started with dialogue. I wrote three
separate exchanges, conversations with
vague shadows of other characters, all
of them trying, like me, to understand
this girl with a pumpkin. From there, I
could see how she was connected to
others, how each of them reacted dif-
ferently to a recent death. My pro-
cess turned from mapping out
each event to allowing a charac-
ter to tell me her story her-
self, only moving forward
when she was ready. (Lit-
erally. She spends almost
the entire scene sitting in
the same spot.)
The result was a story
that, unlike the one Id
intended to write, didnt feel
forced or staged, but honest and unex-
pected. A few things in it surprised
even me. I didnt need all the details to
start writing, I realized. I needed to
commit to pursuing a story.
I turned in the draft a complete
scene but an unfinished story. Encour-
aged by my teacher to find a solid end-
ing, I came back to it later and learned
a second lesson.
To me, finishing a story meant
add to it. A complete story, I thought,
needed more scenes, more characters,
just more. But everything I added to
this story felt unnecessary.
I realized I didnt have to push the
ending forward on the narrative time-
line. I could cut it back. I scrapped the
original ending, and when that didnt
feel enough, I cut the original begin-
ning, leaving me with something raw
and not fully explained, but still whole
and haunting.
Startling Kindness taught me a
more lenient way to write than the for-
mulaic process Id used in the past.
Sometimes, writing a little bit less does
more for a story than any amount of
plotting. And being willing to learn as
you write is more important than writ-
ing what you already know.
makar/Shutterstock
Anna Stokely lives and works in Lincoln,
Nebraska. She is a book hoarder, needlework
enthusiast and makes a mean pumpkin pie.
 EXCERPT: Startling Kindness by Anna Stokely
Youre not a real witch, are you?
Of course I am. Freddie watched Ben reach for the
cauldron, then pointed to the pumpkin guts again. Ichabod
was a nice little boy like you, but I turned him into a pump-
kin after he tried to take my candy without asking.
Ben hesitated with his hands over the silver wrappings,
then turned to her, his eyes as wide as his smile. Freddie
laughed, then hitched it into her best cackle, and Ben
squealed that little kid squeal of amusement.
Why are you here? he asked, calming down.
Are you visiting your mom, too?
Im visiting my . . . visiting Peter.
Did he take your candy? Ben
stistudio/Shutterstock
Bens smile stayed, but now it looked like a mask, like he
wasnt sure why he should be smiling. Freddie turned to sort
her pumpkin seeds again.
What was your mother like? she asked.
He answered quickly, like he had rehearsed it. She sang
the alphabet while she brushed her teeth and she hated the
word dank and when shed make a pumpkin pie
for Dad shed dance around the kitchen with
the evaporated milk because it said shake
well right there on the top of the can.
Freddie blinked. How old were you
when she died?
Four. Old enough to miss her, Dad

asked eagerly. says.

No, he shot himself. Right in And you remember all that?
the eye. Like he wanted to watch He pushed his wrappers into a pile
it bust open his head. between them. I remember all the stories.

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writermag.com The Writer | 15
Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts says all experiences
light and dark
have created the man, the poet he is today.

BY JULIE KRUG

IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, BOOKS ARE FORBIDDEN.

Nearly 20 years ago, while a teenage Reginald
Dwayne Betts sat alone in his cell, someone
slipped a book under his door.
The book was The Black Poets by Dudley
Randall the contraband that would forever
change his life, introducing him to the powerful
words of Etheridge Knight, Rob Hayden, Lucille
Clifton, Sonia Sanchez and, he says, many other
black authors who showed him who he wanted
to become.
 At just 16 years old, Betts pled guilty to an impulse car- In his newest book, Bastards of the
jacking he committed with a friend. Because of his plea, he Reagan Era, his poetry is both visceral
was tried as an adult and sentenced to nine years in an and soft, as with the poem Elephants
adult prison. in the Fall a two-part poem lik-
Betts actually decided what he wanted to be long before ened to love letters to his sons Micah
that day in solitary. He says it wasnt so much a realization and Miles.
but a distinct and conscious decision. With many elegiac poems repre-
In [that] moment, just after being sentenced to nine senting the trauma of his past, Betts
years, I decided to be a writer. No sense of what it meant. not only shares his own losses in Bas-
And that decision drove all kinds of decisions that hap- tards but also makes a plea: to make
pened later, said Betts. more personal the stories of incar-
At 16, he was 5-foot-5 and 120 pounds. Still a boy, he ceration, racism, and the tragedy and grief that go along
would spend his journey to manhood in a place where his with them, in hopes of creating greater awareness and
human rights were stripped away. Betts has referred to effecting change.
prison as a treacherous and wild place. He saw and experi- Now married with two sons, Betts described his writing
enced things he says no human should be exposed to, let career and his advocacy as one life.
alone a child. As our first interview came to a close, I asked him how
Betts says as a boy, he thought books were important, his experience of prison shaped him, both as a person and
but when I got locked up, it became magic, it became a as a writer.
means to an end. It became the way in which I experienced It is difficult, both to imagine what I would be with-
the world, but more importantly, I think, it became the way out these experiences many of them dark and haunting
in which I learned about what it means to be human and to and the source of sleepless nights and to imagine what I
be flawed and to want things that you cant have. am with those experiences, he admitted. But I think its
To this day, he doesnt know who smuggled that book of sadly impossible.
poetry into his cell. But more came and were often left in a More days passed and we continued our talk. About
small hole in the wall of his cell. trauma. About what it really means to be broken. About
At 17, Betts earned his high school diploma. Once released poetry and writing.
from prison, he finished his undergraduate degree and then He continued to open up about how his experiences,
earned his MFA in writing at Warren Wilson College. which he referred to as his shadow, have affected him.
He published his first few poems while in prison but later Prison, for the earliest parts of my writing life, has been
received fellowships for his poetry, including one from the the lens through which I understand life. As a writer, its
Bread Loaf Writers Conference, and forced into a nuance I might have other-
awards, including two Pushcart Prizes. PRISON, FOR THE wise avoided. Or that I might have not
Hes currently a law student at Yale EARLIEST PARTS OF noticed was needed, said Betts.
University and will graduate in 2016. MY WRITING LIFE, Its hard to imagine what I wouldnt
Over the years, Betts has become an HAS BEEN THE LENS be without this experience, because its
advocate for change in the criminal jus- THROUGH WHICH I integral to who I am. Both my identity as
tice system. In 2012, President Barack UNDERSTAND LIFE. a writer and my character as a person. I
Obama appointed Betts to serve on the resist the question, partly because Im not
Coordinating Council on Juvenile Jus- imaginative enough to see an existence
tice and Delinquency Prevention. Ulti- that would have made me care about the
mately, Betts says he hopes to represent people I write about, and also care in gen-
people on parole. eral, in much the same way.
Prison became the place where I He told me if the question had been
both cared and became a profoundly limited to What did prison give me?,
different person, said Betts. he wouldve explained, Prison gave me
His first book, A Question of Freedom: an entire cosmos. It gave me a thousand
A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Shakespearean tragedies. Wilsonian
Coming of Age in Prison, earned Betts an tragedies. And it also gave me despera-
Lou Oates/Shutterstock

NAACP Image Award. His second book tion. These things, the best I could, I
was his first collection of poetry, Shahid tried to craft into poems. Most of which
Reads His Own Palm, where Betts were miserable.
explored the darkness of his prison expe- Betts recalled writing down some of
riences and the fear of freedom. his very first inspirations.
writermag.com The Writer | 17
 My first poems, the ones I still
have, were written on complaint
forms where I was complaining
about being moved to a super max-
imum security prison because the
prison was a terrifying place. And
when the complaints came back
with the administration dismissing
what I said, I wrote poems on the
backs of them. I have the monthly
receipts where I worked for 24
cents an hour and wrote poems on
the back. Now those poems have
turned out to be more valuable
than the 24 cents an hour I made,
he said.
I think, when I begin to con-
template it all I am not so sure
that I am not broken because
suddenly I imagine what it would
be to not have this weight.
In his silence, I wonder what that
weight would feel like; to carry
around, all the time.
Anyway, maybe that also
doesnt make sense, he finally said.
It makes a lot of sense, I said.
I hope it does. And I hope the
answers I just [gave] are better and
more thoughtful. Even the last one.
Actually, I think what Ive said here
might be more honest.
INTERVIEW Q & A:
Can you talk about the moment when
you realized that you would become
a writer?
Its not that there is a moment. I
mean there are always moments,
but this business of being a writer,
for me, is less about a realization
and more about making a decision.
This happened when I was around
16, exactly 16, and staring at a
nine-year prison sentence. I
wanted to be somebody and
thought the idea of being a writer
was possible and practical, given
my circumstances. And so I just
went with it from that point. But it
was more of a decision than a
moment of clarity.
18 | The Writer August 2016
Which authors influenced you when
you first started writing poetry, and
who inspires you now?
Obvious answers, really. I find that
SENDING the canon of black writers that I
draw from and my peers draw
POEMS OUT from are all readily identifiable if
MEANT THAT I one looks. Disparate, and far rang-
WAS A PART OF ing, but there are always familiar
names. So I say, always, to this
A LARGER question, Etheridge Knight. I say
PROCESS THAT Lucille Clifton, I say Sonia San-
EXTENDED chez. But there is also Raymond
BEYOND Patterson. Agha Shahid Ali, Jack
Gilbert, Wanda Coleman,Ellen
PRISON. Bryant Voigt. There is Zora Neale
Hurston and Ralph Ellison. Ish-
mael Reed. And these writers, they
are always the past and the present
when it comes to inspiration.
But if the question is about my
peers, I would say John Murillo
and Randall Horton, Jericho
Brown, Roger Reevesand Honore
Jeffers, Remica Bingham and
Aracelis Girmay.
How was your work first discovered
and published? Did you submit work
on your own or did you have help?
Honestly, I just sent poems to
journals and waited for someone
to take interest. A boring story
one of rejection after rejection
after rejection. But it was cool.
Sending those poems out meant
something. For a long time there
were only rejections. This all hap-
pened in prison. At some point I
began asking editors for tips, even
if they were rejecting the poems,
especially if they were rejecting
the poems. The first poem I got
published was picked up by
Ethelbert Miller and came out in
Poet Lore.
The second came out in Hang-
ing Loose, and I remember that
Valentin Agapov/Shutterstock
poem grew out of a prompt that
another editor had given me. When
these poems appeared, I felt like I
had published books, though [they
were] only single poems. Later, my
first collection of poems, Shahid
Reads His Own Palm, won the Bea-
trice Hawley Award from Alice
James Books. Id entered a contest,
randomly. Jean Valentine had read
some poems Id submitted to
Ploughshares and wondered if I had
a manuscript. At the time I had the
makings of one I put it together
over the weekend and got lucky.
You said sending out poems meant
something to you. What was that?
Its all a process. Sending poems
out meant that I was a part of a
larger process that extended
beyond prison. It was a way to be
in the world. In prison, it all meant
one thing it meant being a part of
a world that was closed off to me.
Or that wasnt closed off but
seemed closed off. When I came
home, honestly, the writing took
on a different dimension.
It was, at times, more about
being published, being heard,
being recognized as being as gifted
as my peers. Its like lost in
prison, asserting an identity is
enough. But that changes a little bit
when you get released or not
even just when you get released,
but when you decide that writing
and being a public writer is the
aim, things become more complex.
Submitting poems becomes work.
Publishing becomes a way to
believe the work matters.
Many ofyour poems are elegies. Do
you have a favorite style?
No. I wouldnt say that I do. Some-
times I write elegies because those
are the things I cannot avoid.
Sometimes I write love poems. Its
hard to say, this thing about a
favorite style. I like the poems that
leave me without a choice in the
matter. And probably I think of
elegies as a mode, but formally I
have different things that push me.
The ghazal, the canzone. Blank
verse. Poetry is not mathematics,
but I like forms that force me to
slow down and think carefully
about each word, not as if I want the
poem to become a puzzle but I
need something to push against the
tendency to let free verse become
untamed verse, uncontrolled verse.
Do you ever write formless poems?
Or does your training say, Theres
gotta be structure here.
This answer follows my previous
answer, I think. Im not sure if there
is ever a formless poem. I mean,
there are bad poems that lack
coherence and discernible logic, but
for me, to write formless would be
an oxymoron. Because there is
always punctuation and syntax and
rhyme and figures of speech. But
this has more to do with language
than training. Writing is the inten-
tional use of language, and so there
is form there, always. And so, even
when Im just playing around with
consciously making the syntax of
the sentences vary, and I know that
POETRY IS NOT Im imitating Carl Phillips or Yusef
MATHEMATICS, Komunyakaa or Joshua Weiner, I
BUT I LIKE know that what might at first look
free is really just a form borrowed
FORMS THAT and buried within the lines of the
FORCE ME TO poem. Borrowed or invented.
SLOW DOWN
Where did you learn to write the var-
AND THINK ious styles of poetry that you write?
CAREFULLY Honestly, Im not sure. I mean, I
ABOUT EACH read. Most writers, before MFA pro-
WORD. grams I suppose, learned to write by
reading. So I learned to write by
reading and imitating the people I
admired. I did that for years. And
had some success, getting poems
published, getting into workshops. I
did get an MFA in poetry from
Warren Wilson and I also learned
a lot there. But Im suspicious of
calling it formal training. Both
because it is more of an apprentice
model and because formal training
suggests some kind of uniformity
across the world of writers that
doesnt exist. Whatever the case, I
also wasnt self-taught. I had the
best teachers a library card could
pay for.
writermag.com The Writer | 19
Im Learning Nothing
This Night
Reginald Dwayne Betts
The magazine on my lap talks
about milk. Tells me that in America,
every farmer lost money on
every cow, every day of every month
of the year. Imagine that? To wake
up and know youre digging yourself
deeper into a hole you cant see
out of, even as your hands are wet
with what feeds you. Thats how this
thing is, holding on & losing a little each
moment. Im whispering an invented
history to myself tonight because
letting go is the art of living fully
in the world your body creates
when you sleep. Say a prayer for
the insomniacs. They hunger &
demand the impossible. Pray for
the farmers, hands deep in loam
bodys weight believing what
the mind knows is ruin, they too
want the impossible, so accustomed
to the earth responding when they call.
Copyright 2016 Reginald Dwayne Betts.
Used with permission of the author.
Youve said weeping or grieving is at
the center of Bastards of the Reagan
Era. Not just your own, but a sort of
broader grieving, for all the lives that
have been affected by racism and
incarceration. Through your poetry, are
you driven to create a greater aware-
ness?
There are these grand ideas that we
can impose on poetry. Creating greater
awareness or even naming the thing
we want the book to do. But there is
no way to know. There are times when
I have read books, poems, stories that
have totally rocked me. That have left
me unmoored. But I dont know if
there is a collective shudder when we
all read this book or this poem. And
so greater awareness, I dont know.
What I hope to do is be a part of this
ocean of words that offers people
20 | The Writer August 2016
something for which to wade in
with their raft.
The poem about your sons at the
beginning of the book suggests
that inside all of the grief, youre
hopeful. Is that true?
I guess. But maybe that poem just
says that I love my sons. And
even in the other poems, the ele-
gies, the dark contours of my
mind at a given moment, there is
always love there, too. So Im not
sure if the poem, the one for my
sons, is about hope within grief
as much as it is, literally, juxta-
posing love with grief. We keep,
as a society, needing to remind
ourselves that there is also love in
black life. Nikki Giovanni said it,
that black love is black wealth.
And that love exists despite and
amidst and because of, some-
times, the grief that threatens to
drown us.
Thats a good reminder. About
love being present in the dark
contours of ones mind, and in
grief. I think reviewers may miss
this when labeling poems as only
dark or gritty.
But that poem about your sons, Ele-
phants in the Fall did you juxtapose it
alongside the elegies as a contrast?
Juxtaposed, yes. But not in the way of
hope versus lack of hope. More in the
way of my considering fathering, my
own fathering of my sons, as another
layer to this book, which in some ways
is just all one poem, one world.
Also, I read somewhere that all
biography is a lie, or at least that all
biography is a single telling of a life
when there can easily be a thousand
different tellings. The poem for my
sons, its the prologue, in part, to
remind me and maybe the reader that
there are always a dozen stories going
on at once. Even as the ones that have
prominence in Bastards are dark,
there are still others and still light in
that darkness.
In What We Know of Horses a poem
youve said is one of your favorites you
use the imagery of that powerful animal.
It comes to represent many things:
drugs, addiction, power. Can you talk
about why you chose this animal and
what it represents?
I found something that works here.
Before writing, Id thought a lot about
horses, their brilliance and their trag-
edy. And Id known about horse as the
drug, which in itself contains a kind of
harsh beauty, a reluctant truth about
the way something powerful and
majestic can ruin you. And so when I
wrote this poem, it began as a canzone,
and all of the repetition helped me see
the ability of horse as an image to
accrue power and force. To multiple
images. Horses just have that energy.
And its a thing that is there: horse as
in diesel, horse as in majestic, diesel as
in heroin, horses as in unbroken. Its
inescapable. Im sure someone else did
the same thing and I just stole it from
them. I bet Shakespeare has a poem
about horses.
Do you use anger as fuel for your writ-
ing? And how do writers, when using
powerful emotions, avoid being burned
up in that fire of reflection?
This is a question I dont have an
answer to. I mean yes, I use anger, but
its not as if I channel an emotion as I
write as much as the emotion is there.
All of them. Anger, sadness, joy.
Just not being offended, because
Bonbon, a character from Paul Beattys
The Sellout, says that you cant be
offended, that all you do when youre
offended is sign an Internet petition.
So I dont write when Im offended.
Is being offended a sort of useless emo-
tion when it comes to writing?
I dont really know what it means to be
offended. I mean, Im stealing from a
character in Paul Beattys latest novel,
The Sellout, who has disdain for the
idea of being offended. In some ways
its semantics.
But I do think Bonbon, the charac-
ter, or Beatty, is asking us to think
about how to talk about the emotions
that we feel in a way that begets some
concrete response, some identifiable
response.And even if it is just seman-
tics, its me saying I want to write from
a palpable emotion: rage, sadness, love.
Gratitude even. And if I do this, I hope
the reader feels it. Almost like a water
for chocolate thing, where you hear
the poem and it pushes you to want to
do something: to make love, to fight, to
weep, to run.
Is there anything writers need to watch
out for when balancing prose be it
poetry or a novel with advocacy?
Writers need to watch out for bad writ-
ing. But this is true no matter what you
are balancing your writing with,
whether it be love, advocacy or raising
children. Advocacy is a challenge
because it is not because it might
pervert writing, any more than love or
sex or hope might pervert writing.
I guess that question makes me
weary, because its oft repeated, as if we
go to the page as lobotomized crea-
tures who abandon all the other issues
in their lives to be writers. No, I think
all writing has some advocacy in it. All
the time. And the question becomes a
way not to think of the rich tradition
of writers writing about things, from
Shakespeare to Whitman to Hayden to
Baraka. Steinbeck. Faulkner. Jane Aus-
ten. Alice Walker. These writers were
all political.
The question is always how to be
good, I think, first. And then the poli-
tics of the person and the world they
create influence the views of the read-
ers, if they are lucky. One might argue
that most of these writers didnt write
work that was direct advocacy, but Im
not sure if there is ever work that is
direct advocacy, because art has to be
complicated in a way that advocacy
doesnt. Advocacy has an agenda in a
way that art doesnt. But I do think
they can co-exist.
I agree. But maybe its that inability to
separate the two that makes it a fre-
quently asked question. Im asking
because in the past, perhaps like you,
Ive heard some successful writers crit-
icize other writers (writers of fiction or
categories other than nonfiction),
claiming the work comes off as crusad-
ing or pushing a cause as if this is
wrong somehow.
I just resist the question. All writing is
advocacy. It really is all about the
things you decide to say. And good
work advocates for what the writer
sees in that poem. But pure advocacy
has an agenda that can derail writing
because the world is often more com-
plicated than advocacy allows.
Maybe that is what people mean
when they resist writing as advocacy.
But really that just means that the
writer has to work harder, whether
poet or novelist. Its difficult but you
dont escape it by not being political,
you address it by being good, I think.
The Writer receives letters from people
in prison. Can you offer any advice to
those that have started a writing life
while incarcerated?
No real advice. Just write. Find out
places that publish and try to do that,
but know that the poem is published
when its read. And that writing its
hard to write for bread. So do something
else, too, and understand that the some-
thing else will also fuel your writing.
And I think, for people in prison, or
college, for that matter, publishing
should be secondary. The great thing
about writing is that a library offers all
that you need to become competent.
Im not sure where vision comes from.
I think of great writers as having some
strange vision. And I find myself
answering these questions and wanting
to drop names, because, I am
reminded that this is how I became
good by reading people who I
wanted to copy.
I remember reading Ishmael Reed
for the first time. I could not under-
stand how he could come up with
Mumbo Jumbo. I remember reading
Chester Himes for the first time; read-
ing Chimamanda Adichies Half of a
Yellow Sun. The idea, ultimately, is to
WHAT I HOPE TO DO
IS BE A PART OF THIS
OCEAN OF WORDS
THAT OFFERS PEO-
PLE SOMETHING FOR
WHICH TO WADE IN
WITH THEIR RAFT.
develop a relationship with words that
becomes central to your identity as a
writer. You have to send poems out
and write letters to other writers and
do these things, but first you have to
really be committed to developing a
relationship with words both yours
and those of others.
How did your time in prison shape the
writer you are today?
I imagine prison as any other trau-
matic experience, though its not really
appropriate for me to compare. But I
think about going to war, or having a
near-death experience. Or becoming a
parent. Things that irrevocably change
you. Its hard for me to even imagine
who I might be as a person, let alone a
writer without prison.
And maybe I do resent the question,
because it reminds me of the ways that
I am, tragically, beholden to such a
profound hardship for what I consider
my greatest gifts. Now Im sure that
people dont consider, say, having a
child in the same way but I do think
it is the same kind of fundamental
change that happens in a person.
And its just hard to imagine what it
would be like without this and its
even hard to imagine how this thing
has shaped me, in the sense that it has
become my shadow.
How am I changed by my shadow? I
couldnt really say, except, I guess, to
point out that there are possibilities, of
thought and experience, that have
transformed me, and I could not imag-
ine who I would be as a writer or a
man without them.
Julie Krug is a regular contributor to The
Writer. She lives in Washington state.
writermag.com The Writer | 21
 PAGE TURNER Author/editor Heidi Pitlor knows how to get inside
a characters and a readers head.
BY NICKI PORTER

Heidi Pitlor knows short fiction.
She reads hundreds of short stories each year, hunting
down the best of the best for The Best American Short Stories
a line of annuals for which Pitlor has served as series editor
since 2007. Shes worked closely with some of the biggest
names in the industry: Stephen King, Lorrie Moore, Richard
Russo, Junot Daz. A different guest editor selects the final
lineup every year, but its Pitlor who ultimately steers the ship,
separating the true contenders from the rest of the pack. Who
better to judge The Writers first short story contest of 2016?
Pitlor was a joy to work with throughout the process,
ultimately selecting Signe Bergstroms The House They
Built as our winner. Youll find the story, along with Pitlors
reasons for her selection, on page 26.
But although Pitlor is an avid reader of short fiction, her
writing tastes currently lend themselves toward longer
endeavors. Shes the author of two novels: The Birthdays
(2007) and The Daylight Marriage (2015). Before becoming
series editor of Best American, she worked as an acquisitions
editor for Houghton Mifflin, giving her a uniquely empa-
thetic perspective on both writing and editing that stems
from working on both sides of the process.
I spoke to Pitlor about her work both as a novelist and an
editor for The Best American Short Stories. What follows is
an edited and condensed version of our conversation.
22 | The Writer August 2016
Whats your writing process like?
I usually start with kind of a smudge of an idea. I start with
almost nothing: A question I want asked, or a feeling, a sort
of weird conflicted feeling that I have and I want to explore.
So I think all my books start that way.
And then, as it always does, the book takes on a life of its
own. So it becomes really more about the characters than
that indoor conflict.
So thats sort of how I tend to work. I dont plot anything
out. I dont have an outline, for better or for worse. Ive tried,
but I feel like that kind of hems me in. Im someone that
works with a lot, a lot, a lot of drafts and changes things dra-
matically as I go. I sort of like to follow my nose a little bit, if
that makes sense.
How long did it take you to write both The Birthdays and
The Daylight Marriage?
The Birthdays pre-kid took maybe three years. The
Daylight Marriage not a long book took eight or nine
years. And that was for a few reasons. One was that it took
me a long time to get the story right. I sort of was stuck on
the wrong road for a long time. But also I had my twins
during that time and I was also working on 100 Years of the
Best American Short Stories. So it was just a busy, busy eight
or nine years.
 How did you juggle all of that? It was very tight; its a very, very tight, lean book. Which I
Not well! Really not well. This is the problem: You think you felt like was right for the story not every story, but I defi-
can impose order on your life as a writer. And you can, if nitely learned how to write a book like that. I learned how
you live on another planet and have no one you love and to let go of whats not immediately connected to the plot.
dont need to work. But most of us have a life and work. So
it just was madness. We were also renovating our house it You said you learned how to write a suspenseful book, and
was just too much going on. you did: The Daylight Marriage is impossible to put down.
So what did I do? It was like a revolving door. I would How did you do that on the page?
have one day where I would work on the annual, one day Id Well, so much of it was when I happened upon the struc-
work on 100 Years and then I would write and I would hear ture. I wanted there to be two different storylines told at two
that Lorrie Moore wanted me to read this story I just felt different paces. So one would cover a day, and one would
like I was constantly reacting. cover months to a year.
I thought that would be really interesting tension. And I
What did you learn from your first book, thought you get a lot of tension by
The Birthdays, and how did that impact keeping things from the reader early
The Daylight Marriage? on I just thought it would be really
Oh gosh, theyre such different but interesting to have this feeling that
similar books. I think I learned how to something bads happened, but not let
write a novel when I wrote The Birth- the reader in on it. I just wanted a slow
days. Theres that funny thing that release of information, in a way.
when you write your first novel, [its I think a big part of it is withhold-
like] youre walking into this big empty ing information, but not too much that
house. So I had my MFA and I was it seems manipulative. Once you get
used to writing stories, which arent your metronome going, and your rate
quite as daunting. I think I learned of information release on the page, the
from The Birthdays how to fill the reader knows what to expect its not
room, how to see a lot of empty space going to feel manipulative.
in one vision. So for me, that meant
creating four different stories, going In both The Birthdays and The Daylight
back and forth, having them play off Marriage, you use several different char-
each other. I learned that I am a writer acters perspectives to tell the story: In
who [seems] to be interested in plot, "I love flawed people. The Birthdays its four siblings, while in
but also in depth, too. So some of the Im a hugely flawed The Daylight Marriage its a husband and
forward motion of The Birthdays was person. As a reader, its wife. What draws you to that, to use mul-
going deeper into the characters always great to read tiple vehicles to tell the story?
minds and lives. messed-up people, I think thats probably a beginners way
I think I learned that its a way because you know of writing a novel, because again theres
harder process to write a novel than that sense of how to fill a big house. And
anyone thinks. When you think youre
youre not alone." one way to do it is to give it a lot of peo-
done, youre nowhere near done. I ple. So the stories dont need to be quite
learned how many revisions a novel takes. That was a real as big if there are many stories, or if there are many people.
surprise to me. My third book that Im writing has one character. Its
Tatiana Akhmetgalieva/Shutterstock; Photo by Aynsley Floyd

With The Daylight Marriage, I probably learned a little
bit more how to create momentum its always been really
important to me to write something that will keep the
reader turning pages and keep the reader interested. And I
learned to write a book that hopefully does that.
One big thing I learned how to do was how to write a
short novel. I didnt set out to. It was a much longer book
initially. So much got trimmed away. And it really made me
look at writing differently. Now when I read a very long
novel, I just feel like peeling away so much. Its just in the
aftermath of writing The Daylight Marriage. You just see
things through this lens for a while.
very scary to me, because it feels like Oh, God, now I have
to give her way more action! I think a big part of writing a
novel that moves and that turns pages is, well, writing a
novel that moves and turns pages. Youre always going to hit
that saggy second act. And one way to avoid that is to have
alternating viewpoints. When you hit a wall with one, you
switch to another at least in early drafts. There is energy
just in the movement between characters.
And Ive always liked this idea that the truth comes out
of many perspectives, not just one. You get a different story
when you ask four people to tell it than when you ask one
person. And I always think its interesting to look at the little
writermag.com The Writer | 23
delusions and white lies that people
tell, and what that says about them, but
also what it says about the other char-
acter. I think there can be a lot of
energy to that.
I find your characters so human. They
have definite flaws, but theyre com-
plex. And a character doesnt have to be
likeable, but I think all of yours are.
How do you walk that line as a writer,
between making a character flawed but
still sympathetic?
Its this funny headspace you get in,
where youre acting, really You liter-
ally pretend you are this person, and
you go about your life as if you are this
person. And so, when people will ask
me, Did you like this character?, I
dont know. Because Im so far inside
them, I cant judge them at all. Youre
behaving as if you are this person.
I think in every character I write,
theres a little piece of me. And theyre
all interesting to me, enough that I
would write a book about them Its
exciting to imagine being different
people, I think. I love flawed people.
Im a hugely flawed person. As a
reader, its always great to read
messed-up people, because you know
youre not alone. But its the same
thing as a writer, to sort of get in the
heads of other people and try to
understand people that are really dif-
ferent from you. Its sort of a lovely
thing, I think.
Is that what draws you to fiction as
opposed to nonfiction?
Oh yeah, I think so. Im just really fas-
cinated by people. And I think thats
probably what draws me to fiction: It
feels like the most elastic place to
explore people. And probably the most
forgiving place. If you got that wrong
about the character, well, its fiction,
you know? Or its more about consis-
tency than right or wrong: Its all sub-
jectivity, which is really interesting to
me. I love reading all other forms, but I
seem the most comfortable writing fic-
tion for that reason: my absolute end-
less fascination with people.
24 | The Writer August 2016
You said youre a writer who goes
through many drafts. What does your
revision process look like?
Its just torturous. I try to write the first
draft very quickly. I dont write the
end. I dont write the last quarter. So I
write my draft. And then my next
draft is usually cleaning it up and see-
ing whats there: What do we have
here? And then I sort of alternate
really digging in revision changing
things dramatically, cutting scenes,
adding characters with lighter revi-
sion, cleaning up language and making
things sing a little more. I find it really
hard to do both at the same time.
"Thats probably what
draws me to fiction:
It feels like the most
elastic place to
explore people."
How many drafts do you go through in
total?
Fifty.
Wow.
I know. And its not like Im the great-
est writer in the world, so I probably
shouldnt admit that. But a lot of those
are tweaking things here and there,
proofreading I consider every time I
start from the beginning and go
through to the end a draft.
So in terms of actual rewrite revi-
sions, 20 maybe.
How do you think being an editor has
influenced your writing?
Well, I think it makes me a lot more
self-critical. I never feel done with any-
thing. Even when I pick up a finished
book, I want to edit it.
I really envy those writers who are
like This is done, and Im proud of it,
because I never have that feeling. Im
just a constant picker. I always want to
sort of nit-pick things.
As an editor, do you think you have more
empathy for writers now?
Yes! Absolutely, I do. I feel enormous
empathy for them. It is such a hard
thing to write a book. It is incredibly
hard. And its a solitary, isolated thing
to do. And writers need every ounce of
support they can get. So I feel like Ive
come to feel way more empathetic for
the process. I have way more writer
friends now than I used to have, and
their support is everything. It really is.
Because it is so difficult, and its such a
long process.
Yep. Exactly. And those people who are
there for you, those other writers
they make you survive. I feel like I
havent been on the other side of that
as an editor. I think I was a pretty
empathetic editor, but it just makes you
realize I mean, now that Ive been on
a long book tour, I feel like, Ah, now I
get it. When youre in publishing and
someone complains about a book tour,
you just roll your eyes. You want to
give them the finger. Its like, Oh, poor
you. But there are some trying things
about it, and it can be really hard in
some ways. And so I feel more empa-
thetic to that than I used to, I think.
Whats your best advice for writers on
working with editors?
I think to be open to everything. A
good writer needs to be edited. Even if
the sort of advice does not hit you
squarely in the right way, theres usually
some kernel of something thats usable
from what theyre saying. I mean, an
editor is your boss, and you have to lis-
ten to them. And that doesnt mean in a
kneejerk way go and do exactly what
they say in exactly the same way but
oftentimes there is an idea in there that
really does make sense. And so to take
what theyre saying and make it your
own and try to implement it, I think
[that] is the ideal relationship between
katarina_1/Shutterstock
an editor and a writer.
Youve worked for Houghton Mifflin as
an acquisition editor, but The Daylight
Marriage was published by Algonquin.
What do you think larger publishing
companies offer that small ones cant,
and vice versa?
Well I think the obvious thing is that
larger companies offer higher advances.
And the status that comes with a bigger
name, which is not nothing.
Algonquins a smaller house, and
theyve been absolutely, amazingly
wonderful. They offer more attention,
more handholding, more energy. I
think they have a much smaller list, so
theyre selling fewer books [and]
theyre going to put more into each
book. And you can end up tailoring
your marketing a little more thought-
fully and mindfully. Theyre such
vastly different experiences, so its
really tricky. And Im not sure I
mean, there really are pros and cons to
both. And if we were all so lucky to be
able to choose whos going to publish
our books ...
Theres a case to be made for all dif-
ferent kinds of houses. I think people
should really stay open to smaller
presses. There are some small houses
that are some of the best houses out
there these days. Gray Wolf is doing
amazing things. And theyre able to
take more risks, and I think they can
really get behind books in ways bigger
houses dont often do.
You read so many short stories for your
day job with Best American Short Sto-
ries. What do you want to see more of in
short fiction?
Humor. Topicality. In this years for-
ward the one thats going to come
out this year I talk a lot about our
attention spans, and how busy every-
thing is in the world right now, and
how much is compelling us in our day-
to-day life. Not just in terms of social
media, but we have a pretty big-deal
election going on, theres major issues
around global warming, theres terror-
ism short stories have to compete
with things like this. So I want to feel
like theres an urgency to the writing.
And that I need to read this story. And
it doesnt mean it has to be about
global warming, terrorism, Donald
Trump. But it has to feel gripping to
me in a sense. You know, a lot of what
I read feels not urgent enough. Or
entertaining enough. Those are the
two big things, I think: You want to
keep the [reader] engaged, and the
best way to do that is to either enter-
tain them or inform them. And those
things are rare.
I really like stories that feel new
and weird in some way. Just the feel-
ing of relevance [is important], too.
Ive seen a lot of stories about war,
which I think is good, and important.
I always would like to see more stories
about class. I think thats a big issue
that gets skirted over. I would love to
see more stories about race in Amer-
ica. The racially diverse stories I read
tend to be set in other countries,
which is not to take away from them
at all, but theres not enough stories
about present-day race, I think. Class
and race.
On the flip side, whats one short fiction
clich or trend that you never want to
see again?
You know, its funny because I cant say
theres a trend its all in the writing. So
you can say, Im sick of this storyline,
but then in the hands of a good writer,
you dont even know its that storyline.
There are a lot of storylines I see, but
they read completely differently
depending on whose hands theyre in.
Trying to think if theres something
I bristle at A common story I read a
lot is like New Couple Traveling. But
again, in the hands of a good writer, I
would read that willingly. I used to
really bristle at second person, but
now its just all about the writer. It
really is. Its all about: Is the writing
good enough?
So there are no rules, really. Write well.
Have something to say.
Exactly. Write well. I know, its so not
useful.
Its something thats so simple, but its so
hard to find.
It is! I think it is. And also, I think,
write with
energy. I think
energy is one of
those things we
dont talk about
enough, and its
so important
for the reader.
You can feel a
writers energy
on the page. Download the digital
edition of The Writer to
read an excerpt from
So how do you try
The Daylight
to do that in your Marriage.
own writing? How
do you try to incorpo-
rate that energy?
There are a few different ways. One is
to sort of crank out that first draft
quickly, so that even if its bad, youre
writing it quickly and youre getting
something down. And also to go to
those moments that are the most inter-
esting to you. Like, OK, [your main
characters are] this quirky family and
they need to go food shopping. You
maybe dont need to drive them to the
food store. Cut and get them into the
food store. Cut to the most interesting,
flawed [part] where the broken
freezer is, and whats that weird object
in the freezer? Skip the bridges that
dont need to be there.
And, especially in a short story,
every moment matters. Get to those
moments where theres something that
shouldnt be there, but is. Or theres
some person having a strange thought.
Get there quickly.
What advice do you have for aspiring
writers?
Ill try not to give a cookie cutter
answer, like, read a lot. But also to
write what interests you, not what you
think should interest you.
Because theres so much that we feel
like we should do. And you get into
real trouble as a writer when youre
writing what you should be writing.
Not what you want to be writing.
Nicki Porter is the senior editor of The Writer
magazine.
writermag.com The Writer | 25
 THE
EDITORS NOTE
I finished reading The House
They Built late on a Wednesday
evening. As soon as I finished the
last paragraph, I said, intensely,
quietly, Yes. Here was a winner.
Here was a story that left me a lit-
tle melancholy, a little shattered.
Here was a $1,000-story. Here HOUSE
THEY
was a story that broke my heart.
It wasnt for me to decide,
however. I sent off our list of
around 10 finalists without com-
ment to our guest judge, Heidi Pit-
lor. Days later, the verdict was in:
She had agreed. The House They
Built was our winner.
The story is a painful and wist-
ful one: A dead child, a grieving
father, a breaking marriage, an
BUILT
abandoned tree house. Bergstrom By Signe Bergstrom
shows a tremendous amount of

I
restraint in the telling, gently
shepherding the reader from the
t was an early autumnal morning the day Randolph decided
first paragraph all the way to the Three Trees had to go. A Saturday, Juliette was volunteering at
final, lingering ending. Langone Medical Center in Manhattan. He didnt know how
Heres what Pitlor had to say she did it, returning to the same floor week after week to
about The House They Built: work with Sebastians friends, each kid as bedridden as Seba had
I tend to prefer short stories been, some with multi-colored wires splayed from their skulls and
that drop the reader right into the concealed, barely, with gauzy wraps, thin and soft. It was akin,
central conflict. In its first sen- Randolph thought, to returning to the scene of a crime. How could
tence, The House They Built she smile and bring coffee and donuts and garden lilies to the same
does just this. The overt and lovely doctors who had failed their son? It was mind-boggling.
symbolism of the structure called
Three Trees resonated with me,
as did the small, elegant narrative
arc of the story, which is just a
moment, really, if a pivotal one. So
much has happened before this
moment and so much will happen
afterward, but the story is richer
for its restraint, more dramatic for
its withholding of drama. I was
moved by the gentle use of Sebas
voice, hardly there and easy to
miss on a quick read. I think this
writer shows empathy, grace and
a real understanding of how to uti-
lize restraint to evoke strong emo-
tion in the reader.
We hope you enjoy this win-
olies/Shutterstock; Elenamiv/Shutterstock

ning story as well as our second-

and third-place winners, which
were selected by our reading
panel and can be found at writer-
mag.com. Our next contest starts
July 1; for more details, visit
writermag.com/contests. Who
knows? You may end up in the
pages of our next issue.
 Randolph stood naked in his study,
coffee mug in hand. No denying he
had lost weight. His hipbones jutted
out at painful angles. His pallor was a
greasy yellow similar to a waxed string-
bean. He looked like a waxed string-
bean, gaunt and thin, irregularly
hunched. His sister had been brave
enough to speak up when Juliette had
kept silent. Juliette rarely touched him
now. The space between their sleeping
bodies edged ever wider.
Randy, its been a year, his sister
had said, nudging the bread basket
toward him. Cmon, eat. They were at
that god-awful Italian restaurant on the
south side of Brooklyns Gowanus. Ran-
dolph dutifully pushed a piece of the
sourdough roll back and forth inside
his mouth until he could swallow the
mass whole. It seemed he could trace
its trajectory down his esophagus and
then farther, deep inside his bowels,
where it then sat unmovable for days.
Never mind the gnocchi.
Randolph slung on a pair of cargo
pants and a faded T-shirt. He walked
to the window. Outside, the trees
leaves were beginning to thin out and
droop. The beech leaves shimmered
like slivers of parchment paper. The
skinny tree Randolph didnt know the
name of, the one perched on an out-
cropping of shale at the far end of the
property, burned a surreal shade of
pink. Through the exposed patches of
sky, Randolph made out the stark geo-
metric lines of the power cables that
criss-crossed the horizon.
There was no avoiding it: Three
Trees was dead center. Standing, the
tree house was the focal point of Ran-
dolphs sight line. His worktable was
positioned in the corner of the study,
so whenever he leaned back in his
chair, he caught a glimpse of it. That
panoptical feature was originally by
design: Randolph could watch Seba
from a distance, the little boy never
suspecting his fathers keen eye. It was
amazing, Randolph thought, that he
had looked at the tree house every day
for years and hadnt seen it clearly
until today. He felt as if he were wak-
ing from a long, heavy sleep, the
dream matter still clouding his sense
of logic.
Looking at it now, Three Trees
appeared to Randolph as a wooden
ship impossibly flung into the sky, for-
ever moored in a thicket of tangled
branches. He tried to ignore the hand-
drawn flag that hung from its front
end the bow as it were. Seba had
done the lettering himself Three
Trees scrawled in a childs uncertain
hand and Juliette had cut and sewn
the weather-proof fabric. Seba had
coined the name in the literal sense:
The tree house was stilted upon the
intersection of a single red oak tree
that morphed into three distinct sub-
sections. Randolph and Juliette pre-
ferred to apply a more poetic meaning:
They were three who had become one.
When they had purchased the West-
chester home, a fixer-upper whose real
value lay in its undisturbed acre-and-a-
half of forested land, Cal, Randolphs
father, showed up two months later.
The tree house had been Cals idea. It
came to him, he said, on the airplane
while flying over Colorado. He had
been thinking of a trip he had taken
there years earlier when he had slept in
a tree house nested high in the Rocky
Mountains. At dawns first light, he had
had a birds eye view of a herd of deer
as they woke, one by one, from a
meadow dotted through with wild-
flowers and tall switchgrass. It was as if
the herd had materialized from the
morning fog, their sleek forms taking
shape against a hazy silhouette of
golden light.
Every boy needs a tree house, same
as he needs a dog, Cal had said, defini-
tively, as if arguing the point. He had
thrown his carry-on luggage in the
back of the Subaru like a man 20 years
his junior.
I didnt have a tree house, Ran-
dolph had pointed out.
No, but you had a dog ... and well
build this one together.
Juliette, in her good-natured,
enthusiastic way, had chanted, Tree
house, tree house, tree house! from
the back seat.
writermag.com The Writer | 27
 Why does a tree need a house?
Seba had asked.
Everyone needs a place to hang
their hat, Cal had said, even trees, to ward off claustrophobia, vigorously
and laughed along with Juliette.
Seba, looking out the window, imag-
ined a forest of trees dressed in top hats
and long-waisted dinner jackets.
Randolph worked his way through
the house and to the outdoor shed. He
contemplated phoning his father to
confess what he was about to do. Then
he thought the better of it. Cal would
see the demolition as an act of
betrayal, not toward the memory of
Sebastian or to Juliette, but to him.
Randolph knew that Cal thought the
tree house redeemed every failure he
had made as a father and that it dou-
bly qualified him as a bona fide good
grandfather. When the lumberyard
had delivered the railroad tie that he
and Cal had sunk into cement as a
supporting leg, Randolph had carried
one end of the heavy piece of wood
and his father had taken the other.
They hoisted the rail onto their shoul-
ders and silently traversed the uneven,
rocky pathway with a muscled grace
Randolph understood was genetic but
had no idea he actually possessed. It
was the closest he had felt to his father
in years.
But Three Trees was no more. It was
a shell, just a bunch of sticks propped
together and nailed into shape.
The ground, soft underfoot, was
still damp from the previous nights
rain. Randolphs boots sunk into the
clay-colored soil. Sunlight pierced
through the cloud coverage. Twenty
years a New Yorker, and Randolph
still hadnt gotten used to the East
Coast humidity. He preferred a dry
heat. The humidity con-
tracted everything. Even
now, standing out-
side, Randolph
felt that the cor-
ners of the world
were collapsing in
on him. He would
soon be pinned to
the ground or,
28 | The Writer August 2016
worse, stubbed into the soil, a tree
root recoiling into itself under-
ground. Randolph sighed and, trying
shook his head. Barkley, their dog,
pawed at the screen door, scratching
to get outside. The Basset cocked his
head and stared at Randolph with
sad, mucusy eyes, his long ears
sweeping the kitchen tile, but Ran-
dolph still said, No.
Randolph followed the stone path
to the shed. He unhinged its doors and
a cascade of crickets leapt from its
darkness. Inside, the shed was cool and
bore a heavy, earthy smell. Randolph
grabbed the hammer and crowbar,
pausing to note Sebastians collection
of acorns that lined a shelf on the far
wall. They had been a revelation for
the boy. He had used their caps to dig
miniature-sized holes around the
property. He had buried handfuls
whole, willing families of oak trees into
existence. The acorns were soldiers
and bombs both, used for fighting
unpredictable, roaming foes imaginary
and real, squirrels especially. Randolph
pocketed an acorn and, as he did,
Sebas voice surfaced from the dark-
ness. It was always the same: I want to
go home.
Go to sleep, Seba, Randolph said
aloud. It was a trick Randolphs thera-
pist had taught him. Sebas voice disap-
peared, and Randolph instantly felt as
if he had scolded his son for something
he hadnt done. Im sorry, he said, canopy of green visible from the
waiting, but Sebas voice didnt return.
Im sorry, he said again, but this time
with more force.
Randolph planned to break down
the tree house the same way he and
Cal had built it: board by board. He
grabbed the hammer and crowbar.
They felt like weapons in his hands,
blunt instruments wielded to do
blunt, unspeakable things. He left the
shed door open behind him. The
crickets quickly returned to its shad-
ows, the vibrato hum of their legs
building to a low chorus that pricked
Randolphs ears.
Randolph climbed the ladder to the
tree house. He clasped each ladder
rung with a fierceness that took him
by surprise. He hadnt felt so deter-
mined since Sebas final prognosis. He
was confident then to the point of
being cocky of course he would find
the best medical treatment and doc-
tors, of course money was no object,
of course he understood the risks
implicit in surgery. He had signed the
waiver without reading it. The sur-
geon later told him that he had not, in
his 30 years of practice, met an indi-
vidual who had ever read the fine
print as if this detail somehow exoner-
ated both parties for the botched
experiment, Sebas body curled and
wilted, no longer that of a spirited
7-year-old boy.
The tree house was taller than Ran-
dolph had remembered. He ran his
palm along the tree trunk itself, half
expecting to feel a heartbeart. The
leaves hadnt yet fallen from the mas-
sive oak. There existed above him a
uncovered half of the tree house plat-
form. The tips of the leaves looked as if
dipped in bronze. It wouldnt take
much, he realized, to break apart the
house. Demolition was a 45-minute
job. Building the thing had taken three
months of planning and fixing, read-
justing. He wanted the demolition to
be done by the time Juliette came
home from the hospital. He promised
himself, once the tree house was down,
he would return to her. He would be
TonTonic/Shutterstock
better. He would eat again, real food.
He would cook. Filet mignon. Red
wine. Salmon in butter sauce.
The first plank fell to the ground
with a heavy, creaking sound, startling
what Randolph assumed were rac-
coons in the bramble adjacent to the
tree house. The second plank gave way
as easily as the first. There was the
rustling again of animal movement.
He saw what appeared to be the wisp
of a tail, large and black, as it surfaced
the undergrowth nearby and then
quickly disappeared. Randolph pried
the nails off the roof until he could
easily lift the plywood with both
hands. With one strong, swift move-
ment, he hefted the roof upwards and
then let it fall. It slid from its angled
perch and collapsed into a heap below,
the wood scissoring. Randolph
exhaled. The plume of his breath
brushed against his chest like a feather
falling from the sky.
The bramble shook as if alive. A
turkey vulture, its wings massive and
inky black, showed itself. It took to the
sky and circled high above Randolph
before swooping back down, a dark
shadow descending. It had in its
mouth some kind of small animal, the
exposed meat quivering and glistening
in the August sun. The carrion landed
high in one of the branches where
Randolph stood. In the distance, Ran-
dolph saw Barkley through the win-
dow of his study. The dog, raised on its
hind legs, barked and howled in the
empty home. Randolph withdrew the
acorn from his pocket and took aim at
the birds blood-red skull. He threw it
and was amazed to find that he hit his
target. The bird took flight, soaring on
an air current unknown to Randolph
and toward the blue expanse of the
Hudson River.
Randolph threw the hammer and
crowbar to the ground. Somewhere in
the distance, a deer rose and turned
its head but Randolph didnt see it,
and all he heard was the quiet rumble
of the approaching Subaru as it
rounded the steep curve in the road
that led home.
Signe Bergstrom lives in Croton-on-Hudson,
NY, with her son and fianc. She is currently at
work on Watershed, a collection of short stories.
INTERVIEW Q&A:
Signe Bergstrom on The House They Built
What inspired you to write The House They Built?
I thought a lot about the word break and the notion that men-
tal and/or emotional change often manifests itself in physical
form. We break something because we ourselves are already
broken. In this story, Randolph destroys the tree house in
an attempt to both process the grief and pain hes in and, in
part, to regain a sense of control and mastery over it.
What was your writing process like while crafting it?
What about your revision process?
I typically spend a lot of time days swimming
around inside my head. Once Ive figured out the puzzle
inside my mind, the story tends to come quickly. For bet-
ter or for worse, I write fairly clean. A first draft takes me
longer than the average writer, but when I finish it, my revi-
sions are fairly minimal.
I always read my stories out loud. Not only do I enjoy this
part of the process but it also helps me line edit on the spot
and finesse the overall flow. You can hear the pauses the
moments of quiet revelation. This is the first story Ive
read aloud to my fianc, and he and I went back line
by line to hone, sometimes word by word. In a
sense, this story was the house we built.
What was the hardest part of writing this story?
It was a bit frustrating I had the story mapped
out in my head but needed to steal away moments to
write it. I typically like to write for long periods of time
during one sitting. This story, however, was claimed in bits
a section at the breakfast table, a section before my son
woke, a section on the subway.
The ending to this story is so beautifully open how long did it take
you to find it, and when did you know it had landed just right?
Thank you. I didnt know what the ending would be per se.
(I like to keep parts of the writing process a secret even
from myself. Otherwise, I get bored.) I knew that once I
got Randolph into the tree house, Id find it. It would greet
me . . . and it did. The last three paragraphs arrived fully
formed, more or less.
I liked the idea of the house falling apart, Randolphs exhale,
and the sense of uncertainty because, well, isnt that life? We
dont know what Juliettes reaction will be, and its very possible
that taking apart the tree house wont bring about the change Ran-
dolph so desperately needs and wants. After all, the turkey vulture still
carries away its catch; the innocent is prey. Its up to Randolph and
Juliette to rebuild their home, to find foundation again, even at risk of
tremendous loss and personal pain.
writermag.com The Writer | 29
LOOKING
TO THE
PAST
When historical fiction
meets the short story.
BY TODD JAMES PIERCE

T
he idea, I suppose, first came to me 13
years ago, as I was driving across the
country, touring for my first book a
set of linked short stories that my pub-
lisher presented as a novel. I was moving
through Texas, nearly a thousand miles of
pavement churning beneath the wheels of
my rental car, when I began to process the
lessons of a 36-city book tour. My book, The
Australia Stories, was based in part on my
own life. Id lived in Australia. While there Id
fallen in love with a girl, the Australian cul-
ture and their laidback way of viewing life. It
was, more than anything else, a book about
me, a taffy-pull of personal experience
stretched out into fiction. Somewhere
around San Antonio, where the I-10 began
to cut north, I had the notion that, for my
next book my next set of books, really I
wanted the fiction to be based in history. In
short, I wanted my next efforts to have the
appeal of both fiction and nonfiction.
 By then I was aware of a softly growing trend in literary
short fiction, authors who were taking on historical research
for short stories. Research had always been a component of
historical novels. In Ragtime, the author E.L. Doctorow pre-
sented so vivid a picture of pre-WWI New York that some
reviewers referred to it as documentary fiction. In Mem-
oirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden presented the first-person
account of a young woman living in midcentury Kyoto with
such authority many reviewers wondered how a male
American writer could so effectively cross gender and cul-
tural divides. Works such as these not only required a tre-
mendous level of narrative skill but also significant research
abilities. By 2003, a small group of literary writers were con-
sciously trying to incorporate elements of the research-
based historical novel into the short story.
At the forefront of this movement was Andrea Barrett,
author of the collection Ship Fever that presented stories
largely set in the 18th and 19th centuries. The title effort in
this collection relates the experience of Lauchlin Grant, a
Canadian doctor who ministers to Irish immigrants
afflicted with typhus during the great famine of the 1840s.
The New York Times praised the collection for its consider-
able research and stated that its overall effect is quietly
dazzling. Later that year, the book won the 1996 National
Book Award for Fiction, beating out such luminaries as Ste-
ven Millhauser and Ron Hansen. From there, a small liter-
ary movement was started.
Barrett was soon joined by other writers who consciously
mixed heavy long-form research with the concision and
directness of a short story. Jim Shepard, a writer primarily
known for his short fiction, produced a series of research-
inspired stories, the best-known of which is Love and
Hydrogen. Anthologized in The Best American Short Stories
2002 and later the title story in one of Shepards collections,
Love and Hydrogen presents a love story between two
crewmembers of the Hindenburg on its final, tragic voyage,
the narrative drama unfolding amidst a historically accurate
and realistic setting. Ethan Rutherford published The Peri-
patetic Coffin and Other Stories, with its title effort a fic-
tional retelling of the Confederate soldiers who pilot the
first military submarine, the H.L. Hunley, during the Civil
War. Ron Rash set his lead story in the collection Something
Rich and Strange during the Great Depression. From these
stories and many others literary fiction had taken on
new depths, creating a brand-new sub-genre: the deeply
researched historical short story.
EIGHT RULES
Setting out to write my own historical short fiction in the
years following my rental-car revelation, I wrote a series of
short stories set at Hollywood studios as the Golden Age of
animation came to an end. Along the way, Ive discovered
many things about research, about art, about the desire to
employ fiction in such a way that readers have the lovely
sense that they are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with great
screen artists of the past.
The finished stories, which are a book-length collection
Ive just turned in to my literary agent, have individually
started to appear in journals. Heres what Ive learned from
a decade of trying to write historical short stories: my eight
rules of historical fiction.
Small details matter more than large ones.
The art of fiction is, in large part, the art of
small-scale illusions. When I first lowered
myself, by those soft ropes of early ambition,
down into my project, I believed that I would largely need
to know how the mechanics of animation worked in the
1940s and 1950s, the tasks of an inbetweener or an inker.
Though this information was useful, it also wasnt the
dreamy material out of which compelling stories are con-
structed. Far more important were the small details: the
weight of a pencil in an animators hand when held the right
way, how images ghost up through a stack of drawings
when pegged onto a lightboard, the sound a moviola makes
when a reel of new film stutters across its screen. It was
those observations the small daily details that I most
needed to build a believable historical setting inside fiction.
Period characters require more than
period clothes.
Similarly, just as the exterior world requires
research to establish believable, small details,
the interior world of a character requires research as well.
Good historical stories promise to not only transport read-
ers to a historical setting but to reveal the interior life (the
mind, heart and aspirations) of a character. For me, some
of the large questions here had to do with interior percep-
tions: How did men and women in the 1940s think about
romance? How were their professional desires different
than for artists today? What language might they use in
their thought life? The answers, in large part, came from
personal writing: letters and diaries.
Yes, it might be awkward to ask a living person to borrow
his or her diary. But many people particularly those who
have achieved some modicum of career fame often leave
LiliGraphie/Shutterstock; Hannamariah/Shutterstock
their letters and diaries to university archives and special
collections; such archives are generally open to the public.
With the help of friends and the Internet, I was able to
find letter or diary collections from about 10 artists working
in animation in the 1940s and 1950s. More than any other
source, these documents presented the thought language
and inner aspirations of the men and women who worked
for animation studios. Though none of these individuals
became a character in my stories, collectively, their writing
helped me understand how the inner life of an artist
writermag.com The Writer | 31
working in the middle of the 20th century is different than period. This helped me to understand the visual and cul-
that of an artist today. tural nuances of the era: bicarbonate with soda, a popular
cure for a hangover; red caps, train porters with crimson
Use common names, not technical ones. caps, easily spotted to help with luggage; the DuMont net-
America is a cinematic culture. As a people, work, an early TV network soon put out of business by
we are familiar with the conventions of film, NBC and CBS. As I read, as I viewed, I made copious notes
perhaps more so than those of fiction. For a about the details of mid-century American life, with each
film, an audience is largely a collective witness to events that noted detail attached to a specific year.
unfold on the screen. But in fiction, readers enter the world,
almost always, through the perceptions of a central character Find experts.
(or perhaps a small group of characters). With this, fiction is As a writer and an English professor, I am
the more intimate art, the one in which the perceptions of an an introvert by nature. Im most comfortable
individual character are the means by which readers engage at my laptop or reclining in a club chair, book
the narrative world. To deepen this connection between the in hand, dog resting at my feet. So my first attempts to
reader and the protagonist, it is almost always helpful for the understand the techniques of animation were through
narrative prose to present the common books not a bad start, but also one
names not the technical ones for ele- that didnt yield the best results. I started
ments in the story. For example, anima- with field overview texts, which were
tors in the 1940s would never call a History is the context informative, but not the best place to
studio screening room a screening room, out of which fiction find an intimate understanding of an
they would call it a sweatbox, as that was animation studio. Next, I found stacks
where animators sweated as their work grows. Fiction is the of published interviews with early fea-
was reviewed on screen. Likewise, anima- examination of the ture animators. These especially as
tors at least on the Disney lot would they were cast in the voice of animators
never call the Ink & Paint Department human heart as indi- were much more useful. If pushed, I
the Ink & Paint Department: they would vidual characters move likely couldve crafted stories set in a
call it the Nunnery, as it was primarily production studio just based on these
staffed with women. These insider through scenes that test interviews alone. But by far the most
terms not only help solidify a strong or perhaps change useful resource was people experts I
reader connection with the perspective of could call whenever I had a question.
the protagonist, they also suggest that the their souls. Though Id read a textbook on effects
fiction is offering a rare and authentic animation in the 1950s, I didnt truly
glimpse into a foreign world, one incased understand the nuances of the field
in the past. until I spent a day with Dorse Lanpher, an effects animator
who worked at the studios in the 1950s. Again, I was lucky,
Immerse yourself in the culture. because I was able to meet men and women who lived in
To write historical fiction of any kind short my chosen era. But even if I was writing about ship build-
stories or not you need to be able to close ing in the 1850s or Colonial American life, I suspect mak-
your eyes and have the past blaze up around you. ing contact with subject experts would be the best way to
When I first started writing in a historical mode, I didnt quickly understand the nuances of a historic culture.
understand the large investment it would take to inhabit the
past. I started with Sears catalogs from the 1940s and 1950s, Balance details and drama.
as well as a book about American culture during WWII. It Hemingway once compared a successful
soon became apparent that these resources were utterly story to an iceberg: The visual peaks of an
inadequate to help me inhabit, with a storytellers precision, iceberg are supported by a much larger struc-
an era that ended decades ago. The basic question aspiring ture beneath the surface, much in the same way that the
historical writers need to ask is this: What documents of the details in the text are supported by a vast amount of research
era exist to demonstrate daily life in a chosen time period? and knowledge that remains, largely, invisible to the reader.
Note: I said of the era, meaning created during the era. In This, I believe, is particularly true for the writer of historical
ways, I had a little bit of luck fall my way. My chosen time fiction. At least 90 percent maybe even 95 percent of
period was a filmic one, also one in which publishing what Ive learned about California and studio culture in the
houses produced endless books. For about two years, I 1940s and 1950s never shows up in my fiction. But that
restricted most of my visual media to films of the 1940s and information was essential for me to confidently create char-
1950s, as well as most of my reading to books of the same acters that occupied a time before I was born.
32 | The Writer August 2016
 One skill of historical fiction, then, is knowing which
details to include, observations that will evoke time and
place without slowing down the reader. A good set of
details, such as She emerged from a Fourth Avenue cab in a
pillbox hat and a hemline that nearly exposed her knees,
can set a scene far better than a long list of weaker details.
Likewise, a line of dialogue, like Hows it going, pally?,
says big city America in 1945 as clearly as Whats the rub,
buddy? says that same location 10 years later.
Historical facts are not the storyline.
Initially, I tried to make stories about histori-
cal narratives. This is something that, having
written previous books of fiction, I shouldve
known would be, at least for me, a disaster. History, I soon
learned, was the backdrop for drama or perhaps the inten-
sifier of drama but it is not the drama itself. For example,
in one of my early stories, set during the animation strike of
1941, I initially wanted to place the historical record as the
centerpiece event in the narrative the battles between
management and labor, the stump speeches for the press as
picketing exploded outside studio gates. Yet that wasnt a
story that would ultimately satisfy readers, largely because it
didnt yet have a character driven by desire, held back by
fear. The story that eventually emerged from this research
was that of a young father, a man who once wanted to be a
fine artist, who sought work in commercial animation to
provide for his wife and son, a man whose troubles deep-
ened when fellow animators bullied him into participating
in a long strike.
History is the context out of which fiction grows. Fiction
is the examination of the human heart as individual charac-
ters move through scenes that test or perhaps change
their souls. History is just the backdrop.
Dont let research overwhelm the story.
Though a 300-page novel has the luxury of
easing into the drama, Steinbeck-style, with
a lengthy description of place, short stories
need to find ways to establish setting quickly, often on the
same page that they introduce character and conflict.
Jim Shepards master story, Love and Hydrogen, for
example, offers one brief paragraph to establish the histori-
cal period and the setting:
Imagine five or six city blocks could lift, with a bump, and
float away. The impression of the 804-foot-long Hinden-
burg gives on the ground is that of an airship built by
giants and excessive even to their purposes. The fabric hull
and mainframe curve upward sixteen stories high.
After this, the story is on to character development,
immediately introducing the two lovers:
Meinert and Gnss are out on the gangway ladder down
to the starboard #1 engine car. Theyre helping out the
machinists, in a pinch. Gnss is afraid of heights, which
amuses everyone. Its an open aluminum ladder with a
single handrail extending eighteen feet down into the cars
hatchway. Theyre at 2,000 feet. The clouds below stand by
and dissipate. Its early in a mild May in 1937.
Like most writers, Shepard knows that a short story
needs to focus in on character, plot and conflict early in its
development, likely on the first page even when a writer is
also enamored by his or her research.
Historical fiction never comes quickly. Often its a labor
of love. For me it was an opportunity to build a personal
time machine, to sink myself down into a world Id always
wanted to inhabit. I first had the idea to write these stories
in 2003. At that time I thought that, with work, I could fin-
ish them in a couple years, maybe three. Though I started
writing in 2004, my early efforts were all junk, mostly
because I hadnt done enough research to write with confi-
dence about my subject. In 2005, to better teach myself
about this world, I decided that I would write some nonfic-
tion articles about the history of animation, articles that
eventually gave rise to one nonfiction book, with a second
on the way. Five years later, I finally had enough informa-
tion to write the stories I wanted to write.
During these years, I wasnt idle as a writer: I published
another book of fiction; I published three textbooks; I
edited a few anthologies. I always think its a good idea for
writers to keep busy. But I knew this: I wanted my anima-
tion stories to ring true, both in their historical and charac-
ter details. Each time I browsed through our local Barnes &
Noble, I was reminded of the thousands and thousands of
books that existed in the world; I wanted my books, even if
they took years to complete, to distinguish themselves as
among the best. This seemed particularly important in less-
popular and more artful genres, such as the short story.
The meticulously researched short story is a relatively
new form, a growing trend. Often, authors see their efforts
in this field as a large gesture toward art, one that occasion-
ally involves spectacle a means by which they say: I will
take you, my audience, to a miraculous world, but to do
this, you will need to agree to my terms, that the drama will
be tied to sentences, that characters will be defined in words
and the wonders will exist in the traditional way, with short
stories that muscle across the page.
Todd James Pierce is the author of a half dozen books, most recently
Three Years in Wonderland. His short story collection, Newsworld, won
the 2006 Drue Heinz Literature Prize, and he is the co-author of Behind
the Short Story, a creative writing textbook. Web: toddjamespierce.com
writermag.com The Writer | 33
FREELANCE SUCCESS
BY JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA
Grant some kindness
Grant writing offers significant altruistic and financial rewards.
W
ant to use your writ-
ing skills to change
the world? Consider
grant writing.
Instead of filling corporate pockets,
youll be helping nonprofit organiza-
tions get the money they need for wor-
thy projects like food pantries and
youth programs. If youre lucky, youll
even find clients wholl give you repeat
business so youre not always hustling
for work.
Grant writing can be lucrative, but
a writer must be prepared for hefty
competition in the field. Youll be
competing with staff fundraisers and
experienced consultants for a piece of
that grant-writing pie. Heres a step-
by-step guide on how to carve out a
niche for yourself in this market.
Step 1: Assess yourself.
If youre a lyric poet by nature, get
ready to use a different side of your
brain. Grant writing can be technical:
acronyms abound and budgets rule.
It is not for anyone who has ten-
dencies to procrastinate or stare
blankly at their computer screen wait-
ing for an idea to drop into their
mind, said Beverly Browning, author
of Grant Writing for Dummies.
To survive in this field, youll need
to meet tight deadlines, be extremely
detail-oriented and understand the
world of nonprofit program
34 | The Writer August 2016
development and evaluation. Thats
not to say your writing skills wont
count for anything. The old days of
presenting just the facts have given
way to new appreciation of storytelling
in grant writing. Your clean, crisp and
careful prose will separate your work
from the rambling proposals that put
funders to sleep and/or the sloppy,
rushed jobs.
Step 2: Take a class.
Whatever your learning preferences,
youll find a wealth of classes and
resources at your disposal. The Foun-
dation Center offers a variety of free
online courses such as Introduction to
Finding Grants and Introduction to
Proposal Writing. Community colleges
also tout classes and/or certificate pro-
grams in grant writing, as do private
colleges. Ditto for adult and continuing
education providers. Browning, for
instance, teaches online courses
through ed2go.com and the Grant
Writing Boot Camp.
While courses offer the advantage
of personalized attention, how-to
books such as Grant Writing for Dum-
mies and The Complete Idiots Guide to
Grant Writing provide reams of infor-
mation in engaging formats for
DIYers. Another book, The Artists
Guide to Grant Writing by Gigi Rosen-
berg, deals specifically with funding
for creative types.
Step 3: Write your first proposal.
Yes, its perfectly OK to apply for a
grant for one of your own writing proj-
ects to break into the field. A free
weekly newsletter for subscribers called
Funds for Writers (fundsforwriters.com)
will give you a wealth of leads at the
click of a mouse. In addition, look into
funding from your local arts council
and state arts commission as well as
grants from artist-in-residence pro-
grams, professional associations and
educational institutions. Peruse their
websites to find helpful information
such as past grant recipients and
awarded amounts.
Chris Rohmann got into proposal
writing after applying for a grant for
one of his own book projects. A long-
time theater critic for The Valley
Advocate in western Massachusetts,
he landed a gig writing proposals for
a theater company, first as a contrac-
tor, then as a regular part-time
employee. The work I was support-
ing was exciting and important,
Rohmann said.
Other grant professionals, like
Yongcharoen_kittiyaporn/Shutterstock
Megan Hill of Seattle, come from a
background in the nonprofit sector.
Hill volunteered in college for Habitat
for Humanity and then worked as an
in-house grant writer for a nonprofit
before striking out on her own as
founder and CEO of her own grants-
consulting business. To break into
grant writing, she recommends volun-
teering time with a nonprofit.
Step 4: Build your portfolio.
A portfolio showing a high rate of suc-
cess will launch you on your way. While
its stressful to have your future depen-
dent on the decisions of grant makers,
youll learn tricks to make the odds
work in your favor. For starters, youll
find out how crucial it is to follow
directions to the letter. Youll also dis-
cover how to research funding sources
to boost your chances of success.
Insiders recommend you start with
small, local grant applications. Be pre-
pared to work for free or about $10 an
hour at first. Rohmann, for example,
wrote his second grant proposal on
nearly a pro bono basis.
To develop a clientele, build your
network in the local nonprofit commu-
nity. In addition, youll find postings on
idealist.org, Craigslist and some philan-
thropy digests and publications.
Step 5: Boost your skills.
If you decide to make grant writing a
serious business, youll need to up
your game. The learning never ends in
this field, thanks in part to its special-
ized software and lingo. (Pro tip:
Industry honchos tend to favor the
terms grant professional and consul-
tant over freelancer.)
While newer grant writers can
expect to charge $20-$30 an hour, expe-
rienced professionals can earn $150 or
more an hour, according to Debbie
DiVirgilio, a consultant in northeastern
Maryland and past president of the
Grant Professionals Association.
DiVirgilio generally works between
40 and 60 hours on a federal grant com-
pared to about five hours or less on a
foundation proposal. However, someone
less experienced may find a federal
grant takes 120 hours or more, she said.
More and more organizations are
seeking contractual grant writers who
are certified, DiVirgilio said. Two
organizations the Grant Profession-
als Certification Institute and the
American Grant Writers Association
offer paths to certification.
Youll need to decide for yourself
what credentials you need for the work
you want to do. Whatever the case,
choose projects youre passionate
about. Youll have the satisfaction of
seeing your hard work make dreams
come true.
Joan Axelrod-Contrada is the author of
Career Opportunities in Politics, Government,
and Activism. She is the chair of the grants com-
mittee for the WriteAngles Conference held
every fall at Mount Holyoke College in South
Hadley, Massachusetts.

The Oldest Low-Residency

MFA IN FLORIDA
Fiction | Nonction | Poetry

Past and Present Guest Writers and Editors Include:

Richard Bausch, Michael Connelly, Lydia Davis, Arthur Flowers, Nick Flynn, Roxane Gay,
Hal Hartley, Amy Hill Hearth, Eli Horowitz, Leslie Jamison, Denis Johnson, Miranda July,
Ben Lerner, Jamaal May, Susan Minot, Rick Moody, Francine Prose, George Saunders,
Heather Sellers, Patricia Smith, Wesley Stace, Deborah Treisman, Lidia Yuknavitch

Teaching Faculty Include:

Jessica Anthony, Sandra Beasley, John Capouya, Brock Clarke, Erica Dawson (director),
Mikhail Iossel, Stefan Kiesbye, Kevin Moffett, Donald Morrill, Josip Novakovich,
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Learn more at www.ut.edu/mfacw

or by calling (813) 258-7409.

writermag.com The Writer | 35

CLASS ACTION
BY JEFF TAMARKIN
Television writing 101
Nothing good on TV? Learn how to write your own shows.
H
ow often has this hap-
pened to you? You plunk
down on the sofa, pick up
the TV remote with the
intent of losing yourself in a compel-
ling drama or uproarious comedy, and
even with a thousand channels at
your disposal you find nothing that
holds your attention. I can write bet-
ter programs than these, you grumble
before giving up and grabbing a book.
If that describes you, youre in luck:
Television writing courses abound
today, offered by top colleges and uni-
versities as well as dedicated film
schools and private instructors. For
those who have the financial means
and are committed to learning how to
create the next Breaking Bad or Mod-
ern Family, there are more avenues
available now for honing those skills
than ever before.
But before researching courses, the
would-be television writer should ask
why he or she wants to take this route
in the first place, says Joe Pichirallo,
chair of the Department of Under-
graduate Film and Television at the
New York University Tisch School of
the Arts.
The important thing for any writer
is to discover, he says. Do you have a
voice? What is your voice? What is
your point of view? What is your style,
and can you execute that in a way that
others will find compelling? Writing is
something we can help you learn, but
ultimately its going to come down to
whether you have the wherewithal and
the talent to execute at a level where
you can make a living off of it.
NYU is one of many major institu-
tions that have expanded the number
36 | The Writer August 2016
and variety of their television writing
courses in recent years. Interestingly,
says Pichirallo, prior to his coming on
board at the school in 2011, NYU
had two TV writing courses, one in
comedy and one in drama, but we
didnt have an introduction to televi-
sion writing course. So we created one,
which is designed to give an overview
of the elements that go into writing a
TV script that are different than a fea-
ture script.
Mike Pavone, a successful screen-
writer, producer and actor who has
taught courses on screenwriting,
directing, acting and the business of
film at the high school level and at the
Academy of Art University in San
Francisco, says that any prospective
student should take a long, hard look
within before deciding whether to pur-
sue this specialized field. A great sto-
ryteller is born, Pavone says. You can
learn structure quite easily, but great
story and character come from people
born with great imagination and the
empathy to see many characters from
different points of view.
Story consultant and script doctor
John Truby, who has given TV writ-
ing classes in several major cities and
operates Trubys Writing Studio
online (truby.com), approaches the
discipline from a somewhat different
angle to him, understanding struc-
ture is absolutely crucial. I begin
with the structure elements found in
any great story, regardless of medium
or genre, he says. These are organic
to the story, meaning they track the
characters development as he/she
goes after a goal and overcomes oppo-
sition. With this foundation of great
organic storytelling, I then explain the
unique ways these story structure
beats are executed in a good TV
drama or comedy story. Next, I
explain the specialized story beats of
the major genres in TV drama and
comedy, and I conclude by explaining
in detail the steps required to create a
successful TV drama or comedy.
Another emphasis in my TV classes is
not just how do you write a great
individual episode, which somebody
must know in order to break into tele-
vision, but, for the more advanced
writer, how do you create a great sea-
son of television? Weaving multiple
characters over 10 to 22 episodes
gives you a canvas that is greater than
that of a film.
What a student chooses to learn,
and the skills ultimately honed, will
necessarily help determine the type
De-V/Shutterstock
and range of television screenwriting
work available to the individual. Most
colleges that now host TV writing
courses detail their curriculum online
or by request. Californias Chapman
University, for example, offers a Bache-
lor of Fine Arts major in television
writing and production. You will learn
how to develop characters, write dia-
logue, create a series bible and
develop the ongoing storylines that
drive episodic television, the schools
catalog explains, listing among its
courses seminars in comedy and
drama, Introduction to Visual Story-
telling and History of Television. Bos-
tons Emerson College similarly offers
the introductory Writing for Television
and courses as specific as Life on Dis-
play: Creating a Reality Series.
One thing that all of the instructors
and executives we surveyed agree
upon is that the field of television
writing as a career is in the ascendant.
Film schools, for many years as did
the industry looked down their
noses at television and didnt take it
that seriously, says Pichirallo. The
development of television programs
in film schools is a recent phenome-
non and an important one because
television is doing some of the most
creatively interesting things today.
Film schools now understand the
importance of television and are
developing their [own] programs.
Youre no longer having to convince
[schools] that you should have a TV
portion of your program.
Writing TV professionally is
extremely competitive, and the intense
time constraints of writing on staff
require that the TV writer have the
highest level of craft, says Truby. My
TV classes place tremendous emphasis
on knowing the specific craft tech-
niques that go into beating out a great
story and writing a draft that can com-
pete with the best writers in the world.
Its phenomenal what they are accom-
plishing now in television.

Jeff Tamarkin is a freelance writer/editor. He

lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, with his wife,
novelist Caroline Leavitt.

writermag.com The Writer | 37

CONFERENCE INSIDER
BY MELISSA HART

Hollywood heads south

Screenwriters strike gold at the Austin Film Festival.

T
heres a guy grilling steak
and chicken outside the
Rattle Inn in Austin, a blues
band in cowboy hats and
blue jeans on stage, a rooftop bar
boasting a city view and a crowd of
participants gathered for beer and
tequila shots during the Austin Film
Festival and Screenwriters Confer-
ence. We try hard not to have some
of the elements of Hollywood so
renowned for red tape and exclusivity,
says conference director Erin Halla-
gan. We dont have green rooms or
velvet ropes anywhere. The accessibil-
ity of our conference makes it a
unique experience; its a very intimate
and casual affair.
The gathering, now in its 23rd year,
runs in conjunction with the Austin
Film Festival. Located across the city at
several hotels and St. Davids Episcopal
Church downtown, the four-day event
includes film screenings, panels, work-
shops, roundtables and pitch sessions.
This year, says Hallagan, well have
at least 175 panels on craft and the
business of storytelling through film
and television and new media. Well be
talking about important trends in the Photos by Jack Plunkett
industry, including ways to break into
the business and stay in and sustain
important relationships.
Featured panelists include writer/
director/producers Nancy Meyers,
whose latest film is The Intern with
Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, track to explore how participants can Panels will also explore the preva-
and Paul Feig, who will discuss his hone their approach to dramatic writ- lence of virtual reality and how its
updated version of the classic film ing. Weve seen so many playwrights shaping television, film and new
Ghostbusters with a female cast of making the transition into television, media. Part of that examination also
leading characters. she says. TV content is so rich; a lot trickles into writing for video games in
Hallagan notes that this year, the of that is coming from writers theatri- a 3-D context, Hallagan explains.
conference is introducing a playwriting cal backgrounds. What does it mean to be a narrative
38 | The Writer August 2016
 CONFERENCE:
AUSTIN FILM
FESTIVAL AND
SCREENWRITERS
CONFERENCE.
Dates:
October 13-20.
Location:
Downtown Austin, Texas.
Website:
austinfilmfestival.com

writer in this type of medium?

Conference participants can begin
their day with a fun event called
Improv Your Morning! Instructors
from local comedy troupes create a
safe space designed to allow writers to
share and explore and exercise their
wit. Writers can be shy, Hallagan
says. It takes them a while to come
out of their shell. We wanted to pro-
vide a few tools for them to be more
comfortable because the festival is first
and foremost an incredible networking
opportunity.
Semifinalists in the conferences
screenplay and teleplay competition in the Pitch Finale Party. Its one of rub elbows with industry experts dur-
get to hear their script read by a full our more popular events, Hallagan ing panels and roundtable discussions
cast in a personalized setting. They says. People are drinking, and its a and, of course, at Austins local water-
may invite whomever they want into lot of fun. Its interactive, like live the- ing holes.
that space, Hallagan explains of the ater the finalists are letting them-
finalists. Its the first opportunity for selves be vulnerable in front of a Readers of The Writer may enter
many of them to hear what it sounds crowd. At the 2010 Pitch Competi- the code WRITERSMAG25 during
like to have their work read out loud. tion, Mike Fry co-creator and writer online registration checkout for
Agents and managers peruse the com- of Over the Hedge optioned Lee $25 off a Producers Badge for this
petition script library and often request Hoverds screenplayEx-Menafter lis- years conference.
work by the finalists and winners. tening to his pitch. We have at least a
Pitch competition sessions allow couple dozen agents and managers,
writers 90 seconds to describe their Hallagan says. Theres always a few Contributing editor Melissa Hart is the
project to a diverse panel of judges in people who find representation. author of Avenging the Owl and Wild Within:
a friendly and constructive environ- Conference attendees have plenty of How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family.
ment. Finalists vie for a prize package formal and informal opportunities to Web: melissahart.com

writermag.com The Writer | 39

LITERARY SPOTLIGHT INSIDE LITERARY MAGAZINES
BY MELISSA HART

The best policy

Carve seeks honesty and authenticity.

C
lick on the submission guidelines for Carve Mag-
azine, and youll see a grid labeled Most Recent
Decline/Accept Listings. It includes the names
of authors who have sent work to Carve, the titles
of the pieces theyve submitted and the names of the maga-
zines that ultimately published those pieces.
These are listings of stories that Carvedeclined but were
accepted elsewhere, the editors explain. Congrats to the
authors, and we commend their perseverance.
Managing Editor Anna Zumbahlen explains that the
magazine now in its 16th year publishes the Decline/
Accept listings to encourage writers to stay engaged with
Carves community and to celebrate their own successes.
Editorial decisions are subjective, she says. We feel
strongly that writing is an ongoing process and should never
end with a rejection letter.
The Premium Edition print version of the magazine,
published quarterly, also includes a Decline/Accept feature
an essay written by an author about the process of revi-
sion, submission, editing and publication of a single story.
In Constances Law (winter 2015), Bridget Hardy writes
about a young woman dealing with the aftermath of rape
amidst the appearance of an old friend who eventually
becomes her lover. It deals with trauma in a way that is
direct and palpable and brings us ultimately to a place of
healing, says Zumbahlen.
Contributors
Editors at Carve look for honest stories driven by original
voice and rhythm of language. Kami Westhoff s The Ways
You Are Gone (winter 2007) is one of Zumbahlens favorite
examples; in particular, she admires the authors narrative
structure and perspective. Westhoff, winner of the 2007
Raymond Carver Contest, begins her story with this:

Tone, editorial content

The submission guidelines for Carve note that editors look for
emotional jeopardy, soul and honesty. Theyre particularly
interested in character transformation, says Zumbahlen, and
stories that use lucid writing to access truth and catharsis.
One such piece is Subhadra Eberlys Hurricane Emily
(summer, 2012), about the narrators friendship with a
beautiful mentally ill woman. In it, Eberly writes:

Sometimes we took Emily to the kind of hospital that

saves lives. The one we were taking her to was the kind
that saves minds, where theyd keep her under observa-
tion. For the rest of the week, she would eat meals with
plastic spoons and sit in group sessions with potential
sociopaths and pyromaniacs and teenaged girls with eat-
ing disorders. Paul and I watched Emily spit on a nurse
and accuse her and everyone else in the room of sleeping
with her husband. When the staff tackled her to the
ground, we turned around and left.

The story, Zumbahlen says, accesses what is ugly and beau-

tiful about relationships and the way they undergo change.
40 | The Writer August 2016
 We accept short story sub-
missions year-round and from
anywhere in the world. Send
us your best work. Wed love
to read it.
ONLINE AND QUARTERLY
PRINT VERSION.
Genres: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction.
Reading period: Year-round.
Length: Varies.
Submission format: By USPS or digital
(submittable) on website.
Contests: Raymond Carver Short Story
Contest, The Premium Edition Contest.
Contact: Anna Zumbahlen, Managing
Editor, azumbahlen@carvezine.com.
Carve Magazine Submissions, PO Box
701510, Dallas, TX 75370. carvezine.com

I wait for you, because I said I

would. I spend the hours I used to
spend with you thinking about the
ways you are gone. The length var-
ies, as does the content. Mostly you
are dead and slowly becoming food
for insects. This comforts me
because when this is not you, you
are frozen in pieces arm, ear,
breast, leg.

The emotional immediacy of that

piece is undeniable, says Zumbahlen.
Carves spring issue this year fea-
tured poetry from four poets two
widely-published and two emerging.
All four of them have a distinctive
relationship with language, image and
sound, Zumbahlen says. For instance,
Annie Lightharts Hay posits a whole
world from heat and a moment of rain.
Were interested in that kind of atten-
tiveness and expansiveness.
Editors conduct Q&As with the
poets they publish, focusing on their
writing process and perspective. Read-
ers can access these interviews on the
magazines blog at carvezine.com/blog.
Advice for potential contributors or narrative structure isnt serving the
Click on the Stories tab on Carves emotional space the story occupies,
website, and youll see this note: Every then it probably isnt right for us, says
short story published byCarvesince Zumbahlen. I really crave stories that
2007 is available to read for free online, will stick with me for days, stories
because good honest fiction should whose emotional presence is difficult
never disappear into obscurity. This to set aside.
ready availability also enables potential
contributors to familiarize themselves Contributing editor Melissa Hart is the
with the magazines particular aesthetic. author of Avenging the Owl and Wild Within:
If it feels like a story is doing any How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family.
posturing, or if the voice or perspective Web: melissahart.com

writermag.com The Writer | 41

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submissions for picture books, beginning readers or
chapter books that can become a series. Contact:
ABDO [Genre], 8000 W. 78th St., Suite 310, Edina,
MN 55439. See website for genre-specific email
addresses. abdopublishing.com
F N Agate Publishing Currently seeking fiction
and nonfiction by African-American writers and
books on Midwestern topics or by Midwestern
authors. Also publishes food, cooking, nutrition-
related and business-interest nonfiction. Email que-
ries. Contact: Agate Publishing, Inc.
submissions@agatepublishing.com
agatepublishing.com
N Alpine Publications Welcomes nonfiction
manuscripts or proposals relating to dogs or horses.
Contact: Editorial Department, Alpine Publications,
Inc., 38262 Linman Road, Crawford, CO 81415.
editorialdept@alpinepub.com alpinepub.com
C Y Annick Press Publishes fiction and nonfic-
tion by Canadian authors for children, middle grade
and young adult readers. No picture books. Contact:
Annick Press Ltd., 15 Patricia Ave., Toronto, ON
M2M 1H9. Email from website. annickpress.com
F N P O Anvil Press Publishes progressive, con-
temporary fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama.
Canadian authors only. No email submissions, no
genre novels. Contact: Anvil Press, P.O. Box 3008,
Main Post Office, Vancouver, BC V6B 3X5.
anvilpress.com
N Arcadia Publishing Publishes local and
regional history books. Works with experienced and
first-time authors. Contact: Arcadia Publishing.
Email regional editorial offices via website.
arcadiapublishing.com
F N Arrow Publications Publishes romance fic-
tion (novels or novellas) and selected nonfiction top-
ics such as womens issues. Publishes in digital
42 | The Writer August 2016
Submission Checklist
Youve been working on a manuscript for the next bestselling novel
and after years of hard work and revisions, youre ready to send it out.
All of the time youve spent with reading groups, writing groups and
focus groups wont matter much if you simply pop your masterpiece
into the mail without thoroughly researching the publisher youve
decided will drop everything to put your work out into the world.
Before you submit to a publisher, whether big or small, go through the
checklist to make sure youve perfectly met their criteria to ensure an
editors eye peruses your project.
R You have read all of the publishers submission guidelines.
R Your work aligns with the themes being sought by the publisher.
R You are submitting via the requested portal (email, submission
manager, snail mail, etc.).
R Your submission is formatted in the specified manner.
R You have a strong cover or query letter (if requested) that succinctly
outlines your work.
R You have included sample material (if requested).
R You have triple-checked grammar, spelling and typos throughout.
R Your documents are typed in a professional font (i.e., no comic
sans, size 14).
R You have included exactly what the publisher has asked for nothing
more, nothing less.
formats. Contact: Arrow Publications. N Barricade Books Seeks nonfiction material of
arrow_info@arrowpub.com arrowpub.com a controversial nature. Submit outline, one or two
chapters and SASE by regular mail. Contact: Carole
P C Y Arthur A. Levine Books Publishes books
Stuart, Barricade Books, 2037 Lemoine Avenue, Fort
for children and young adults, including picture
Lee, NJ 07024. Email from website.
books, literary fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Submit
barricadebooks.com
queries only, per website instructions via online sub-
mission platform. Contact: Arthur A. Levine Books. N Beacon Press Publishes general trade nonfic-
arthuralevinebooks@scholastic.com tion on a wide variety of topics, including biography,
arthuralevinebooks.com religion, history, current affairs, politics, gay/lesbian/
gender studies, education, African-American stud-
F Avon Romance Publishes a variety of romance
ies, religion, womens studies, child and family issues,
genres. Specifically looking for romantic suspense,
and nature and the environment. Submit proposals
contemporary romance, historical romance with a
by email. Contact: Beacon Press.
hook, trilogies and serialized novels. Submit via
editorial@beacon.org beacon.org
online submission manager. Contact: Avon
Romance. 212-207-7000. info@avonromance.com F N Bellevue Literary Press Publishes literary
avonromance.com fiction and narrative nonfiction geared toward a
general readership. Email submissions with full
F Baen Books Seeks strongly plotted science fic-
manuscript for fiction submissions; manuscript or
tion and innovative fantasy; 100,000-130,000 words.
proposal for nonfiction submissions.
Submit completed manuscript with synopsis using
Contact: Bellevue Literary Press.
online submission manager or regular mail.
blpsubmissions@gmail.com blpress.org
Contact: Baen Books, P.O. Box 1403, Riverdale, NY
10471. info@baen.com baen.com N Y Bick Publishing House Publishes books
for young adults and teens about science and its eth-

ics, communications, arts, philosophy and psychol-
ogy, as well as adult books about mental illness and
recovery, addictions, living with disabilities and
wildlife rehabilitation. Also publishes some science
fiction for teens. No email submissions. Contact:
Bick Publishing House, 16 Marion Road, Branford,
CT 06405. 203-208-5253. bickpubhse@aol.com
bickpubhouse.com
F N P O Bilingual Review Press Publishes
novels, short-story collections, nonfiction, poetry,
translations and drama. Titles are by or about U.S.
Hispanics. Contact: Gary Francisco Keller, Bilingual
Press, Hispanic Research Center, Arizona State Uni-
versity, P.O. Box 875303, Tempe, AZ 85287-5303.
480-965-3867.
bilingualpress.clas.asu.edu/submission-guidelines
F Y Bold Strokes Books Seeks LGBTQ fiction
(general and genre), including action, romance,
adventure, crime, mystery/intrigue and speculative
fiction (sci-fi/fantasy/horror). Also publishes young
adult fiction. Submit entire manuscript by email
only. Contact: Selections Director: Len Barot, Bold
Strokes Books. bsbsubmissions@gmail.com
boldstrokesbooks.com
F Bookouture A digital first publisher of womens
fiction including romance, historical, paranormal,
chick lit, fantasy, crime, thriller, commercial literary
and erotica. Submissions accepted through online
form only. Contact: Bookouture. Email from web-
site. bookouture.com
F N P Breakaway Books Publishes literary and
thoughtful writing on sports including fiction,
poetry and essays on the athletic experience. Also
publishes boating and boatbuilding books. Submit
queries by email or regular mail. Contact: Break-
away Books, P.O. Box 24, Halcottsville, NY 12438.
breakawaybooks@gmail.com breakawaybooks.com
F N C Y Brighton Publishing Publishes gen-
eral fiction, romance, fantasy, science fiction, mys-
teries, thrillers, nonfiction and YA. Considers works
that were previously self-published but no longer
available. Submit queries first by email only.
Contact: Brighton Publishing.
donald@brightonpublishing.com
brightonpublishing.com
F Carina Press Harlequins digital-first imprint.
Publishes most types of commercial fiction for
adults, 35,000 words or more, especially romance
and new adult; check website for specific genre word
counts. No faith-based fiction, womens fiction, hor-
ror, thrillers or literary fiction. Submit queries by
online submission manager. Contact: Carina Press.
submissions@carinapress.com carinapress.com
N Chelsea Green Publishing Independent pub-
lisher specializing in nonfiction about sustainable-liv-
ing, including organic gardening, agricultural
movements, political activism supporting sustainable
food, natural building techniques, etc. Submit queries
by email (preferred) or postal mail with a SASE. Con-
tact: Chelsea Green Publishing, 85 N. Main St., Suite
120, White River Jct., Vermont 05001. 802-295-6300.
submissions@chelseagreen.com chelseagreen.com
N C Y O Chronicle Books Publishes adult trade
books on fine art, design, photography, pop culture,
craft, fashion, beauty, home dcor, relationships,
mind/body/spirit, cookbooks and unusual formats
such as interactive journals, card decks and statio-
nery. Also publishes fiction books for children and
young adults. Submit proposals by email or regular
mail. Contact: Chronicle Books, Submissions Edi-
tor, 680 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94107.
submissions@chroniclebooks.com
chroniclebooks.com
N C Chicago Review Press Publishes nonfic-
tion in the areas of history, popular science, music,
film, biography, autobiography, DIY, craft and travel
as well as childrens activity books and YA biogra-
phies. Send proposal by email.
Contact: Chicago Review Press. 312-337-0747.
frontdesk@chicagoreviewpress.com
chicagoreviewpress.com
F N P City Lights Publishers Publishes fic-
tion, essays, memoirs, translations, poetry and books
on social and political issues. No New Age, self-help,
childrens literature, how-to guides or genre fiction.
Accepts queries and proposals by postal mail only.
Contact: Editorial Department, City Lights Publish-
ers, 261 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, CA 94133.
415-362-1901. Email from website. citylights.com
F N P O Coach House Books Publishes inno-
vative literary fiction, drama, poetry and select non-
fiction. Considers Canadian authors only. Prefers
electronic submissions. Contact: Coach House
Books, 80 bpNichol Lane, Toronto, Ontario M5S
3J4. editor@chbooks.com chbooks.com
F N Coffee House Press Publishes literary nov-
els, full-length short-story collections, poetry, cre-
ative nonfiction and essay collections. Works with
emerging and mid-career writers. No genre fiction
or books for children. Accepts electronic submis-
sions via online portal only during two annual read-
ing periods. Contact: Coffee House Press, 79 13th
Ave. NE, Ste. 110, Minneapolis, MN 55413.
612-338-0125. coffeehousepress.org
F N Counterpoint Press Publishes literary fic-
tion and nonfiction, including history, memoir, liter-
ary biography, religion, philosophy and natural
history. Fiction manuscripts must be submitted
through a literary agency. Submit nonfiction query
letter and sample chapters by regular mail only.
Contact: Editorial Submissions, Counterpoint, 2560
Ninth St., Ste. 318, Berkeley, CA 94710.
510-704-0230. info@counterpointpress.com
counterpointpress.com
N C Dawn Publications Publishes nature-aware-
ness/natural-science books for children. No talking
animals, fantasies or legends. Submit by regular mail
or email per guidelines. Contact: Dawn Publications
Manuscript Submission, 12402 Bitney Springs
Road, Nevada City, CA 95959, Attn: Glenn Hov-
emann. submission@dawnpub.com dawnpub.com
F N C Y Diversion Press Currently seeking aca-
demic and general nonfiction, middle grade books,
contemporary YA and humorous fiction and nonfic-
Get up-to-date information on
markets at writermag.com
tion. No genre fiction. Submit queries and proposals
by email. Contact: Diversion Press.
diversionpress@yahoo.com diversionpress.com
N Dundurn Canadian authors only. Currently
seeking nonfiction on Canadian history, current
events, arts and culture, business, genealogy, trans-
portation and health. Also publishes biographies,
autobiographies and memoirs. Submit via email.
Contact: Dundurn. submissions@dundurn.com
dundurn.com
N Duquesne University Press Scholarly pub-
lications in the humanities and social sciences, espe-
cially literature studies (medieval and Renaissance),
philosophy, psychology, ethics, religious studies and
theology. Contact: Susan Wadsworth-Booth, Direc-
tor, Duquesne University Press, 600 Forbes Ave.,
Pittsburgh, PA 15282. wadsworth@duq.edu
dupress.duq.edu
F Dutton Guilt Edged Mysteries Seeks origi-
nal, unpublished modern crime and detective fic-
tion, 10,000-50,000 words, for eBook publication.
Contact: Dutton Guilt Edged Mysteries.
duttonguiltedged@us.penguingroup.com us.
penguin.com/static/pages/duttonguiltedged/
F N P ECW Press Publishes poetry and fiction
from Canadian authors, nonfiction from any author.
Nonfiction subjects include pop culture, political
analysis, sports, biography and travel guides. Prefers
electronic submissions. Contact: ECW Press.
416-694-3348. submissions@ecwpress.com
ecwpress.com
N Entrepreneur Press Publishes nonfiction
general and small-business trade books focused on
starting and growing a business, personal finance,
marketing and careers. Submit proposals by email.
Contact: Entrepreneur Press. 800-833-3324.
submissions@entrepreneur.com
entrepreneur.com/entrepreneurpress
F N P C Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishes
a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction, plus poetry
and childrens books. Submit by regular mail only.
Contact: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 18 W. 18th St.,
New York, NY 10011. 212-741-6900. fsgbooks.com
N P C Y Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited
Currently seeking childrens (picture books, middle
grade fiction, young adult fiction, nonfiction for all
ages) and adult nonfiction and poetry. No adult fic-
tion. Submit by regular mail only. Contact:
Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Attention: Sharon Fitzhenry
(adult) or Cheryl Chen (childrens), 195 Allstate
Parkway, Markham, ON L3R 4T8, Canada.
N Fordham University Press Publishes schol-
arly books in the humanities and social sciences plus
trade books for the general public. Emphasizes phi-
losophy, religion, theology, history, literature and
media studies. Also publishes regional material on
New York City and the Hudson Valley. Submit hard-
copy proposals only. Contact: Fordham University
Press, 2546 Belmont Ave., University Box L, Bronx,
NY 10458. 718-817-4795. See website for specific
genre editors. fordhampress.com
writermag.com The Writer | 43
 MARKETS
N Fortress Press Publishes books for academic,
student and professional audiences in the areas of
biblical studies, theology and Christian history. Sub-
mit proposals through online manager.
Contact: Fortress Press. Email from website.
fortresspress.com
F Y Gentry Publishing Accepts romance, young
adult, new adult, fantasy, drama, Christian, contem-
porary, literary, mystery and action/adventure. Sub-
mission by email only. Contact: Gentry Publishing.
submissions@gentrypublishing.com
gentrypublishing.com
N Goodman Beck Publishing Publishes non-
fiction in the areas of mental health, personal
growth, aging well, positive psychology, accessible
spirituality and self-help. Submit queries by email
only. Contact: Goodman Beck Publishing. info@
goodmanbeck.com goodmanbeck.com
F N P C Y Green Writers Press Seeks fiction,
short stories, poetry, environmental essays, childrens
picture books and YA novels that help foster a sus-
tainable environment. Email submissions are pre-
ferred. Contact: Green Writers Press. 34 Miller
Road, Brattleboro, VT 05301.
submissions@greenwriterspress.com
greenwriterspress.com
N Y Hancock House Publishers Publishes adult
and young adult nonfiction, including regional his-
tory, biography, memoir, environment, West Coast
native culture, guides, etc. Email queries only.
Contact: Hancock House Publishers. 604-538-1114.
submissions@hancockhouse.com hancockhouse.com
F Hard Case Crime Publishes original and
reprinted hard-boiled crime fiction. Submit queries
by email. Contact: Hard Case Crime.
editor@hardcasecrime.com hardcasecrime.com
F Y Harlequin Enterprises Publishes womens
fiction in a wide variety of genres (romance, action-
adventure, mystery, suspense, historical, etc.). Multi-
ple imprints, including young adult and digital. See
website for category guidelines. Submit by online
submission manager. Contact: Harlequin.
888-432-4879. harlequin.com
F Harvard Square Editions Seeks novels and
novellas of the highest literary quality with environ-
mental and social themes. Send queries through
online form. Contact: Harvard Square Editions.
Email from website. harvardsquareeditions.org
N Hatala Geroproducts Publishes books for
seniors and older with a focus on relationships: with
spouses, lovers, other seniors, grandchildren and
adult children. All books are large-print. Contact:
Hatala Geroproducts, P.O. Box 42, Greentop, MO
63546. editor@geroproducts.com geroproducts.com
F Y Henery Press An independent publisher
seeking mystery and chick lit with sharp twists and
lively characters. Particularly interested in series.
Considers previously published work. Publishes
eBooks, hardcover and trade paperbacks. Submit by
email only. Contact: Henery Press.
subs@henerypress.com henerypress.com
44 | The Writer August 2016
N The History Press Publisher of local and
regional history books. Submit electronically
through website. Contact: The History Press , Attn:
Commissioning, 645 Meeting St., Suite 200, Charles-
ton, SC 29403. 843-853-2070.
publishing@historypress.net historypress.net
N Hohm Press Nonfiction titles on nutrition,
natural health, religious studies, parenting, womens
studies, the arts and poetry. Submit queries only by
regular mail with sample of material. Contact:
Hohm Press Acquisitions Editor, P.O. Box 4410,
Chino Valley, AZ 86323. 1-800-381-2700.
hppublisher@cableone.net hohmpress.com
F P C Y Holy Cow! Press Publishes poetry,
short fiction, young adult, childrens and other prose
offering an original perspective on the American
Midwest. Submit queries by regular mail. Contact:
Holy Cow! Press, P. O. Box 3170, Mount Royal Sta-
tion, Duluth, MN 55803. 218-724-1653.
holycow@holycowpress.org holycowpress.org
F N O Homestead Publishing Specializes in
literary fiction, art, nature books, national park
guide books, cookbooks, biographies, literary fic-
tion, Western Americana, travel guides and outdoor
sports guides. Submit by regular mail. Contact:
Acquisitions, Homestead Publishing, P.O. Box 193,
Moose, WY 83012. 307-733-6248.
homesteadpublishing.net
N Ivan R. Dee Member of the Rowman & Little-
field Publishing Group. Publishes serious nonfiction
for general readers. Topics include history, biography,
politics, philosophy, literature, baseball and theater.
Submit proposals by regular mail or email (pre-
ferred). Contact: Ivan R. Dee Manuscript Submis-
sion, Rowman & Littlefield, 4501 Forbes Blvd., Ste.
200, Lanham, MD 20706. 301-459-3366. See website
for editor email addresses. rowman.com/ivanrdee
No folktales or animal stories. Submit by regular
N O Johnson Books Regional nonfiction pub-
lisher specializing in books about Colorado, Wis-
consin and the West geared to the popular market.
Topics include environmental subjects, history, geol-
ogy, archaeology, guidebooks, outdoor recreation,
cookbooks, general nonfiction and fly-fishing. Sub-
mit by postal mail. Contact: Johnson Books, Big
Earth Publishing, 3005 Center Green Drive, Suite
225, Boulder, CO 80301. 800-258-5830.
books@bigearthpublishing.com
bigearthpublishing.com/johnson-books
C Y Just Us Books Specializes in black interest
books for children, including picture books, chapter
books for middle readers, poetry, nonfiction series,
biographies and young adult fiction. Currently
accepting queries for chapter books and middle
reader titles only. Submit query by postal mail.
Contact: Submissions Dept., Just Us Books, P.O. Box
5306, East Orange, NJ 07019. justusbooks.com
C Kar-Ben Publishing Publishes picture books,
fiction and nonfiction on Jewish themes for children
in preschool and elementary school. Submit by
email. Contact: Kar-Ben Publishing, 1251 Washing-
ton Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN 55401. 800-452-7236.
editorial@karben.com karben.com
F N Y Kensington Publishing Corp. Pub-
lishes a wide variety of genre fiction and nonfiction
including popular womens fiction, African-Ameri-
can titles, multicultural young adult fiction, nonfic-
tion, as well as true crime, Western and mystery
titles. See website for specific editor interests. Submit
query by email. Contact: Kensington Publishing
Corp., 119 W. 40th St., New York, NY 10018. 1-800-
221-2647. See website for editor email addresses.
kensingtonbooks.com
N Kent State University Press Welcomes
submission of works in the following areas: Ohio
and the surrounding region, sports, history, true
crime and literary studies (Hemingway, C.S. Lewis,
J.R.R. Tolkien and the Inklings). Contact: Joyce Har-
rison, Acquiring Editor, The Kent State University
Press, 1118 University Library, 1125 Risman Drive,
Kent, OH 44242-0001. 330-672-8099.
jharri18@kent.edu kentstateuniversitypress.com
N Lantern Books Publishes books on animal
advocacy, vegetarianism, religion and environmen-
talism. Contact: Lantern Books, 128 2nd Place, Gar-
den Suite, Brooklyn, NY 11231. 212-414-2275 ext.
12. martin@lanternbooks.com lanternbooks.com
N Lark Books Publishes books for creative peo-
ple. Subjects include reference and how-to books
with step-by-step instructions on practical subjects
including ceramics, crafts, pets and other lifestyle
topics. Submit query by email or regular mail.
Contact: Lark Editors c/o Sterling Publishing 1166
Avenue of the Americas, 17 FL New York, NY
10036. LarkEditorial@sterlingpublishing.com
larkcrafts.com
C N Lee & Low Books Childrens book pub-
lisher specializing in multicultural themes for ages
5-12. Especially interested in realistic fiction, histori-
cal fiction and nonfiction with a unique approach.
mail only. Contact: Submissions Editor, Lee & Low
Books, 95 Madison Ave., Suite 1205, New York, NY
10016. general@leeandlow.com leeandlow.com
F N Y Llewellyn Publishes practical nonfiction
books with an emphasis on body, mind and spirit,
including magic, wicca, paganism, witchcraft, ghost
hunting, spirit guides, tarot books, reincarnation,
astrology, alternative health, angels, etc. Also pub-
lishes some mystery fiction and young adult fiction.
No spiritual or new age fiction. Contact: Llewellyn
Worldwide, Acquisitions Department, 2143 Wood-
dale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125.
submissions@llewellyn.com llewellyn.com
F N Lone Pine Publishing Publishes Canadian
regional nonfiction books on natural history, gar-
dening and outdoor recreation. The Ghost House
Books imprint also publishes ghost stories and
books about the paranormal. Submit book proposals
by regular mail or email. Contact: Editorial Director,
Lone Pine Publishing, 2311 96 St., Edmonton, AB
T6N 1G3. nfoulds@lonepinepublishing.com
lonepinepublishing.com
N C Y Magination Press Publishes psychology-
based illustrated storybooks and nonfiction for chil-

dren about topics of special concern to children.
Submit by regular mail. Contact: Acquisitions, Mag-
ination Press, American Psychological Association,
750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242.
magination@apa.org apa.org/pubs/magination
F N Martin Sisters Publishing Accepts fic-
tion in all genres including science fiction, fantasy,
Christian fiction and inspirational. Also publishes
short story collections and nonfiction including self-
help. Submit queries by email. Contact: Martin Sis-
ters Publishing. Email from website.
martinsisterspublishing.com
N McFarland Publishes academic and general
interest nonfiction books on several topics, includ-
ing pop culture, performing arts, military history,
international studies, health, sports, automotive, lit-
erary studies, medieval studies, mythology, folklore
and womens and gender studies. Also publishes
essay collections and graphic novels. Submit by
postal mail or email. Contact: McFarland, Box 611,
Jefferson, NC 28640. info@mcfarlandpub.com
mcfarlandbooks.com
N Melville House Publishing Publishes a wide
range of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Currently
accepts proposals and manuscripts for nonfiction
only. Submit queries by email. Contact: Melville
House Publishing. 718-722-9204.
submissions@mhpbooks.com mhpbooks.com
F N P Mid-List Press Publishes book-length (at
least 50,000 words) literary fiction and nonfiction,
and poetry collections of at least 60 pages. Seeks new
and emerging writers. No childrens books. Query by
postal mail only. Contact: Mid-List Press, Attn:
Acquisitions Editor, 6524 Brownlee Drive, Nashville,
TN 37205. 615-457-3777. guide@midlist.org
midlist.org
N New Horizon Press True stories of crime/jus-
tice, accounts of exploring new frontiers and survi-
vor stories. Also publishes nonfiction on
hard-hitting issues, targeted self-help topics and
childrens self-help titles. Does not accept emailed
manuscripts. Contact: New Horizon Press, P.O. Box
669, Far Hills, NJ 07931, Attn: Ms. P. Patty.
nhp@newhorizonpressbooks.com
newhorizonpressbooks.com
N New World Library Presently focused on
nonfiction books about spirituality, personal growth,
womens interests, religion, sustainable business, the
human-animal relationship, Native American inter-
ests and the environment. No childrens books sub-
missions. Prefers email submissions.
Contact: New World Library. 415-884-2100.
submit@newworldlibrary.com newworldlibrary.com
F N P O NeWest Press Publishes fiction, mys-
teries, poetry, drama and literary nonfiction by
Western Canadian authors. Currently not consider-
ing science fiction, high fantasy, inspirational mem-
oirs, self-help guides or childrens/YA. Submit
manuscript by email. Contact: NeWest Press.
780-432-9427. submissions@newestpress.com
newestpress.com
F N Northern Illinois University Press
Nonfiction scholarly and trade titles on Russian
studies, European history, religion, history of reli-
gion, philosophy, U.S. and general history, literature,
regional trade and Asian studies. Contact: Northern
Illinois University Press, 2280 Bethany Road,
DeKalb, IL 60115. 815-753-1075. See website for
editor email addresses. niupress.niu.edu
F N Nortia Press Interested in literary fiction
and nonfiction with a focus on global affairs for
trade books and academic titles. Submit queries by
email. No attachments. Contact: Nortia Press.
acquisitions@nortiapress.com nortiapress.com
N C Y O Orca Book Publishers Accepts man-
uscripts from Canadians writers only. Publishes chil-
drens picture books, board books, middle grade
books, young adult fiction and graphic novels for all
ages. Also publishes a limited number of nonfiction
books for young readers. See website for specific
interests. Submit by regular mail or email. Contact:
Orca Book Publishers, P.O. Box 5626, Station B, Vic-
toria, BC V8R 6S4, Canada. 1-800-210-5277.
submissions@orcabook.com orcabook.com
C Y Pants on Fire Press Publishes childrens
chapter books, middle grade and young adult fic-
tion. No picture books. Submit queries and sample
chapters by email. No attachments. Contact: Pants
on Fire Press. submission@pantsonfirepress.com
pantsonfirepress.com
N Paragon House Publishers Reference and
scholarly titles in the areas of biography, history, phi-
losophy, psychology, religion, spiritual health, refer-
ence, political science, economics and international
relations. Submit by email. Contact: Paragon House
Publishers. 1-800-447-3709.
submissions@paragonhouse.com paragonhouse.com
N Parenting Press Nonfiction titles on child
guidance, parent education, emotional competency,
childrens safety, etc. Books provide realistic scenar-
ios and step-by-step, how-to advice. No email que-
ries. Contact: Carolyn Threadgill, Acquisitions.
Parenting Press, Inc., P.O. Box 75267, Seattle, WA
98175-0267. 206-364-2900. Email from website.
parentingpress.com
N P Path Publishing Specializes in publishing
general nonfiction, self-help books, Christian-ori-
ented topics, biographies and poetry. Prefers email
queries. Contact: Path Publishing, 4302 W. 51st #121,
Amarillo, Texas 79109. 877-728-4877.
path2@pathpublishing.com pathpublishing.com
F N Paul Dry Books Publishes fiction (novels
and short stories) and nonfiction (biography, mem-
oir, history and essays). Seeks lively books that
awaken, delight and educate. Contact: Paul Dry
Books, Inc. 1700 Sansom St., Suite 700, Philadelphia,
PA 19103. 215-231-9939. editor@pauldrybooks.com
pauldrybooks.com
F N C Y Peachtree Publishers Publishes chil-
drens picture books, chapter books, middle readers
and YA fiction. Also publishes general trade nonfic-
tion books on education, parenting, self-help and
Get up-to-date information on
markets at writermag.com
health. Submit by regular mail only. Contact: Helen
Harriss, Acquisitions Editor. Peachtree Publishers,
1700 Chattahoochee Ave., Atlanta, GA 30318. 404-
876-8761. hello@peachtree-online.com
peachtree-online.com
N C Pelican Publishing Company Publishes
general trade nonfiction; specializes in art/architec-
ture, motivational, cooking/cookbooks, popular his-
tory, childrens and social commentary books.
Submit by postal mail only. Contact: Attn: Editor,
Pelican Publishing Company, 1000 Burmaster St.,
Gretna, LA 70053. 800-843-1724.
editorial@pelicanpub.com pelicanpub.com
F N The Permanent Press Publishes literary
fiction and occasional nonfiction. Submit by postal
mail only. Contact: Attn: Judith Shepard, The Per-
manent Press, 4170 Noyac Road, Sag Harbor, NY
11963. 631-725-1101. info@thepermanentpress.com
thepermanentpress.com
F N P Y Persea Books Publishes novels, novel-
las, short story collections, biography, essays, literary
anthologies, literary criticism, literature in transla-
tion, memoir. Also publishes YA fiction, nonfiction
and poetry. Contact: Submissions, Persea Books,
277 Broadway, New York, NY 10007. 212-260-9256.
info@perseabooks.com perseabooks.com
C Y Piata Books Publishes childrens and young
adult literature featuring themes of U.S. Hispanic
culture and customs. Submit online through website.
Contact: Arte Publico Press. 713-743-2843.
submapp@central.uh.edu artepublicopress.uh.edu
F Y Poisoned Pen Press Publishes adult and
young adult mysteries of 60,000-90,000 words on
crime and detection. Check website for open sub-
mission months and guidelines. Submit through
online manager. Contact: Poisoned Pen Press, 6962
E. First Ave., Suite 103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251.
480-945-3375. submissions@poisonedpenpress.com
poisonedpenpress.com
F N Prometheus Books Publishes a wide vari-
ety of nonfiction books about social science, current
events, true crime, business, history, philosophy, reli-
gion, psychology, health and medicine, self-help, etc.
Also publishes some mystery, thriller, science fiction
and fantasy through imprints. Submit queries by
email (no attached files); send proposals by postal
mail. Contact: Steven L. Mitchell, Editor-in- Chief,
Prometheus Books, 59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst,
NY 14228. editorial@prometheusbooks.com
prometheusbooks.com
F N Rainbow Books Publishes self-help and
how-to books on a variety of subjects, as well as cozy
murder mysteries. Submit by email or regular mail.
Contact: Editorial Department, Rainbow Books,
Inc., P.O. Box 430, Highland City, FL 33846.
submissions@rainbowbooksinc.com
rainbowbooksinc.com
F N P Red Hen Press Seeks novels, memoirs,
creative nonfiction, short story collections and
books of poetry. Submit through electronic submis-
sions manager. Charges $20 reading fee. Contact:
writermag.com The Writer | 45
MARKETS
Red Hen Press, P.O. Box 40820, Pasadena, CA
91114. 626-356-4760. redhen.org
N Rodmell Press Publishes books on yoga, Bud-
dhism, Taoism and aikido. Submit proposal by
postal mail only. Contact: Editorial Submissions,
Rodmell Press, 2147 Blake St., Berkeley, CA 94704.
510-841-3123. info@rodmellpress.com
rodmellpress.com
N C Sasquatch Books Publishes regional books
covering the West Coast of the U.S. with mostly
nonfiction titles focusing on food and wine, travel
and gardening. Publishes some childrens titles. Sub-
mit via regular mail only. Contact: The Editors, Sas-
quatch Books, 1904 Third Ave., Suite 710, Seattle,
WA 98101. 206-467-4300. sasquatchbooks.com
F N P Seven Stories Press Publishes literary
fiction; nonfiction in the areas of politics, human
rights, social and economic justice; and poetry col-
lections. Also publishes prose and poetry transla-
tions. Accepts queries and sample pages by postal
mail only. Contact: Acquisitions, Seven Stories
Press, 140 Watts St., New York, NY 10013.
212-226-8760. info@sevenstories.com
sevenstories.com
F Seventh Street Books Publishes mystery
and thriller fiction. For unagented submissions send
full manuscripts by email only. Contact: Seventh
Street Books, 59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY
14228. 716-691-0133.
dmayer@prometheusbooks.com
seventhstreetbooks.com
C Y Sky Pony Press Interested in childrens
books for all ages, including picture books, early
readers, midgrade novels, novelties and informa-
tional books, especially related to ecology, indepen-
dent living, farm living, wilderness living, recycling
and other green topics. Also interested in special-
needs books. Will consider YA fiction if related to
these themes. Submit manuscripts or proposals by
email only. Contact: Sky Pony Press. 212-643-6816.
skyponysubmissions@skyhorsepublishing.com
skyponypress.com
F Soho Press Currently accepting unagented
adult literary fiction. Also publishes agented young
adult and crime fiction. Welcomes new writers.
Does not accept manuscript submissions by email.
Contact: Soho Press, Inc., 853 Broadway, New York,
NY 10003. 212-260-1900. soho@sohopress.com
sohopress.com
N Square One Publishers Currently interested
in books on alternative health, collectibles, cooking,
gambling, health, how to, parenting, personal
finance, postcards, self-help and writing. Submit via
regular mail only. Contact: Acquisitions Editor,
Square One Publishers, Inc., 115 Herricks Road,
Garden City Park, NY 11040. 516-535-2010.
squareonepublishers.com
N C Y Sterling Publishing Publishes a wide
variety of nonfiction for adults, young adults and
children as well as childrens picture books. Check
website for a detailed list of imprints and publishing
46 | The Writer August 2016
specialties related to those imprints. Does not accept
email submissions. Contact: [Genre/topic] Editor,
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1166 Avenue of the
Americas, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10036.
212-532-7160. sterlingpublishing.com
F N C Y Sunpenny Publishing Publishes most
fiction and nonfiction, including Christian inspira-
tional works and children/young adult. Especially
interested in travel, sailing and boating, adventure,
historical novels, inspirational romance, womens
fiction, etc. No fantasy or paranormal fiction. Sub-
mit query and synopsis by email. Contact: Sun-
penny Limited. writers@sunpenny.com
sunpenny.com
F Switchgrass Books Publishes literary novels
that evoke the Midwestern experience. Authors
must be from the Midwest. Submit by regular mail
only. Contact: Northern Illinois University Press,
Switchgrass Books, 2280 Bethany Road, DeKalb, IL
60115. switchgrass.niu.edu
N Temple University Press Academic nonfic-
tion in the fields of history, media, political and
social theory, sociology of health, religion, sports,
regional studies, political science, criminology,
music, literature, etc. Prefers queries by email.
Contact: Temple University Press, TASB, 1852 N.
10th St., Philadelphia, PA 19122. See website for spe-
cific editor email addresses. temple.edu/tempress
N Timber Press Publishes books about garden-
ing, horticulture and natural history. Contact: Tim-
ber Press, Attn: Editorial Assistant, 133 S.W. Second
Ave., Suite 450, Portland, OR 97204.
editorial@timberpress.com timberpress.com
F C Y Tor-Forge Books Publishes a wide range of
fiction including science fiction and fantasy, histori-
cal novels, thrillers, mysteries, womens fiction,
American westerns and a variety of nonfiction titles.
Also publishes science fiction and fantasy for middle
grade readers and teens. Contact: Tom Doherty
Associates LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY
10010. us.macmillan.com/torforge.aspx
N Truman State University Press Publishes
books on American studies and early modern stud-
ies as well as contemporary nonfiction series. See
website for specific genre contact and email
addresses. Contact: Truman State University Press,
100 E. Normal Ave., Kirksville, MO 63501.
660-785-7336. tsup@truman.edu tsup.truman.edu
F N C Turner Publishing Company Publishes
fiction, including general fiction, childrens books
and mystery/ thrillers. Publishes nonfiction, includ-
ing biographies and memoirs, business, cooking,
entertainment, family and parenting, health, history,
true crime, local interest, travel, self-improvement,
ancestry, etc. Submit by email. Contact: Turner Pub-
lishing, Title Acquisition, 424 Church St., Suite 2240,
Nashville, TN 37219. 615-255-2665.
submissions@turnerpublishing.com
turnerpublishing.com
F N P University of Nebraska Press Pub-
lishes nonfiction books and scholarly journals, liter-
ary works in translation, general-interest books
about the American West and a few titles per season
in contemporary and regional prose and poetry.
Email proposals are preferred. Contact: University
of Nebraska Press, 1111 Lincoln Mall, Lincoln, NE
68588. 402-472-3581. See website for specific genre
email addresses. nebraskapress.unl.edu
F N Vandamere Press Publishes fiction, history,
biography, disability studies, healthcare issues and
military topics. Submit by postal mail only. Contact:
Jerry Frank, Senior Acquisitions Editor, Vandamere
Press, P.O. Box 149, St. Petersburg, FL 33731.
vandamere.com
N VeloPress Publishes books about cycling, tri-
athlon, running and swimming, plus historical and
biographical books about accomplished athletes.
Contact: VeloPress, Attn: Casey Blaine / Book Pro-
posal, 3002 Sterling Circle, Suite 100, Boulder, CO
80301. cblaine@competitorgroup.com
velopress.com
F N C Whiskey Creek Press Publishes fiction
and nonfiction titles in e-book and print-on-
demand formats. Also has an imprint that publishes
erotica. Submit by email. Contact: Whiskey Creek
Press. 212-431-5455. subs@whiskeycreekpress.com
whiskeycreekpress.com
N C Whitecap Books General trade publisher
with a focus on food and wine. Will consider the fol-
lowing categories: cookbooks, wine and spirits,
regional travel, home and garden, Canadian history,
North American natural history and select childrens
fiction and nonfiction. Submit by postal mail.
Contact: Rights and Acquisitions, Whitecap Books,
Suite 210314 W. Cordova St., Vancouver BC V6B
1E8. 604-681-6181. whitecap.ca
F The Wild Rose Press Electronic and print
publisher seeks romance novels under a wide variety
of categories as well as womens fiction, mystery or
thriller, historical fiction and erotica. Check website
for individual submission guidelines. Some books
(45,000-plus words) distributed in print. Email que-
ries only. Contact: The Wild Rose Press.
queryus@thewildrosepress.com
wildrosepublishing.com
N C Y Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Pub-
lishes religious nonfiction books that focus on theol-
ogy, biblical studies, religious history and reference
to popular titles in spirituality, social and cultural
criticism, and literature. Also publishes fiction and
nonfiction childrens and young adult books. Submit
by email only. Contact: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publish-
ing Co. submissions@eerdmans.com eerdmans.com
N C Y Woodbine House Publishes books for
and about children with disabilities or chronic ill-
nesses. Specifically interested in guides for parents
raising children with disabilities. Also publishes
select fiction books about children or young adults
with developmental or intellectual disabilities. Sub-
mit by regular mail only. Contact: Acquisitions Edi-
tor, Woodbine House, 6510 Bells Mill Road,
Bethesda, MD 20817. 800-843-7323.
info@woodbinehouse.com woodbinehouse.com
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writermag.com The Writer | 47
HOW I WRITE
BY ALLISON FUTTERMAN
Stephanie Danler
F
or the first time since she was
15 years old, Stephanie Danler
is no longer working in a res-
taurant. Thanks to a two-book
deal with Knopf, shes now able to
devote herself full time to writing. Her
novel, Sweetbitter, was written while
pursuing an MFA and waiting tables at
a trendy New York restaurant.
Sweetbitter, which has received lau-
datory reviews, follows the experiences
of a young woman, Tess, as she moves
to New York City and (like Danler)
starts working at a hip Manhattan res-
taurant. Relationships, love, life in the
restaurant industry, and food and wine
are key elements of the story.
Real-life inspiration
Sweetbitter is drawn from my life I
moved to New York City when I was
22, I got a job at a prestigious restau-
rant in Union Square (the now-shut-
tered location of Union Square Caf)
and I fell absolutely in love with that
world. The experiences are authentic.
It wasnt just that serving experience
that informed the book but my years
managing restaurants. I knew how res-
taurants work and run, and its from a
position that you can see all the mov-
ing parts that you make a novel out of
it. I could have figured out Tesss voice,
but I wouldnt have been able to figure
out the authority of Simone and How-
ard if I hadnt seen the other side.
Writing process
Though I was a waitress, Im actually
terrible at multi-tasking. I realized this
in graduate school when I was working
as a research assistant and a waitress
and writing the book. I need to be
doing each task fully. When I clocked
into a shift at Buvette, I didnt think
about my novel, and when I finished
48 | The Writer August 2016
my shift at4 a.m.and was
having my shift drink I
would think, Oh fuck,
what did that person
say? Your brain is really
wiped clean at the end of
shift. When I had writ-
ing days which I had to
block off I didnt leave
my room. I couldnt
socialize, I couldnt turn
my writing self off and
on. Sweetbitter was writ-
ten in these huge binges where I would
isolate and do nothing but write.
Food/wine as story component
I dont know how to separate myself
from my love of food I know that I
learned it, but its so much a part of
who I am now, of how I participate in
the world, that it feels intrinsic. But I
was often reminded that most people
didnt live the way I did obsessed
with hard-to-find ingredients, new
recipes, unmarked restaurants you had
to travel to. I was aware that I was in a
singular and rarefied environment. It
wasnt a conscious choice to tell Tesss
story through food, but the idea of girl
discovering the world of
the senses how to
taste, how to manage
desire, how to navigate
intimacy well, her pal-
ate seemed the essential
platform.
Revisionprocess
Intense! Even if Im
happy with the first draft
(as happy as anyone can
be with a first draft, usu-
ally its just relief at having finished
something), I usually rewrite the entire
thing, even if I keep the majority of it
the same. I print it out, I mark it up
and retype everything. It feels terribly
inefficient most of the time, but Ive
found that I cant just jump into a
piece and add a scene or change a
characters action. I need to write my
way up to it, and I find that most of
the time any change has a ripple effect
across the piece.
Writing routine
I write longhand every morning while
having coffee and toast. Ive been
doing it for all of my adult life.They
are notes mostly on the weather, my
body, feelings, ideas Im turning over.
Ive found as Ive gotten older I mostly
write questions to myself. I do a lot of
longhand sketching of scenes, but
most composition I do on the com-
puter surrounded by notebooks. I
always imagined that when I stopped
restaurant work, I would turn into
someone who sets stable, daily hours
aside to write. But I still write in extre-
mis 10-hour binges or days in which
I dont participate in the world.
Allison Futterman is a freelance writer who
has been published in several magazines.
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 Write in Chicago
Part-time MA and MFA in creative
writing at Northwestern.

MA/MFA in Creative Writing

The part-time graduate program in creative writing provides students the opportunity RECENT AND CONTINUING
to grow as artists within the specializations of ction, poetry and creative nonction. FACULTY INCLUDE:
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Applications are accepted quarterly. S. L. Wisenberg
sps.northwestern.edu/cw 312-503-2579
extra
You can't find this in print.
EXCERPT: THE DAYLIGHT MARRIAGE BY HEIDI PITLOR
On Sunday morning, while the kids were
still asleep, Lovell went to make coffee. He
took note of the sprinkle of grounds that
had remained beside the coffee maker since
Hannah had disappeared four mornings
ago. She preferred flavored, he regular
leaded, as he called it. Making her favorite
coffee that morning must have done little
for her, in the end.
He still half-expected, half-hoped that he
would hear the sound of the front door
opening and Hannah calling, Hello? Any-
one home? Her arms full of gifts or flowers
to convey a change of heart, maybe contri-
tion, she would say that she had just needed
some time and space from him in order to
really think things over and come to a decision that she did
not, of course she did not want to leave them.
He turned on the coffee maker and waited, his hands
laced around the back of his neck, for the sound of the gur-
gling water to fill the silence in the kitchen. Once it did, he
walked outside to get the newspaper, shielding his face
from the reporters, but when he looked, he saw that the
TV crews had packed up their equipment last night, he
supposed, and gone home. After all, there had been no
news about the case for two days now. Curled leaves blew
in little horizontal tornados down the street. The sidewalks
were empty.
He moved toward the front lawn to pick up some fallen
branches from a recent storm and saw a young couple pass
by on the sidewalk. They averted their eyes at first, but the
woman peered back over at him. What? he wanted to call
over to her. He had no idea how to behave, how to look or
what, if anything, to say when people watched him this way.
Yesterday, Karen Mekenner had inched past his house in her
shiny silver Volvo, eyeballing him as he took out the trash.
Moving here from their overpriced, cramped Brookline
studio had been a reasonable idea so many years ago. The
price was low, the town quaint and pretty. In the summers,
they could bike to Walden or go apple picking in Stowe.
They, or Hannah really, could not have anticipated the
obliterating quiet, the aloofness but at the same time
awkwardness of so many of the people here,
the deep homogeneity and stunning average-
ness, as she put it once in an email to him
on a particularly low day. Lovell had not
been around enough over the years for
these things to really bother him. The
ruddy-faced men in finance, the athletic stay-
at-home moms, the kids who joined Little
League, the golden retrievers, the gas-guz-
zling minivans, the holiday-themed flags
near the front door for any and every holi-
day. She had gone on to write in this man-
ner, as if for some phantom readers who did
not in fact live in the same town. Time must
have stopped moving forward here in this
suburb. It seems like the civil rights move-
ment and sexual revolution never reached this place.
Most of the women she had met here were certainly nice
enough. They seemed to want to be her friendthey
eagerly approached her at school events and music classes,
they invited her to Moms Nights Out and various in-home
parties where kitchenware or makeup was being sold, but in
the end, they seemed more like coworkers to Hannah than
friends. She certainly never lit up when with them the way
she did with Sophie or the others. Shed had a small gaggle
of close friends from her high school and B.U., these affable,
generous, funny women. Most of them lived elsewhere now;
only Sophie was still in Massachusetts. A few times she had
suggested trips out to visit the others in San Francisco or
even London, but Lovell reminded her that they could never
afford the flights, not if they expected to pay their mortgage
and save for the kids to go to college.
He turned back to his house, the stained, angled modern
that held three solar panels across its slanted roof. Yellow plas-
tic rain barrels sat under drain spouts and dribbled water
onto the mulch beneath. In this neighborhood of pristine
Cape Cods and Victorians, each set squarely on an equal-
sized plot of plush green grass, their house sometimes looked
to him as if it had been dropped here by mistake.
From THE DAYLIGHT MARRIAGE by Heidi Pitlor 2015 by Heidi Pitlor. Reprinted by Permission of
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. All rights reserved.
 HEIDI PITLOR:
Extended Interview
What is your daily writing process like?
I feel like there are two halves of life: The
before-the-children work habits, and theres
the after-having-children, and theyre abso-
lutely opposite. So once upon a time I used
to get up early and write before work, or I
would bring my writing to work and get
there at 5:30, write for a couple of hours
and then let the day begin.
Now I work from home my day job is
working from home so I get up, I deal
with my kids, I walk them to school I have
twins, I come home, I have coffee, and I let
myself do a little Facebook/Twitter time and
then I turn everything off and I write.
I still try to get the writing in before work-
ing. Because I feel like I need that earlier
energy a bit, and I also dont like the sense of
reading right before I start writing. I dont
want anyone elses voices in my head, I kind
of want to start out with that initial impulse.
So I usually write for a few hours if I can,
and I would say most days, I cant. Because
most days, a kid is home sick, or theres a
work deadline, or something in the house
broke or a million other things. So its very
hard to get a good chunk in everyday. But I
try. I have lunch, I walk the dog, come home
and do my reading for Best American Short
Stories, pick up the kids, become Normal
Mom again. [Then I] repeat the next day.
And I think whats changed most for me
in the past two or three years is really trying
to take time away to write. My husbands a
teacher, so its very hard for me to take a
couple weeks away, but even if I can get a
weekend away to write, it really helps me.
Why do you think getting away to write
helps you?
Because its time away to actually remove
yourself from your day-to-day environ-
ment, [especially] because Im working at
home. Im going away with the express pur-
pose of writing. If I can get out of the house
and sit down with my computer, there are
no distractions. Theres no possibility for
fluke or theres much less than there is at
home. I can kind of let myself go, and Im
much more productive than at home.
Do you do any reading for Best American on
these trips?
No. I almost always bring literary journals,
but I almost never read them.
Thats good, because youre really getting
away from your day job.
You are! And I always think, well, if I need
it, but I never do. And I try to go away for
these little stints with friends. So we write
until night, and then we hang out together.
Its a good way to clear your mind. So I dont,
in the end, have time to read for Best Ameri-
can Short Stories. And I think it kind of
skews too closely to my own writing anyway.
Im better off reading a book that has noth-
ing to do with what Im writing or a junky
magazine or watch a movie or something.
How did you learn to do cut whats not essen-
tial for the plot in The Daylight Marriage?
It was all my editor. She forced me. I think
part of that was that its sort of an uncom-
fortable, provocative book, and I had
another character in there who lightens the
story a lot and who made it a lot more com-
fortable. And I think that [that character]
was sort of obscuring the actual story. And
so I had an editor who was wise enough to
say That character needs to go, and this is
okay to stand alone. And I clung to that
other character for a long time. And when I
finally let [the character] goit felt more
like a bullet of a book to me. But it worked
for what it was trying to do. And I felt like
she understood what I needed.
The structure of the book is so interesting to
me, with Hannahs (the wife) and Lovells (the
husband) told in alternating chapters, set at
different paces. Did you write one first and
then the other? How did you keep those plot-
lines straight?
I always kept them separate [but] I wrote
them togetherI had this huge whiteboard
that I [would] write on, and I had their two
different timelines going side by side. And I
really tried to think [about] what was going
on in her story, and how that would play out
against his and what was going on with his
story. So I could see them Im kind of
visual that way. So you have his one long line
of events next to her long line of events.
WORST NIGHTMARE
When Heidi Pitlor was writ-
ing The Daylight Marriage
a story about a missing wife
and a suspiciously vacant
husband, alternately narrated
by both spouses Gillian
Flynns Gone Girl a story
about a missing wife and a
suspiciously vacant husband,
alternately narrated by both
spouses was released. The
two novels are very, very dif-
ferent books, but on paper, the
comparison is eerily similar.
We asked Pitlor to talk about
what it was like to release a
book that was compared to
such a monster best-seller.
Its like your worst nightmare.
Its a concern, and I think it
probably both helped and hurt
my book. They said it was the
next Gone Girl in Entertainment
Weekly and a bunch of [other]
places. But then people who
loved that book are going to
read mine and say, Its not the
same, its nothing like it.
I think you have to write the
book you want to write. What I
did is sit down and talked to my
agent and editor, and said Are
we worried? And neither one of
them was worried, because they
both said, Its very different. Its
nothing you need to worry
about. It turns out thats more
of a marketers question than a
writers question. And Im going
to let them take care of that.
Its going to happen, as a
writer. Youre going to be com-
pared to other books. Its how a
book is marketed: Its compared
to other books. [The two books
are] very similar in premise, not
similar in story. When a book is
as big as Gone Girl, its inevita-
ble. And Im okay with it.
At the end of the day, if
someone elses is too similar,
well, then you wrote the book
you wanted to write and did the
best you could.
Notes from the blogosphere
BONUS EXTENDED INTERVIEW
NAME
Colin Wright
WEBSITE
exilelifestyle.com
What steps have you taken
to improve your writing over
the years?
I write a whole lot. Every day, all
the time. It helps if writing is the
thing youd be doing even if you
werent making a cent from it
(which is where a lot of us start
out, I think).
Thats been pretty much it. I
write and write and write. Then
I write.
I do experiment quite a bit
with different styles, different
voices, different genres. Before I
started writing fiction, I wrote
four collections of short stories,
to see how writing a novel might
feel and what I needed to work
on more beforehand.
I know a lot of people who
spend a lot of time reading
books on writing, which is great
but not really my thing. I like
making all the mistakes a person
can make myself, because then
the lessons are chiseled into my
habits more deeply, and are cus-
tomized for me and how I want
to communicate.
How does your writing
change when youre writing
fiction versus nonfiction or
the blog?
Drastically, but also not as much
as I would have guessed before I
started writing fiction.
Its just a very different for-
mat, and you have to keep so
many different things in mind
(character development, narra-
tive pace, dialogue). That said,
there are consistencies, and I
find that the more I write fiction,
the more that style influences
my narrative nonfiction work
and even, to a certain degree,
my essays.
I think thats going to be a
continuing trend in my work,
actually: seeing the various
genres Im playing with impact
each other, and sorting through
which crossovers work and
which dont.
Which, come to think of it, is
sort of a microcosm of how I live
my life, as well.
How does your blog fit into
your larger business plan?
It was once a much bigger part
of my creative stack. These days
its a lot less structured, and I
write about bigger-picture topics,
allowing the specifics to be cov-
ered elsewhere (in videos, on
social media).
This is in part because of
how the blogosphere has
changed: There are fewer com-
ment sections, the audience
numbers matter less, social
media is kind of where things
are happening, instead.
Its also partially because
these other avenues have given
me new tools to use when com-
municating, which has been like
being handed a paintbrush after
spending years only using a pen-
cil. I still love the blog and blog-
ging, and its still a major source
of traffic, particularly for certain
demographics, but its just one
slice of a much larger pie.
In terms of raw businessy
things, Ive never had ads on the
blog, and as such its more an
introduction to my work; a free
taste for folks who dont know
me or what I have to offer. From
there, maybe theyll buy a book.
Maybe theyll pop over to one of
my social networks and then,
someday, buy a book. Or maybe
theyll just follow for years, read-
ing my work, maybe sharing it
with someone at some point,
which is also a good thing.
I like that the nature of the
modern online environment
offers so many ways for people
to loop around and see what I
sell without me having to hard-
sell anyone. I can just create
things and link things up prop-
erly and allow people to work
their way around to my prod-
ucts organically.
Did you do any writing
before you quit your job and
started traveling? How did
you discover that you could
be a writer?
I did: I wrote newspaper columns
for years, starting in high school
and ending when I graduated
from college.
Before that I had a mental
block about writing anything lon-
ger, though. I had always been a
diehard reader: I worked at a
bookstore for five years and con-
sumed books at what some
might call a socially unhealthy
pace. But I loved them, and
when I saw the publishing indus-
try was being upended, it
seemed like a good time to see if
I could move beyond my familiar
newsprint format.
From there, it was just a mat-
ter of working through all the lit-
tle failures, standing back up
after I fell down (which was a
lot), and recognizing that any-
thing I write will only be the best
I can do right now, in this
moment. If I ever look back at a
book I wrote the year before and
still think that its the best I can
do, Ive probably stopped grow-
ing and need to change some-
thing about my writing habits.
How do you translate
your unique worldview to
the page?
More capably and casually as
the years progress.
That is to say: I write more
like I speak, and I communicate
more like I think. As Ive become
more comfortable with my
voice, my way of presenting
ideas and conveying things that
happened and speculating about
things that could happen, Ive
been far more able to present
the many things I care about to
people who may not care about
such things already; who may
not have noticed those things
had they been standing in the
same place.
This isnt unique to me, of
course everyone goes through
the same process, I think. But its
been interesting and educational
to be able to learn more about
myself as I present these ele-
ments to other people. To realize,
Oh, hey, I guess thats important
to me because I sure do write
about it a whole lot.