Field Notes
Some very quick things:
- Last week I attended the Texas Library Association conference in Austin. I served on a YA memoir and biography panel and discussed Ethel’s Song: Ethel Rosenberg’s Life in Poems (Calkins Creek, 2022). My publisher also hosted a book signing that included the ARC of Facing the Enemy: How a Nazi Youth Camp in America Tested a Friendship (Calkins Creek, 2023). It was great to connect with librarians and hear how much they enjoy poetry, novels in verse, and my historical novels in verse in particular.
- Rejections keep pouring in from the few submissions I’ve made. Sigh.
- I’ve made a list of all the writing projects I want to work on in May, June, July, and August. These range from book proposals to short stories to academic journal articles. It’s going to be busy but I hope it’s also going to be highly productive, although I will simultaneously be teaching four asynchronous classes, not including my own workshops.
- If you’re looking for inexpensive writing opportunities, check out the schedule of Amherst Writers & Artists Write Around the World sessions in May. Each day one or more sessions invite writers to generate new writing using timed prompts via a $10, $15, or $20 donation to this nonprofit organization with social justice initiatives. I am leading workshops in Writing Family History and Food, Glorious Food.
- A new issue of Writing the Past will be issued on May 1. Not subscribed to this free newsletter yet? Sign up here.
Happy Writing!
The Whole Megillah 