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IMAGINE
WRITE
PUBLISH
April 2017 Volume 130 Number 4
FEATURES
14
Preparing to
write 26
Research and the art of narrative
nonfiction. In search of
BY TODD JAMES PIERCE
the story
By day, shes an Emmy-winning
20 investigative on-air reporter. By
night, shes an ultra-acclaimed
State of the mystery novelist. In both her
verse fiction and nonfiction, Hank

Phillippi Ryan takes storytelling
What paying poetry markets still to the highest level.
exist in 2017? BY JEFF AYERS
BY ELIANA OSBORN
24 30
Creating Through the
perfect poetry looking glass
Truth is not relative and you
collections can find it.
BY GAIL RADLEY
Poetry pros reveal how they
construct a winning book.
BY RYAN G. VAN CLEAVE
32
Dont flinch
Augusten Burroughs is bold,
frank, and fearless in his search
for personal truth.
Aspiring memoirists, take note.
BY JACK SMITH
DEPARTMENTS IN EVERY ISSUE
8 WRITER
Read flag
AT WORK 4 From the Editor
Why one writer refuses to 5 Take Note

read unpublished manuscripts Ellen Meeropol, Norman
and why you may consider Barasch, and more.
doing the same.
BY STEPHANIE FARIS 42 Markets
10 WRITING ESSENTIALS
Youre getting it wrong
47 Classified advertising
Experts debunk oft-used 48 How I Write

clichs in genre fiction. Ron Rash: When there is violence
BY BILL GLOSE in my work, the goal is not to
titillate but to reveal character. It
reveals the mask of that person,
14 12 MARKET FOCUS
Warmth, sympathy, and and we see who he or she really is
understanding when that mask is dropped.
Medical school journals are
niche publications with a
broad focus.
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36 CLASS
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26 38 CONFERENCE
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FROM THE EDITOR IMAGINE
WRITE
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I
n April of 1887, two newspapermen named William H. Hills and Robert
Senior Editor Nicki Porter
Luce released a small pamphlet called The Writer. Designed to be a Contributing Editor Melissa Hart
monthly magazine to interest and help all literary workers, it was 18 pages Copy Editor Toni Fitzgerald
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though it be true that each one will have his own methods, still the experiences Bunting, Mary Higgins Clark, Roy Peter Clark, Lewis Burke
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of others may convey valuable hints and suggestions. Everybody is wiser than Rachel Hadas, Shelby Hearon, John Jakes, John Koethe, Lois
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anybody, and so, at least, some of the anybodies ought to be able to learn Arthur Plotnik
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4 | The Writer April 2017

Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader. Not the fact
that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon. E.L. Doctorow
Losing Mom and finding Flo

When grief begets fiction.
BY ELLEN MEEROPOL
W
hile my mother was losing her marbles, I certainly grew up thinking that there was no reason I
tried to crawl into her brain. Listening to shouldnt have it all, like she did a satisfying and demand-
her jumbled sentences, I pictured the ing career, an equal partner, children. I also planned to
microscopic beta-amyloid clumps and tan- throw pots in the garage and bake bread twice a week.
gled protein strands, commanding them to unclump and My mother loved to tell family stories, especially the one
untangle and resume their synapse communication. It didnt about her brother Jackie. I heard this story my whole life,
work. So I jotted down our conversations driving to our with little variation. Even though Mom didnt come off well
weekly lunch date or walking in the garden at the indepen- in the story, she always ended it with an odd smile, more
dent living community. Her observations were odd and dis- proud than contrite. She was 8 years old when Jackie was
jointed, sometimes funny, and born and not at all interested in shar-
occasionally staggeringly perceptive. I ing her parents. Before he arrived, she
wanted to remember her words, and was domestic royalty, the American-
I admit it I thought I might use them born princess of Russian immigrants.
for a character some day. But I did not Her mother had fought the czar and
yet imagine the existence of Flo. been caught by the Cossacks. Either
My mother, Pauline, was smart and her fianc rescued her from a Siberian
brash and ambitious and opinionated, labor camp or her fathers bribe bought
with a somewhat creative approach to her freedom, depending on which ver-
truth. The combination of these quali- sion you believe. In either case, the
ties made her an accomplished pianist family made it to Brooklyn, where they
as a teenager. They led her to study had my mother. Princess Pauline. She
chemistry in college. They made her an was spoiled in that old country way,
award-winning teacher (unfortunately refused nothing, breastfed until she
she taught in my high school, where was 4 years old. She was a platinum-
she was far cooler and more popular blond beauty in a dark-haired, olive-
than I was) and propelled her to gradu- skinned family whose European
ate school for a doctorate in her 50s. relatives were destined for extermina-
Those qualities did not add up to tion. When her baby brother Jackie
the ideal of the 1950s wife and mother. She was busy, so was born, my mother didnt see the need for a crown prince.
many of the household chores were assigned to me. I did Heres what she told me: One spring day, my 8-year-old
the weekly household grocery shopping with my dad. I mother picked up the sleeping infant from his cradle, car-
cooked dinners three or four nights a week when I was in ried him to the open front window of their second-floor
junior high and high school. None of my friends had to do apartment facing the wide asphalt expanse of Ocean Ave-
those things, and I considered it totally unfair, practically nue, and let him fall. I picture him wearing a long white
Yuliya Koldovska/Shutterstock
servitude. Especially since Mom didnt make ceramic tea- dress, as documented in old family photos. Jackie didnt
pots on the pottery wheel in her garage like Susans mother, die, Mom told me; he didnt even wake up. He landed in a
or bake bread twice a week like Christis. Still, Mom or at lilac bush.
least who she appeared to me probably shaped my char- What happened to you? I always asked my mother at
acter more than I know. I might have resented her, but I this point. As a child, I half hoped that she had been pun-
ished. Im not quite sure what answer I was looking for later. listed their differences in appearance and life choices, in
I ran away and hid in the woods. Brooklyn had woods occupation and political affiliation. I made Flo more out-
then. It took them hours to find me. By then they were so rageous verbally, more of a risk-taker, and I gave her a
relieved, they forgot what I had done. She smiled that odd secret story. Its a big one and it changed her life. As Flos
smile then. cognitive function deteriorates, she can no longer protect
Next, I always asked the same thing. What does Uncle the secret, and it comes out. Like my mom, Flo later denies
Jackie think about it? her story, but in fiction I was in charge and could craft a
Her answer was the same too. I have no idea. Weve satisfying ending.
never discussed it. I wish that resolution had happened with my mother in
Does he know? I would ask, then insist, He must know. real life, but it didnt. Sitting by her bedside as she was
She shrugged. Probably not. Weve never talked about it. dying, I pictured the 8-year-old blond princess picking up
She made me promise to never tell my uncle. her infant brother, carrying him carefully to the open win-
My mother began showing signs of dementia in her mid- dow, and letting him fall. I see it in slow motion. I imagine
80s. I knew things were bad when she could no longer his long white dress rippling in the spring breeze.
devour half a dozen mystery novels a week. I convinced her I wish Mom had told me the truth about Jackie before
and my father to move to an independent living community she died. Because either she dropped him out the window
fifteen minutes from my home. As the disease progressed, into a lilac bush or she didnt, and now Ill never know.
she lost the ability to take care of herself, to reason, and she Ellen Meeropol is the author of three novels:Kinship of Clover, On
began to lose her memories. In the months when her mem- Hurricane Island, and House Arrest. Ellen is a former nurse practitioner and
ory was in and out, when the distant past was more present part-time bookseller. Her short fiction and essay publications include
than recent history, she loved to talk about her childhood. Guernica, Bridges, DoveTales, Cleaver, Portland Magazine, Necessary
As a writer, I am obsessed with collecting and creating and Fiction, and the Writers Chronicle.
telling stories. One day, I asked her to tell me again about
the time she dropped Jackie out the window.
X-RAY READING
I never did that, she said.
I couldnt believe it. You told me that story for years, I
insisted. You said it was true. WITH ROY PETER CLARK
She shrugged. I made it up.
My mother died eight years ago. After her death, I broke
my promise and asked my uncle about the out-the-window As I went back alone over that familiar road, I could
story. He said it never happened and reminded me that my almost believe that a boy and girl ran along beside me,
mothers stories were often embellished, if not entirely made as our shadows used to do, laughing and whispering to
up. But he was a baby when it happened; how would he each other in the grass.
know? I asked my father. He had heard the story all those From My ntonia by Willa Cather.
years too, but he didnt know if it was true. Submitted by Jennifer Perry Wolf.
As I mourned my mother, I found myself writing bits of
her into short stories. I exaggerated her outrageousness. I What makes this sentence great?
repurposed and expanded those snippets of Alzheimers- I was looking for an adjective to describe this sentence
influenced conversation into scenes. I discarded several and thought of wistful. To be sure, I looked it up in the
short stories with mom-inspired characters before Flo dictionary: Full of wishful yearning. Thats it, wistful.
elbowed her way into a starring role in my third novel, Kin- Cather creates this effect with common words, language
ship of Clover. Flo isnt exactly a new character; she had a bit a smart 8-year-old could understand. Sometimes a single
part in my first book, where her son commented, Mom word makes a sentence. Here, for me, it is shadows. It
was not one to mince words. operates on the literal level, the shadows children make
I wrote Flo as a daughter: to honor my mother and to running in the sunlight; and it works on the figurative
fight back against the havoc of the dementia. Flo is smart level, the memories and faded experiences that follow us
and brash and opinionated, like my mother. She is outra- down the road of life to its very end.
geous. Sometimes she lies. As a young woman, she made Roy Peter Clark has taught writing at the Poynter Institute since
pottery like my friend Susans mother. 1977. He has authored or edited 18 books on writing and
As a writer, I struggled to separate the inspiration from journalism, including Writing Tools and The Art of X-Ray Reading.
the character who sometimes spoke my mothers words. I
Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to
write for the public and have no self. Cyril Connolly
WRITERS ON WRITING
C A R E E R
Norman Barasch C H O P S
Norman Barasch is an Emmy-nominated
screenwriter, producer, and playwright known Top tips for tackling
for his Broadway plays and a career spent a revision
writing for television shows including The
Danny Kaye Show, Rhoda, and Fish. Barasch Youve typed The End on the last page
began his career in 1942at NBC, where, while of the first draft of your novel. After
working as a page, he recalls writing two scripts dancing, collapsing in tears of joy, popping
on spec and handing them to the head of the a bottle of bubbly, or just falling asleep
network, who paid him $45 apiece.He went on to write for radio, stage, and face-first on your desk, its now time to
more than 19 different sitcoms. Among his biggest hits were his two tackle revisions.
Broadway plays, Make a Million, which debuted in 1958, and Send Me No But where to start?
Flowers, which debuted in 1960 and was later adapted into a film starring First of all: Dont. Take a breather. Set
Doris Day and Rock Hudson. I must tell you this one cute anecdote, Barasch it aside for at least two weeks while you
said during this interview. I dont know if youll remember [playwright and do your taxes, read books for pleasure, or
screenwriter] George Axelrod, but one time he said, If youve had two plays binge-watch a TV series. A little distance
on Broadway, youre a playwright. If youve had one play on Broadway, youre between yourself and the work is
a play-wrote. So since I had two plays on Broadway, I guess Im a playwright. invaluable, providing a much-needed fresh
perspective when you sit down to reread.
WHATS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOUVE LEARNED ABOUT WRITING? Depending on how you wrote the first
The most important thing about writing is to make sure once youve started a draft all in one shot versus editing as you
project dont stop in the middle if you can help it. Just get to the end, because
went, as a plotter or as a pantser will
until you get to the end of what youve written, [you] never see what mistakes
guide how you begin to revise.
youve made. Once you get to the end, you realize how youd like to re-write it.
If you wrote a detailed plot outline,
HOW HAS THAT HELPED YOU AS A WRITER? you can probably skip this next step; if you
I once wrote a play called Family Secrets. I read it, and I didnt like it very winged it, you need to start with a
much, so I put it in a drawer, and it remained there for over seven years. And structural revision. Begin by mapping your
then I read it over again, and I thought, This isnt really that bad. So I did novel. Write a one-page synopsis that
some re-writing, and I had a very successful read of it in a playhouse here in introduces your main character, her
St. Armand, New York. It was the Armand Players who read it, and it was more internal conflict, and who/where she is at
successful than I could have imagined, and that was very gratifying. So one of the start. Next, identify the inciting
the most important things Ive learned is: Finish the project. Until you do, you incident the event that sets your novels
have no idea really what youve written. Its a very common experience that plot into motion and your main
when you continue writing, you find youve gone down different avenues you characters story goal. List the obstacles in
never suspected existed in other words, new ways to take the story, new her way and how she deals with them.
ways to take the characters. So thats the best advice I can give. Thats the way Finish your synopsis with the climax, the
Ive done it, at least. resolution, and a sentence on who your
Gabriel Packard is the associate director of the creative writing MFA program at Hunter College in New character is at the end, what she has
York City and author of the novel The Painted Ocean, published in 2016 by Corsair/Little, Brown. learned, and how she has changed.
Once your structure is sound, you can
reread, taking notes that address your use
WHERE IN THE of voice, POV, dialogue, tension, and pace.

Only after all these have been addressed
should you fine-tune the writing. Read
WORLD IS each paragraph for rhythm and varied

sentence length. Tighten each sentence
THE WRITER?
until it zings. Knock out all your filter words
and any passive sentences. Finally, check
for typos, punctuation errors, and
formatting glitches. Now, youre ready to
Charlene Lutes shows off both the
send it out!
beauty of Iceland and the annual Dionne McCulloch, U.S. managing
conference issue of The Writer. editor, Cornerstones Literary Consul-
tancy. cornerstonesUS.com
Where do you read The Writer?
Send a photo to [email protected]
or post them and tag us on social media.
WRITER AT WORK
BY STEPHANIE FARIS
Read flag
Why one writer refuses to read unpublished manuscripts and
why you may consider doing the same.
A
spiring writers are every- friendship by saying something the group early in my career, I seek the
where. That small fact is writer finds hurtful. support of peers at this stage. Most of
one of many things Ive I recommend aspiring authors seek todays unpublished authors will do the
learned since announcing out a critique group, where fellow same once theyre on contract with a
my first book deal. Every distant rela- unpublished writers can look at each publisher. Before I was published, I
tive and former coworker seems to others work and provide honest feed- had no idea how much effort went into
know someone who wants to write a back. Peer groups can grow together, promoting a childrens book, from
book, and they have no problem send- offering constructive criticism that bookstore events to blogging to school
ing them directly to you. helps to strengthen each others writ- visits. Over time, you begin to evaluate
Im all too happy to help out aspiring. I usually direct aspiring authors to everything you do for its ROI (return
ing writers. It seems like only yesterday one of the many niche organizations on investment).
I was there myself. However, theres that exist for writers, such as Romance
one question those writers ask that Writers of America or the Society of They dont return the favor.
always makes me want to change my
name and leave the country:
Childrens Book Writers and Illustra-
tors. Those resources can help writers
3 Once I was published, the
requests came rolling in.
Will you read my book? find the exact critique group they High school friends who wanted to
The request always puts me in the need. Locally, writers can also find cri- meet to pick my brain. Former
uncomfortable position of saying, No, tique groups through Meetup.com. coworkers who had distant cousins
which almost inevitably makes the who wanted advice. Social media
aspiring author decide Im a horrible Time is money. strangers who wanted me to recom-
person. But for the record, there are a
few good reasons I refuse to read
2 Life would be perfect if I
had hours each day to read
mend them to my agent. Each time, it
was simply assumed Id help, and
unpublished manuscripts. for fun. In truth, most of the books I because I always feel guilty when Im
read are within my own genre. I need not polite, I agreed. I promptly
No good deed to stay up-to-date on the books being found these requests eating into my
1 goes unpunished.
Few aspiring authors want a
published in childrens fiction in order
to be able to come up with books my
time with absolutely zero return. If I
was lucky, Id get a passing thanks,
truly honest critique, especially if that publisher will buy. Thats my first pri- but not a single person who asked for
critique advises them to toss their ority. When I read for fun, usually its help bought a copy of one of my
work in progress into the recycle bin in audiobook format, and Im almost books. They didnt even recommend
and find another creative outlet. That exclusively listening to books written them to their friends.
puts the reader in the unenviable by those who are much more accom- The breaking point was when a
position of trying to find nice things plished than I am. friend of a friend sent over a PDF of
to say even when a manuscript is Thats not to say I dont read books his manuscript for me to read. I spent
completely unsalvageable. If we dare outside of those two areas. I have a hours reading it and giving helpful
tell the truth, we run the risk of being stack of books written by people feedback. A couple of weeks later, he
labeled a jerk, which can be awkward within my own peer network. These posted a picture of himself with his
if we have to face that aspiring writer are authors who support me in return. daughter who just happened to fit
in the future. If we share mutual I read their books, post reviews, and within the age range of my books
friends who recommend we help this spread the word on social media. Just readership. Did he buy a copy for her?
aspiring writer, we risk harming that as I sought the support of a critique No. Did he recommend my book to
friends who had daughters that age? authors should stay away from unpub- writing group that can help, whether
No. Did he send the corrected PDF of lished work. its a national organization or a local
his book to me to ask me to go over it Ive since learned that many suc- critique group.
one more time? Absolutely. And that cessful authors have taken this stance.
was the very moment I stopped When requests come in from strang- With all of that said, I want to empha-
responding to requests to read unpub- ers, we can easily ignore them or pro- size that mentorship can be a valuable
lished manuscripts. vide a professional but polite experience for any author, so long as it
response. However, when those is done in a solicited and mutually
I cant afford an attorney. requests come through social media beneficial manner. Many published
4 The biggest reason we
should say no to these
friends, from people who have a real-
world connection to us, it can be
authors use official services like
Brenda Drakes Pitch Wars, which con-
requests comes from best-selling nov- exponentially more difficult to say nects writers seeking manuscript feed-
elists. Early in my career, I heard one no. When that happens, it puts us in back with published novelists. Along
of those authors tell a roomful of aspir- an awkward position. I personally with writing groups, these services can
ing novelists that she never reads plan to take the stance that my attor- give aspiring authors the mentorship
unpublished manuscripts due to legal ney has recommended I not read they need while still protecting the
concerns. If any element of an unpub- unpublished manuscripts. (I cant published authors who help.
lished work should later appear in one afford to keep an attorney around to
of her books, she would be at risk for a advise me, but if I had one, Im sure Stephanie Faris is the Simon & Schuster
claim of plagiarism. Just as TV studios thats the advice Id get.) At that point, author of 25 Roses, 30 Days of No Gossip, and
return unsolicited scripts unopened, Ill point them in the direction of a the Piper Morgan series.

WRITING ESSENTIALS
BY BILL GLOSE
Youre getting it wrong

Experts debunk oft-used clichs in genre fiction.
D
avid Baldacci shakes his head, deep dimples creas- As soon as an officer arrests somebody,
ing his boyish cheeks. Ive read a lot of serial killer he immediately recites: You have the
right to remain silent. Anything you say
books by my contemporaries, he says. In so many can and will be used against you in a
of them, theres no motivation for the bad guys court of law. You have the right to an
other than theyre just crazy. They just slaughter people for the attorney
Almost all of society believes when
sake of slaughtering them. They kidnap women and imprison youre arrested you have to have your
them and kill them later just because theyre nuts. Well, thats Miranda rights read. In reality, no. The
pretty easy to write: I killed these people because Im nuts. only time an officer has to read your
Miranda rights is if youre in custody
It might be easy to write that way. reading about it in a book; you just and they interrogate you, ask questions.
Usually, though, its wrong. cant. A book might have told me that Most dont want to ask questions
Veracity in fiction is often sacrificed they all wear ear fobs when theyre because that makes them a witness, and
on the altar of expedience. Its a shame, standing post, but not about them get- theyre going to get subpoenaed for a
because time spent fact-checking not ting static and having a hard time hear- case on their day off. They just want to
only eliminates laughable gaffes but ing. They wear body armor, and the make the arrest and move on.
also keeps readers turning pages in the wires itch them underneath the body Russell Maguire, former assistant
believable world created by the author. armor and theres nothing they can do attorney general for the state of Virginia.
With his background as a lawyer, about it. Theyre sweating profusely
Baldacci has been able to realistically under the body armor, and the wires If any evidence is collected at a scene,
portray legal scenes in his novels. But short out sometimes because theres so you can swab it for DNA and catch the
most of his characters come from much moisture on their bodies. Nobody criminal by lunchtime.
other walks of life. What steps does he writes those things down in a book. You Just because a murder weapon is
take to ensure his stories ring true? learn that by going out and talking to there doesnt mean we can necessarily
For both Split Second and Hour these guys, picking their brains in great get DNA on it; we might not even get
Game, Baldacci explains, I had a num- detail and learning what they do. fingerprints. People have this miscon-
ber of interviews with a number of dif- The good news for mystery writers is ception that we can DNA anything.
ferent Secret Service agents. When I sat that vetting their work is easy to Well, you know what? Everything is
down with them right here in this achieve. Cop talk books, such as Police not going to be a forensics case.
room He pauses to spread his arms Procedure & Investigations by Lee Maybe its going to be a case where the
inside his spacious office in Fairfax, Vir- Lofland, provide an excellent starting detectives have to get out there and
ginia. I didnt have a bunch of stan- point. But nothing beats fact-checking knock on some doors. Thats how
dard questions to ask. I just wanted your scenes with authorities. This step most police work is solved. Susan
them to give me a slice of their daily life not only ensures authenticity but also Landin, crime scene technician with
in the Secret Service. What you do from often provides you with wonderful, spe- Newport News Police Department.
when you get up in the morning until cific details you might otherwise never
you go to bed? How does it differ being in have known. Most experts are eager to A detective notices something on a
the field versus being on protection share behind-the-scenes details of what dead body that everyone else missed,
detail? That way, when I sat down to they do. Need proof? I contacted a removes that item, and races off to
write, I could give that sort of authen- handful from various fields and asked solve the crime.
ticity to my characters, he says. which mystery-story clichs irked them The most common errors I find in
And you cant do that by just the most. Heres what they had to say: mystery fiction have to do with chain
of custodyWhen a body is at the interrogation. Retired FBI Special two-time director of the National Prac-
scene, everything on that dead body Agent David Coes. tical Pistol Championships.
goes with the body to the coroners or
medical examiners office, and any CIA spooks nab someone off Main Street Then everything exploded in a flash.
property is documented and submitted and whisk him off for interrogation. Hollywood makes two big mistakes
into evidence by the technicians or the One of the things a lot of [spy novel- when it comes to explosives. First, not
doctor at the autopsy. Removing it ists] get wrong is showing the CIA every detonation produces a red ball of
from the body is unthinkable; it would operating on United States soil. We fire. Its actually hard to get that effect;
break the chain of custody and is a vio- have very strong laws in this country you have to add just the right amount of
lation of state law. Even once at the to prevent the CIA and other intelli- diesel fuel.Secondly, and more impor-
coroners office, the item cannot be gence agencies from spying on Ameri- tantly for a writer, the bomb technician
removed from evidence without being cans, so you dont have CIA officers who disarms the device is usually mis-
signed for. Any expert that is consulted running around on the streets of understood. We are often portrayed as
has to be approved by the department, America. You can go to jail for it. reckless cowboys or nutty cranks.
must be qualified to give opinions in Mark Henshaw, a former analyst with Remember Crazy Harry from the Mup-
court, and will have to write a report the CIAs Red Cell think tank. pet Show? In reality, though, working
on their findings and observations. with explosives never gets blas, and
The evidence wont be left with this A villain points his pistol menacingly in youll rarely meet more careful and
expert for further testing without doc- someones direction. Then, to make his safety-conscious professionals. Brian
umentation of chain of custody, either. point more dramatic, he cocks it. Castner, former commander of an Army
Otherwise, any crucial clues that the The one most often seen in movies is Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit.
expert gives the investigator will be the guy cocking the hammer on a sin-
challenged in court as being unreliable gle-action automatic, such as the 1911 Bill Glose, a former paratrooper and combat pla-
and will invariably get thrown out by a military .45. That type of semi-auto- toon leader, serves now as the books editor at
judge. Dr. Judy Melinek, a forensic matic pistol is cocked when the slide is Virginia Living. Whenever possible, he undertakes
pathologist and co-author with writer pulled back to chamber a round and intriguing pursuits such as walking across Vir-
T.J. Mitchell of Working Stiff: Two normally stays cocked until fired. So ginia and participating in a world-record-setting
Years, 262 Bodies and the Making of a cocking it manually before the slide is skinny dip to write about for magazines. His
Medical Examiner. operated would be cocking the weapon website (BillGlose.com) includes a page of helpful
on an empty chamber. Bill Walsh, information for writers.
An imprisoned character uses a file to
escape from his cell.
In prison, the bars on cells are hollow
and they are filled with oil. And inside
the oil is a free-floating, solid-steel rod.
That way, if you saw through the first
bar, the oil will lubricate the second
one, and it will spin so you cant saw
through it. Dawn West, retired New-
port News sheriff s deputy.

GQ-suited G-men leap-frog around the
country on private jets to chase down a
criminal.
Its kind of funny the way so many
stories show agents climbing on the
bureau plane. If we do fly somewhere,
we fly commercial! Im probably one of
the only agents who has ever been on
the agency plane, and that was because
I had to fly down to Gitmo to do an
MARKET FOCUS
BY DUSTIN RENWICK
Warmth, sympathy, and

understanding
Medical school journals are niche publications with a broad focus.
S
cience and art too often find that focus on the medical community, thirdspace, affiliated with Harvard
themselves in combative cor- both for patients and practitioners. Medical School and Harvard School of
ners, but the disciplines have a Humanities backgrounds and tie- Dental Medicine. She says the prolifer-
surprising intersection for writ- ins used to be quite common, says Dr. ation of technologies have shifted the
ers. University-sponsored literary jour- Carol Scott-Conner, a surgeon and the workflow of healthcare providers fur-
nals have served as platforms for writers nonfiction editor for The Examined Life ther away from patients, further away
for decades, but some medical schools Journal at the University of Iowa Carver from connecting them to why theyre
host their own journals that publish College of Medicine. She points out that doing what theyre doing.
writers who explore the connections well-known writers such as Anton The associated stresses of an emo-
between creativity and healing. Chekhov and William Carlos Williams tional job can also prevent time for self-
Health professionals have vowed to also practiced medicine, but similar reflection. Viani recalls the day she
uphold the Hippocratic Oath for more overlaps decreased with the rise of tech- received her white coat, when she went
than 2,000 years, and the modern ver- nology and modern science. right from pictures and celebration to
sion, based on the ideas of the original Theres so much students have to listening to a patient describe an abu-
Greek manifesto, includes a nod to the know, Scott-Conner says. A scientific sive situation.
muses: I will remember that there is background was needed more than a You went from this elated feeling, of
art to medicine as well as science, and humanities background. The pendu- these white coats being a kind of wings,
that warmth, sympathy, and under- lum swung. Its great this is where to realizing theyre not wings, she says.
Kit8.net/Shutterstock
standing may outweigh the surgeons our cures are coming from but peo- Its like a metal jacket. Its really heavy
knife or the chemists drug. ple noticed something was missing. and hard to be there for people when
That line describes the opportunity That absent component is empathy, they need you most. Theres no time for
and the necessity for literary magazines says Ivana Viani, editor-in-chief of you to be anywhere else.
STRAIGHT FROM THE TOP
Editors for various literary journals tied to university We have a limit of five submissions for each contributor, and I
medical schools and health center campuses share would say take advantage of that.
their tips for successful submissions. Sara Bellatti, staff coordinator, Blood and Thunder: Musings on
the Art of Medicine, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.
Theres something in words its not a pill, but it can be every bit as
important. What I look for is something that isnt letting the writer We prize accessibility. We dont do genre. We dont do experi-
go. Its a sense of something on the heart that must be lifted. mental. If the structure or gimmick overwhelms the content, its
Paul Shepherd, editor, Hospital Drive, University of Virginia not for us. We also dont look at the cover letters at all. It really
School of Medicine. is blind.
Dr. Danielle Ofri, editor-in-chief, Bellevue Literary Review, New
Medical students dont live in isolation. We come from families. York University School of Medicine.
We have partners. We have friends. What a wonderful submission
it would be from someone who is dating a medical student, or a Write what you know, at personal or social levels, or both.
parent of a medical student, or a sibling, or a friend. How are they Dr. Michael Rowe, editor-in-chief, The Perch, Yale Program for
experiencing that person changing? Recovery and Community Health.
Ivana Viani, editor-in-chief, thirdspace, Harvard Medical School
and Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Pieces that capture the complexity, challenges, and beauty of
health care and health science seem to be especially well-received.
Were looking for the best written pieces we can get. Were not Any individual member of our board can lobby for a pieces inclu-
stressing the medical aspect of the writing but the introspective sion, regardless of the preliminary vote, so work doesnt necessarily
aspect. have to appeal to the masses if it really strikes a chord with even
Dr. Carol Scott-Conner, nonfiction editor and former editor-in- one person.
chief, the Examined Life Journal, University of Iowa Carver College The editorial board, The Human Touch, University of Colorado
of Medicine. Anschutz Medical Campus.
That loss of self-reflection has Healthcare from psychiatry and of potential topics that writers can fold
driven the rise of medical literary jour- dentistry to ophthalmology and stan- into their submissions to these seem-
nals that can offer outlets of expression dard annual check-ups creates a ingly niche literary outlets.
for medical students, practitioners, and network of influence that encom- Yet writers should craft their pieces
their families. But because any writer passes almost everyone at some point with as much care as they would for
can submit, many of these publications in their lives. any top publication. Some medical lit-
become educational catalysts. Whenever we step foot in the medi- erary magazines receive thousands of
As much as you can learn what its cal world, were stripped of our normal submissions each year from around the
like to be a medical student from a persona, says Danielle Ofri, a physician world, and they wont accept subpar
medical trainee, you can learn just as and editor-in-chief for Bellevue Literary work. As with any publication, read
much from someone who imagines Review at the New York University some stories in the archives to gain a
themselves being in those shoes, School of Medicine. We have so few sense of each magazines aesthetic.
Viani says. tools as patients. Literature is one way Always follow any formatting guide-
The staff at Blood and Thunder, a we gain back some of that agency. We lines listed on the websites, where
journal associated with the University can be making decisions about how we youll also find submission dates and
of Oklahoma College of Medicine, process the issues of being infirm, being calls for special issues. For some
sends copies to all medical students, ill, facing mortality. Things that are pro- insider advice, check out editors tips
residents, and faculty. found, and were often not given ave- in Straight from the top.
Were hoping that our students will nues other than writing letters to the
benefit from it and use it as a tool to be Patient Advocacy Department, which is Dustin Renwick writes, runs, and does not drink
able to understand aspects of the not that mollifying for our angst. coffee. His latest book, Beyond the Gray Leaf, is
healthcare community, says Sara Bel- This opportunity for so many con- the biography of a forgotten Civil War poet. Find
latti, staff coordinator for the journal. tact points generates a broad wellspring him @drenwick110 and @swimbikerungram.

Preparing
to write
Research and the art of
narrative nonfiction
By Todd James Pierce
Bastian Kienitz/Shutterstock

hough I was trained as a fiction writer, by the time After arriving at the point where I
T I was in my late 30s, I was interested in branching

out into narrative nonfiction. Some of the books
that most moved me were written as narrative nonfiction
could see the elements of a well-struc-
tured book of nonfiction, I started in
on my research research that would
eventually lead me down the rabbit
hole to three books, not just one.
that is, as narratives specifically employing the techniques
of fiction to present a factual story. Among those books I Plan the research
found myself returning to again and again were Into Thin Initially, when I launched into my proj-
ect about Walt Disney and the brilliant
Air by Jon Krakauer, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, con man his name, by the way, was
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand, and most of all Midnight C.V. Wood I believed that I would
in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. mainly function as a traditional
researcher, reviewing material from
published and archived interviews, then
What intrigued me about narrative company, in later years, buried the assembling my notes into the story.
nonfiction? Thats an easy question. I story. Though I didnt yet have all of Indeed, by 2007, many interviews
felt the seduction of history, the belief the details, I sensed that this story had had been conducted with the men and
that through research and writing I the potential to make strong narrative women whod worked with Walt Disney.
was touching important materials of nonfiction. That is, I assumed that the On my laptop, in an isolated folder, I
the past, materials that mattered not story would have many of the follow- combined those interviews into a single
only to me but to others as well. I felt ing elements: document. That document was exactly
the intrigue of language, that through 5,535 pages long. Those interviews
well-chosen words I could lower read- 1. A story arc strong enough to shape helped me create a framework for the
ers down into the fabric of history. I the entire book. (If I understood story I wanted to tell. Those interviews
also felt the hope that a book of narra- the story correctly, it would likely also gave me many compelling details
tive nonfiction assuming the subject have strong elements of narrative, that I would use in my final draft. Yet
was carefully selected would easily with a conflict at its center, and also those interviews all 5,000 pages of
find an audience. with touches of a historic mystery.) them didnt give me all the informa-
By 2007, Id published two books of 2. Materials that gestured toward tion I needed to write a 300-page work
fiction and had already started in on larger cultural concerns. (The story of narrative nonfiction. After spending
my first book of narrative nonfiction, a likely could be arranged to show- months reading and taking notes, I still
book that would eventually be pub- case significant trends in American had many questions.
lished under the title Three Years in culture: in this case, the story was In part, some of the questions were
Wonderland. My topic, I thought, was set against Walt Disneys monu- obvious: I needed to know why Walt
one that would easily interest readers mental efforts to build the worlds Disney had hired C.V. Wood in the
or, more accurately, interest at least first cinematic amusement park. first place. I needed to know how and
enough readers to satisfy a publisher. That is, an amusement park where why C.V. Wood was fired. I needed to
When I was a boy, my grandmother guests were immersed in richly know about Woods childhood, his
had worked for the Walt Disney Com- detailed filmic environments.) parents, and his experiences at college.
pany, and through her, Id met many of 3. Details that explored pervasive But some of the questions, in nature,
the men and women whod helped American appetites. (I believed that were less straightforward. Much of the
develop and open Disneyland. One of the story if arranged correctly existing research was anecdotal and
the stories that in hazy snippets Id could also speak to a compelling idiosyncratic in nature: artists telling
stumbled across when I was young was discussion of mid-century culture: their own life stories; engineers
this: When the Disney brothers were The story could explore how, dur- explaining the finer points of their
building Disneyland in the mid-1950s, ing the economic boom of the craft, and managers relating the details
they had inadvertently hired a brilliant 1950s, the American public began of their success. I needed rich details
con man as the parks first general to connect with Hollywood in new out of which to create narrative nonfic-
manager, a man who essentially over- ways, with a desire to consume tion, details to factually recreate history
saw construction and opening, with large amounts of entertainment as so that my book was as handsomely
the outcome so troubling that the it related to film and TV.) textured as a good novel.
With the archival work finished, I Or it might stretch to 2,000. But fea- ins-and-outs of Burbank and Ana-
could finally see how to plan my ture articles in papers before the 1980s heim that is, the location of the Dis-
remaining research, how to create a were often much longer. With the ney Studio and the Disney theme
practical list of the materials I still additional space, journalists not only park and had a fair sense of how
needed to find. Though Id imagined related a more complex presentation of those cities had developed. Id also
that most of my research would involve their material but often included many spent some time on the Disney lot and
reading, I discovered that, like many lines of observational detail as well understood how the buildings had
writers, I would actually need to go out (what people were wearing, specific been arranged in the 1950s. But other
in the field and conduct new research mannerisms, etc.). Though when I areas particularly Amarillo, Texas,
to get the material to complete my started my research, many historic the setting for almost an entire chap-
manuscript. The list of what I still newspapers sources were available only ter were outside my realm of per-
needed perhaps the most important on microfilm, many newspapers (in sonal experience. I visited Amarillo
document I created during the early some cases dating back to the 1800s) twice while writing the book. With the
stages of research would guide my have been digitized and placed online help of C.V. Woods extended family
work for the following two years. in the past decade. and friends, as well as a local histo-
Those elements that I needed to find Two excellent sources to explore rian, I came to understand how the
in fact, that most narrative nonfiction historic newspapers are ProQuest and town looked decades ago, when the
writers need to find included rich Newspapers.com. Both require a sub- main character in my narrative lived
details to create robust scenes, narra- scription. Ive found that the Newspa- there. These trips to Amarillo were
tive materials to build engaging set pers.com subscription rate (under essential because they gave me a clar-
pieces, and perspectives to construct $100/year) is manageable for many ity of vision as well as the personal
accurate points-of-view. writers, while a ProQuest subscription experience to write about Texas with
Here are the three crucial elements is not, as its rates are primarily directed confidence. The trips were also crucial
of narrative nonfiction research: at institutions. That said, you may find because they helped me understand
that a local library (especially a univer- the social, financial, and ethical envi-
sity library) may have a ProQuest sub- ronments that shaped the man who
1 scription that the public can access, was at the center of my story.
often free of charge, on its computers.
Rich details to create Personal interviews
robust scenes Photo, film, and video By the time I started interviewing the
One goal I had for my book was that For my project, set in the 1950s, I was men and women who had designed and
readers would have the sensation of fortunate to find that many archives built the park, I had finished reviewing
standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the kept photographic and filmic records of most of the archival and published
men and women who designed and events that interested me. Photos and materials on my topic, and thus knew
built Walts park, that theyd feel that film gave me many details that I was exactly what I needed to ask. As I talked
they were walking through the emotion- able to translate into language: (a) they with them in a series of interviews, I
ally tense construction site as Disney- created a visual record, with dates, as to looked for the little details. I asked how
land was being developed. To create this how construction on the park pro- their co-workers acted and what moti-
type of reading experience, I needed gressed; (b) they allowed me to see vated them. I wanted to know what it
detailsand lots of them. What did exactly how people appeared specifi- felt like to go to work in the morning.
these places look like? Smell like? How cally what they wore and how they pre- I asked if they could describe the chal-
were various people dressed? What were sented themselves during the days on lenges of their job in detail as much
their mannerisms and gestures? which my narrative was focused; and detail as they could remember.
Beyond published and archival (c) they allowed me to physically see I also asked if they kept materials
interviews, such details came largely the landscape, helping me create the from their work 50 years earlier on the
from four sources: establishing details that framed intro- park. Specifically, I asked if they kept:
ductory sections of many chapters.
Newspapers Letters
One of the richest sources of informa- Site visits Memos
tion came from newspaper accounts. I had known many of the locations in Meeting notes
In present-day newspapers, a feature my story, particularly those in South- Design materials
article might be as short as 500 words. ern California, all my life. I knew the Photos
Sections of a diary they would be up to a marriage proposal would also they would relate whatever details they
willing to share likely be a set piece. could recall about those hours.
A scrapbook or newspaper In my project, I realized that I Often I would bring photos as a way
clippings would have a number of set pieces: the to help lower interviewees down into
day the Disney brothers hired C.V. their memories. Sometimes I would
About half of the people I inter- Wood, the day the Disney brothers play short sections of previous inter-
viewed kept and were willing to announced their plans to build Dis- views Id conducted, hoping that the
share some type of physical item neyland, the day C.V. Wood partici- voice of an old friend would help call
from the past. Photos were very com- pated in burning down a house, the forth their experiences. Both of these
mon, as were diaries and work notes. night before the park opened, and the strategies helped interviewees find
One person kept reel-to-reel audio- grand opening itself. details they hadnt considered in years.
tapes on which, decades earlier, hed In my experience, the main story
interviewed people with whom hed arc in a work of narrative nonfiction
worked. Another kept funeral pro- allows little space for general digres- 3
grams for departed friends, many of sions. Overall, my story arc was
which contained helpful biographies. I focused on (a) the deteriorating rela- Perspectives to
was often pleasantly surprised when I tionship between the Disney brothers construct accurate
asked my interviewees if they kept any and C.V. Wood and (b) the develop- points-of-view
materials from their experience build- ment of the park. If youve ever taken a fiction workshop,
ing and/or opening the park; in fact, But within the set pieces, I found you know that point-of-view is one of
this step was probably just as fruitful space to include interesting tangents. the central design strategies of the
and important as the interviewing For example, in my chapter that details novel. Point-of-view is simply the
process itself. the events leading up to the park open- character perspective that frames the
ing, I found it possible to include tan- narrative. In Joseph Hellers classic
gents that added richness to the novel, Catch 22, for example, readers
2 narrative even if they didnt directly perceive the world through the per-
address the main story, because the spective of John Yossarian, the central
Narrative materials narrative tension surrounding the character. The novel follows Yossarian
to build engaging opening was already clear, localized, from scene to scene; it limits all infor-
set pieces and highly identifiable. I included mation to that of Yossarian; and it
My book, once I had a handle on the details about the work of painters, elec- shows us events from his vantage
research, was largely focused on three tricians, and set dressers who had been point. This strategy allows readers to
years: 1953 through 1956, a little over called in to ornament the park with better know Yossarian, because the
1,000 days. Narrative nonfiction, like a red-white-and-blue bunting (in part to narration stays focused clearly on him.
novel, expands and constricts time hide areas that were unfinished). In The following passage, taken from
depending on its significance. From other words, because my set pieces Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand, dem-
the start, I understood that some days allowed me to highly focus tension onstrates this same strategy in narra-
would be more important to the book through an extended sequence, I felt tive nonfiction. Here the writing
than others. Once I had a general the ability to open the narrative in occupies the perspective of Tom Smith,
framework for my narrative, I identi- those stretches to add color, additional a horse trainer, and allows readers to
fied those days that would be arranged details, and more material from those I experience the narrative from his bias:
as set pieces. interviewed without boring the reader.
A set piece is an isolated section in a In practical terms, once I identified He believed with complete con-
book or film with many overlapping my set pieces, I arranged some of my viction that no animal was per-
scenes that explore an important interview questions to gather more manently ruined. Every horse
moment of tension, desire, or conflict. details about those specific events. could be improved. He lived by a
A set piece is also a section of narrative During interviews, I often described single maxim: Learn your horse.
that readers are most likely to remem- my process as a writer: For example, I Each one is an individual, and
ber after finishing the book. So in a explained to interviewees that the once you penetrate his mind and
James Bond movie, a car chase hours leading up to the parks opening heart, you can often work won-
sequence would be a set piece. In a would be a significant section of the ders with an otherwise intracta-
romantic comedy, the events leading book and, as such, I was hoping that ble beast. The cow ponies, the
broncos, the show horses and the Disneyland. But the other half pre- stories or memories to help illustrate
weary racers: all had helped to sented many challenges. their ideas, as stories and concrete
craft Smith into the complete C.V. Wood, who died in 1992, left memories are extremely useful in
horseman. He was waiting for behind only one lengthy interview on developing a nonfiction narrative.
the right horse. his work with Disney, as well as a
handful of shorter or partial interviews Pulling it all together
This passage doesnt simply relate the on the subject. However, as I moved No book-length project is ever easy.
events from an objective standpoint, as into my project, I met many of his life- After years of research and also
an academic historian might. Nor does long friends, family members, and co- years of writing I think I was able to
this passage relate the details from a workers. From them, I needed to create a unique work in which readers
position of personal reporting, as a understand the psychological intrica- were able to experience the develop-
journalist might. Rather, the passage cies of Woods interior life. ment of an American icon through the
assembles the events as they wouldve I returned to my interview ques- perspective of its two main architects
been perceived by one of the central fig- tions once more. Building the interior (Walt Disney and C.V. Wood), men
ures in the book, Tom Smith. perspective for a historic figure is a whose relationship ended in a knock-
I found the meaningful construc- daunting task: you, as researcher, need down, anger-fueled fight. I also think I
tion of point-of-view to be the most to absorb all of the information avail- was able to create scenes and set pieces
difficult task in preparing to write nar- able and then carefully construct the that engaged readers with a moment-
rative nonfiction. In large part, con- pillars of personal perception. It can to-moment account of the parks devel-
structions of interiority are always take years to accurately understand a opment. Perhaps most importantly, I
open to subjectivity. Yet a great deal of historical figure with depth. With this taught myself how to adapt the princi-
that subjectivity can be managed task in mind, I developed interview ples of novel writing into the realm of
through conscientious research. questions I felt would help me better nonfiction. Since the publication of
Visualizing a point-of-view strategy understand Wood as a person. Three Years in Wonderland, Ive since
allowed me to define the following My questions to his friends and asso- finished a second book and am well
goals for my own project: ciates focused largely on developmental into research for a third.
issues, motivation, fears, and pleasure. In my experience, the most impor-
I wanted readers to understand Their wording, for the most part, was tant elements of research inquiry that
the interior motivation of the two arranged in the following way: is, the materials youll need to uncover
central characters, Walt Disney through reading, visits to archives, per-
and C.V. Wood. Can you help me understand how sonal experience, and interviews are
I wanted readers to feel as though C.V. Woods childhood (that of those listed above. If you can develop a
they were following historic fig- Depression-era poverty) helped robust list of historical details, estab-
ures from scene to scene. That is, shape his adult personality? lish meaningful set pieces, and con-
I wanted readers to feel that they Can you explain what motivated struct accurate points-of-view, you will
were spending substantial time Wood? What drove him toward end up with a narrative that does more
with each of these legendary large accomplishments (such as than simply relate historic informa-
individuals. the development of Disneyland tion; youll have a manuscript that
Lastly, I wanted readers to under- or, later, the development of Lake allows readers the vicarious sensation
stand how these two individuals Havasu City in Arizona)? of experiencing the past. Such books
perceived the important events as Can you help me understand use language and research to transport
they unfolded. Woods fears? What scared him? readers to another place, to another
What did he want to avoid? How time, to a realm where history opens in
To achieve these goals, I arranged would he define the terms per- miraculous and memorable ways.
my research agenda yet again to sonal success and personal
uncover another layer of information. failure? Todd James Pierce is the author of a half
Half of this research was relatively How would you describe Woods dozen books, most recently Three Years in
easy to complete: I found three sub- personal sense of ethics (those Wonderland. His short story collection, News-
stantial biographies on Walt Disney, values that shaped his actions)? world, won the 2006 Drue Heinz Literature
as well as dozens of published inter- Prize, and he is the co-author of Behind the
views in which he discussed his moti- Along with these abstract questions, Short Story, a creative writing textbook. Web:
vation and desires concerning I always asked interviewees for personal toddjamespierce.com

SPECIAL
POETRY
SECTION
By Eliana Osborn

State
of the
verse
WHAT PAYING POETRY
MARKETS STILL EXIST
IN 2017?

M
aking a living as a poet has never been one of Some publications do charge a fee to use Submittable
the easiest literary paths. Today, there are abso- usually smaller literary journals. But both Highlights and
lutely no shortcuts to success. While many pub- The New Yorker are free of charge for poets. Make sure not
lications used to proudly pay for poetry in the days of yore, to take advantage of the ease of submissions and inundate
it seems these venues are few and far between in 2017. editors with your work; selectivity is still key for leaving a
I talked to editors at newsstand titles and heard the same lasting, positive impression, even when a piece is rejected.
thing time and again: Poetry coverage is shrinking. Kirsten
Rian, formerly poetry editor for The Oregonian, noted that THE BRIGHT SPOTS
the newspaper has been radically downsizing for a few Two magazines readily available at national retailers publish
years, and last year cut my position as well as most of the poetry in every edition and want to hear from you, no mat-
features editors and my boss, the longtime book reviewer. ter where you are in your career. The Sun and The Christian
They did not replace our positions. Science Monitor are both paying markets that regularly pur-
The monthly news magazine The Atlantic once stood chase work from writers without regard to rsum. If it
out for its inclusion of poetry and fiction in its pages. David sometimes feels like name or degree means everything in
Barber, a poet himself and longtime poetry editor at The the literary world, these are two places that simply isnt true.
Atlantic, says they are running far less poetry than in the
past. By the measure of editorial inches alone, The Atlantic Christian Science Monitor
simply cant be as welcoming to poets as it once was. Im Weekly print magazine; poetry prints first, then goes online.
hoping there might be a reversal of fortune at some point, To submit: [email protected]; Microsoft Word
but for now things seem pretty much stuck in limbo. attachments OK, include contact information in body of
Other publications, like The New Republic, continue to email.
publish poetry, but simply arent accepting any new submis- Im looking for bright, insightful, generous (as in out-
sions right now. The magazine spent 2016 working through ward-looking) poems that use language well. Monitor read-
a backlog and responded to all emails with a form letter say- ers are intelligent, informed, engaged, open. The magazine
ing to check back in 2017. is also a family publication, as well as a global one, says
Fear not, however: The world needs poetry. You may not Owen Thomas, deputy editor of the Home Forum section.
be able to buy that Bentley with the fees from your first pub- Surprise me, delight me. Help our readers see the
lication, but there are magazines that pay for verse even in world and their experience in a new way, he says.
this modern age. And for what its worth, stable income is The magazine receives upward of 50 poetry submissions
hard to come by for most writers without cobbling together a month and publishes two. Writers should submit no more
a variety of payment sources, and poetry is no exception. than five poems at a time. The publication pays $40 per
Here are your best shots for getting paid for your poetry poem and $25 per haiku. Thomas says hes unlikely to buy a
in 2017. group of poems and is very serious about line limits each
poem should contain no more than 18 lines. You can read
GETTING IN FRONT OF more specific submission guidelines on the Christian Sci-
AN EDITOR ence Monitor website, but generally it avoids anything about
One bright side is that while paying opportunities havent death, sickness, or aging.
increased, technology has at least made the submission pro-
cess easier for some venues. Both Highlights, the childrens The Sun
magazine, and The New Yorker are using Submittable, an Monthly print magazine; no original online content.
online submission portal. Gone are the days of tracking To submit: Send poems via Submittable or via snail mail to
down email addresses or mailing off manuscripts that were Editorial Department, The Sun, 107 N. Roberson St., Chapel
likely going into a seldom-read slush pile. With Submittable, Hill, NC 27516.
you can receive status updates and track your poems prog- The Sun is an extremely popular market, with many
ress as they move through the editorial process. poets competing for limited editorial real estate. Editorial
assistant Derek Askey estimates that 25 percent of the 1000-
plus submissions each month are poems vying for the one There are
or two spots available in each of the 12 issues. It pays
between $100 and $200 and often buys multiple poems.
We have more than 70,000 subscribers, so poems that
literary
can appeal to a wider audience are more likely to be success-
ful with us, says Askey. There are no particular subjects to
journals out
target or avoid; like with all publications, studying back
issues is your key to targeting your work. We tend not to
there that
publish very opaque poems. Poems that are academic or
willfully difficult tend not to make it intoThe Sun. We like publish
clear and accessible language and images. Id also add that I
often hear from writers who admire the magazine but have substantial
never submitted to us. Dont do that! Wed love to have the
chance to consider your work. amounts of
THE LARGER LITERARY WORLD
Theres a literary magazine for every taste. Many have
poetry and
unique voices and valuable purposes, but for the sake of
making a living, most just arent viable options to get paid pay for it.
for your work. If you love a journal and respond to what
you read there? Submit your poetry and feel great when
you see your name next to writers you respect. Thats a
wonderful moment.
There are literary journals out there that publish substan-
tial amounts of poetry and pay for it, however. Your neigh- in a doctors waiting room, reads a poem out of boredom,
bor may not be familiar with them, but when you dive into and thinks, Hey, I kind of like that. Maybe they surprise
their archives youll find a lot to enjoy. themselves in reading a second poem.And if later that
night they feel inspired to write their first poem since high
Rattle school, thats pretty much as good as it gets.
Quarterly print magazine; some poems also are published online. Submissions are open year-round and are always free.
To submit: Send poems via Submittable or via snail mail to Theres a print journal as well as some work available
Rattle, 12411 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604. online, and Rattle pays $100 per poem.
Rattle aims to promote the practice of poetry, publish- The only advice to first-time submitters is to not give
ing more than 2000 poets (including 400-plus poets whod up. The odds are long, but we treat all poems fairly and on
never been published before) in the journals history. What their own merits, so the next set will always have a
makes the journal unique is how it does things: half of each chance.Persistence pays. And thats universal to any kind of
issue is open to all submissions, but the other half is what it writing or art.The most successful are inherently the ones
calls a tribute, which acts as the issues theme. Past topics who didnt give up, says Green.
have included adjuncts, law enforcement, or poets of faith. Guidelines on Rattles website, for general and tribute
We received about 37,000 submissions in 2016, which submissions, give more information about length and logis-
represents around 120,000 poems. We only have room to tics. Theres also a menu tab marked random that will give
publish 300 of them, so the odds are always ridiculously you just that a random poem previously published. What
long. Thats just the way it works in the golden age of better way to get a sense of the Rattle aesthetic?
poetry, says editor Timothy Green.
Rattlewas founded to be an alternative to academic Slice
poetry.We dont care about cliques or schools or scholar- Twice-annual print magazine.
ship we just want to read poems that make us feel some- To submit: Send poems via Submittable during open read-
thing or think about life in a new way. So our ideal reader ing periods. No mailed or emailed submissions.
is someone who doesnt read much poetry, picks up a copy The year 2017 marks Slices 10th anniversary, and the
magazine just keeps growing. Slice is a winning poems are presented with
smart journal to read and submit to if exceptional visual designs. The combi-
youre keen to be seen as a poet worth nation is something any poet can be
noticing. Granted, the fact that the proud of. For more information, visit
magazine only publishes two issues a cityofmadison.com/metro/poetry.
year, with a firm foothold in the New
York publishing scene, may sound a bit Alaska Dispatch News Statewide
daunting to a new poet. And you Creative Writing Contest Erik Unger
should be impressed: Serious, slick The year 2017 marks the 35th anniver-
work is coming out here. But Slice is
also committed to providing a way for
sary of this contest the one I grew up
reading in the paper every year, the
elevateyour
new voices to be heard, recognizing one that I followed, where early works skillsasa
writer
that publishing can be an insular world by teen writers caught my attention
with a lot of closed doors unless you when I saw their bylines in notable
have connections. publications years later. So the ADN
Accepted poets are paid $75 per contest holds a place in my heart as an Improveyourcraftand
poem, and reading periods open up example of how local and little can connecttoyourcreative
twice a year; submissions are themed be a stepping ground. corewithwriting
pretty broadly. The next reading The University of Alaska Anchor- workshopsinSantaFe
period will be open from April 1 to age, ADN, and Alaska Center for the NewMexicoMay
June 1, 2017, though a theme had not Book all partner to present this contest
yet been announced as of press time. with cash prizes for kindergarten
through high school, as well as adults. Travel ) Writing and Food
CONTESTS Winners are published in a special Screenwriting ) Memoir
Rare if not nonexistent are the newspaper supplement magazine, We Fiction ) Non-Fiction
poets who can make a reasonable liv- Alaskans, as well as online. For more
ing from poetry contest winnings. information, visit adn.com/ Instructors include
Still, competitions like these provide creativewritingcontest. Bob Shacochis
opportunities to get your work in Sally Denton
front of entirely new eyeballs. Your These competitions are just the very
Tim Cahill
local state, university, library district, tip of the iceberg. To learn about more
or other organization is likely to have contests near you, check The Writers Margaret Wrinkle
some kind of event that incorporates a market listings in our May and Danny Rubin
writing competition. Instead of, ahem, November 2017 issues; a wide variety Natalie Goldberg
writing these off as amateurish or of competitions can also be found on Hampton Sides
beneath your notice, take advantage our website at writermag.com/contests.
Douglas Preston
of regional challenges. They are a Remember: Poetry that pays is not
means of earning money, staying extinct its just a little harder to find. William deBuys
motivated, gaining readers, and pol- Be persistent and dream big. Support
ishing your craft. poetry in all its forms, even at the low-
est of levels. The key to ensuring pay-
Madison Metro Bus Lines ing poetry markets survive is to keep
Madison, Wisconsin, annually asks for the art alive and read. Join the fray and
verse from haiku to excerpts of lon- champion the form the paychecks
ger works to put on buses as well as may not be far behind.
promotional materials. Theres a differ-
ent theme each year, with categories Eliana Osborn is a busy freelance writer focus- Zach Doleac
for all age brackets. English and Span- ing on education and family issues for national
writerslab.santafeworkshops.com
ish poems are both accepted. publications. She is hoping meditation really is
While prize amounts are not listed, going to solve everything. -- ext
SPECIAL
POETRY
SECTION
Creating perfect
poetry collections
POETRY PROS REVEAL HOW THEY
CONSTRUCT A WINNING BOOK.
By Ryan G. Van Cleave
S
o youve been writing and writ- seems equally applicable for a book of done in couplets? Do any lines run up
ing, and youve finally got a poems, wouldnt you say? too close to the margins?
pile of completed poems. Now What does your poetry manuscript The Poetry Walk is my way of see-
what? How do you turn that pile into look like? Does it zoom straight to the ing the poems as both individual units
the sort of manuscript that gets pub- omega? Or does it allow the reader time and part of a larger work of art. Its an
lished, garners thumbs-up reviews, and to roam and explore along the way, invaluable part of my process. Once
maybe even earns its author a post- making the journey worth the effort? Ive got a book-length line of poems on
publication award? Its hard to believe, To give insight into how other poets the floor, I begin the culling process by
but far too many poets spend more think about the construction of a removing the weakest pieces. Some-
time working on an individual poem poetry collection, here are four award- times its because poems feel redun-
than on strategizing how to create the winning poets who each offer up their dant. Sometimes its just a visual thing.
well-wrought, purposeful poetry col- own ideas and experiences. Sometimes its just trusting my gut.
lection that does all of those things. At every point in the process, I rear-
And thats a huge lost opportunity Virgil Suarezs Poetry Walk: range poems depending on whether I
because poems that are back-to-back When Ive got enough poems want a coherent storyline or specific
in a book? They talk to each other.
And they need to do so in a way that
mirrors how individual lines and
stanzas in a poem talk to and work
Im happy with say, 100 or so
I perform the Poetry Walk. I print up a
copy of all the prospective poems and
randomly spread them out all over the
movement from each section of the
book or its parts. I started out as a nov-
elist, after all, so a sense of narrative
always appeals to me. Plus, I like to
with each other. Otherwise the living room floor. I walk around this have my poetry books divided into
entire enterprise can feel like a well- ocean of poetry until one of them moti- sections, sometimes as many as five or
written but weirdly disconnected or vates me to pick it up. It becomes my six of them.Its a great way to control
unstructured thing. starting point. the creation of mood and emotion in
In my anthology, Contemporary I continue to pick up others as the reader.
American Poetry: Behind the Scenes, they call out to me, and I add them If Im lucky, what I end up with is
Billy Collins asserts that we can see before or after that first poem, or enough to call a work-in-progress
the development of a poem as a series sometimes mix it in between others poetry manuscript. If Im not lucky, its
of phases in the journey, each of which within the developing line Im creat- back to the poetry-writing process
has a distinct function. The opening of ing. As Im picking up and putting until I have a fresh stack of new poems
the poem is the point of departure; the down poems, Im always thinking to bring in so I can start the Poetry
interior of the poem is the ground that about the visual aspect of how they Walk all over again.
will be simultaneously invented and look on the page. I sometimes even
covered through a series of naviga- remove my glasses [so] that I cant Three tips from Patricia Corbus:
tional maneuvers; and the ending of really read any titles or particular Tip 1: Find a zinger of a poem
the poem is the unforeseen destina-
tion. While hes talking about the
journey within a single poem, this
lines. I simply want to see from above
how Ive blocked out the poems on
the page. Do I have too many poems
that looks both forward and
back, and aim for that.Theres nothing
moreimportant than the ending of
your book. (The ending of each poem bling a book of verse, to lead with a On the other hand, when I work
is important, too.) one-two punch. The most compressed with students or private clients who are
Tip 2: Find a strong poem that and powerful poems should start arranging a collection of poems for
kicks things off.Spread out all the rest things off. electronic submission to book contests
of the poems you might use, and After that, I urge them to pull back and the like via Submittable or [a] sim-
think of putting together an inner and try something contemplative, ilar platform, my approach is vastly
story, the movements of a symphony, meditative, eerie as Led Zep does different.A while back while judging a
in which you present thesituation, with the haunting, mandolin-rich The book contest digitally, I realized just
then add to the conflict until it Battle of Evermore. Indeed, the loud- how the judging process has changed
reaches a climax and brings the reader quiet-loud approach of rock music, the since the days when paper manuscript
to a new understanding.At the same push and pull of a singers soul and a submission was the industry standard.
time, juxtapose poems that are differ- guitarists flash, provides a useful With a paper manuscript, it is obvi-
ent in form and tone, so that sparks model of contrast throughout the con- ously easier for an editor to flip
fly between them.Play around until struction of a full-length book. through the manuscript and get a good
the manuscript pleases you in new Its also valuable to consider lodging sense of the work, but thats not neces-
and strange ways. ones epic song at midpoint, in the sarily true with a digital manuscript.
Dont put all the grim poems about same way Led Zep showcases Stairway With 500 manuscripts to read on a
someones death together in one sec- to Heaven in the albums center (at the deadline, the editor, or most likely, the
tion.Trust your readers mind to be end of side one). Its better to offer a screeners, may just read the first 10-15
able to handle complexity and wild mind-blowing, unforgettable sweet poems thats the hard truth at the
swings.Readers like to be reminded spot than a soft, empty hole when early stage of judging the competition.
how unpredictable and inexplicable building a collection. So the goal is to make sure the manu-
things really are. And in the same way that the script gets out of the slush pile and into
Tip 3: If all else fails, alphabetize the abstract musical expression of Four the finalist stack. To that end, I work
titles of your poems. Or come up with Sticks and Going to California leads with students to frontload the manu-
an entirely new organizing principle. listeners on a journey toward the deto- script, about the first 15 pages, with
Not all people read a collection of nating, apocalyptic gallop of When some of the best poems in the collec-
poems from front to back but are the Levee Breaks, so should a poetry tion to showcase the depth and
drawn toa sampling of this and that, book take risks near the end, culminat- breadth of the work, or to frontload
rather than a full-course dinner. ing in a stomping finale. To respect- the manuscript with poems which may
fully invert and bastardize T.S. Eliot be more appealing to the editors/
Jarret Keene talks rocknroll: (from his poem The Hollow Men), its judges aesthetic. Even within those
Organizing a poetry collection always better to end with a bang than a first 15 pages, I pay close attention to
is, for me, similar to tracking a

rock album (which Ive done a few
times with my metal band) in other
words, determining what songs will go
whimper. Make sure your collection
concludes forcefully.
Travis Wayne Denton on

organization and arc on a basic level,
but when the book is accepted, the
poet can generally arrange the final
manuscript the way they wish.
in what order. I point my students publishing and poetry contests:
toward the example, and the very high When I work with students or Regardless of which option(s) you
bar, set by Led Zeppelin on the British
groups fourth album (technically unti-
tled, but referred to as IV or sometimes
Zoso). Think about that landmark
private clients on putting
together a collection of poems, my
approach varies based on where they
are in the publication process. For
choose, the key is to make the collec-
tion feel intentional and be effective.
As Samuel Taylor Coleridge famously
said, poetry is the best words in the
record and how the songs are so care- example, if the book is already accepted best order. It just makes sense that a
fully arranged, how its unimaginable for publication, we work on weaving collection of poetry, then, is the best
to experience the tracks in a different the poems together in the manuscript poems in the best order. Take the time
sequence. I mean, when you hear the in such a way that the poems speak to to puzzle out both aspects of that equa-
heavy groove of Black Dog, the one another. When possible, I avoid tion, and your readers will thank you
albums opening cut, on the radio, grouping poems by theme, subject, or again and again.
dont you find yourself bracing for the arranging them chronologically thats
propulsive drum intro of Rock and too easy and tends to not take advan- Ryan G. Van Cleave is the author of 20 books,
Roll, IVs hell-for-leather second track? tage of the nuances of poetry. Instead, I and he runs the Ringling College of Art and
I know I do. Its for this reason I prefer a more cinematic approach to Design creative writing program. Web:
encourage my students, when assem- arranging a collection of poems. ryangvancleave.com.

ANK PHILLIPPI RYAN
started her career as a
television reporter in
1975, and her work as a
journalist has earned her
33 Emmys, 14 Edward R.
Murrow awards, and many other coveted
honors for her uncanny ability to get to the
heart of the story. The same skills that
keep viewers glued to their televisions
translate to the written page with her
award-winning mysteries.
Ryan has won a whopping five Agatha
By day, shes an Emmy-winning Awards, two Anthony Awards, two
Macavity Awards, and the Mary Higgins
investigative on-air reporter. By night, Clark Award. Library Journal selected her
Iden Ford; Max Krasnov/Shutterstock; Giorgio Morara/Shutterstock
shes an ultra-acclaimed mystery titles three times in a row (2014, 2015,

and 2016) as one of the best genre books
novelist. In both her fiction and of the year.
When she is not writing her acclaimed
nonfiction, Hank Phillippi Ryan takes novels four starring investigative reporter
storytelling to the highest level. Charlotte McNally and five with investiga-
tive reporter Jane Ryland and her love
interest, detective Jake Brogan she is
BY JEFF AYERS the on-air investigative reporter for the
NBC Boston affiliate WHDH-TV.
We spoke with Ryan about her illustrious
career both in journalism and as a novelist.
How did you get started intelevision news? When did you decide to write mysteries?
By chance! As the stories of our lives so often unfold. Decide is a complicated word. I have always wanted to write
Quick backstory: Early in my real-life life, I worked in mysteries, ever since I was a little girl growing up in rural
Washington, D.C., for the Senate Judiciary Committee and Indiana. We used to ride our ponies to the library and fill up
then at Rolling Stone magazine.It was an amazing educa- the saddlebags with books, and then read up in the hayloft of
tion I helped cover Washington politics and edited a col- the barn behind our house. I fell in love with Hercule Poirot,
umn called Capitol Chatter. I also helped Hunter S. Sherlock Holmes, and Nancy Drew. And thats when I
Thompson with his coverage of the 1976 presidential elec- decided I wanted to either be a detective or a mystery author.
tion.(Among other things, he inspired me to give 100 per- In a funny way, I becamesort of a detective, but the fic-
cent devotion toeverything I wrote and not to be timid tion element of my dreams eluded me.
with words and structure). But one day, many, many years later, working at my desk
But when Rolling Stone closed its Washington bureau, I at Channel 7, I had a great idea for a mystery. I knew it was
was at a career crossroads 26 years old, and no idea what a good idea; I got goosebumps and became obsessed. I
to do next. But my work on Capitol Hill taught me about announced to my husband, Im going to write a mystery.
government and politics and how our political system He was sweetly skeptical, but supportive, and I was navely
works. Working at Rolling Stone hooked me on journalism. compelled to write it. I had no idea what I was doing, but I
As it turned out, I got two joboffers, one to be the gossip thought Ive read a million mysteries! Ill learn. I was 55
columnist for the Washington Post. As I was thinking about years old, and that book turned out to be PrimeTime, which
this, and what that would mean to my nonexistent career, I won the Agatha [Award] for Best First Novel.
went back home to Indiana to ponder my future. So I decided to write mysteries when I was 7 or 8 years old.
And thats when I got the second job offer. On a whim, But I did not do it until almost 50 years later! That one idea,
truly, I went to the ABC affiliate in Indianapolis, and said, random and unbidden and unexpected, changed my life.
Im here to apply for the TV reporter job. Remember, I
had no experience as a television reporter. And had only How is writingdifferent for a newscast?
worked in print. The news director called in a guy with the Writing crime fiction and doing investigative journalism can
camera, he handed me a microphone and said: Talk. be quite similarbecause in essence, both are about telling a
I was such a novice I had no idea this was a screen test, great story. A fabulous, riveting, compelling story, with char-
essentially, and so I thought: Talk? Sure, I can talk. So I acters you care about and problems that need to be solved.
talked about my work in Washington, and who knows what Youre tracking down clues, following leads, and convincing
else. The next day I had my first job in television. I remem- people to talk. (Whether they are imaginary or real.)
ber my salary was $8000 a year, hurray! But I went home You want the good guys to win, and the bad guys to get
every night for the first two weeks sobbing. Because I had whats coming to them. And in the end, you want to change
no idea what I was doing. the world. And incredibly important you want to be
After a couple of weeks, though, I realized: I get this! I enlightening as well as entertaining.
love this! So Id takena chance byapplying for that job and So in learning how to tell a story, and learning how to
I found my calling. Ive now been a television news reporter develop my craft and skill as a storyteller, nothing could
for 40 years. have been better practice than investigative journalism.
That said, though it may take weeks or months to research
How has investigative journalism evolved? an investigative story for television, I can write the script in
To be an investigative reporter, a person must be incredibly one day. If pressed, I could write the script in an hour.
curious, incredibly cynical (because the whole mindset is that But there is no way I could write a novel in any less time
something in the system is not working), and incredibly con- than, say, nine months. No matter how much pressure there
fident, because you have to believe you can find the answers. is. And even that is pushing it. It is much more layered, tex-
Its also an immense responsibility I can never be tured, complicated. And it is all from my imagination.
wrong, never choose the wrong word, never miscalculate, But from the standpoint of keeping the reader/viewer
and never be even a fraction of a second late. And peoples interested, and being riveting, suspenseful, educational, and
lives and reputations are at stake. entertaining, its the same thing. Choosing exactly the right
So the stress is unceasing. word, choosing exactly the right sound bite or dialogue,
In these days of 900 channels and 24-hour news, there is making sure the setting is vibrant and that the conclusion is
an increasing pressure to turn out more stories. Which life-changing. Thats exactly the same.
requires me tobe, if its possible, even more careful, even
more vigilant, and even more relentless. What is it like being a woman in a male-dominated industry?
Investigative reporting is under siege right now and I know I got my first job in radio, in 1970, because the station
that makes my job even more important. had no women working there, and, as I bravely (or brazenly)
reminded them, their license was up for renewal at the FCC. The goal of fiction is to make a new truth, a created
Suddenly I had my first job in broadcasting! truth, one that feels just as real to the reader as reality and is
On my first day of work there, a little typed note was rolled just as believable.
into my typewriter. It said (Expletive deleted) you Hank, we Making stuff up was quite a daunting thought for me. I
dont want you here. That was from my male colleagues. And wondered: After all those years of only reporting what really
that was my welcome to the broadcasting world. happened, could I make up a new truth? But using my
My Charlotte McNally series focuses on the difficulty of imagination in a new way has turned out to be a joy, and
being a woman growing older in an industry that often val- when I sit at my desk and work on my novels, my brain
ues youth and beauty over skill and experience. And the works with the same goal as it has in journalism: telling a
main character, a television reporter, wonders what will terrific story.
happen to a reporter who is married to her job intelevision In journalism, anything could happen, but only one
when the camera doesnt love her anymore. This is not an thing really does in each specific instance. In writing fiction,
unbelievable concept, right? And anything could happen, and I get to
/
women in any position in the business decide what that one thing is.
world will recognize the pressure and Both reporting the truth and creat-
fear and unfairness. ing a new truth are dreams come true.
I am thrilled and empowered to be I HAVE WIREDMYSELF
part of Sisters inCrime, as well as [the How has your background in journalism
organizations] 2013 national president, influenced your novels?
WITH HIDDEN CAMERAS,
because certainly parity for women in If I am writing what I know, and writ-
publishing has been hard fought, and ing what I fear, and writing the emo-
the need to keep up the pressure has CONFRONTED CORRUPT tional undercurrents and subtext that I
not lessened. cannot reveal in my television stories,
POLITICIANS, CHASED my trove of background and experi-
Which is harder: creating fiction ence and emotions is a complete
or telling the truth? DOWN CRIMINALS, authors treasure.
For the past 40 years, I have only been I have wiredmyself with hidden
reporting the truth: I can onlyquote GONE UNDERCOVER cameras, confronted corrupt politi-
what someone actually says, I can only cians, chased down criminals, gone
describe a setting that actually exists, I undercover and in disguise. I have also
can only report the specific facts that I AND IN DISGUISE. been stalked and threatened and fol-
uncover inresearch and documents. lowed, faced lawsuits and retribution
That is both a constraint and an asset. I and the wrath of those whose misdeeds
know I have to make the most important and entertaining I have uncovered and made public.
story I can, given only the puzzle pieces that actually exist. I But my novels are not my television stories made into fic-
have to take a vast amount of complicated information and tion. I use my experience, and my emotions, and the reality
decide what to use to produce an understandable, valuable, I have lived in for the past 40 years, and twist and polish and
and compelling story. tweak and alter and add adrenaline and imagination to
That is always a challenge. And incredibly gratifying come up with a totally new story. Yes, I admit, my novels are
when it works. ripped from my own headlines a bit, but that only makes
When I have to use my imagination to create a story, that them more authentic.
is a different thought process. It has to be consistent in itself. The second thing: the business. Asa reporter I have
Logical for how that world works, whether its contempo- learned to write incredibly quickly (whether I feel like it or
rary Boston or prehistoric Mars. Peoples motivations must not), make something complicated into something under-
beunderstandable, andtheiractionsmust make sense (at standable, tell a great story, write compelling and intriguing
least in their view of the world): psychologically, emotion- headlines and promotions, value the teamwork of a dedi-
ally, physically, chronologically,geographically. cated editor, and never miss a deadline. What could be bet-
I make maps and timelines and calendars.When readers ter lessons for the publishing world?
tell me Oh, I can just picture it! or I knew just how Jane
felt!thats a cause for much delight, because it means I have How do you deal with stories that are painful for you?
painted a realistic picture of my world. So just because peo- Dealing with painful stories is a constant dilemma for me.
pleare fictional doesnt mean they can behave in anunbe- And for all reporters. I think we have to balance our per-
lievableway even if they are imaginary creatures, they have sonal and heartfelt emotions with the need to fulfill our
to be consistent and followthe rules of their fictional world. assignment of presenting those stories in our newscast.
No one likes to knock on the door
of a grieving family, or interview some-
one who is in trouble or harmed or a
victim. It is a constant sorrow and
pressure. It is also part of the job.
I try to remember that we are trying
to do good, that my job is at its core to
enlighten and enrich and change the
world. I try to treat every person the
same way I would want them to treat
me to be fair and responsible and
respectful. That simple rule has worked
successfully for all these years.
Where did Jane Ryland and Jake Brogan

come from?
Jane Ryland and Jake Brogan grew
from the story idea for The Other Woman. Just as for Prime And I ask myself that every moment of every day I am
Time, the germ of the story for that novel came in one unex- writing fiction. Why do I care? And I make sure the reader
pected second: I was reading an article about Mark Sanford, will care in every line of the story.
the ex-governorof South Carolina, who told his colleagues
he was hiking the Appalachian Trail when he was really off What advice do you have for someone wanting to break into
with his mistress. journalism and/or writing?
It crossed my mind who would do that? Who wouldbe Do absolutely the best you can do at every moment of every
the other woman? Andwhy would anyone do that? And all single day.
the psychological and philosophical questions that accom- Be brave. Take a chance. Ask. Give it a try. Dont be
pany that. afraid. Do your homework, do your research, be thorough
At the end of the article, someone was quoted as saying, and precise and accurate.
You can choose your sin, but you cannot choose your Be prepared. I know that sounds clichd, but you never
consequences. know what wonderful opportunity isaround the next corner.
At that very moment, I got chills, and I thought: my You have to be open to it and ready for it and embrace it. It
book, my book! may not be what you are expecting! It may be even better.
But the depth and texture of that kind of a novel was big- Be willing to listen. Be willing to take advice. Have confi-
ger than a Charlotte McNally book could be. So I needed, I dence in yourself.
knew, at least two points of view. I did not want to write a Sometimes things happen very quickly. Sometimes it takes
character that was simply Charlotte McNally with a differ- a while. Sometimes disappointing results are the best thing
ent name, so I created a more damaged, more vulnerable that ever happened to youbecause what happens next,
but still tough and smart reporter called Jane. Thats all I something you never even dreamed of, will be even better.
knew. And because I wanted it to be a big novel of suspense, Be patient, but be present. And always, always work
and include a series of deaths that may or may not be hard. Both journalism and crime fiction writing are
related, I needed a cop. And there was Jake. intensely, unceasingly difficult. It is a hard task you are
They reveal themselves to me bit by bit in each book. So I undertaking. If itsnot difficult, youre not working hard
am intrigued to get to know them as their lives and relation- enough. Everyone has doubts. If you run into an obstacle,
ships develop. What will happen to them? I have no idea. ask yourself: What wouldI attempt to do if I knew I could
And I love it that way. not fail? And then do that.
Be generous to people, and supportive. Be happy for your
How do you turn news stories into compelling mysteries? friends. We are all part of each others successes.
News stories are compelling mysteries.Life is a compelling And dont forget to enjoy it.
mystery.The key of a compelling mystery is as it is in
journalism toconstantly advance the story. Jeff Ayers co-hosts Beyond the Cover with John Raab for Suspense
No tangents, no digressions, no fancy tricked-up writ- magazine, and is a freelance reviewer for the Associated Press, Library
Chitose Suzuki
ing. Just a straight-ahead and irresistibletale. One question Journal, and Booklist. He is the author of several books, both fiction and
my news director always asks when I pitch a story is why nonfiction, including Voyages of Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Com-
do I care? panion and the thriller Long Overdue.

Through the looking glass
Truth is not relative and you can find it.
BY GAIL RADLEY
Theres no such thing, Orleans was a setting in my childrens novel Nothing Stays
the Same Forever. The protagonist, Carrie, visits an art store
unfortunately, there. My editor believed that the Quarter wouldnt have an
art store. Id seen one, but to be certain, I checked a Louisi-
anymore of facts, ana phonebook and called to make sure they sold what
Carrie purchased.
announced Scottie Nell Hughes, CNN political commenta- All praise to writerly imagination, but facts, too, are our
tor, on NPR recently. She added that throughout the 2016 friends. Its laudable that Facebook plans to review stories
U.S. presidential campaign, people that say facts are for veracity, but as Jessica Lessin indicates in her New York
facts, theyre not really factsits kind of like looking at rat- Times opinion piece, Facebook Shouldnt Fact-Check, we
ings or looking at a glass of half-full water. Everybody has a should neither count on them to review everything nor to
way of interpreting them to be the truth or not true. ignore their own business interests when they review. We
Feel as if youve just slipped down Alices rabbit hole to need to be able to unearth facts and distinguish them from
hear the White Queen exclaim, Why, sometimes Ive rumors and responses ourselves.
believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast? Consider the information go-to, the internet, a.k.a. the
Exercising similarly little judgment, a man barged into a World Wide Rumor Mill. We need barely stop writing to
Washington, D.C., pizzeria, brandishing an assault rifle last grab a fast fact online. But there, especially, not all state-
December to investigate a fake news story about an alleged ments are valid, no matter how oft-repeated. Library data-
child sex ring run by Hillary Clinton. Solid ground seems to bases, especially college databases, put us on firmer footing
be giving way as more people skip along the conveyor belt in determining truth. Databases gather previously pub-
of rumor, emotion, and supposition. It didnt begin with the lished and usually fact-checked material. (The cream of this
election although that certainly amplified it. crop will be peer-reviewed material found in academic or
Lets be clear: There are facts; there is truth. Hughes isnt scholarly journals; experts examine these articles for accu-
referencing objective fact, but the idea that subjective truth racy. Because researching, writing, and reviewing such arti-
is relative and that sometimes folks take it as reality and cles takes time, the material wont be the news as it breaks;
run with it. We see the same movie: I say the movie is awful; for that we need daily newspapers, whether on- or offline.)
you say its wonderful. These are our subjective truths about Beware that some databases are less discriminating: A
it; in other words, our opinions. But is Lewis Carroll the newspaper database, for example, will gather up all articles,
pseudonym of Alice author Charles L. Dodgson? Barring from the New York Times to the Podunk Times. So whether
the discovery of a new Dodgson diary stating otherwise, the digging into a general database or the Web, hold onto your
answer is fact. We may choose not to believe it; we might investigators hat.
even campaign that Dodgsons pseudonym was Louis XIV, First, look at the source and its reputation. Is the author
but no matter how many true-believers we gather, that wild trustworthy, perhaps with relevant credentials? (Look for a
opinion is no more fact than Alices magical rabbit hole. Bio or About tab. Contact information is a plus.) Is the orga-
Clearly, our nonfiction must, by definition, be not fiction; nization well-known and reliable? Are sources identified? In
WEN WEN/Shutterstock
but fiction, as well, often requires factual basis. You other words, is it firsthand knowledge, or is the information
wouldnt, for example, have your fictional horse eating ham- attributed to a reliable source? Is the source listed on a bibli-
burgers unless you had previously established it as anthro- ography? A print equivalent to an online source is a positive
pomorphic. Case in point: the French Quarter of New sign. For example, The Writer has a web presence and a
physical copy. This increases the likeli- Science or not, you dont want your YOUR WRITING
hood of gatekeepers editors checking
for accuracy and clarity, among other
article or story upended by more cur-
rent events. Determine if someone
IS IMPORTANT.
things. If the sites reputation isnt clear, has updated the site recently and if Take 2 steps REGI
and experience ST
verify the information through other links work. NOW ER
!
good sources. Finally, consider the overall effect a giant leap.
The websites address or url offers of the site. You know the importance NEW topics instructors
important information. Most of us of cleaning up a manuscript before ideas and creative magic
realize that .coms are commercial and submitting it. If the site is rife with 19th Annual Write-by-
that their interest in selling might errors or poorly designed, perhaps its the-Lake Writers Work-
affect how and what they present. creators were equally sloppy with the shop & RetreatJune 26-30
.Edus, or education-related sites, facts. Is the language abusive, morally
14 sections: Childrens Picture Books,
would seem to be reliable, but schools objectionable, or overly emotional? Memoir, Creative Nonfiction, Short
sometimes give website space to Any of these flaws should make you Stories & Other Fiction, Poetry, Master
everyone associated with them. That steer clear. Class/Full Novels. Keynote: Author
Ann Garvinshe got her start here!
means that professors can have web- The answer may not be affirmative
sites discussing subjects other than to each question, but decide which Experience premier, nationally recog-
nized events when youre part of the
their field of expertise (caution!), as issues are critical and make a judgment UW-Madison writing community. Were
might students. When I was research- about the worth of a website. Not every also just plain friendly and helpful.
ing for my Vanishing from series on reliable source offers a bibliography, for
endangered animals, the editor asked example. As you review scholarly
for the wingspan of the Hawaiian sources, youll notice that the duller the
crow. I hunted and hunted, only to presentation (that is, no pictures, ads,
find one lone article on the web with or flourishes), the more likely it is a For info: Christine DeSmet, christine.
that information. Then I noticed serious site. But thats no guarantee. A [email protected], 608-262-3447
Mrs. Jones third grade class tucked weekly news magazine is usually heav- continuingstudies.wisc.edu/writing
in the url. Tempted as I was, I couldnt ily illustrated and hoping to sell sub-
confirm the third graders data, so I scriptions but the information can be
had to let it go. Asking students to cre- solid. And theres always the proverbial
ate websites to display their research underwear-clad guy in his basement
seems to be a popular assignment; cranking out worthless but dull-look-
that does not mean the teacher has ing copy for a fee.
fact-checked and corrected it. That brings up another issue. With
Next, who is the sites intended all this concern about websites, books
audience? When writing for children, I would seem to be safer. But publishing
sometimes like to see how other chil- has become as easy as cutting a check
drens authors handle similar material, to one of the myriad self-publishing
but information should come from houses. Learn the names of established
adult sources. This gives a fuller pic- publishers as well as those who publish
ture, and you can decide for yourself for pay. Getting a self-published book
what to include. Also consider the sites into a library isnt as easy, so pay heed
purpose. Selling isnt the only concern. to librarians discriminating tastes
Sites with .org in the url often advocate and submit the book to your own criti-
a position. Thats fine, but remember cal appraisal as well.
the information probably only supports After all, its your reputation on the
their side. Visit a reputable opposing line.
site to round out your understanding.
Be careful, too, that the site is not par- Gail Radley is the author of 24 books for young
ody or satire sometimes that tongue people and numerous articles for adults, includ-
is parked deep in the cheek. ing, most recently, Word Thief (The Writer
Timeliness is also important. What Dec. 2016). Recently, she stepped away from
scientists believe today may not be teaching English full-time at Stetson University
borne out tomorrow. New discoveries in order to devote more time to freelance writ-
change even a field as old as dinosaurs. ing and editing.She lives in DeLand, FL.

Augusten Burroughs is bold, frank, and fearless in his
search for personal truth. Aspiring memoirists, take note.
|||||| BY JACK SMITH ||||||
N
ew York Times best-selling
author Augusten Burroughs
has written nine books four
memoirs, three essay collections, a self-
help book, and a novel. His most
famous memoir, Running with Scissors,
chronicles growing up with a mentally
unstable mother and an alcoholic
father before being forced to move in
with a wacky psychiatrist and his odd-
ball family. The memoir was published
in 2002; in 2006, the book was made
into a movie, starring Joseph Cross as
Burroughs, Annette Bening as his
mother, Alec Baldwin as his father, and
Brian Cox as Dr. Finch, the psychiatrist
with off-the-chart clinical theories.
Christopher Schelling
In his 2008 memoir, A Wolf at the

Table, Burroughs revisited his child-
hood, focusing on his father in a way
we hadnt seen in Running with Scissors.
The book is very dark at times, as we Burroughss debut (and only) novel, How do you reconstruct dialogue in
watch young Burroughs trying to con- Sellevision, published in 2000, is an your memoirs and yet keep the work
nect with a father who wants no part of unmitigated satirical romp. An expos nonfiction?
him, eventually becoming a danger to of the home shopping phenomenon, Some of my memoirs (like Dry and
him and his mother. In one passage, the novel is populated with characters Lust & Wonder) were largely written in
Burroughs even fantasizes about killing who are brand-conscious and vacuous, real time, as it happened. So Im recall-
his father, a man he was convinced was yet alarmingly real, for Burroughs ing dialogue from five minutes or an
utterly evil. humanizes them at the same time he hour ago, and not a decade ago. But at
As he got older, Burroughs contin- ratchets up the bizarre. other times, like with Running with
ued to struggle for his fathers affection, He lays bare any pretensions of Scissors, I am recalling dialogue that
trying to puzzle out the man who was humans being more than what they happened many years before. And I
always too busy for him. He ultimately are himself included. Like all great never experience creating dialogue
concedes: I knew the truth. I knew that humorists, his work includes a mix of but rather hearing it spoken and
my father was not a nice man. He was moods, genial at times, raw at others. then writing down the words. Its very
just very good at creating an external His work reaches readers because it is much like watching a movie and taking
identity, a mask to show the world. highly personal yet always accessible. notes at the same time. But every-
Burroughss most recent memoir is bodys memory is different, and some
Q& A
Lust & Wonder, published in 2016. The people wont recall whole conversa-
book chronicles his romantic relation- tions a decade or more after they hap-
ships leading up to his marriage to We tend to link the imagination to fic- pened. A psychiatrist once told me I
Christopher Schelling, his longtime lit- tion, poetry, and drama forms of imagi- had a sensory processing disorder
erary agent. Like much of his work, native literature and the memory to where old memories were retained for
Lust & Wonder tends to go right for memoir. Is there any room for the imagi- much longer than is common with
the jugular in its unflinching honesty. native faculty in the writing of memoir as most people. Perhaps this has some-
When Burroughs discovers that long as the basic story details are true? thing to do with my recall.
Schelling was HIV positive early in What about the role of interpretation: A
their relationship, he admits he imme- memoir isnt just facts only, is it? What sources besides memory do you
diately began looking for reasons not Memoir is not court stenography. But rely on for your books?
to like him: From this moment for- neither should it be fiction. My pro- Ive been keeping diaries all my life and
ward, I would take a careful inventory cess of writing memoir is often really a have used these. I also have lots of
of all of Christophers flaws, shortcom- kind of private time travel where I photographs, which spark memories.
ings, and abnormalities and create my mentally glide backwards into the past
own virtual catalogue of deal breakers. and encounter an experience one Your dysfunctional childhood has given
Who hasnt engaged in rationalization that Id often forgotten about entirely you plenty of ore to mine. What would
of one kind or another, however igno- until the writing process and then you tell an aspiring memoirist whose
ble? We tend to want to hide these try to report what I experience. And adolescence was much less interesting
things, secret them away, but not Bur- because I experience the world or compelling? Would a so-called nor-
roughs. He brings these rationaliza- through all my senses, my writing mal childhood be worthy of memoir?
tions to the clear light of day. about the past doesnt include just I dont think one has to have a dys-
As with his memoirs, Burroughss what happened or what somebody functional childhood in order to
essay collections demonstrate his astute said but how the prickly popcorn ceil- write a fascinating memoir, but there
understanding of himself and others, ing felt when I stroked it or how the definitely needs to be something. And
delivered with incisive wit. In Possible air had a metallic smell, almost like it that something could even be a gift
Side Effects, Burroughs presents himself had rusted. Writing about the past is, for the observation of tiny, daily life.
as flawed, needy, insecure, and at times for me, a process of digging and recov- Theres a scene in an Elizabeth Berg
clueless. He revels in witty juxtaposi- ery, and trying to really nail with great book which I love where two women
tions and surprises. We learn, for specificity the way I felt or what I are having a conversation at the
instance, that hes been smoke-free for thought at the time. But when Im kitchen table and one of the women is
many years. Yet hes been upping his writing a memoir about something pressing her finger against the table
chewing of Nicorette: And its expensive current in my life, its a completely dif- and pulling up crumbs. This sort of
stuff. I pay in an average Upper West ferent process. Im not sailing back- tiny detail is exquisite because its
Side pharmacy $85 for a box of 165 wards in time but rather scrutinizing something weve all observed and
pieces. I buy two boxes a week. Which my present with as much specificity, as have all forgotten weve observed
works out to about $680 a month. much honesty, as possible. until we encounter it in a book. As
THE AUGUSTEN
BURROUGHS FILE
thrilling as it may be to read about emotionally dishonest memoir is noth-
something extraordinary and entirely Burroughs worked as an ing more than a tedious infomercial
foreign to our own experience, its advertising copywriter from for the author.
also wonderful to encounter ourselves age 19, first in San Francisco,
on the page, to feel the rush of thats then in Chicago, and finally in A memoirist always faces the prospect
me, exactly! Manhattan. of angering readers who disagree with
He is a prominent American the facts or the interpretation of the
How do you determine what to include humorist. In 2005, Entertain- facts. This happened to you with Run-
in a memoir and what to exclude? Do ment Weekly ranked him No. ning with Scissors. What do you recom-
you work to have one major idea run- 15 on its list of The 25 Funni- mend the writer do when faced with
ning through a book? est People in America. readers who will take exception to ones
My books are always a process of dis- His most famous memoir, Run- account or even launch a lawsuit?
covery. I almost never have any idea ning with Scissors, was a New Reader reactions are entirely out of your
what Im doing until Im actually York Times best-seller for over hands as an author, and this is just one
doing it. In fact, I think every time three years. of the dangers inherent in the form. A
Ive had a plan or an idea, it has been He was a contributing editor good publisher will have a legal depart-
entirely sidelined by whatever I for Details magazine from 2003 ment to vet the manuscript; an author
uncover while writing. In terms of to 2008. might have to change names or physical
what I keep and what I cut, I have a The Lambda Literary Founda- descriptions or locations. But its just
lot of help. My first reader is and has tion honored him with the impossible to predict how a reader is
always been my literary agent (and Trustee Award in 2013. going to react or what action they will
now husband), Christopher Schelling. He received an Honorary Doc- or will not take. I think the memoirist
He has a sharp, unsentimental eye torate of Humane Letters from has to place these thoughts aside, write
and a very high threshold for amuse- Savannah College of Art & the book, and then work with the pub-
ment. I cut a lot of stuff thats just Design in 2013. lisher to address any specific legal con-
boring. Or perhaps Ive covered it in cerns that arise on a scene-by-scene
another book previously. Or some- basis. Thats just the reality of writing
times theres a legal issue and my pub- memoir. There are some things you
lisher isnt comfortable with a certain Your memoirs are highly confessional, simply will not be able to say. And some
piece. As a general rule, I wont ever frank, honest, and bold. To what extent things that you may say but not without
cut anything because I feel it makes should memoir be so unflinching, in your risk. And it all comes down to how will-
me look bad or is personally humil- opinion? What would you tell beginning ing the publisher and author are to
iating. I am impervious to those con- memoirists about portraying the truth assume these risks.
siderations. I lack a sense of personal about themselves and others?
discretion or protection in my work You cant lie to yourself if youre going What are the ingredients of a good per-
because I feel like, if this is what I do to be a memoirist. Our personal fail- sonal essay? What should the writer be
for a living, I have to do it 100 percent ures and limitations and weak or frag- looking for that makes the story worth
or not at all. ile spots are the most interesting things telling?
to read about. Again, it comes back to You know, for me its very personal. Is
Who are your literary influences as a telling the truth as opposed to the this a story I want to even remember?
memoirist? thing we wish were true or ought to be Is the process of re-living this experi-
I just wasnt very well-read when I true or assume at first glance to be ence on the page funny or exciting or
began writing about myself. In fact, I true. I think a memoirist really has to horrifying? If so, thats probably a good
started writing before I started reading be willing to not necessarily comfort- story for publication. Im not sure I
at age 24. So I cant say I have any influ- able with revealing their deepest have a really good answer for you
ences with respect to memoir and to emotions, motivations, and actions on except to say that it often comes down
this day I very rarely read memoirs. But the page for anyone to view and judge. to instinct.
I have been enormously inspired by my A memoir that holds back or refuses to
entire reading life by Edith Wharton go there is an insult to the reader, Are you planning to write another
(of all people) because of her astonish- really. If Ive paid to read your story, I novel? If you do, would it be in the same
ing descriptive abilities. She writes with want to experience it fully. Not some vein as your darkly comic debut novel,
such beautiful specificity. airbrushed, stiff-upper-lip version. An Sellevision?

Yes, Im actually working on a novel kind of writer with a little desk and the sofa. I write in various spots all
right now, and its such a different process and all sorts of rituals, but over the house at all different times.
experience from writing memoir. Im not. Right now Im sitting in a Sometimes I even sit at a table but
Theres infinitely more freedom for one leather chair with my legs crammed not often.
thing literally anything can happen. I up beside me. Theres a Great Dane
am not attached to the script of the snoring away on the sofa across from What tips do you have for beginning
past. But this freedom is also a limita- me and a Rhodesian Ridgeback on writers setting out to write their first
tion in a way. Because its easy to then the chair beside me, and Im uncom- memoir?
question absolutely everything. fortable, really, but [I] am not going Stop thinking about all the reasons
Because couldnt there always be some- to move until I finish this interview. you have not to write your memoir
thingbetter? So Im not entirely Later Ill move into the other room and what people in your family might
comfortable writing fiction and feel and stretch out on the velvet sofa think and just get busy writing it. My
somewhat out of my element, but at with my iPad which has a keyboard writing advice is always pretty much
the same time, I think maybe thats a hacked onto it and do some writ- the same: Stop thinking about writ-
good thing. ing. But Ive also got to go get grocer- ing, stop reading about writing, stop
ies and run a couple of errands and worrying about writing, and just
Whats the writing process like for you? do some cleaning. So probably I wont actually sit in one place and write
Do you have a specific schedule, a spe- do any real writing until late this eve- something.
cific place you write, and a particular ning. And late evening does seem to
goal for each day? be when Im most productive with Jack Smith is author of numerous articles,
My writing process is somewhat cha- my writing, whether Im crammed reviews, interviews, three novels, and a book on
otic and irregular. I wish I was the into a chair, propped up in bed, or on writing, entitled Write and Revise for Publication.
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,
Jason Ockert, Alan Michael Parker, Jeff Parker, Corinna Vallianatos, Jennifer Vanderbes
Learn more at www.ut.edu/mfacw

or by calling (813) 258-7409.

CLASS ACTION
BY JEFF TAMARKIN
Go wild
The Eastern Oregon University Wilderness Writing MFA is a
perfect way to combine writing with a love of nature.
F
eeling lost in the wilderness is not a state most four weeks in residence at EOU: two weeks in June and
writers want to find themselves in. But for the stu- another two in October. At the present time, 15 students are
dents in Eastern Oregon Universitys Wilderness enrolled in the Wilderness Writing program, and Axelrod
Writing Concentration, thats the very idea. says enrollment will cap out at 30.
A small school with 2000 on-campus students and Theyre in class all day. We have lectures, seminars, a
another 2000 studying online, EOU is located four hours east service learning course, etc., he says of the on-campus resi-
of Portland, with a campus nestled in the Grande Ronde Val- dencies. Then we do a mix of distance courses throughout
ley between two mountain ranges: the Blue Mountains and the rest of the year.
the Wallowas. It made perfect sense to somehow incorporate At the conclusion of the residencies, students are
the regions natural beauty and history into EOUs creative expected to devote 25 hours of study and writing per week
writing curriculum, says David Axelrod, co-director of the for the duration of the program, and should be skilled in the
universitys low-residency Master of Fine Arts program. ability to remain focused and disciplined as they turn
With that goal in mind, Axelrod and his wife, Jodi Varon toward their solitary off-site work under the close supervi-
both of them oft-published authors created the Wilderness sion of faculty writing mentors, instructs the EOU website.
Mooshny/Shutterstock
Writing Concentration, described on the schools website as But students should expect to spend plenty of time out of
the first hybrid MFA program to combine intensive instruc- the classroom, too. We take them into the field, into the
tion in creative writing with experiential wilderness retreats. mountains, weather permitting, Axelrod says. We did a
The 60-credit-hour program requires students to spend river walk where I took people upstream, talking about the
history of the river and the kind of Along with in-depth writing prac- Oregon Universitys Writing MFA with
human interactions that change the tice, the Wilderness Writing Concen- a Wilderness Writing Concentration,
river, efforts by the tribes to rehabilitate tration includes four craft seminars visit eou.edu/mfa/wilderness-writing-
the river, the effects of that, the future focused on the study of wilderness concentration-overview.
of the river, and its salmon run. We do and place-based literature, beginning
things like that, and they write about it. with readings from ancient Vedic Jeff Tamarkin is a freelance writer/editor. He
Last fall, until a blizzard intervened, we ecology and Native American narra- lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, with his wife,
were taking students up a canyon to tives, the writing of Lewis & Clark novelist Caroline Leavitt.
look at [the results of a] catastrophic and John Muir, American transcen-
wildfire the year before. When we have dentalists such as Thoreau and Emer-
a larger number of students to partici- son, and a particular focus on I went into theSanta Barbara Writers
pate, we will probably take them into Melvilles Moby-Dick, leading up to an Conference a foundering insurance man
and came out a writer.I wouldnt have
alternative classrooms, into the wilder- examination of more modern and made it without thecamaraderie and
ness, and stay in cabins or tents, and contemporary practitioners such as enthusiasm for the craftI found there.
conduct our program in the wild. Rachel Carson, Leslie Marmon Silko, Christopher Moore, NYT bestselling author
EOU is trying to create an inte-
grated vertical series of curricula that
Barry Lopez, Jon Krakauer, Cheryl
Strayed, Rebecca Solnit, and others, Santa Barbara
encourages young people to get out- the website says. Writers Conference
doors, be in the mountains, learn The kinds of attention that the
about rivers and the indigenous cul- scientists in our area practice are not Workshops
ture, the history of the region, the biol- unlike the kind of attention that writ-
ogy, etc., he adds. ers pay to the world around them, Agents
At first, most of the students who Axelrod says. We have a very large Speakers
were attracted to the Wilderness Writ- and important research facility here,
ing Concentration came from the run by the Forest Service, and there Panels
Portland area and were curious about are many biologists working there on
Eastern Oregon, Axelrod says. a whole range of topics, both region-
Increasingly, were seeing students ally and internationally, in South
who are pursuing the MFA who are a America, Africa, and Europe, as well
little different, a little more working as here. But they write for their col-
class. We have students who work in leagues, and their writing isnt very
prisons who want to start writing interesting. We wanted to collaborate
programs for prisoners and people with them to bring people from the June 18-23, 2017
who are interested in regional agricul- creative writing program to meet 6 days beachside at
ture to develop alternative agricul- them, follow them in the field, to the Santa Barbara Hyatt
tures, and then also older people who interview them, and start using some
are near retirement who want to write. of that research as the basis for writ-
Its a broad mix of people; its shifting a ing for a general audience. Improve your craft
little bit. Over the decades that Ive been here Find your tribe
The basic idea behind launching the and my wife has been here, we recog-
program, he continues, was to bring nize just how powerful the landscape is:
Make lifelong connections
poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction the culture, the history, its indigenous Register now:
writers together in the nature writing people, a kind of guiding intelligence in www.sbwriters.com
aspect. But we want our students to our own work, Axelrod says. [email protected]
have their writing informed by good We were very committed to trying
research, by ideas and facts and not to share that with people, to teach 805.568.1516
just their own speculation about them how to access that kind of intel- Our 45th Year!
things. We want it to be a little bit ligence and how to use it. Thats what
more intellectually unassailable than its about.
your typical treacly nature writing. For more information on Eastern Peanuts Worldwide LLC

CONFERENCE INSIDER
BY MELISSA HART
Love connection
Learn the ins and outs of the most widely read genre in the country
at the Romance Writers of America Conference.
T
he word is out that this is where the money is, What youll learn
Allison Kelley, executive director of the non- The conference begins with an orientation for first-time
profit Romance Writers of America, speculates attendees, which includes an introduction to the language
on why the number of men writing romance fic- that romance authors use. Like HEA for happily ever
tion grows each year. Our readers are very dedicated, and after, Kelley explains, every group has their own lingo.
many read four or five books a month, so its a lucrative This is a fun, interactive workshop designed to define terms
genre. Overall, romance outsells all other fiction genres. so that when people attend the rest of the conference events,
Approximately 2,000 emerging and established romance theyll know what the heck were talking about.
writers mostly women but plenty of men gather Approximately 200 editors and agents attend the confer-
together each July to celebrate the genres popularity dur- ence, and writers may for a fee sign up to pitch their
ing the Romance Writers of America Conference, held in completed novels or novellas directly to one acquiring agent
2017 at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort and editor during 10-minute individual meetings.
in Orlando, Florida. Its a very popular destination, Kel- Participants have numerous opportunities to network
ley says. We had a fabulous conference in San Diego in professionally with authors, editors, agents, publicists, and
2016, right on the ocean, and when we meet in New York retailers. Workshops address topics relevant to writers at
City, the event is always fast-paced and exciting. A lot of any stage of their career, and even the most established
times, people will come in early or stay late and add on authors take advantage of these sessions. There are always
days of vacation. new techniques in marketing, new contract terms, Kelley
Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
Conference events include workshops and pitch sessions, explains. Our workshops try to hit all aspects of craft and
benefit autographing parties with established traditionally publishing, from traditional to self-publishing. Its well
published authors, and the Indie Book Signing during worth the money.
which authors give away copies of a self-published romance Several scholarships are available, including the RWA
novel or novella. Spectrum Grant, which provides money for authors of
ticipate in the online forum before the
CONFERENCE : Romance Writers of America Conference
conference so that they can talk to
DATES : July 2629, 2017 COST : $490 to $715; scholarships available
each other and ask questions, and gen-
LOCATION : Orlando, Florida CONTACT : Conference coordinator erally get comfortable with both the
Allison Kelley, [email protected] rwa.org genre and the event.
Writers who want more of a multi-
diverse background to attend the keynote from No. 1 New York Times media sneak-peak are in luck. Love
conference. best-selling author Susan Wiggs. Between the Covers: Inside the World of
Awards ceremony emcees include best- Romance Writing, a Netflix documen-
Featured presenters selling authors Sherrilyn Kenyon and tary, features several scenes from
Kelley looks for excellent speakers who Ally Carter. Award-winning author Romance Writers of America Confer-
will inspire attendees with useful infor- Brenda Jackson will speak at the ence and includes interviews with
mation and anecdotes from their own annual Librarians Luncheon on Satur- attendees. Its a good way to get an
successful careers. Romance authors day during the conference, at an event idea about the kinds of people youll
are often well-trained speakers, she that allows participants to learn about meet, Kelley says, along with the look
notes. You want someone who can the genre and meet romance authors. and feel of the conference.
connect with the audience, and who
isnt going to put them to sleep. Advice for first-timers Contributing editor Melissa Hart is the
Those who appear at the conference Kelley cautions writers to register early author of Avenging the Owl (Sky Pony, 2016).
are well-known within the romance for the conference, as it often sells out. Shes a co-founder of Creator & Collector Ser-
community. The 2017 event features a She urges first-time attendees to par- vices. Web: creatorcollector.com.
This is what a literary

capital looks like.
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residency MFA in Creative Writing, ranked #4 by Poets & Writers,
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Fiction / Nonfiction / Poetry / Writing for Young People /
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lesley.edu/the-writer

LITERARY SPOTLIGHT INSIDE LITERARY MAGAZINES
BY MELISSA HART
Narratively speaking
This five-year-old publication seeks extraordinary
stories about ordinary people.
I
Kid You Not: My Arm was Eaten by an Escalator.
The Secret Story of the POWs Who Tunneled
through a Toilet to Freedom.
Our Dog Would Eat Anything: This Time the
Takeout Fought Back.
These are just a few of the story titles in Narrativelys
archives. Editors at the five-year old online publication look
for writing, short films, and journalistic comics that tell
unusual tales about ordinary people.
We avoid the clutter and click-bait thats out there and
look beyond the big breaking stories to publish a lot of
memoir and profile, says editor-in-chief Noah Rosenberg.
Were not profiling Spielberg or Clooney; were profiling Trump impersonator John Di Domenico from The Hardest Working
Trump Impersonator in Showbiz. Photo by Matt Karas.
the tugboat captain in New York Harbor, a story which will
resonate with a lot of readers.
titled The Hardest Working Trump Impersonator in Show-
Tone, editorial content biz. It tells the story of 54-year old impersonator John Di
Rosenberg and Narrativelys other editors also look for fea- Domenico, who believed his gig would end after the U.S.
tures and human interest pieces connected to the news presidential election and instead found that he can if hed
landscape, but they want their stories to feel evergreen, like continue his act indefinitely.
offering a sustained significance years The piece looks back from the
after publication. One such piece is 1800s to now at polarizing figures who
Truthers Insist My Photos of Sandy WERE NOT sort of come out of that Trumpian
Hook Were Faked. They Can Go to mold theyre controversial, theyre
Hell by JB Nicholas. PROFILING not politicians, and they have far right-
Its a really interesting piece told in wing views, Rosenberg explains. We
first person from the point of view of a
SPIELBERG OR approach big breaking stories from a
photographer who covered the shoot- CLOONEY; uniquely narrative angle.
ings right in the aftermath, Rosenberg
says. Hes reflecting back on the WERE PROFILING Contributors
three-year anniversary. Its not a news THE TUGBOAT A week after a December 2, 2016, fire
story, but its very connected to an in an Oakland warehouse killed 36
impactful date. CAPTAIN IN NEW people, Narratively ran a piece by
In 2017, Narratively will publish a author and U.C. Berkeley teacher Kaya
piece from an EMT who worked on
YORK HARBOR. Oakes titled After the Ghost Ship Fire,
the ground at the Standing Rock pro- Looking Back on Thirty Years in the
tests. Its a personal, intimate look at Warehouses of Oakland.
a big breaking event, Rosenberg explains. Its not the Oakes writes, Many, many people are gone, and many
same old news story, but a piece from the frontlines about still missing. And it wasnt just any warehouse; it was one of
what it was like to assist people getting injured while fight- the many collective live/work spaces that have been havens
ing for a cause. for artists and musicians in Oakland for decades. Nearly
On November 7, 2016, he ran Britta Loktings profile three decades ago, I became one of those artists.
Focusing on ordinary people
with extraordinary stories.
DAILY, ONLINE.
Genres: Essays and memoir, reported
stories, short documentary films, photo
essays, audio stories, comics journalism.
Reading Period: Year-round.
Length: Up to 4,000 words.
Submission format: Online, through
Submittable.
Payment: Varies.
Contests: The Narratively Untold Story
Illustration by Cornelia Li for I Went to the Hospital to Give Birth...and Tested Award.
Positive for Meth.
Contact: Noah Rosenberg, editor-in-chief,
[email protected], narrative.ly.
Writers hoping to publish on Narra- Advice for potential contributors

tivelys site may want to consider their Editors consider both completed man-
own surprising personal connections to uscripts and story pitches for Narra-
a news story, or simply craft an engaging tively. They meet each Wednesday
piece related to animals, adventure, with the stories they feel strongly
crime, food, arts and culture, and/or sex. about publishing and discuss them as
Editors plan to start working with TV a team.
and podcast producers to extend the life Once we greenlight a piece, it will
of the pieces they print. Currently, go through two or three different edi-
theyre developing a Narratively podcast, tors before we publish, Rosenberg
which will feature pieces from the online explains. We take our quality and
publication, including Maggie Downs authenticity very seriously.
memoir, I Went to the Hospital to Give While Narratively has an estab-
Birth...and Tested Positive for Meth. lished network of over 2,000 storytell-
Downs, who eschewed even Tylenol ers, editors are always looking for
during her pregnancy, found herself work from new and emerging writers.
victim of a false positive because of her A big portion of our network has
asthma inhaler. She writes, When the never published before or hasnt pub-
nurse first told me, mid-labor, that lished in major publications. That
#storieseverywhere
there were methamphetamines in my makes us really special, Rosenberg
system, I cracked up laughing at the says. Were democratizing high-qual-
absurdity. When child services showed ity impactful stories, teaching people
up, it stopped being funny. that even if youre not [The New
It became our most popular story Yorker editor] David Remnick, you Creative writing
of all time, Rosenberg says. It rico- still have an important perspective classes in NYC
cheted around the web. USA Today and viewpoint. and Online.
featured it along with other major
media outlets. It turns out dozens of Contributing editor Melissa Hart is the
women have gone through similar author of Avenging the Owl (Sky Pony, 2016).
experiences, which doctors and Shes a co-founder of Creator & Collector Ser-
GOTHAMWRITERS. COM
researchers are trying to prevent. vices. Web: creatorcollector.com.

MARKETS
COMPILED BY TONI FITZGERALD
YA: [email protected] amsterlit.com
Literary agents F N O BEVERLEY SLOPEN LITERARY

AGENCY Represents literary and commercial fic-
tion, history, narrative nonfiction, anthropology,
biography, and some true crime and self-help. Con-
tact: Beverley Slopen Agency, 131 Bloor St. W.,
Before you can approach an editor or publishing house, its a good
Suite 711, Toronto, ON, M5S 1S3, Canada. 416-
idea to seek agent representation. The following agents are a small 964-9598. [email protected]
sampling of what the industry has to offer. Find more listings at slopenagency.com
writermag.com.
F N B.J. ROBBINS LITERARY AGENCY Rep-
resents authors of literary and commercial fiction
and general nonfiction, with a particular interest in
Information in this section is provided to via website form. Contact: Ayesha Pande Literary, memoir, biography, history, pop culture, sports,
The Writer by the individual markets and 128 W. 132 St., New York, NY 10027. 212-283- travel, and health. Contact: B.J. Robbins Literary
events; for more information, contact 5825. Email through website. pandeliterary.com Agency, 5130 Bellaire Ave., N. Hollywood, CA
those entities directly. 91607. [email protected]
F N BARBARA BRAUN ASSOCIATES Repre- publishersmarketplace.com/members/bjrobbins
Subscribers to The Writer have online access to
sents literary and commercial fiction, womens, his-
information on publishers, publications,
torical and multicultural stories, art-related fiction, F BLUE RIDGE LITERARY AGENCY Handles
conferences, contests and agents. Go to and some mysteries and thrillers. Also represents romances, cozy mysteries, historical, suspense,
writermag.com and click on Writing Resources. serious nonfiction, including psychology, history, thrillers, and other sub genres, plus contemporary
womens and sexual rights issues, biography, social romance. Submit a synopsis and the first three
F = Fiction N = Nonfiction P = Poetry and political issues, cultural criticism, art, architec- chapters by email. Contact: Dawn Dowdle, Blue
C = Childrens Y = Young adult O = Other ture, film, photography, fashion, and design. Send Ridge Literary Agency.
queries by email only. Contact: Barbara Braun [email protected] blueridgeagency.com
F N C Y 3 SEAS LITERARY AGENCY Repre- Associates, 7 E. 14th St., #19F, New York, NY
sents romance, womens fiction, science fiction/fan- 10003. [email protected] F N Y BOOKENDS Currently considering
tasy, thrillers, YA and middle-grade fiction, and barbarabraunagency.com romance, YA, mystery, science fiction and fantasy,
select nonfiction titles. Query by email only. No new adult, middle grade, and womens fiction. Also
attachments. Contact: Michelle Grajkowski or Cori C Y BARRY GOLDBLATT LITERARY Repre- represents books on current affairs, reference, busi-
Deyoe or Linda Scalissi, 3 Seas Literary Agency, sents authors of picture books, chapter books, mid- ness, parenting, pop culture, and general nonfic-
P.O. Box 444, Sun Prairie, WI 53590. 608-834-9317. dle-grade books, and YA. Submit queries by email. tion. Contact: BookEnds. See website for
[email protected] threeseasagency.com No attachments. Contact: Barry Goldblatt Literary, individual agents email addresses.
320 7th Ave., #266, Brooklyn, NY 11215. [email protected]
F N THE AARON M. PRIEST LITERARY [email protected] bgliterary.com bookendsliterary.com
AGENCY Seeks mainstream and literary fiction,
thrillers, and narrative nonfiction. Query by email F N BALDI AGENCY Literary agency interested F N THE BOOK GROUP Boutique agency
only. No attachments. Contact: The Aaron M. in literary fiction, general fiction, reference, biogra- founded in 2015 representing fiction and nonfic-
Priest Literary Agency, 200 W. 41st St., 21st Floor, phy, computers/technology, business, history, tion. Does not represent poetry or screenplays.
New York, NY 10036. 212-818-0344. See website travel, lifestyle, science, memoir, cultural history, Submit query and 10 sample pages by email (no
for specific agent email addresses. aaronpriest.com creative nonfiction, and gay/lesbian fiction. Submit attachments). Contact: The Book Group, 20 W.
queries by email or regular mail. Contact: Baldi 20th St., Suite 601, New York, NY 10011. 212-803-
C Y ANDREA BROWN LITERARY AGENCY Agency, 233 W. 99th St., Suite 19C, New York, NY 3360. [email protected]
Represents authors of childrens literature only. 10025. 212-222-3213. [email protected] thebookgroup.com
Seeks picture books, easy readers, chapter books, baldibooks.com
middle grade, YA, juvenile nonfiction, crossover F N C Y BRADFORD LITERARY AGENCY
fiction, illustration, and graphic novels. Accepts F N C THE BENT AGENCY Represents authors Seeking fiction, including romance (historical,
queries by email only. Contact: Andrea Brown Lit- of commercial and literary fiction, memoir, nonfic- romantic suspense, paranormal, category, contem-
erary Agency. Check website for agents email tion, and childrens literature. See website for spe- porary, erotic), urban fantasy, womens fiction,
addresses. andreabrownlit.com cific agents interests and email addresses. Contact: mystery, thrillers, childrens, and YA. Also accepts
The Bent Agency, 19 W. 21st St., #201, New York, nonfiction, including business, relationships, biog-
F N Y ANDY ROSS AGENCY Represents NY 10010. [email protected] raphy/memoir, self-help, parenting, and narrative
authors of narrative nonfiction, current events and thebentagency.com humor. Accepts email queries only. Contact: Brad-
history, journalism, science, literary and commer- ford Literary Agency, 5694 Mission Center Rd.
cial fiction, and YA fiction. Submit via email. Con- F N C Y BETSY AMSTER LITERARY ENTER- #347, San Diego, CA 92108. 619-521-1201. See
tact: Andy Ross Agency, 767 Santa Ray Ave., PRISES Interested in literary, childrens, YA, website for individual agents email addresses.
Oakland, CA 94610. [email protected] upscale commercial and womens fiction, voice- [email protected] bradfordlit.com
andyrossagency.com driven mysteries, narrative nonfiction, travelogues,
memoirs, social issues and trends, psychology, self- F N THE BUKOWSKI AGENCY Accepting fic-
F N Y O AYESHA PANDE LITERARY Seeks lit- help, popular culture, womens issues, history, biog- tion and nonfiction submissions from authors who
erary and popular fiction, including YA fiction, raphy, lifestyle, careers, health, parenting, cooking, reside in Canada. Send submissions by regular
womens, African-American, and international fic- gardening, and quirky gift books. Contact: Betsy mail. Contact: The Bukowski Agency, 14 Prince
tion. Also seeks nonfiction, including biography, Amster Literary Enterprises, 6312 SW Capitol Arthur Ave., Suite 202, Toronto, ON M5R 1A9,
pop culture, history, economics, cultural commen- Highway, #503, Portland, OR 97239. Adult submis- Canada. 416-928-6728. [email protected]
tary, humor, memoir, and graphic novels. Submit sions: [email protected]. Childrens and bukowskiagency.com

F N CAROL MANN AGENCY Represents gen- ers. Submit via email or post. Contact: Darhansoff dclagency.com
eral fiction, biography, and general nonfiction. & Verrill, 133 West 72nd St. #304, New York, NY
Submit queries by email. Contact: Carol Mann 10023. 917-305-1300. [email protected] F N DYSTEL, GODERICH & BOURRET Repre-
Agency, 55 5th Ave., New York, NY 10003. 212- dvagency.com sents authors of fiction and nonfiction. See website
206-5635. [email protected] for specific agents interests and email addresses.
carolmannagency.com F N Y DAVID BLACK AGENCY Represents fic- Contact: Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC, 1
tion and nonfiction for adults and young adults. Union Square West, Suite 904, New York, NY
F N CHALBERG & SUSSMAN Actively seek- Check website for agents individual interests, email 10003. 212-627-9100. dystel.com
ing new fiction and nonfiction works in memoir, addresses and submission instructions. Contact:
pop culture, lifestyle, humor, narrative nonfiction, David Black Agency. 335 Adams St., Suite 2707, F N C Y EINSTEIN LITERARY MANAGE-
and literary fiction. Contact: Chalberg & Sussman, Brooklyn, NY 11201. 718-852-5500. MENT Founded in 2015, represents authors of lit-
115 W. 29th St., Third Floor, New York, NY 10001. davidblackagency.com erary and commercial fiction, including upmarket
917-261-7550. See website for individual agents womens fiction, crime, historical, middle grade,
email addresses. chalbergsussman.com N DENISE MARCIL LITERARY AGENCY & and YA. Nonfiction interests include blog-to-book
MARCIL OFARRELL LITERARY Specializes in projects, memoir, cookbooks, and narrative. Email
F C Y THE CHUDNEY AGENCY Mostly devoted self-help, popular psychology, popular reference, queries and first 10 pages only. Contact: Einstein
to children/teen books, although select adult books health/fitness, and spirituality. Contact: Denise Thompson Agency, 27 W. 20th St., Suite 1003, New
will be considered, including general fiction, wom- Marcil Literary Agency, Inc., 483 Westover Rd., York, NY 10011. 212-221-8797.
ens fiction, gender and sexuality, mystery, thrillers, Stamford, CT 06902. Marcil OFarrell Literary, 86 [email protected]
and historical fiction. No fantasy/sci-fi, nonfiction, Dennis St., Manhasset, NY 11030. See website for einsteinliterary.com
plays, screenplays, or film scripts. Query by email individual agents email addresses.
only. Contact: The Chudney Agency, 72 N. State denisemarcilagency.com F N ELYSE CHENEY LITERARY ASSOCI-
Rd., Suite 501, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510. 201- ATES Represents authors of fiction and nonfic-
758-8739. [email protected] F N DOE COOVER AGENCY Represents fiction tion. Submit a query by email or by regular mail
thechudneyagency.com and nonfiction, including biography, memoir, nar- with a SASE. Contact: Elyse Cheney Literary Asso-
rative nonfiction, social issues, psychology, sports, ciates, 78 Fifth Ave., 3rd Floor, New York, NY
F N Y THE COOKE AGENCY Represents literary history, business, health, cooking, science, and 10011. 212- 277-8007.
fiction, commercial fiction (science fiction, fantasy, food. See website for specific agents interests. [email protected]
and crime), nonfiction (specifically narrative- Query by email only. Contact: The Doe Coover cheneyliterary.com
driven works of popular culture, science, history, Agency, P.O. Box 668, Winchester, MA 01890. 781-
politics, and natural history), and middle grade and 721-6000. [email protected] F N EMILIE STEWART LITERARY AGENCY
YA books. Email query only. No attachments. doecooveragency.com Specializes in literary and commercial fiction and
Contact: Elizabeth Griffin, The Cooke Agency. nonfiction. Query by email only. Contact: Emilie
[email protected] cookeagency.ca F N DON CONGDON ASSOCIATES Repre- Stewart Literary Agency, 241 E. Broadway, Suite B,
sents authors of fiction and nonfiction. Check web- New York, NY 10002. 646-559-2702.
F N CORNERSTONE LITERARY AGENCY site for individual agents interests. Accepts queries [email protected]
Primary areas of interest include literary and com- by email or regular mail. Contact: Don Congdon emiliestewartagency.com
mercial fiction and narrative nonfiction. Does not Associates, 110 William St., Ste. 2202, New York,
accept business, how-to, photography books, NY 10038. 212-645-1229. [email protected] F N EMMA SWEENEY AGENCY Handles gen-
poetry, screenplays, self-help, or Westerns. doncongdon.com eral fiction, historical fiction, and narrative nonfic-
Contact: Cornerstone Literary, 4525 Wilshire tion (memoir, history, science, and religion). Submit
Blvd., Suite 208, Los Angeles, CA 90010. F DONALD MAASS LITERARY AGENCY query via email only. Contact: Emma Sweeney
[email protected] Welcoming authors of all genres of fiction: science Agency, 245 E. 80th St., Suite 7E, New York, NY
cornerstoneliterary.com fiction, fantasy, mystery, suspense, horror, 10075. [email protected]
romance, historical, literary, and mainstream nov- emmasweeneyagency.com
F N C O CURTIS BROWN Represents adults els. Only email queries accepted. Contact: Donald
and childrens authors of all genres, including illus- Maass Literary Agency, 1000 Dean St., Suite 252, F N C O THE ETHAN ELLENBERG LITER-
trators. Not accepting plays or musicals. Contact: Brooklyn, NY 11238. 212-727-8383. See website for ARY AGENCY Looking for commercial fiction
Attn: Agents name, Curtis Brown, Ltd., 10 Astor agents email addresses. maassagency.com including thrillers, mysteries, childrens, romance,
Pl., New York, NY 10003. 212-473-5400. See web- womens fiction, ethnic, fantasy, science fiction, and
site for individual agents email addresses. F N Y DOUG GRAD LITERARY AGENCY literary fiction with a strong narrative. Also seeks
[email protected] curtisbrown.com Represents fiction and narrative nonfiction, includ- nonfiction in current affairs, history, health, sci-
ing memoir, thrillers, mysteries, historical fiction, ence, psychology, cookbooks, new age, spirituality,
N DANIEL LITERARY GROUP Specializes in romance, sports, crime, military, and theater. pop culture, adventure, true crime, biography, and
nonfiction, including narrative nonfiction, reli- Query via email before submitting. Contact: Doug memoir. Submit by regular mail or email. Contact:
gion/spirituality, business, pop culture, practical Grad Literary Agency, 68 Jay St., Suite N3, Brook- Ethan Ellenberg, 155 Suffolk St., #2R, New York,
advice, social issues, and biography/memoir. Sub- lyn, NY 11201. 718-788-6067. NY 10002. 212-431-4554.
mit queries by email only. No attachments. Con- [email protected] dgliterary.com [email protected] ethanellenberg.com
tact: Daniel Literary Group, 601 Old Hickory Blvd.,
#56, Brentwood, TN 37027. 615-730-8207. F N C Y DUNOW, CARLSON & LERNER F N FAIRBANK LITERARY REPRESENTA-
[email protected] Handles literary and commercial fiction, narrative TION Represents international and literary fiction,
danielliterarygroup.com nonfiction, memoir, popular culture, childrens, memoir, mystery/thrillers, global, race and class
and YA fiction. Submit queries by email or regular issues, lifestyle, pop culture, humor, and craft.
F N Y DARHANSOFF & VERRILL LITERARY mail (include SASE with adequate postage for Query by email or postal mail. Contact: Fairbank
AGENTS Most interested in literary fiction, narra- return of materials). Contact: Dunow, Carlson & Literary Representation, P.O. Box 6, Hudson, NY
tive nonfiction, memoir, sophisticated suspense, Lerner Literary Agency. 27 W. 20th St., Suite 1107, 12534. 617-576-0030. queries@fairbankliterary.
and both fiction and nonfiction for younger read- New York, NY 10011. [email protected] com fairbankliterary.com

MARKETS
F N Y FINEPRINT LITERARY MANAGE- New York, NY 10022. 212-838-7777. tion. No screenplays or childrens picture books.
MENT Seeks fiction and nonfiction for adults and [email protected] thegernertco.com See website for specific agents interests and email
young adults. Check website for each agents inter- addresses. Email queries only. Contact: Irene
ests and email addresses and submission instruc- C Y THE GREENHOUSE LITERARY AGENCY Goodman Literary Agency, 27 W. 24th St., Suite
tions. Contact: FinePrint Literary Management, Specializes in representing authors of childrens fic- 700B, New York, NY 10010. irenegoodman.com
207 W. 106th St., Suite 1D, New York, NY 10025. tion for age 5 through middle grade and YA/cross-
212-279-1282. fineprintlit.com over novels. See website for specific agents F N Y IRENE SKOLNICK LITERARY AGENCY
interests. Email queries only. No attachments. Con- Seeks literary and up-market fiction, history, mem-
C Y FLANNERY LITERARY Fiction and nonfic- tact: The Greenhouse Literary Agency. oir, biography, YA, and middle grade. Submit by
tion for children and young adults, all genres. [email protected] email or mail. If submitting by email, paste the first
Email queries only. Contact: Flannery Literary. greenhouseliterary.com 10 pages of your manuscript or book proposal into
[email protected] flanneryliterary.com the body of email. No attachments. Contact: Irene
F N C Y HANNIGAN SALKY GETZLER Skolnick Literary Agency. 27 West 20th St., Suite
F N C Y FOLIO LITERARY MANAGEMENT AGENCY Represents fiction, nonfiction, and all 305, New York, NY 10011. 212-727-3648
Seeks fiction and nonfiction genres, including levels of childrens and YA literature. No romance, [email protected]
memoir, military, history, biography, sports, how- sci-fi, religious fiction, or screenplays. Check web- skolnickagency.com
to, humor, health, business, sports, music, pop cul- site for agents interests and email addresses. Email
ture, etc. Also seeks YA/childrens. Submit by email submissions only. Contact: Hannigan Salky Getzler N JAMES PETER ASSOCIATES Accepting
only. Contact: The Literary Group International, Agency. 37 W. 28th St., New York, NY 10001. 646- queries for adult nonfiction books of all subject
1357 Broadway, Suite 316, New York, NY 10018. 442-5770. hsgagency.com areas. Send queries via regular mail with SASE for
212-400-1494. Frank Weimann: fweimann@folio- reply. Contact: Gene Brissie, James Peter Associ-
lit.com theliterarygroup.com F N HARTLINE LITERARY AGENCY Repre- ates, Inc., P.O. Box 358, New Canaan, CT 06840.
sents fiction and nonfiction for inspirational and 203-972-1070. [email protected]
F N FOUNDRY LITERARY + MEDIA Accept- mainstream markets, mostly for the Christian book writersservices.com/reference/james-peter-associ-
ing fiction and nonfiction queries. See website for market. Submit queries via email or post mail per ates-inc
specific agents interests, email addresses, and sub- website instructions. Contact: Hartline Literary
mission instructions. Contact: Foundry Literary + Agency. 123 Queenston Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15235. F N Y JANE ROTROSEN AGENCY Seeks com-
Media, 33 W. 17th St., PH, New York, NY 10011. 412-829-2483. See website for agents email mercial fiction: thrillers, mystery, suspense, wom-
212-929-5064. foundrymedia.com addresses. hartlineliterary.com ens fiction, romance, and YA. Also considers
memoirs and narrative nonfiction. Submit via
F N P FRANCES GOLDIN LITERARY F N C Y HARVEY KLINGER LITERARY email or snail mail; no attachments. Contact: Jane
AGENCY Represents literary and commercial fic- AGENCY Seeks authors of mainstream adult fic- Rotrosen Agency, Attn: Submissions, 85 Broad St.,
tion, plus nonfiction such as investigative journal- tion and nonfiction, literary, and commercial, and 28th floor, New York, NY 10004. See website for
ism, memoir, biography, pop culture, progressive some YA, middle grade, and childrens fiction. specific agents email addresses. janerotrosen.com
politics, history, and science. Query using online Unpublished authors considered. See website for
submission portal, regular mail, or agents email specific agents interests and email addresses. F N C Y JEAN V. NAGGAR LITERARY
address. Contact: Frances Goldin Literary Agency, Contact: Harvey Klinger Literary Agency. AGENCY Represents authors of commercial and
214 W. 29th St., Suite 410, New York, NY 10001. [email protected] harveyklinger.com literary fiction, nonfiction and YA/childrens books.
212-777-0047. See website for agents email Check website for agents specific interests. Query
addresses. [email protected] goldinlit.com F N Y HELEN HELLER AGENCY Represents via website submission form. Contact: Jean V. Nag-
authors of commercial and literary fiction, nonfic- gar Literary Agency, 216 E. 75th St., Suite 1E, New
F N Y THE FRIEDRICH AGENCY Representing tion and YA fiction. Submit through email. Con- York, NY 10021. 212-794-1082. jvnla.com
writers in the categories of literary and commercial tact: The Helen Heller Agency, 4-216 Heath St.
fiction for adults and young adults, as well as narra- West, Toronto, ON M5P 1N7, Canada. 416-489- F N C JOHN HAWKINS AND ASSOCIATES
tive nonfiction and memoir. Submit via email only. 0396. See website for specific agents interests and Interested in fiction, nonfiction, contemporary
No attachments. Contact: The Friedrich Agency. email addresses. helenhelleragency.com journalism, history, biography, YA and middle-
[email protected], grade fiction, science fiction, and fantasy. Submit
[email protected], N HORNFISCHER LITERARY MANAGE- queries via email. Contact: John Hawkins and
[email protected] friedrichagency.com MENT Specializes in serious and commercial non- Associates, 80 Maiden Ln., Suite 1503, New York,
fiction. Submit by email or regular mail. Contact: NY 10038. 212-807-7040. [email protected] jhalit.com
F N GELFMAN SCHNEIDER LITERARY Hornfischer Literary Management, P.O. Box 50544,
AGENTS Represents authors of narrative nonfic- Austin, TX 78763. [email protected] F N JOY HARRIS LITERARY AGENCY Look-
tion, memoir, politics/current affairs, popular sci- hornfischerlit.com ing for literary fiction, strongly written commercial
ence, and pop culture, as well as literary, fiction, narrative nonfiction, memoir, and biogra-
commercial, womens, and historical fiction. Con- phy. Contact: The Joy Harris Literary Agency, 1501
F N INKWELL MANAGEMENT Seeks fiction
tact: Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents, 850 Sev- Broadway, Suite 2310, New York, NY 10036. 212-
and nonfiction. Currently accepting submissions in
enth Ave., Suite 903, New York, NY 10019. 924-6269. [email protected]
all genres except screenplays. Submit queries by
212-245-1993. See website for agents interests, joyharrisliterary.com
email. Contact: InkWell Management, 521 Fifth
email addresses and submission instructions.
Ave., Suite 2600, New York, NY 10175. 212-922-
gelfmanschneider.com F N Y JUDITH EHRLICH LITERARY MAN-
3500. [email protected]
AGEMENT Represents commercial and literary
inkwellmanagement.com
F N THE GERNERT COMPANY Represents fiction (romance, historical fiction, literary myster-
equal parts fiction (commercial and literary) and ies, womens fiction, and some thrillers) and narra-
F N Y IRENE GOODMAN LITERARY
nonfiction (biography, memoir, sports, history, tive nonfiction (biographies, memoirs, lifestyle
AGENCY Seeking commercial/literary fiction and
current events, science). Do not send queries to books, works that reflect changing culture, womens
nonfiction, including mysteries, romance, womens
individual agents. Submit via email or regular mail. issues, psychology, science, social issues, current
fiction, thrillers, and suspense, and MG and YA fic-
Contact: The Gernert Company, 136 E. 57th St., events, parenting, health, history, business, and

prescriptive books). Also accepts childrens books. F N Y MARIANNE STRONG LITERARY F N C PHILIP G. SPITZER LITERARY
Submit queries by email only. No attachments. AGENCY Focuses on nonfiction, but seeking AGENCY Specializes in general fiction, mystery,
Contact: Judith Ehrlich Literary Management. 146 some fiction. Submit query letter via form on web- thriller and suspense, sports, politics, childrens,
Central Park West, 20E, New York, NY 10023. 646- site. Contact: Marianne Strong Literary Agency, 65 and African-American. See website for specific
505-1570. See website for specific agents email E. 96th St., New York, NY 10128. 212-249-1000. agents interests and email addresses. Contact:
addresses. judithehrlichliterary.com stronglit.com Philip G. Spitzer Literary Agency, 50 Talmage Farm
Ln., East Hampton, NY 11937.
F N Y JULIA LORD LITERARY MANAGE- F N C Y MARSAL LYON LITERARY AGENCY [email protected]
MENT Represents general fiction, historical fic- Seeks fiction (commercial, multicultural, mystery, spitzeragency.com
tion, YA fiction, mysteries, thrillers, adventure, suspense, thriller, chick lit, romance, and paranor-
narrative nonfiction, reference, biography, history, mal); nonfiction (biography, business, diet, fitness/ F N C Y P.S. LITERARY AGENCY Represents
lifestyle, sports, humor, and science. Submit by health, history, politics, current events, investiga- fiction and nonfiction in literary, commercial
email or regular mail. No attachments. Contact: tive journalism, lifestyle, memoir, music, narrative romance, womens fiction, LGBT, new adult, YA,
Julia Lord Literary Management; 38 W. 9th St., nonfiction, parenting, pets, pop culture, psychol- middle-grade, picture books, mystery, thriller, sci-
New York, NY 10011. [email protected] ogy, relationships, science, self-help, sports, and ence fiction, memoir, business, politics, health,
julialordliterary.com womens issues); middle grade and YA. Contact: wellness, sports, humor, pop science, psychology,
Marsal Lyon Literary Agency LLC, PMB 121, 665 pop culture, design and lifestyle. Query by email
F N THE LA LITERARY AGENCY Handles nar- San Rodolfo Dr. 124, Solana Beach, CA 92075. See only. Contact: P.S. Literary Agency, 2010 Winston
rative nonfiction, history, memoirs, sports, biogra- website for agents emails. Park Dr., 2nd Floor, Oakville, Ontario, L6H 5R7
phies, cookbooks, lifestyle, health, psychology, marsallyonliteraryagency.com Canada. 212-655-9276. [email protected]
science, parenting, business, literary, and commer- psliterary.com
cial fiction. Submissions by email only. For nonfic- F N MCCORMICK & WILLIAMS Represents
tion, submit query letter and book proposal. For authors of literary and commercial fiction and N REGINA RYAN BOOKS Handles adult non-
fiction, submit query letter and manuscript. Con- nonfiction, including memoir, history, narrative, fiction, including narrative nonfiction, architec-
tact: Ann Cashman, The LA Literary Agency. biography, cookbooks, humor, and essays. Contact: ture, history, politics, natural history (especially
[email protected] laliteraryagency.com McCormick & Williams, 37 W. 20th St., New York, birds), science (especially the brain), the environ-
NY 10011. 212-691-9726. ment, womens issues, parenting, cooking, psychol-
F N Y C THE LAURA DAIL LITERARY [email protected] ogy, health, wellness, diet, lifestyle, sustainability,
AGENCY Represents commercial and literary fic- mccormickwilliams.com popular reference, and leisure activities including
tion and nonfiction for adults, young adults, and sports, narrative travel, and gardening. Query
children. Prefers queries by email. Check website F N C Y MENDEL MEDIA GROUP Seeking online only. Contact: Regina Ryan Books.
for agents specific interests. Contact: The Laura nonfiction (biography, memoir, current affairs, Email via website. reginaryanbooks.com
Dail Literary Agency. 350 Seventh Ave., Suite 2003, economics, history, humor, religion, entertainment,
New York, NY 10001. 212-239-7477. mind/body/spirit, politics, popular science, and F N Y RICHARD HENSHAW GROUP Focuses
[email protected] ldlainc.com self-help), fiction (inspirational, literary, multicul- on popular fiction and nonfiction works. Fiction
tural, mystery/thriller, and womens fiction) and interests include mystery, thriller, romance, science
F N LAURA GROSS LITERARY AGENCY childrens (picture books, chapter books, and YA). fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, YA, and some lit-
Represents authors of fiction and nonfiction. Sub- Submit by regular mail only. Contact: Mendel erary fiction and horror. Nonfiction interests
mit queries using the website query form only. Media Group LLC, 115 W. 30th St., Suite 800, New include pop culture, popular reference, popular sci-
Contact: Laura Gross Literary Agency. lg-la.com York, NY 10001. 646-239-9896. mendelmedia.com ence, psychology, sports, business, celebrity biogra-
phy, current events, how-to, and health. Submit
F N LORETTA BARRETT BOOKS Seeks adult F N MOVABLE TYPE MANAGEMENT Repre- queries by email only. Contact: Richard Henshaw
fiction (thrillers, mysteries, romantic suspense, and sents authors of high-quality commercial fiction Group, 145 W. 28th St., 12th Floor, New York, NY
literary fiction) and nonfiction (history, biography, and nonfiction with archetypal themes, stories, and 10001. 212-414-1172. [email protected]
popular science, psychology, spirituality, health, characters, especially if they have strong film/TV richardhenshawgroup.com
womens issues, narrative nonfiction, memoir, potential. Contact: Movable Type Management,
humor, sports, politics, and true crime). Queries 244 Madison Ave., Suite 334, New York, NY 10016. F N Y ROBIN MIZELL Seeks prescriptive nonfic-
via email only. No attachments. Contact: Loretta [email protected] mtmgmt.net tion, long-form narrative journalism, neuroscience,
Barrett Books, Inc. 212-242-3420. psychology, sociology, pop culture, literary and
[email protected] lorettabarrettbooks.com F Y NELSON LITERARY AGENCY Currently commercial fiction, and YA fiction. Email inquiries
seeking literary, commercial, crossover, womens only. Contact: Robin Mizell, 1600 Burnside St.,
F N LIZA DAWSON ASSOCIATES LITERARY fiction, romance, thrillers, science fiction, and fan- Suite 205, Beaufort, SC 29902. 614-774-7405.
AGENCY Represents authors of literary and com- tasy. Also represents YA and middle-grade fiction. [email protected] robinmizell.com
mercial fiction and nonfiction. See website for spe- Submit queries by email only. No attachments.
cific agents interests and email addresses. Contact: Contact: Nelson Literary Agency, 1732 Wazee St., F N THE SAGALYN LITERARY AGENCY Rep-
Liza Dawson Associates Literary Agency, 350 Sev- Suite 207, Denver, CO 80202. 303-292-2805. See resents authors of upmarket nonfiction, business
enth Ave., Suite 2003, New York, NY 10001. 212- website for agents emails. nelsonagency.com books and mainstream fiction. Submit queries by
465-9071. lizadawsonassociates.com email only. Contact: The Sagalyn Literary Agency.
F N Y PARK LITERARY & MEDIA Represents [email protected] sagalyn.com
F N MANUS & ASSOCIATES LITERARY fiction and nonfiction authors, as well as some
AGENCY Accepts general fiction and nonfiction. middle grade and YA. Check website for each F N SANDRA DIJKSTRA LITERARY
No science fiction, fantasy, romance, poetry, chil- agents specific interests. Submit queries by email AGENCY Interested in literary and commercial
drens books, screenplays, academic works, or mag- only. No attachments. Contact: The Park Literary fiction and nonfiction. Check website for individ-
azine articles. Contact: Manus & Associates Group. 270 Lafayette St., Suite 1504, New York, NY ual agents interests and email addresses. Submit
Literary Agency, 425 Sherman Ave., Suite 200, Palo 10012. 212-691-3500. [email protected] queries by email only. Contact: Sandra Dijkstra
Alto, CA 94306. 650-470-5151. See website for parkliterary.com Literary Agency. dijkstraagency.com
agents email addresses. manuslit.com

MARKETS
N SALKIND LITERARY AGENCY Seeking gen- tion, including picture books, novels, and graphic lar science, pop culture, narrative nonfiction, busi-
eral nonfiction trade books and textbooks. See novels. Check website for current interests. Submit ness and career, and womens studies. See website
website for submission instructions and email via website form. Contact: Stimola Literary Studio. for each agents interests, email addresses, and sub-
addresses. Contact: Salkind Literary Agency, Stu- 308 Livingston Ct., Edgewater, NJ 07020. 201-945- mission guidelines. Contact: Veritas Literary
dio B. Productions, Inc., 62 Nassau Dr., Great Neck, 9353. stimolaliterarystudio.com Agency, 601 Van Ness Ave., Opera Plaza Suite E,
NY 11021. 516-829-2102. salkindagency.com San Francisco, CA 94102. 415-647-6964.
F N TALBOT FORTUNE AGENCY Seeking [email protected] veritasliterary.com
F N Y SARAH JANE FREYMANN LITERARY romance, womens fiction, thrillers, mysteries, liter-
AGENCY Seeking nonfiction: self-help and spiri- ary fiction, and narrative nonfiction including his- F N Y VICKY BIJUR LITERARY AGENCY
tual books, cookbooks, narrative nonfiction, mem- tory, immersive journalism, and current events. No Seeks upmarket, literary and commercial womens
oir, lifestyle, illustration, and design. Also seeks childrens books, Westerns, sci-fi, fantasy, poetry, or fiction; YA; and nonfiction, including unusual
literary, commercial, and YA fiction. Prefers email screenplays. Query by email with first five pages of memoirs. No sci-fi, fantasy, romance, screenplays,
submissions Contact: Sarah Jane Freymann Liter- manuscript. No attachments. Contact: Talbot For- horror, or self-help. Contact: Vicky Bijur Literary
ary Agency. 212-362-9277. tune Agency. [email protected] Agency, 27 W. 20th St., Suite 1003, New York, NY
[email protected] talbotfortuneagency.com 10011. [email protected]
sarahjanefreymann.com vickybijuragency.com
F N TESSLER LITERARY AGENCY Full-service
F N Y SCOVIL GALEN GHOSH LITERARY boutique agency represents nonfiction, including F N C Y O VICTORIA SANDERS & ASSOCI-
AGENCY Represents fiction and nonfiction for narrative, popular science, memoir, history, psy- ATES Represents authors of memoir, commercial
adults, young adults, and middle grade. Email que- chology, business, biography, food, and travel, and womens fiction, socio-political nonfiction, thrill-
ries preferred. Contact: Scovil Galen Ghosh Liter- literary, womens, and commercial fiction. No genre ers, humor, and self-help, some YA, middle grade,
ary Agency, 276 Fifth Ave., Suite 708, New York, fiction or childrens books. Submit queries from and childrens, and graphic novels. Query with first
NY 10001. 212-679-8686. Check website for spe- website. Contact: Tessler Literary Agency. 27 W. three chapters via email only. No attachments.
cific agents email addresses. sgglit.com 20th St., Suite 1003, New York, NY 10011. 212-242- Contact: Victoria Sanders & Associates. 440 Buck
0466. tessleragency.com Rd., Stone Ridge, NY 12484. 212-633-8811.
F N Y SERENDIPITY LITERARY AGENCY [email protected] victoriasanders.com
Represents adult, childrens, and YA fiction and F N C Y THOMPSON LITERARY AGENCY
adult nonfiction. Submit query from website form Represents authors of literary and commercial fic- F N WALES LITERARY AGENCY Represents
only. Contact: Serendipity Literary Agency, 305 tion, plus childrens and YA. Nonfiction is the pri- authors of fiction and narrative nonfiction, story-
Gates Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11216. mary focus and interests include biography, music, driven narratives, new voices, and progressive cul-
[email protected] serendipitylit.com popular science, politics, blog-to-book projects, tural and political points of view. Does not
memoir, cookbooks, sports, health and wellness, represent self-help, how-to, childrens books,
C Y SHELDON FOGELMAN AGENCY Repre- fashion, art, and popculture. Email submissions romance, genre (including mysteries), or screen-
sents authors and illustrators for all genres of chil- only. Contact: Thompson Literary Agency, 115 W. plays. Submit queries by email only. Contact:
drens and YA books. Contact: Sheldon Fogelman 29th St., 3rd floor, New York, NY 10001. 347-281- Wales Literary Agency. 206-284-7114.
Agency, 10 E. 40th St., Suite 3205, New York, NY 7685. [email protected] [email protected] waleslit.com
10016. 212-532-7250. thompsonliterary.com
[email protected] F N C WENDY SCHMALZ AGENCY Seeking
sheldonfogelmanagency.com F N C O TRANSATLANTIC AGENCY Repre- childrens and adult fiction and nonfiction. Email
sents authors and illustrators of adult trade fiction queries only. Contact: Wendy Schmalz Agency. 402
F N SHEREE BYKOFSKY ASSOCIATES Seek- and nonfiction, childrens and YA literature, and Union St. #831, Hudson, NY 12534. 518-672-7697.
ing nonfiction: popular reference, business, self- graphic novels. See website for each agents inter- [email protected] schmalzagency.com
help/psychology, humor, biography, womens ests, email addresses, and submission guidelines.
issues, cookbooks, and spiritual. Looking for com- Contact: Transatlantic Agency. 2 Bloor St. East, C Y WERNICK & PRATT AGENCY Represents
mercial fiction with literary appeal and mysteries. Suite 3500, Toronto, ON M4W 1A8, Canada. authors and illustrators of childrens books, both
Email queries only. No attachments. Contact: [email protected] fiction and nonfiction, picture books and novelty
Sheree Bykofsky, [email protected] or transatlanticagency.com books, early readers, middle grade, and YA. Send
[email protected] shereebee.com submissions via email only. Contact: Wernick &
F N C Y TRIADA US LITERARY AGENCY Pratt Agency. [email protected]
F N SIMENAUER & GREEN LITERARY Open to any strong nonfiction or fiction (including wernickpratt.com
AGENCY Seeks very small amount of fiction, thrillers, crime, fantasy, mysteries, YA, middle
including mysteries, crime, thrillers, suspense, grade, romance, ethnic, and paranormal romance). F N WILLIAM CLARK ASSOCIATES Repre-
action adventure, historical novels based on facts, Prefers email submissions. No attachments. Con- sents authors of literary fiction, narrative nonfic-
and womens interests. In nonfiction, prefers contact: Triada US Literary Agency. Dr. Uwe Stender, tion, and translations. Submit queries using online
temporary topics, journalism/investigative report- P.O. Box 561, Sewickley, PA 15143. submission form. No screenplays. Contact: Wil-
ing, travel, memoirs, biographies, psychology and [email protected] triadaus.com liam Clark Associates. 186 Fifth Ave., 2nd Floor,
popular psychiatry, how-to/self-help, pop culture, New York, NY 10010. 212-675-2784. Email using
relationships, lifestyle, social sciences, medical, F N Y TRIDENT MEDIA GROUP Actively seek- online form. wmclark.com
health, nutrition, parenting, spirituality, law, wom- ing new and established authors in both fiction and
ens issues, mens issues, controversial subjects, and nonfiction. See website for specific agents interests F N C Y WRITERS HOUSE Seeking literary/
narratives based on fact. Email queries only. Con- and email addresses. Contact: Trident Media commercial fiction, womens fiction, sci-fi/fantasy,
tact: Simenauer & Green Literary Agency. Group. 41 Madison Ave, Fl. 36, New York, NY narrative nonfiction, history, memoir, biography,
[email protected] and 10010. 212-333-1511. tridentmediagroup.com psychology, science, parenting, cookbooks, how-to,
[email protected] sgliteraryagency.com self-help, business, finance, YA, juvenile nonfiction,
F N Y VERITAS LITERARY AGENCY Handles and picture books. Contact: Writers House, 21 W.
Y C STIMOLA LITERARY STUDIO, INC. Rep- literary and commercial fiction, YA, middle grade, 26th St., New York, NY 10010. 212-685-2400. See
resents preschool through YA fiction and nonfic- science fiction and fantasy, crime, historical, popu- website for agents emails. writershouse.com

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HOW I WRITE
BY ALLISON FUTTERMAN
Ron Rash
R
on Rash grew up in south- an important part of a novel is the
ern Appalachia, and his ability to tell a story, so I think its
work remains steeped in the easier for narrative poets than lyrical
region. Its both where he poets. Hemingway, Joyce, and
lives and what he writes about, so much Faulkner all started out as poets. The
so that the Philadelphia Inquirer called best thing I could have done was start
him the Appalachian Shakespeare. as a poet.
But his beautiful, rich, lyrical writing
resonates with readers way beyond any When prose writers attempt poetry
specific geographical region. They already know how to be lucid.
A gifted storyteller, Rash is a pro- They know they are communicating to
lific writer, publishing seven novels another human being, and thats an
(including 2009 PEN/Faulkner Finalist advantage when making the transition
Serena), six short story collections, and to start writing poetry. Steeping oneself
four books of poetry to date. in poetry is the best way to learn.
His most recent novel, The Risen,
unfolds using two alternating time Writing dark subjects
periods: one set in present day and When there is violence
another told in flashbacks from in my work, the goal is
decades earlier. The result is a sus- not to titillate but to
penseful, skillfully woven narrative reveal character. It
about two brothers, a young woman, reveals the mask of that
and an unsolved murder. person, and we see who
he or she really is when
The alternating timeline that mask is dropped. I
That was the biggest challenge of the see almost all of my
book. I hoped that with each revela- more, so Id write a short characters as doing the
tion of the past, the present became story. Twice, I knew best they can with what
more complex, and that initial views there was even more theyve been dealt. Im
of the reader are gradually changed that I wanted to talk not a cynical or nihilis-
with each flashback. Its critical to the about, and it turned into tic writer.
structure to make sure you dont dwell a novel.
in either place. You have to keep ten- Writing routine
sion and interest. Finding universal settings I go by hours per day. For about 35
I think anybody can do that. One of years, Ive put in four to six hours per
Deciding genre my favorite writers is Richard Price, day. On weekends, I cut back a little.
I always start with an image in my who writes about New York City. His When Im working on a first draft,
mind. With The Risen, it was a mound work tends to be very local, but he Ive gone 10 hours a day. Initially, I
Ashley Jones, Clemson World magazine
of leaves by a creek so I knew there finds the universal in the particular. use legal pads and then type it on the
would be a body there. The novel was computer. But I never do edits on the
discovering the story behind that When poets attempt prose computer. I print out the pages and
image. Sometimes the image leads to a They should realize theyve got an mark them up by hand.
poem, or a short story, or a novel. advantage by writing and reading
Sometimes Ive written a poem that poetry. Because of that, they should Allison Futterman is a freelance writer based
was good, but the story demanded be able to write at a high level. Such in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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extra
You can't find this in print.
EXCERPT: LUST & WONDER
Just when I broke my sobriety and

started drinking again in moderate and
controlled measure exactly like a nor-
mal person, I met this guy who wasnt
just a guy but a writer, and not just a
writer but the author of one of my
favorite books.
In AA, you are brainwashed into
believing that all the good stuff happens only after you stop
drinking. Clearly they are lying; my life improved
significantly as soon as Iordered a cocktail.
Our meeting was very romantic, at least by the gay
standards of the mid 1990s. Which is to say, not at a gym or
in the midst of a spiraling blackout but through fan mail. I
sent him a note:
Dear Mitch,
Let me just say right off that I am not Kathy Bates inMis-
ery, I do not have a double-headed axe or a criminal record.
In fact, I was at my friends apartment and saw a copy of your
most recent book on his shelf. I pointed to it and said, isnt
that the sickest, most wonderful novel, ever? He explained
that he hadnt actually read it, but that you and he had gone
out on a date six months ago and for whatever reason, it just
didnt work out. Which is how I got your email address. I
probably sound crazy, like a stalker. Like a fan. But Im
really very normal, stable, healthy, and maybe even a little bit
boring. If youre interested, write me back. Im attaching a
photo I took of myself just five minutes ago. And yeah, I do
own shirts.
He replied almost instantly, like hed been expecting to
hear from me.Id love to meet you,he wrote.You look
great!
The swiftness and brevity of his reply caused me to
instantly resent him. I felt deprived of suspense and the
luxurious anxiety of wondering if Id made a fool of myself
by attaching a shirtless photo with my stalker note.
Now he was the dish of wrapped peppermints next to the
cash register that I didnt want because they were free.
2016 by Island Road LLC. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from St. Martins
Press.

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What topics are covered in the magazine articles?

What topics are covered in the magazine articles?

What does the passage about Northwestern University's creative writing program discuss?

What does the passage about Northwestern University's creative writing program discuss?

AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS ON MEMOIR

verse fiction and nonfiction, Hank

Why one writer refuses to 5 Take Note

Experts debunk oft-used 48 How I Write

The Eastern Oregon

Learn the ins and outs of

Cover: Twin Design/Shutterstock; Akira3288/Shutterstock 32

4 | The Writer April 2017

Losing Mom and finding Flo

WHERE IN THE of voice, POV, dialogue, tension, and pace.

WORLD IS each paragraph for rhythm and varied

writermag.com The Writer | 9

Youre getting it wrong

Warmth, sympathy, and

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T I was in my late 30s, I was interested in branching

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20 | The Writer April 2017

is, for me, similar to tracking a

Travis Wayne Denton on

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shes an ultra-acclaimed mystery titles three times in a row (2014, 2015,

Where did Jane Ryland and Jake Brogan

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writermag.com The Writer | 31

|||||| BY JACK SMITH ||||||

In his 2008 memoir, A Wolf at the

34 | The Writer April 2017

The Oldest Low-Residency

Past and Present Guest Writers and Editors Include:

Teaching Faculty Include:

Learn more at www.ut.edu/mfacw

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writermag.com The Writer | 37

This is what a literary

MFA in Creative Writing

$400,000 in scholarships available for gifted students

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Writers hoping to publish on Narra- Advice for potential contributors

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Literary agents F N O BEVERLEY SLOPEN LITERARY

42 | The Writer April 2017

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44 | The Writer April 2017

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46 | The Writer April 2017

&%*5*/(CRITIQUING YOUR BUSINESS.

writermag.com The Writer | 47

48 | The Writer April 2017

FINISH YOUR BOOK: Editing, Design & Formatting

EXCERPT: LUST & WONDER

Just when I broke my sobriety and

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