August Announcements
~ From My Writerly World ~ Hiking to Crystal Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Park
writing from memory or imagination
“Prompts often coax out poems that are, for whatever reason, stuck inside us and waiting for a way to be born.” — Martha Silano at Broadsided Press
Another two 6-week series of writing workshops begins next week, with ten participants returning to Thursday mornings. There's still space available on Wednesdays, Aug. 12–Sept. 16, 10am–12:30pm PST.
"These workshops nourish my spirit and the AWA structure keeps me writing." — recent testimonial from a returnee
We follow the Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA) method, using a variety of prompts and reflective feedback to bolster our creative practice. Initially hosted at The Sitting Room, each session is currently held virtually via Zoom.
For more information: https://www.nicolerzimmerman.com/workshops/
shut up & write!™
“ ‘The problem with writing in coffee shops is that everyone hates the kind of people who write in coffee shops—especially the kind of people who write in coffee shops,’ explained Gladwell, who writes in coffee shops.” — excerpted from Lithub in reference to this article.
Well, none of us at Shut Up & Write! hate the kind of people who write in coffee shops. We are those people. Or, we were until social distancing. After a month-long hiatus, including two splendid weeks camping, hiking 70 miles, and swimming in chilly freshwater at Butte Lake and Juniper Lake in Lassen Park (bears, bald eagles, and mergansers—oh my!), I've resumed hosting writing sessions on Zoom in August. Drop in for an hour of writing on Tuesdays at 9:30am PST. RSVP at Meetup. It’s free!
august salon
I’ve signed up to read among twelve members at this month’s Redwood Writers Salon on the theme ‘Sheltering: Turning inward. Reaching out with words. Staying connected.’ Please join me on Zoom Saturday, August 22, 1–2pm. Enjoy 4-minute readings from published pieces or works in progress. The salon provides a warm, welcoming, and supportive setting in which to hone reading skills. No critique, just respectful listening. Click on the link for the Salon RSVP.
the write spot
Originally scheduled to present “Writing for Literary Journals: Demystifying the Publication Process” at Copperfield’s Books for Writers Forum in May, I decided to postpone. Now Marlene Cullen has revamped the format into a biweekly Zoom series: Wednesdays at 6:30pm & Sundays at 2pm—free and limited to 100 participants.
The August and September chats, including relaxation and freewriting exercises, are based on The Write Spot: Writing as a Path to Healing. The sixth book in the series includes a resources section about freewriting, tips for self-care when writing about difficult topics, how to manage stress, calming techniques, ideas for recharging, and recommended books. On Wednesday Teri Sloat read her poem "Common Threads" and Shawn Langwell, President of Redwood Writers, read an excerpt from "Cathartic Writing: The Healing Power of a Story Now Told."
Check out the fabulous lineup, which includes Susan Bono, Constance Hale, and Jean Grant-Sutton (one of my all-time favorite yoga teachers).
You can read my 2011 profile: "A Cheerleader for Writers."
publication news
Yesterday I received my contributor copy of Hypertext Review Spring/Summer 2020. Check out Hypertext Magazine where my essay “Politeness Will Not Protect You,” a contest finalist, will soon be featured online. Here’s a hook:
“Each of us showed up with specific vulnerabilities informed by our own life experiences, but we all shared one common denominator: a pervasive fear of rape. Self-defense introduced a new discourse, one that challenged the myth of provocation and the concept of muscular strength as a primary measure of power.”
Please join me at a virtual launch party when I’ll read a 5-minute excerpt on Thursday, August 27, 6-7:30 PST. (Check my Facebook page soon for details.)
You can purchase $15 print copies at the HMS shop. Selling journals is a primary source of income for Hypertext Magazine Studio (HMS), a social justice writing workshop nonprofit committed to teaching creative storytelling and writing skills to underserved adults. They’re housed at Columbia College Chicago, a place close to my heart as the epicenter of the AWP conference I attended in 2012 and home to the now-defunct South Loop Review, which nominated my essay “What It’s Like” for a Pushcart Prize.
On a similar theme, “Case Management,” a short essay about my former work at a rape crisis center, was accepted for publication by the Sonora Review for an upcoming online special issue on gender-based violence entitled “Extinction.” It should appear in September in conjunction with the release of the journal’s 70th anniversary edition. I submitted the piece for Readers’ Narratives at Narrative Magazine where it was declined in March with a prized personalized rejection and note of encouragement:
“We found many strengths to recommend your work and, overall, much to admire. We regret, however, that "Case Management" is not quite right for us. We encourage you try us again in the future, and we hope that you will.”
“Hope Against Hope,” a flash memoir about my mother-in-law under hospice care, will appear in Sunset Sunrise: A Collection of Endings & Beginnings, a prose anthology from Redwood Writers. Publication date is pending.
“Fallen” is still forthcoming at The Rumpus in the Voices on Addiction section, now likely to appear this autumn. Previously rejected 22 times, it recently placed among 20 finalists (+ an additional 15 Honorable Mentions) in the 49th New Millennium Writing Awards for Nonfiction. The VoA editor, Kelly Thomspon, called it “such a beautiful though heartbreaking portrayal of family.”
practices of hope
Curious about the cultural history of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the recent ban that forbids ascending the world’s largest monolith? Read my research-based essay “Please Don’t Climb: Controversy at the Heart of Australia” published at About Place Journal in a themed issue on Practices of Hope. Their reading series continues August 14 & Sept. 4 at 4pm PT, also recorded at YouTube Live.
waiting in the wings
With the advent of back-to-school schedules, I’m rededicating mornings to writing and revising work. Here are some recent pieces I’ve submitted:
I entered the aforementioned essay on Uluru into the Spring Travel Writing Prize at Nowhere, a biannual contest that accepts reprints. I’ve also revived a travel story for the Redwood Writers ‘Wish You Were Here’ summer contest. Another travel piece, “The Nature of Beginnings,” about a seven-month solo road trip in ‘99, was sent to the Northern California Writers Creative Nonfiction Contest at under the gum tree as well as a ‘Road’ themed anthology at Hippocampus. (It was recently declined by Sequestrum on the theme of ‘Place.’)
“These Days,” “Spring Routine,” and “While I Weed” are short pieces I revised from my writing workshops and submitted to COVID LIT, Hawaiʻi Review (Writing in the Time of COVID-19), Unlimited Literature (COVID-19 Response), Passager Journal (Pandemic Diaries), the Spring Creek Project (The Nature of Isolation), The Herstories Project (Gen X women and COVID-19), and Evocation Review’s summer creative nonfiction contest on the theme of…you guessed it! Check out these other quarantine-related calls on Submittable.
I’m still awaiting news from the California Writers Club Literary Review to see if “Love, Unconditional” (excerpted in the Discovered catalog) was accepted. According to the website, the judges reviewed over 300 submissions and narrowed them down to top-tier candidates for publication, scheduled for early autumn.
In March I submitted an essay entitled “Taking Root” to a PANK folio on Jewish Diaspora: a home for stories, poems, memories, essays, and art celebrating the strength of Jewish identity and community around the world. Prior folios include LATINX:Latinidad and Health & Healing.
rejection slips
After my poem “Antennae Tyne” was declined by Broadsided Press, which pairs poems with visual art to create broadsides in response to global events (see: A Sense of Home), I revised and reformatted it as a triptych for The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts. They asked for a singular creative piece to be placed in the center column, surrounded by info related to it, “kind of like the pop-ups in music videos.” With a quick turnaround it was also declined:
“Thank you for sending us ‘Antennae Tyne.’ Our managing editor read it with interest and sent it through to the next round of consideration. In the end, the FINAL READER didn't love it enough to say ‘yes.’ As I'm sure you know, so much of the submission process is about finding that right match, and that's what we hope for this piece: that it finds its perfect home.”
Still searching...
in cahoots with macy chadwick
I recently bid on (and received) two artist prints by Mary V. Marsh & Laura Russell for a gala fundraiser celebrating the one-year anniversary of In Cahoots Residency. Founding director Macy Chadwick publishes artist’s books and limited-edition prints and hosts three artists at a time (six feet apart) in this charming pastoral setting in Petaluma. She has also signed up for each of my writing workshops and referred a half dozen participants, including artists Beth Fein, Barb Tetenbaum, Adrienne Momi, and Casey Gardner. She’s AWESOME!
In Cahoots includes housing and studio space for emerging and professional artists with a book bindery, letterpresses in a former horse barn, printmaking studio, and writing shed (pictured here). I had the pleasure of spending a few afternoons writing in it last year in exchange for evaluating several applications for writing residencies. Each one had merit and will be accommodated with partial or full funding to attend in 2020. Another $10,000 was raised at the gala to support the grant program! Check out the Auction Gallery.
For a virtual visit, watch Macy’s 30-minute video highlighting In Cahoots Residency as part of SF Center For the Book’s "Shelter in Studio" series.
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