Staying Home from AWP? Us too. (Or, Conflicting Emotions Around AWP)
Staying Home from AWP? Us too. (Or, Conflicting Emotions Around AWP)
Premise (intro):
Chelsea and Jenniey have both been assistant managing editors for Water~Stone Review. If you know anything about WSR, you might know that its offices are in the attic of the CWP building at Hamline. This is a location that suits some better than others. A couple years ago, AWP came to our town, so we really had no excuse but to go. (Or, in Chelsea’s case: couldn’t wait.) What follows is a free association conversation covering the finer points of the features of AWP.
Going to Panels
J: This is the one part of AWP I actually enjoy. There are chairs. I like chairs.
C: I’m dumbfounded when I meet somebody who goes to panels all day. Don’t get me wrong, I love them–but I live to mix and mingle.
J: You know, last year I went to that pre-AWP meeting in the basement of the CWP house. I heard a lot of advice about what to do/not to do. One recurring piece of advice was to not go to too many panels. I wish I had not listened to that. I would have been perfectly happy being herded from one panel to another all day long.
C: That meeting was a lifesaver–I’m happy I listened to it. I struck the perfect balance for me when it comes to AWP and panels. I attended about three panels per day, more or less depending on life outside of AWP. I think I gave myself a bookfair/food break between panels. I don’t know how you can sit still that long, Jenniey.
J: I am excellent at sitting in chairs and listening.
Drinking at AWP
C: There’s literally nothing better than throwing my giant AWP tote bag in my car/hotel and going out to drink at the end of the day with everybody to talk more about writing. Last year, I went to a Loft Literary Center event and met some fantastic people. It was like the bookfair, only minus the booths and the addition of wine and beer. I’m down with that.
J: Maybe I would get more out of AWP if I had someone like you, to walk around with. You could guide me through the chaos and instead of talking to strangers, I could just talk to you and eavesdrop on your small talk.
Hey, that could be our first useful idea: If you are going to AWP, grab a buddy. Pair up — introverts and extroverts. Support each other. We both have useful qualities, so take advantage.
Bookfair
C: When you first walk in, it’s like a labyrinth. A giant, loud, filled with free stuff, labyrinth. I love it. Approaching the booths was like facing a sphinx on the first day. I had to figure out this new lingo to navigate my way through it. By the end, I made my rounds with ease despite the aching feet and shoulders. Plus, everything is basically free on day three.
J: I love the way you put that. Facing a sphinx. Now I’m thinking of The Neverending Story and seeing how I could go on an AWP quest and level up every time I face a fear. I’m pretty sure this would be a pretty fun AWP-game.
C: I think you’re onto something there, Jenniey.
Talking to Agents/Publishers aka Small Talk All Around
J: Oh my goodness. Even the title of this one gives me that very particular, “I need to crawl under a table now” feeling. Last year I did not see a single person the whole time I was at AWP. Afterward, people kept saying, You were there, Jenniey? I didn’t see you!
C: I have to say, as I was new the the whole concept of AWP, I was nervous about that too. Would I make a fool of myself? I’m short–would I get lost in the crowd? How do I even approach a booth/person/place/thing?
I ran into my old undergrad professor literally five minutes in on the first day, and my worries were quelled. I could do it. I felt a little bit like a robot by day three–but I soaked in every bit of it. I have the magnets and pins to prove it.
Budgeting AWP
J: I’m not a spender. I don’t buy things. So, this is no biggie. I was more concerned about food. What do other people eat at AWP? Last year, I took a bunch of granola bars and just nibbled them from my bag like a chipmunk.
Oh, if only Chelsea’s tote knew how full it would get…
C: Ha. Let’s just say I pretended all was alright every time my card was swiped. I had no self-control. But I have full bookshelves and no regrets.
J: Be honest. How much did you spend?
C: You see… I tried to hold out until day three to buy things. I gave it my best effort. But I hit triple digits. Which, as a grad student, is basically flirting with a guillotine. I did get a ton of free literary magazines though. No subscriptions, so, that counts as budgeting, right?
Networking
J: Matt Bell addressed this on facebook. Karen Craigo was smart enough to blog about it; read the whole quote at her blog.
“Since it’s that time of year again, here’s the only AWP advice I have to offer for anyone nervous about meeting new folks or “networking,” which will also work for literally any other social situation: When in doubt, just be more interested in other people than in yourself.” −MB
Pre-AWP Emotions
C: The first time I went to AWP, I was 22 and just a young sprite in my first year of grad school. I had no idea what to expect but I was extremely excited for the opportunity. It felt like it was just my luck that I moved to the Twin Cities the year AWP happened here.
J: “Just my luck…” Those were my feelings as well. But, I think our inflection was vastly different. What are your Pre-not-going-to-AWP-this-year emotions? Personally, I am so, so grateful to stay home and experience it through Twitter and Facebook.
C: Could I just describe it as a one big sigh of disappointment?
Seriously though, I think it would be different if I wasn’t involved with Water~Stone. I now have a larger view of the literary world and simply, I had a good time running the social media and experiencing all of these fun things through that lens. I’d love to be there in the action and document as much as I can for myself and WSR. Plus, I’d be able to relate to more people than now that I have experience and know the lingo of the world. I wouldn’t be a run of the mill grad student there.
J: You know, I think that is great. I can sincerely say that I wish you could be there this year.
Post AWP Emotions
J: I really, really love my tote bag.
Last year, I felt disappointed in myself when it was over. I had not done enough, met up with anybody, and one day I literally just drove to the library instead and wrote for like five hours.
C: Sad. But my aching body was relieved. Seriously, it was fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect AWP. Upon reflection, I would do things differently–but I didn’t know the literary world much then. I’m the kind of writer that wants to meet and chat with everybody I can. Every experience and journey is vastly different. Whether hearing these stories on panels, at a booth, or on an offsite event, all enhanced my knowledge of the literary world I just discovered. AWP is the place where writers of all kinds can come together be around others who simply get what it’s like, no matter what experience level.
J: What would you have done differently, Chelsea?
C: I feel like I could have made more connections. I talked a lot, and I did have wonderful chats with people (there were a lot of Michiganders), but I glossed over getting into deeper discussions that might have benefited me. At the same time, I not sure I was ready for that then. I didn’t have any of the experience I have now. If I tried to talk about the workings of a literary journal, I would have sounded like somebody who was in way over her head.
Maybe I could have taken some time to step out (when the weather wasn’t being fickle) for a breather. I may be an extrovert come AWP time, but I think we both agree that people are exhausting.
To any new AWP goers: take breaks. You’ll thank yourself for allowing some time for decompression away from the madness.
J: I have to second your “take breaks.” I wrote a perfectly great essay in the library the day I stayed away.
If you are uncomfortable in these sorts of situations, but feel you must be there anyway, see if you can snag someone like Chelsea to go with you–better yet, for you.
Authors:
Jenniey Tallman
Former Assistant Managing Editor
Originally from Virginia, Jenniey is temporarily living in Northern Manitoba with her husband and their 3 sons. Recent work can be found in the Electric Literature, Austin Review, DIAGRAM, Slice Magazine, and Nashville Review, among others. She completed her MFA in poetry at Hamline, where she also taught and assisted with the literary journals. Find her online at jennieytallman.com.
Chelsea DeLong
Former Assistant Managing Editor
Chelsea DeLong is currently a graduate student at Hamline University in St. Paul, graduating in May with her MFA in fiction. Originally from Michigan, Chelsea has found her home in the Twin Cities and all of its rich literary history. She can usually be found writing her novel, cooking without recipes, and adding another book to her ever growing library.
A September Summer: Refections of July
A September Summer: Refections of July
It’s been hot here the past few weeks. Like summer-hot. 90+ degree September days will make anyone reflect on their most recent July.
Somewhere between July barbecues, vacations, and family get-togethers we host a little space for writers, the Water~Stone Review Summer Writing Workshop on the campus of St. Olaf College, in Northfield Minnesota. An easy 45-minute drive from the Twin Cities, the WSR Writing Workshop provides a great opportunity to work with nationally-renowned authors close to home while also having some relaxation and fun.
Within the workshop, we carve out a special Publishing Panel for our participants, and invite folks from all walks of the industry to join us in a discussion about those waters and all its tributaries. Participants on this year’s panel were Mary Logue and Esther Porter. The panel was moderated by assistant managing editor, Sophia Myerly.
In these last few days before our autumn bursts into our twentieth season of submissions, readings and events, and pumpkin spice, we take this moment to recall a day at our Summer Writing Workshop this past July.
Meet the Editorial Board: Sophia Myerly
Meet the Editorial Board: Sophia Myerly
For twenty years, Water~Stone Review has been a collaborative passion project of students, faculty, and staff. While it is a staff member who holds the position of managing editor (Meghan Maloney-Vinz), and esteemed faculty (Katrina Vandenberg, Patricia Weaver Francisco, and Sheila O’Connor) who serve each issue as section editors, it is our current MFA (creative writing) students who work as invaluable editorial board members and graduate assistants. Led by the faculty editors in a semester-long course, our editorial board members learn the art of careful consideration and in doing so curate the beautiful writing in our journal each year.
In this series of blog posts we introduce you to some of our incredible and accomplished student editors. In this post we meet Sophia Myerly.
Hello! I’m Sophia, the new assistant managing editor for the literary journals of the Creative Writing Programs at Hamline University. I’m a second-year student in the MFA program here, focusing on creative nonfiction with a deep passion for poetry. My own writing draws a lot of energy from the natural world, stemming from the fact that I live next to a National Scenic Riverway and find my everyday life influenced by many species and environmental considerations.
While I have just finished my first year of study in the MFA in Writing program at Hamline, I have been involved with the Hamline CWP for nearly six years. I graduated with a BFA in Creative Writing with a double minor in English and linguistics from Hamline in the spring of 2016. During my time in the BFA program, I had the unique opportunity to gain experience with the world of literary journals through the efforts of Katrina Vandenberg, the founding editor of Runestone Literary Journal. Runestone came into existence during my undergraduate years at Hamline, and I served as a member of the student editorial board for Creative Nonfiction for the inaugural volume of the journal. The experience was so rewarding and beneficial that I came back as an assistant editor for creative nonfiction for volume 2.
Runestone was created with Water~Stone Review’s literary tradition in mind, and it was through my time in the BFA program that I became familiar with the work that Water~Stone does in the literary community. The opportunity to gain further experience through reading and discussing submissions, learning more about the literary publishing world, and acquiring further editing skills through participating in the Water~Stone class was one of the biggest reasons why I chose to attend the Hamline MFA program. I served on the CNF editorial board for our upcoming issue, Volume 20, and am honored to now be working on the production and promotion of Volume 20 as assistant managing editor in addition to working with Runestone and the Hamline MFA’s in-house literary journal, Rock Paper Scissors.
Reflecting on my experiences working on Water~Stone Review as a student editor, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the lessons I’ve been able to learn as a writer and an artist by looking at pieces of writing with an editorial eye. In looking at the work of others, I’ve gained the perspective to see my own idiosyncrasies as a writer more clearly and thus work towards writing with greater clarity and precision. Now, as I work on the journal from the production side, I’m also learning about the ways that design and visual art can interact with text to create thought-provoking intersections. Finding these connections requires a deep consideration and care for the work of all artists involved, and we take our roles as supporters of diversity in voice and form very seriously. All together, this experience calls for a ‘learning mindset’—a blessing for any writer who wishes to practice literary citizenship and be a meaningful contributor to this phenomenal community. I’m thankful to have the opportunity to gain these experiences during my MFA studies, and I look forward to what’s ahead.
Sophia Myerly
Assistant Managing Editor for the Literary Journals of the Creative Writing Programs at Hamline University
A transplant from the fields of Iowa to the deep forests and flowing waters of Minnesota, Sophia delights in the natural world and considers it to be her writing muse. She is fascinated by the complexities of the written word and the hidden marvels of the brain, which explains why she savored the opportunity to pursue a double major in Creative Writing and Psychology with a double minor in English and Linguistics at Hamline. Equipped with a deep, reverent appreciation of research and heavily laden bookshelves, Sophia is currently delving deeper into her studies of creative nonfiction in the Hamline MFA program.
An Interview with Outgoing Assistant Managing Editor, Danielle Bylund
An Interview with Outgoing Assistant Managing Editor, Danielle Bylund
For twenty years, Water~Stone Review has been a collaborative passion project of students, faculty, and staff. While it is a staff member who holds the position of managing editor (Meghan Maloney-Vinz), and esteemed faculty (Katrina Vandenberg, Patricia Weaver Francisco, and Sheila O’Connor) who serve each issue as section editors, it is our current MFA (creative writing) students who work as invaluable editorial board members and graduate assistants. Led by the faculty editors in a semester-long course, our editorial board members learn the art of careful consideration and in doing so curate the beautiful writing in our journal each year.
In this series of blog posts we introduce you to some of our incredible and accomplished student editors. In this post we meet Danielle Bylund.
What genre and volume did you work on?
I was a CNF student editor and the assistant managing editor for volume 19.
Where are you in the MFA and what is your primary project?
I am in the middle of thesis! My thesis is a novel of literary fiction. Sheila O’Connor told me once that while she’s in the middle of working on a project that she usual says, “It’s about a family,” so my novel is about a family but not the same family as Shiela’s.
Tell us a little about yourself (job, publication, history outside of Hamline, etc.).
Previously, I have been an editor for Water~Stone Review, Runestone Literary Journal, and Columbia East Asia Review. I’ve taught at the Hamline Young Writers Workshop and was an after school tutor for the Mid-Continent Oceanographic Institute. Currently I am the CNF editor for rock, paper, scissors and I am employed by Wise Ink Creative Publishing as the Author Engagement Director. I’m a veteran of the United States Coast Guard and I hold a BA in English from Columbia University. I am also an old person so I could go on and on and on, but I think those are the hits.
What drew you to be a student editor with Water~Stone Review?
Water~Stone Review is one of those journals that is just aesthetically impressive. When I came to my first Hamline MFA informational event and they put it in my hand it was really exciting to see this journal that was so beautiful and well-curated. I really wanted to be a part of making WSR as soon as I read it. Finding out that the selection process for pieces was in-depth and guided by such prestigious faculty was really exciting to me as a student.
What did you learn while on the editorial board that surprised you?
That typos matter and tone matters. I was also an advanced reader for the submissions for volume 20 so I was able to read many of the submissions that didn’t make it through to the board and what struck me most was the lack of care that some submitters used when submitting to the journal. On the flip side of that I was also blown away by the quality of writing that we receive and how hard it is to whittle down pieces to make a cohesive journal.
Do you think that your aesthetic was well represented in the issue of Water~Stone Review that you worked on? Why?
Yes, absolutely. I was thrilled by the CNF choices. I loved that the CNF board cared about showing a range of structure and form. We were also really excited to amplify the voices of emerging authors. Also, the fiction was so well chosen and worldly. I couldn’t stop talking about The Rabbits and The Americans for a while (maybe I had a little fiction envy). I was also incredibly excited by the emphasis on Hmong poets in this volume. Katrina curated some amazing work there.
How do you think literary journals affect the writing world?
This is a question I have been thinking a lot about lately, particularly in our political climate. The role of the literary journal has historically been to showcase the new and the radical. The contemporary conversations around literary journals that I have been following are about representation. How do we get editorial boards to look like the rest of the world and bring back the new and the radical? Because art-making is viewed as a luxury and not a necessity many people who work for literary journals are in an enviable economic position to be able to work for nothing or next to nothing for long periods of time. When you have that kind of paradigm there is a flattening of narratives, a homogenization. What I see as promising is the explosion of journals that are cropping up to combat that lack of representation on editorial boards. I am also seeing long-running journals take the issue of representation really, really seriously so there are some hard conversations happening about the best way to publish work that matters and is aesthetically important. Ultimately, these changes ripple outward into the larger world of writing so I think of literary journals as generators of change and canaries in the coal mine. If you follow and read lit journals today you’ll see what big publishers and famous writers will be talking about next year.
What other literary journals do you admire?
I love the Black Warrior Review, Paper Darts, BOMB, The Third Rail, Slag Glass City, Apogee, The Offing and a lot of other super amazing journals that I can’t think of right now.
What are you reading right now?
I’m reading What Ever Happened to Interracial Love by Kathleen Collins, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. I have also just begun Dr. Sleep by Stephen King so that fellow Water~Stoner Lily Crooks and I can start our podcast about really popular books that are not very good – stay tuned.
How do you think that being a student editor for Water~Stone Review helped you in your writing/editing journey?
In terms of skills acquisition, I’ve sharpened my editing skills and definitely developed a more diplomatic communication style through my interactions with my fellow editors. I submit more and don’t take rejection so personally. I am definitely far more invested in small journals and the communities that they create.
Are you doing something literary that you would like to share?
Nope! Thesis and work and planning a wedding is about all I can handle right now.
Who is your least favorite historical figure?
I could say some despot who changed world history but I think, really, it’s Jack Kerouac. He gave a generation of middle-class white dudes an excuse to exalt jazz as noble savagery, borrow money from beleaguered aunts, and generally be insufferable. I really, really dislike Jack Kerouac.
Danielle Bylund
Former Assistant Editor in Creative Nonfiction
Danielle Bylund is a writer, editor, and graphic designer living in Saint Paul, MN. She is the Associate Editor for Runestone Literary Journal and the assistant managing editor for Water~Stone Review.
Meet the Editorial Board: Lily Crooks
Meet the Editorial Board: Lily Crooks
For twenty years, Water~Stone Review has been a collaborative passion project of students, faculty, and staff. While it is a staff member who holds the position of managing editor (Meghan Maloney-Vinz), and esteemed faculty (Katrina Vandenberg, Patricia Weaver Francisco, and Sheila O’Connor) who serve each issue as section editors, it is our current MFA (creative writing) students who work as invaluable editorial board members and graduate assistants. Led by the faculty editors in a semester-long course, our editorial board members learn the art of careful consideration and in doing so curate the beautiful writing in our journal each year.
In this series of blog posts we introduce you to some of our incredible and accomplished student editors. In this post we meet Lily Crooks.
What genre and volume did you work on?
I was a student editor for creative nonfiction in Volume 19.
Where are you in the MFA and what is your primary project?
I’m right in the middle of my fourth full-time semester. My focus is creative nonfiction and I am currently essaying about family history and local history and see if I can’t put the two together. I will start thesis in the spring of 2018.
Tell us a little about yourself (job, publication, history outside of Hamline, etc.).
I spent most of my early adulthood waitressing and traveling. Currently I am the director of a small preschool in south Minneapolis. I love going to estate sales and knitting and watching terrible horror movies during my infrequent downtime.
What drew you to be a student editor with Water~Stone Review?
I knew that being a student editor with the Water~Stone Review would give me a unique opportunity to see the inner workings of a long-standing and respected literary journal. I was extremely curious about the selection process, and the different types of criteria and standards that the genre editors and student editors would bring to that process. I wanted to read what other writers were sending out into the world to be published. I wanted to scope out the competition! And while being a student editor on an editorial board is not a universal representation of the work that goes into every literary journal, I wanted to see if working for a journal was something I might want to pursue in the future.
What did you learn while on the editorial board that surprised you?
We met a lot of very different styles of creative nonfiction when screening for issue 19. I not only came to respect writing styles that I was previously unfamiliar with or did not care for, I also came to enjoy and understand them. Much of that was due to the variety of tastes and preferences among the student editors and the way that my colleagues would defend and celebrate pieces that I might not have considered for publication.
Do you think that your aesthetic was well represented in the issue of Water~Stone Review that you worked on? Why?
Yes? Ha ha, I guess I don’t quite know how to describe my personal aesthetic but I was just tickled with every single piece that we published in Volume 19. I think it was a really unique and exciting. I feel like we very intentionally widened our personal views of what could live under the creative non-fiction umbrella, and that effort was definitely represented.
How do you think literary journals affect the writing world?
Literary journals are where we as writers can to read and be read by our peers and colleagues and fellow artists. Not all of us are going to get published in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, or even other big literary magazines (but keep trying, everyone! Submit! Submit!). Literary magazines are so varied- there is theoretically a home for any well-crafted piece. You, as the writer, just have to find your lit journal home. It’s out there!
What other literary journals do you admire?
I am extremely excited about my recent subscription to Fourth Genre. I find 1966, an online CNF specific journal, to be very aesthetically pleasing as well as a publisher of good things. My friend introduced me to Black Warrior Review recently, and it is bonkers good.
What are you reading right now?
What am I NOT reading??? For my classes this semester, I am in the middle of Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Duplex by Kathryn Davis, and The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard. Oh and Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood.
And then secretly, when my homework isn’t looking, I am making my way through Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining, Dr. Sleep, and a Japanese horror comic, Dissolving Classroom, by Junji Ito.
How do you think that being a student editor for Water~Stone Review helped you in your writing/editing journey?
It absolutely inspired me and gave me hope for publication. Some of the things we read were so incredible, but they just didn’t work with some of the other pieces, or they were too long. It was nothing personal, and there was nothing literarily wrong with the pieces- it just wouldn’t work in that issue. It was a comforting reminder that sometimes it’s not your writing, it’s just the timing. I submitted like crazy after my semester in Water~Stone.
Are you doing something literary that you would like to share?
After a flurry of submissions, I am pleased to announce that one of my essays will be published in the forthcoming issue of Under the Gum Tree! Keep your eyes peeled. It’s about pizza!
Who is your least favorite historical figure (can’t be Hitler)?
Andrew Jackson. Man, fuck that guy.
BIO:
Lily Crooks is a writer and person in Minnesota. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in creative writing at Hamline University in St. Paul. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found around the Twin Cities knitting, singing karaoke, or falling off of her bicycle.