Rejections and Setbacks Hurt, But Given Time, They Make Great Stories By Pamela Jane Before I began writing full-time, I pictured the glamorous life of a published children’s author waiting for me just around the corner. My author fantasy seemed to be set in the 1940s: I work quietly at home, I don’t have to market or promote my books, and I’ve had the same editor for twenty years.  She publishes everything I write, and my books stay in print forever.  If I need a little extra money, I simply pick up the telephone and call her. She drops everything and rushes over to my office where ..read more

By Erin Hill An open “Grades” tab on the computer balanced precariously on my lap. An open student reflection one tab over. Word Feud game with a friend on the iPad to my left. Indiana basketball on the TV in my sightline. Group chat on the phone to my right about our team’s poor shooting and lack of effort on defense. And I wonder what my problem is. I blame my atrophied focus and my mental fatigue on lots of reasonable things—my relentless schedule, my students’ needs, perimenopause, pizza for the third meal in a row. But a gnawing knowing: I’m contributing to the problem. My five-tasks-at ..read more

Another year, another AWP By Allison K Williams Another AWP, another year of watching AWP happen on social media. Writer friends and writer acquaintances are coordinating meet-ups and announcing their readings. Editors I admire are posting about their panels, and how their panels went. Everything is liminal. Or intersectional. Or intersectionally liminal. In a few days, countless editors, writers and journal staffers will depart the giant conference in Seattle, heading back to their home institutions with swag bags, connections and newly autographed books. But even if we’re not meandering the ..read more