My Dad Gets Nonfiction Essay Published!

Night Driving

My family received a pleasant surprise yesterday night through an congratulatory email from pixelhose, a variety blog that aims “to build a supportive community where members can help each other improve their inner-creative by offering constructive comments and feedback.”

My father, Glenn Shiroma, submitted his first nonfiction essay, “Deja Vu at the Range,” to the magazine’s Second Writing Competition, and we learned yesterday from Publisher Bob Dourandish that it has qualified for an entry. “Deja Vu at the Range” chronicles my dad’s struggles to accept his retirement as well as his views on golf, life, and family.

It is posted on the pixelhose website, and it is being considered for one of its prizes! Click here if you would like to read his essay. (Community commentary impacts their final decision, so please show him some love!)

My dad is 63 years young, and he wrote the essay entirely on his own.

You are never too old to begin writing your heart out!

 

Photo credit: dktrpepr / Foter / CC BY-ND

El Camino, Here I Come!

ecccampus 004As some of you may know, last spring, I interviewed for a full-time teaching position at El Camino College in Torrance, California. And though I did not get that job, my interview presented another development.

I just finished signing paperwork with Human Resources at ECC; so in addition to teaching at Fullerton College this fall, I will also rejoin the English Department at El Camino College. (I originally taught at ECC in 2008, five years ago!)

 

It is with sadness that I will be leaving West Coast University, where I have been teaching English as an Assistant Professor for the past five-and-a-half years. It’s crazy how time flies! I will miss the many dedicated and hardworking students I’ve come to know through the years.

No matter where life may take you, remember to always write your heart out!

 

Photo credit: El Camino College

Former Student Has First Story Accepted for Publication!

It's My Birthday! Party Wooo! (also TGIF)I have some very exciting news to share with you!

Edwin Vega-Roman, one of my past students and one of our fellow readers, just notified me that his short story, “Evol Nam,” has just been accepted by The Avalon Literary Review!

It’s scheduled to appear in the magazine’s Winter 2014 Edition in early February; and it will be his first published piece.

I asked him if he had any advice for us as writers, and this is what he had to say:

In all honesty, I wrote [“Evol Nam”] based off of a genre that a lot of literary magazines are looking for, which is Gay/Lesbian fiction. And the topic of homosexuality is very close to me because two of my best friends are gay. I had them read the piece and give me feedback. So, I guess write and submit stories tactically targeting publishers wants/needs, and like many others have told me, write what you know!

(You can read more from Mr. Vega-Roman on his blog, Edwin Vega-Roman: Aspiring Writer and Book Geek.)

I will have a cold one in your honor, Edwin! Congratulations!

 

Photo credit: Sam Ilić / Foter / CC BY-NC

Every Day Fiction Publishes ‘In Flight’

Southwest Airlines

Good morning, afternoon, or evening, everybody!

I have another quick announcement for you today:

To increase the odds of getting published, you should submit your stories to magazines that publish work similar to your own.

This is where some research is needed.

(I know it isn’t fun. But this kind of work is necessary if you’d like to share your work with a broader audience.)

So if these magazines offer example stories on their websites, you should at least skim them before you submit your work. You’ll be able to tell if they appreciate a particular style or genre; and if your writing fits that mold, your chances of being accepted there dramatically improve.

A few months ago, I sent out a flash fiction piece, specifically targeting magazines interested in stories under a thousand words in word count. Every Day Fiction was one of those places. They publish a variety of genres, from fantasy to horror to literary. And as you might assume from their name, they publish a new story every day.

I’m happy to announce that they accepted that flash fiction piece, “In Flight,” and it posted on their website this morning! Please click here to read it. I hope you like it, and thanks for reading.

I hope you have a productive writing week!

 

Photo credit: kevin dooley / Foter.com / CC BY

Almost Five Quarterly Publishes ‘The Widower’

A Song for the LonelyHey, guys! Just a quick announcement today for y’all:

One of the easiest ways to get published is to send your work to relatively new magazines–since word hasn’t really gotten out about them yet.

Five Quarterly and its sister site Almost Five Quarterly are two such magazines. Five Quarterly features a rotating panel of guest editors to select the poems and stories that appear in each of their issues.

Though I was told that my fiction submission, “The Widower,” barely missed the cut for Five Quarterly, a founder and editor, Vanessa Gabb, solicited it from me for Almost Five Quarterly, and it just posted on their website today!

Check it out by clicking here. I hope you like it!

 

Photo credit: Pensiero / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

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