Are you curious at what goes on behind the scenes in the world of literary publishing? Fancy a peek under the tent into the latest trends facing editors, agents, authors and publishers as they collaborate on unleashing creative talent in various print media? You need to look no farther than Queens University of Charlotte this fall where three distinct panel discussions will feature some of the most luminous names in publishing today – including editors from The New Yorker, Paris Review and Tin House, agents from International Creative Management (ICM) and publishers including Riverhead Books and Henry Holt & Company.
These panel discussions are free and open to the public. They’re part of a four day conference Queens University is hosting for the alumni of their Creative Writing MFA program. Not yet a decade old, this low-residency graduate program has already gained an international reputation and boasts a world-class faculty including recent Pulitzer Prize winning author, Elizabeth Strout. It offers students one of the most unique and innovative approaches to literary study anywhere. The three panel discussions open to the public are only a small part of the overall conference will also feature a speaker series, networking dinners, and one dozen workshops.
The highlights of the event are the two panels open to the public on Saturday, November 7th. One focuses on magazine publishing and the other will feature editors, agents and authors discussing book publishing. Each panel will be moderated by Fred Leebron, the MFA program’s director and founder. Both panels will include a question-and-answer session with the audience.
The participants in the magazine panel represent considerable literary heft and credentials. They include: David St. John, former long-time poetry editor of the Antioch Review; Rob Spillman, founding editor of the highly regarded literary quarterly Tin House; Liz Farrell, the agent for serial non-fiction sales at International Creative Management; Nathaniel Rich, senior editor of Paris Review; and Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins, associate editor of The New Yorker.
According to Leebron, this panel will be of particular interest to anyone who’s curious how literary and commercial magazines work at the highest levels. For those who write short fiction, poetry, or essays, it should offer invaluable insights about pieces and seeing them through to publication.
The book publishing panel will include: Megan Lynch and Helen Atsma, from the New York trade publishing houses, Riverhead Books and Henry Holt & Company, respectively; literary agents Peter Steinberg (The Steinberg Agency), Chris Parris-Lamb (The Gernert Company), Anne Edelstein (Anne Edelstein Literary Agency) and, Tina Wexler (ICM). This panel will “present a terrific opportunity to learn about getting a book accepted for publication.” said Leebron.
The panel discussions kick off on Friday, November 6th and features an accomplished group of the program’s alumni who will discuss the process of editing and publishing anthologies. Panelists will include Jeff Hess, editor of Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform (Press 53), Tom Lombardo, editor of After Shocks: The Poetry of Recovery from Life Shattering Events (Santa Lucia Books), and Sally Drumm, editor of Milspeak: Warriors, Veterans, Family and Friends, Writing the Military Experience (Press 53). The panel will also feature alumni contributors to Making Notes: Music of the Carolinas (Novello Festival Press).
Drumm’s Milspeak anthology is of particular note. It’s an outgrowth of her work with the Milspeak Foundation, a literary and educational organization committed to a vigorous presence for creative works by military personnel in our culture. Her book offers insider’s perspective on military life, breaking down stereotypes and offering a creative outlet for military personnel along the way.
Charlotte residents should recognize Novello Festival Press as the nation’s only public library-sponsored literary publisher. An imprint of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, NFP is a unique resource to our community. NFP is known to readers and writers throughout the region as a strong promoter of the literary arts and providing opportunities for both established and new writers. NFP books have garnered critical acclaim from such prestigious outlets as The New York Times, National Public Radio, Publisher’s Weekly and Southern Living magazine.
Charlotte-area residents are fortunate to have the opportunity to get up close and personal to the fascinating world of literary publishing. “Our key principles,” according to Leebron, “are to demystify the publishing process for our students and alumni; present a literary resource to the larger Charlotte community, through readings and panels such as these and; to help magazine and book editors and agents learn about our students and their work.”
The Queens MFA in Creative Writing has evolved carefully since its inception in 2001. Leebron says: “I designed the program in consultation with Mike Kobre (Dana Professor of English and on-campus director of the program) and a small group of Queen’s faculty, and after looking at five other programs in operation in the low residency arena at the time.”
The program involves four semesters of coursework. In the periods in between residences, there are online workshops where student work is shared with three or four peers and a dedicated faculty mentor. On-campus program director Kobre noted that the program is distinguished from others in that it uses the workshop method in reviewing student work both while they are in residence and when they’re away. During the distance learning component of the program, new work is submitted and critiqued monthly. “Another distinguishing feature of our program is that we have the lowest student to faculty ratio of any program nationwide at no more than 4:1,” says Kobre.
Leebron notes that the program initially began by offering focus in fiction and poetry only and has evolved to include areas such as creative non-fiction and writing for the stage and screen. Current enrollment is 78 students and represents a wide demographic of age, background, and experience. “The flexibility in program scheduling allows us to attract students from not only a variety of walks of life, but a broad range of geographic locales,” says Kobre. “The ratio of out-of-state to local Charlotte-based student is currently running at about 90%-10%.” Students from over 28 states and several countries are among the current program participants.
One of the most valuable aspects of the program has been the sense of community it has helped foster among faculty, students, program alumni, and the larger world of literary publishing. Collaborative writing projects abound and the now-semi annual alumni conference has proved to be a hotbed of idea exchange and network development opportunities.
Mark your calendar and be sure to join in on one or more of these upcoming discussions.