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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Literary Rejection Conference?

An anonymous reader sent this fun story in for your consideration:

"I sent my story out to The Gettysburg Review, oh, around Thanksgiving time last year. Haven't heard a peep but yesterday I did get this big fold-out brochure in the mail for their annual writer's conference. Says here I just return the enclosed postcard to get the registration packet. All it costs -- with room and board and a daily ten-dollar lunch ticket -- is approximately $1,000. Maybe that's cheap for a week of tutorials and networking, but I couldn't help but notice that all six writers who are speaking at the conference (they're all there on the cover of the brochure) also happen to be full-time professors. There it is again, the use of "writer" as a synonym for "college professor!" Now, considering that I want to be a real writer myself, maybe my conference money is better saved so's I can go back to school and get my teaching degree?Meanwhile, uh, about that story ..."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Literary Rejection Conference, I like that. "A Gathering of Rejects." Come for a weekend of understanding, compassion, friendship and shared bitterness. Read and share work that the Literary Establishment refuses to print (or even acknowledge). Sounds like someone could make a lot of money with this idea

Anonymous said...

Well I recognize the first guy, who is Lee K. Abbott of The Ohio State University. The fourth one from the right, she published a how-to book for writers, didn't she?

Anonymous said...

Grifter's conferences more like it.