Rectangle

Today in the mail I received my two copies of the Rectangle as payment for publication! For those of you who don't know, the Rectangle is the literary journal of Sigma Tau Delta, the English Major Honor Society. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was among a great group of poets, including Cameron Conaway, former PSU-A classmate, Chatham MFA grad Nimi Finnegan, and current Chatham MFA student Meghan Tutolo. Congratulations to all of you! I'm honored to be listed among your talent. :-)

Submission Opportunity, Thesis Update, and More

Ok, so it's been a long time since I've written here. So, it's about time I do a complete update of everything that's been going on.

I'm finding myself, at this point in my life, much more challenged and entertained by writing for children than poetry. Maybe it's because I work with children and children's books every day. Maybe I was just ready for something new. Poetry has lost its novelty for me-- I no longer feel like I'm a master of it, nor do I enjoy sitting down and reading a poetry book as much as I do a children's book or YA novel. . .

An online friend of mine has created a site for children which includes poetry, short stories and activities. It's absolutely amazing the amount of work that has gone into this thing! She's now accepting submissions from children's writers, so if you are one please check it out at http://raenidaystorystation.com/default.aspx . You won't get paid for your work, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing it's being read and enjoyed by children everywhere.

Anyway. . . I'm going full spead ahead on my "povel" as my thesis. I've been busy reading lots of povels and examining what works and doesn't work about them. I have my proposal submitted and have actually started the manuscript! More about that later, though.

I'm also currently working on a non-fiction piece for children about the invention of the ferris wheel. This paper is the first time I've ever written non-fiction for children, but the topic is interesting and the process has been so much fun!

In other news, the issue of Rectangle (Sigma Tau Delta's literary magazine) with my poetry in it is coming out next month! Yay! Now I have to get my butt moving and submit some more. I want to really start trying to get my picture books published.

Woo-hoo!

I received some good news via e-mail a couple of days ago. The Rectangle, the literary journal of Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, accepted my poem "The Bradley Family Secret" for publication! Although I was a little surprised that they decided to publish that one (boy, do I feel like my poetry has matured since I wrote that poem!) out of all five or six I submitted, I am more than happy to be published again, especially in a journal that will be read by students and professors all over the country (including some at Chatham as well as my alma mattar).