Working with Editors

Dear reader,   There's this thing that happens in the nonprofit world in times of political upheaval: Something egregious happens, and then, one after another, every progressive org crawls out of the woodwork to make a formulaic statement decrying said egregious event. For leaders, the pressure to say something (and more specifically, to say the right thing) is extraordinarily high right now.    My hope is that, as an org, our actions will speak louder than our words. But on the off chance they don't, please know that we, too, see the fascist coup underway. We, too, are watching in horror as dissenting voices are silenced and threatened. We, too, are terrified about what all of this means for marginalized communities, both the ones we belong to, and those with whom we stand in solidarity. We, too, are unsure of how to affect meaningful change in this moment. We, too, still have labor to do — as individuals trying to survive these shifts, and as workers trying to push Blue Stoop forward amid countless distractions. We, too, are figuring all of this out in real-time. In other words, you're not alone.   I hope you can find some small dose of comfort this week — in community, in a book, in silence, in nature, in food, in history, in music, in making, in poetry, or wherever else you might seek it. And if you want some company, there's always room for you here, on the Stoop. ON THE STOOP Wednesday, 3/5, 3:30 – 5:30 pm ET: Creative Coworking on Zoom. A generative virtual drop-in session with peers. Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life. We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. (FREE/VIRTUAL)   Thursday, 3/6, 4:00 – 5:00 pm ET: Thursdays on the Stoop presents "Working with Editors" with Dayna M. Reidenouer. In this hour-long workshop, professional book coach and editor Dayna M. Reidenouer will provide an overview of the publishing process, with a focus on the multiple types of editing in traditional and independent publishing, how to find editors, and what to do with editorial feedback. (FREE/VIRTUAL)   Spring classes are filling quickly! Financial aid and payment plans are still available in our remaining spring classes: The Queer Art of Friendship with Kurt David, Beyond the Page: Performance Skills for Poets with Dimitri Reyes, and From Query to Collaboration: How to Get an Agent with Eshani Surya and Elizabeth Greenspan. Tuition ranges from $20–$225 depending on the class length and your income level. Claim your seat today! In solidarity,   Julian Shendelman Co-Director   P.S. Looking for more local literary connections? Check out our community calendar and resource pages. SUPPORT BLUE STOOP CLASSIFIEDS THE MOTHERLODE RETREAT:  MASTERING THE ART OF WRITING ABOUT OUR MOTHERS April 27 to May 1, 2025. Boyd’s Mill, Pennsylvania.   Delve into the heart of your matrilineal story at The Motherlode Retreat, a transformative five-day writing experience in the tranquil foothills of the Poconos. Co-hosted by acclaimed writer and facilitator Amy Shearn, and writer, instructor and writing coach, Diana Friedman, The Motherlode Retreat is for writers of all levels looking to explore their complex relationships with their mothers. Through facilitated discussions, generative prompts, and craft workshops, we’ll examine themes such as the mother wound, inherited narratives, and how to transform personal experiences into powerful writing. Whether you're crafting fiction, memoir, poetry, or plays, this retreat provides a safe, supportive space to deepen your writing and bring your stories to life.   Learn more and secure your spot:  The Motherlode Retreat: Mastering the Art of Writing About our Mothers. Got an event, organization, business, or book to promote?  Blue Stoop offers affordable ad space here and on our website.  BEYOND THE STOOP   Here's a quick excerpt from our community calendar. Adding an event is easy and free! ~~~~~~~~~   Event title Rutgers University-Camden Writers House & MFA: Publishers Panel   Start time 3/5/2025 6:30pm   Location Zoom   Description This annual panel discussion featuring agents and editors Madison Smartt Bell (Ayesha Pande Literary), Alex Higley (Great Place Books), and Cara Reilly (Doubleday/Penguin Random House) sheds light on how a book goes from manuscript to bookstore shelves. Participants will be able to ask questions at the end of the discussion.   Link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rutgers-university-camden-writers-house-mfa-publishers-panel-tickets-1115680403119   Contact info writers@camden.rutgers.edu   Cost $10 general; free for Rutgers-Camden students & Camden residents   ~~~~~~~~~   Event title Moonstone Arts Center presents Sarah Browning, W. D. Ehrhart & Jack Miller    Start time 3/5/2025 7:00pm   Location Fergie's Pub, 1214 Sansom Street, Philadelphia   Description Open Reading Follows. Note that the venue is not wheelchair accessible. The readings take place on the second floor.   Sarah Browning is the author of Call Me Yes, and others, co-host of Wild Indigo Poetry, received and fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, VCCA, Yaddo, Porches, and Mesa Refuge. W. D. Ehrhart's most recent books are Thank You for Your Service: Collected Poems; What We Can and Can't Afford: Essays on Vietnam, Patriotism, and American Life, and At Smedley Butler's Grave. Jack Miller, author of the autobiographical poetry book called Habit: Seven Decades of Poems, he is a lover of nature who enjoys birds, butterflies, woods and swamps.   Link https://moonstoneartscenter.com/event/live-poetry-sarah-browning-w-d-ehrhart-and-jack-miller/   Cost FREE   ~~~~~~~~~   Event title The Late(ish) Poetry Show   Start time 3/7/2025 8:30pm   Location PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th Street, Philly, PA 19123   Description Come watch Philly's best poets and join the livest audience in the city for a night of poetry, open mic, music, games and more. Featuring: Alyesha Wise.    Link https://www.thephillypigeon.org/   Contact info https://www.thephillypigeon.org/   Cost $10-25   ~~~~~~~~~   Event title Avitus B. Carle & Alison Lubar: Flash Fiction and Poems   Start time 3/8/2025 2:00pm    Location Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA, 19119   Description Avitus B. Carle presents her award-winning debut flash fiction collection, These Worn Bodies, joined by poet Alison Lubar. To reserve copies of either author’s books for this event, please email or call the store.    In this richly imagined and unconventionally told debut collection, Avitus B. Carle turns tradition on its head, discarding and reframing antiquated portraits of women and girls as damsels, princesses, and homemakers relegated to lives of cleaning and baking and waiting in towers to be rescued or to receive a truly forced first kiss. Instead, Carle’s characters face the world head-on in unique, bold, and unexpected ways. Within the pages of These Worn Bodies, Carle depicts a woman at odds with her cardboard cutout husband, a mouse who forms an unlikely alliance with a human over a knife, the consequences of an obsession gone too far over a gerbil named Gertrude Stein, what happens when a group of girls gather to fire bullets from their mouths or when a character clashes with her author. Carle’s menagerie of characters tell their stories through paragraphs, letters, resumes, and even in the form of a puzzle. But no matter the shape each story takes, the entire cast shares a common goal: to shed the worn expectations inflicted upon their bodies.   Alison Lubar’s METAMOURPHOSIS contemplates the transformative power of particularly queer, sapphic love, in all of its expressions: through grief, new relationship energy, and non-linear healing. The section titles are portmanteaus, playing on both the idea of evolution, and of the illusion of a binary. And while these smaller divisions are worlds in themselves, their cohesive unfolding implies the interconnectedness of all facets, stages, and nuances of love.   Link https://www.bigbluemarblebooks.com/events/2025/3/8/avitus-b-carle-amp-alison-lubar-flash-fiction-and-poems   Contact info 215-844-1870   Cost $0   ~~~~~~~~~   Event title Ghost Harmonics   Start time 3/8/2025 7:00pm   Location The Perch, 2321 Emerald St, Philadelphia, PA 19125   Description Third Ghost Harmonics show is March 8th! Come join us at The Perch for an amazing night. Head over to the Eventbrite for more details! Featuring readings from readings by Joe Hall, Reuben Gelley Newman, Michael Joseph Walsh, and Sam Heaps with music by Tangent Universes, and a short film screening from Fern Poppy. Will be one hell of a night!   Link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ghost-harmonics-3-readings-music-and-film-tickets-1242240919029    Contact info ghostharmonicsreading@gmail.com   Cost $5-10 Suggested   ~~~~~~~~~   Event title Spit Poetry   Start time 3/9/2025 7:30pm   Location Upstairs @ Abyssinia, 229 S 45th St, Philadelphia, PA 19104   Description Big news: Spit Poetry is back and upstairs as ever 💘 this is a sweet sweet line up ! come by & bring a poem to read at the mic if that is the sort of thing you desire… and hear from these excellent poets: @insa_abuhmeddi is the author of the forthcoming Wrong Winds (@fonografeditions) and lives right here in philadelphia. @hollmel is the author of Fetal Position (@booksroof) and Read Me (@uglyducklingpresse) and will be journeying to philly from Brooklyn. @bennnjjiiiii is the author of Glaring (@wendyssubway) and It got so dark (@uglyducklingpresse) and will also be journeying to Philly from Brooklyn. @mannheimerup is the author of Earth Room (@changes.press) which was selected by Louise Glück as the inaugural winner of the Changes Book Prize and she too will be making this Brooklyn to philly journey. @rob_fitterman is the author of Creve Coeur (Winter Editions) and fifteen additional books of poetry and you bet he is visiting us from the city of new york.   Link https://www.instagram.com/p/DGLlHGNOkVT/   Contact info Instagram — @tall.spy   Cost No cover, donations welcome   ~~~~~~~~~ VIEW MORE EVENTS 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 300 Philadelphia, PA 19107, United States Unsubscribe or Manage Preferences