the craft. contorting ourselves into spaces.
I’m not sure it was the best idea for my first retreat experience to be all Black women because I don’t know that I can open myself up to anything less than the standard Amanda Johnston, founder of Torch Literary Arts, created for us. For half of the cohort, it was our first retreat experience. The other half warned that the loving, supportive environment present was not necessarily a requirement for others.
Literature, within itself, is a space where marginalized people are inadequately represented. So imagine the breakdown of some of the most sought after and prestigious workshops and residencies. You guessed it, friends. My fellow writers discussed many situations where they were either the only person of color or one of two people of color in any retreat or residency prior to that experience.
Lately, I have been on a personal journey to stop allowing whiteness to be pervasive in how I think of the standard. I think society really tries to sell us that story about beauty, corporate culture, creativity, etc., and it’s far from the case. But I hadn’t thought about how that applied when thinking of some of the spaces we pursue in our writing careers. Adding that “Fellow of this fancy retreat or workshop” can give you a sense of credibility in certain circles. But I’ve started to wonder whether those are spaces I actually want to be in. Would I actually even be safe, professionally and physically, if we’re being honest?
When starting out, there is this thought that you need to do everything, at all times, because God forbid something comes out that you didn’t apply for, and this will be the sole reason your career hasn’t reached the levels you hoped. But the more I grow, I’m really okay with the reality that not everything is for me. And not just if I get rejected from it. But determining at the forefront, that it’s not something I desire.
I can’t tell you in running Permission to Write over the years, how many times I’ve heard members of this community sigh in relief that they are among writers that look like them. That in workshopping, they aren’t spending precious time explaining cultural nuances instead of actually discussing the quality of the work.
Listen, it’s not to say that we shouldn’t pursue these things because diversity works both ways, right? It is actually nice to hear various perspectives from people of different backgrounds, upbringings, experiences. However, I always want us to keep in mind our goals. Not what this person or that person tells us we should value, but what we deem necessary to get to the next level of our writing journey. I promise you, I’m going to apply for other things. But they have another thing coming if they think that somehow I’m going to be made to feel less than because I’m not running off some list of credentials to justify my place in their “prestigious” spaces.
I’m a writer. Not because my mother or father was a writer. Not because I have a close uncle that worked in publishing for years. Or because I have any particular interest in winning a Pulitzer or the like. But because I love words. And I love storytelling. And I find it fascinating that you can start with nothing and end up with a whole world of characters that you love like real people or have an inkling of an idea that grows into a book that helps thousands of people. Without any accolades or fancy titles to add to my resume, I pray that remains enough for me.
To take a note from Shonda Rhimes or whoever said it first, “we belong in every room we walk into.” Period. So even if you do find yourself in stiff, unwelcoming literary spaces, don’t shrink. Don’t apologize. Take up space because you were selected for a reason. Your only bar is you. Your culture is valuable and not something that needs to contort into anything else. How rich are we? That we get to bring our full selves into bland spaces and paint it with vibrant colors.
Writing/Job Opportunities
Our Changing the Story Freelancer Training Programme has been created in partnership with Inspired Selection and The Publishing Training Centre. The six-month course is designed to make publishing more accessible as part of their commitment to Changing the Story. No experience is required, though the desire to work in a freelance capacity is essential. To learn more about this opportunity, please click HERE.
Torch Literary Arts is hiring for two part-time positions: Programs Associate and Communications Associate. Apply by Aug. 31st. ($25/hr.)
The Rumpus is looking for reviews of recently published (within a year of submission) fiction, nonfiction, and literary books.
Callaloo Journal is accepting submissions. Black Appalachia: Past, Present, and Future. Guest edited by Crystal Wilkinson. (Oct. 31).
Ploughshares at Emerson College is accepting submissions during their reading period for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
AP is hiring a News Editor (Polls & Surveys). Washington, D.C.
E! News is hiring an experienced Editor to join the L.A. digital news team in a hybrid writer/editor role. ($75-90k).
Warner Music Group is hiring a New Release Content Manager. ($64-66k)
Penguin Random House is hiring for the following roles:
Pre-Production Assistant, Penguin Random House Audio ($48k, Open to remote)
Digital Marketing Associate, Audience Development, Knopf Doubleday ($53k, Open to Remote)
Editor, Pop Culture - Random House Worlds ($70-73k, Open to remote)
To Be Read
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