Doubleback Books announces the release of Joy Ladin’s Impersonation. Previously published in 2015 from The Sheep Meadow Press, and a finalist for the Lamda Literary Award, Impersonation is a collection of poems that chronicles the messy, mysterious, profound, and idiosyncratic gender transition of the speaker. It is a book about the life-long process of becoming. The poems encompass shame and triumph, ecstasy and disappointment, the mundane humiliation of airport security screenings and the miraculous experience of incarnation and fully embodied love. This new edition of Impersonation has been edited with new poems, a new structure, and a new introduction by the author.
Joy Ladin has long worked at the tangled intersection of literature and trans identity. She has published ten books of poetry, including her latest collection, Shekhinah Speaks (Selva Oscura Press, 2022); 2021 National Jewish Book Award winner The Book of Anna (EOAGH); and Lambda Literary Award finalists Impersonation and Transmigration. A new collection, Family, is forthcoming from Persea in 2024. She has also published a memoir of gender transition, National Jewish Book Award finalist Through the Door of Life, and a groundbreaking work of trans theology, Lambda Literary and Triangle Award finalist, The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective. Her writings have been recognized with a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Fulbright Scholarship, among other honors. Many of her poems, essays, and videos of her presentations are available at joyladin.wordpress.com.
Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is thrilled to announce that they are now accepting applications for short-term artists’ residencies in creative writing, visual art, film/theater, music, and more. Each residency includes a room of one’s own as well as access to a communal kitchen, bathroom, office, and living space, plus wireless internet.
The length of a residency can range from one to three weeks. SAFTA is currently accepting applications for our spring residency period, which runs from December 23, 2019-May 24, 2020. The deadline for spring residency applications is September 15th, 2019.
SAFTA will be pairing with Lambda Literary to offer two fellowships (one full fellowship and one 50% fellowship) for a week-long residency to LGBTQIA+ writers of any genre. Lambda believes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer literature is fundamental to the preservation of our culture, and that LGBTQIA+ lives are affirmed when our stories are written, published and read. All applicants to the two fellowships must identify as LGBTQIA+. Partial scholarships are also available to any applicant with financial need.
This year’s judge will be Brynn Martin, a Kansas native living in Knoxville, where she received her MFA in poetry from the University of Tennessee. She co-hosts Shitty First Drafts, a podcast made for and by writers. Her poetry has appeared in or is forthcoming from Contrary Magazine, Yes, Poetry, Rogue Agent, and Crab Orchard Review.
The SAFTA farmhouse is located on a working farm that rests on a 45-acre wooded plot in a Tennessee “holler” perfect for hiking and exploring. The farm is less than a half-hour from downtown Knoxville, a bustling, innovative city of 200,000 in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, making SAFTA an ideal location for those looking for a rural get-away with access to urban amenities.
The residency bedrooms are 130 sq. ft. with a queen-size platform bed, closet, dresser, and desk. The communal kitchen is supplied with stove, refrigerator, and microwave plus plenty of cook- and dining-ware. The office and library have two working computers—one Mac, one PC. The library contains over 1,000 books with a particularly large contemporary poetry section and, thanks to The Wardrobe, many recent titles by women and nonbinary writers. The facility also includes a full-size working 19th century full-size letterpress with type, woodworking tools, and a 1930’s drafting table.
To apply for the Sundress Academy for the Arts residency, you will need the following:
-Application form (including artist’s statement and contact information for two references)
-CV or artist’s resume (optional)
-Artist sample (see website for more details on genre specifications)
-Application fee of $15 or $10 for current students (with student email) payable online*
*Application fee will be waived for those applying for the Lambda Literary scholarship who demonstrate financial need. Please state this in your application under the financial need section.
Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is thrilled to announce that they are now accepting applications for short-term artists’ residencies in creative writing, visual art, film/theater, music, and more. Each residency includes a room of one’s own as well as access to a communal kitchen, bathroom, office, and living space, plus wireless internet.
The length of a residency can range from one to three weeks. SAFTA is currently accepting applications for our spring residency period, which runs from December 23, 2019-May 24, 2020. The deadline for spring residency applications is September 15th, 2019.
The SAFTA farmhouse is located on a working farm that rests on a 45-acre wooded plot in a Tennessee “holler” perfect for hiking and exploring. The farm is less than a half-hour from downtown Knoxville, a bustling, innovative city of 200,000 in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, making SAFTA an ideal location for those looking for a rural get-away with access to urban amenities.
The residency bedrooms are 130 sq. ft. with a queen-size platform bed, closet, dresser, and desk. The communal kitchen is supplied with stove, refrigerator, and microwave plus plenty of cook- and dining-ware. The office and library have two working computers—one Mac, one PC.. The library contains over 1,000 books with a particularly large contemporary poetry section and, thanks to The Wardrobe, many recent titles by women and nonbinary writers. The facility also includes a full-size working 19th century letterpress with type, woodworking tools, and a 1930’s drafting table.
Available scholarships include the following:
Lambda Literary Fellowships (Spring 2020): SAFTA will be pairing with Lambda Literary to offer two fellowships (one full fellowship and one 50% fellowship) for a week-long residency to LGBTQIA+ writers of any genre. Lambda believes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer literature is fundamental to the preservation of our culture, and that LGBTQIA+ lives are affirmed when our stories are written, published and read. All applicants to the two fellowships must identify as LGBTQIA+. Partial scholarships are also available to any applicant with financial need.
This year’s judge will be Sundress editor Brynn Martin. Brynn Martin is a Kansas native living in Knoxville, where she received her MFA in poetry from the University of Tennessee. Her poetry has appeared in or is forthcoming from Contrary Magazine, Yes, Poetry, Rogue Agent, and Crab Orchard Review.
Dr. Kristi Larkin Havens Memorial Fellowship for Service to the Community (Spring 2020 or Fall 2020): Dr. Kristi Larkin Havens served as the Community Outreach Director for Sundress Academy for the Arts and then as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for Sundress Publications for over six years. She earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she was a Lecturer and the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies. She was a photographer who served as a producer on films for several local competitions including The Knoxville 24-Hour Film Festival and the Grindhouse Grind-out. For many years she served as a coordinator for the Knoxville Girls Rock Camp, an organization dedicated to fostering inclusivity and creativity. For her, the arts were a natural venue for pursuing the aims of social justice.
This fellowship will be awarded to a writer who has shown exceptional service to their own community through any of the following: volunteering, organizing, fundraising, board membership, etc. Fellowship winners will receive either a one-week full fellowship along with a $250 stipend or a two-week full fellowship for a writing residency at the Sundress Academy for the Arts at Firefly Farms in Knoxville, TN for either the spring or fall of 2020. The spring residency period runs from December 23, 2019-May 24, 2020, and the fall period runs from August 24-December 27, 2020.
Melissa Grunow Scholarship for Women and Nonbinary Writers (Spring 2020): We are offering two 50% scholarships to women or nonbinary writers for Spring 2020. These scholarships will go towards talented writers who also demonstrate financial need.
To apply, please submit the following:
-Application form (including artist’s statement and contact information for two references)
-CV or artist’s resume (optional)
-Artist sample (see website for more details on genre specifications)
-Application fee of $15 or $10 for current students (with student email) payable online*
The deadline for all five fellowships is September 15, 2019.
*Application fee will be waived for those applying for those applying for financial aid. Please state this in your application under the financial need section.
Sundress Academy for the Arts Announces Winners of Lambda Literary Fellowships
The Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is pleased to announce Wo Chan and Catherine Chen as the winners of their Spring Lambda Literary Fellowships. SAFTA has paired with Lambda Literary to offer two fellowships (one full fellowship and one 50% fellowship) for a week-long residency to LGBTQIA+ writers of any genre. Lambda believes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer literature is fundamental to the preservation of our culture, and that LGBTQIA+ lives are affirmed when our stories are written, published and read. These fellowships are designed to give queer artists time and space to complete their creative projects in a quiet and productive environment.
Catherine Chen is the author of the chapbook Manifesto, or: Hysteria (Big Lucks) forthcoming June 2019. Their work has appeared in Slate, Hobart, Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Mask Magazine, among others. They’ve been awarded fellowships and residencies from Millay Colony, Lambda Literary, and Art Farm.
Wo Chan is a queer poet and drag performer living in Brooklyn. Wo has received fellowships from the New York Foundation of the Arts, Kundiman, and the Asian American Writers Workshop. As a member of Switch N’ Play, Wo has performed at venues including The Whitney, National Sawdust, New York Live Arts, and BAM Fisher. Check them out @theillustriouspearl or wo.bingo.
The Sundress Academy for the Arts is now open for applications for summer. For the summer residency period, SAFTA will be offering the following fellowships: one full and one 50% fellowship for writers and artists of color; one full fellowship for a marginalized writer sponsored by the literary magazine, Alternating Current; and one full fellowship for a survivor of sexual assault. We also have limited scholarships for all applicants with financial need.
SAFTA is an artists’ residency on a 45-acre farm in Knoxville, Tennessee, that hosts workshops, retreats, and residencies for writers of all genres, visual artists, and more. All are guided by experienced, professional instructors from a variety of creative disciplines who are dedicated to cultivating the arts in East Tennessee.
Sundress Academy for the Arts & Lambda Literary Now Accepting Applications for Spring Artist Residencies
The Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is excited to announce that they are now accepting applications for short-term artists’ residencies in creative writing, visual art, film/theater, music, and more. Each residency includes a room of one’s own, access to a communal kitchen, bathroom, office, and living space, plus wireless internet.
The length of a residency can run from one to three weeks. SAFTA is currently accepting applications for our spring residency period, which runs from December 31st to May 5th, 2019. The deadline for spring residency applications is September 1st, 2018.
For the spring residency period, SAFTA will be pairing with Lambda Literary to offer two fellowships (one full fellowship and one 50% fellowship) for a week-long residency to LGBTQIA+ writers of any genre. Lambda believes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer literature is fundamental to the preservation of our culture, and that LGBTQIA+ lives are affirmed when our stories are written, published and read. All applicants to the two fellowships must identify as LGBTQIA+. Partial scholarships also available to any applicant with financial need. This year’s judges will be Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello, Meagan Cass, and librecht baker.
The SAFTA farmhouse is located on a working farm that rests on a 45-acre wooded plot in a Tennessee “holler” perfect for hiking, camping, and nature walks. Located less than a half-hour from downtown Knoxville, an exciting and creative city of 200,000 in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, SAFTA is an ideal location for those looking for a rural get-away with access to urban amenities.
The residency bedrooms are 130 sq. ft. with queen-size platform bed, closet, dresser, and desk. There is also a communal kitchen supplied with stove, refrigerator, and microwave plus plenty of cook- and dining-ware. The office and library have two working computers—one Mac, one PC—with access to the Adobe Creative Cloud. The library contains over 800 books with a particularly large contemporary poetry section and, thanks to the Wardrobe, many recent titles by women and nonbinary writers. The facility also includes a full-size working 19th century full-size letterpress with type, woodworking tools, and a 1930’s drafting table.
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*Application fee will be waived for those applying for the Lambda Literary scholarship who demonstrate financial need. Please state this in your application under the financial need section.
Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is excited to announce that they are now accepting applications for short-term artists’ residencies in creative writing, visual art, film/theater, music, and more. Each residency includes a room of one’s own, access to a communal kitchen, bathroom, office, and living space, plus wireless internet.
The length of a residency can run from one to three weeks. SAFTA is currently accepting applications for our spring residency period, which runs from January 1st to May 6th, 2018. The deadline for spring residency applications is September 10th, 2017.
For the spring residency period, SAFTA will be pairing with Lambda Literary to offer two fellowships (one full fellowship and one 50% fellowship) for a week-long residency to LGBTQIA+ writers of any genre. Lambda believes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer literature is fundamental to the preservation of our culture, and that LGBTQIA+ lives are affirmed when our stories are written, published and read. All applicants to the two fellowships must identify as LGBTQIA+. Partial scholarships also available to any applicant with financial need. This year’s judges will be Wren Hanks, Noh Anothai, and librecht baker.
The SAFTA farmhouse is located on a working farm that rests on a 45-acre wooded plot in a Tennessee “holler” perfect for hiking, camping, and nature walks. Located less than a half-hour from downtown Knoxville, an exciting and creative city of 200,000 in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, SAFTA is an ideal location for those looking for a rural get-away with access to urban amenities.
The residency bedrooms are 130 sq. ft. with queen-size platform bed, closet, dresser, and desk. There is also a communal kitchen supplied with stove, refrigerator, and microwave plus plenty of cook- and dining-ware. The office and library have two working computers—one Mac, one PC—with access to the Adobe Creative Cloud. The library contains over 800 books with a particularly large contemporary poetry section and, thanks to the Wardrobe, many recent titles by female-identified and genderqueer writers. The facility also includes a full-size working 19th century full-size letterpress with type, woodworking tools, and a 1930’s drafting table.
To apply for the Sundress Academy for the Arts residency, you will need the following:
-Application form (including artist’s statement and contact information for two references)
-CV or artist’s resume (optional)
-Artist sample (see website for more details on genre specifications)
-Application fee of $15 or $10 for current students (with student email) payable online*
*Application fee will be waived for those applying for the Lambda Literary scholarship who demonstrate financial need. Please state this in your application under the financial need section.
Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is delighted to announce that Brian Kornell and Haley Fedor have won the Lambda Literary fellowships for the spring residency period. The Lambda Literary Foundation, an organization striving to preserve the LGBTQ culture by celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer literature, partnered with SAFTA to sponsor two LGBTQ-identified writers for a week-long residency. Our full scholarship was awarded to Brian Kornell, and the partial scholarship was awarded to Haley Fedor.
Brian Kornell earned his MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His writing appears in The Kenyon Review, Queen Mob’s Teahouse, Luna Luna Magazine, OCHO, and elsewhere. His work has also appeared in The Rumpus, where he is the assistant essays editor. At present, he is working on a memoir about growing up gay in the Midwest as well as being closeted and married until he was in his early thirties. You can find him on Twitter @briankornell.
Haley Fedor, a PhD candidate at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is a queer author from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Section 8 Magazine, The Fem, Guide to Kulchur Magazine, Literary Orphans, Typehouse Literary Magazine, Crab Fat Literary Magazine, and the anthology Dispatches from Lesbian America. In 2014, she was nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
Congratulations also to our finalists who were also awarded residencies: Alexis Smithers, Grey Vild, Marissa Higgins, Callum Angus, Emily Withnall, and Celeste Chan.
The Sundress Academy for the Arts is now open for summer residency applications. For the summer residency period, SAFTA will be offering four full fellowships for the following—two fellowships for writers or artists of color (one sponsored by the Tennessee Arts Commission), one Tennessee Arts Commission fellowship for an Appalachian writer, and one Tennessee Arts Commission fellowship for a Tennessee writer. Three of these fellowships were made possible by an ABC grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission, awarded for the 2016-2017 season.