oh, my GOSH, I wanted this job two years ago. Why now!?!?

Assistant Professor of Writing for Children
University of British Columbia

The Department of Theatre, Film, and Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Writing for Children effective 01 July 2007. An MFA or related graduate degree, or an MA or PhD with a major component in Creative Writing, is essential. The candidate should have a record of successful teaching in Creative Writing, and a significant publication record including no less than three books for children. Applicants should demonstrate a genuine interest in a wide variety of writing styles and techniques in order to deal with the diversity of work from students at the graduate and undergraduate levels in the Creative Writing Program at UBC. Publication or production credits in a second (adult) genre are required.

The successful candidate will teach workshops and classes in writing for children, and an introductory-level Creative Writing course or lecture. The successful candidate will be responsible for maintaining Creative Writing’s commitment, including thesis supervision, to the interdisciplinary Masters of Arts in Children’s Literature Program (MACL), which is offered jointly by the Department of Theatre, Film, and Creative Writing, the English Department, Language and Literacy Education (Faculty of Education) Department, and the School of Library, Archival, & Information Studies (SLAIS). This program gives the students involved a multi-disciplinary perspective on the full literary life cycle: the genesis of the work (Creative Writing), its critical analysis (English), and pedagogical approaches to literature in its interaction with children in schools (LLED), homes and libraries (SLAIS). Please consult the Creative Writing Program website www.creativewriting.ubc.ca for details about this program.

The Department of Theatre, Film and Creative Writing at UBC is unique in Canada, with 24 full-time faculty and numerous part-time faculty and guest artists. Each of the Programs has a national and international reputation for excellence, strong undergraduate and graduate degrees, and is a significant centre for creation and production. Opportunities for multi-disciplinary collaboration are abundant, both within the Department and with scholars and artists across the campus.

The University of British Columbia hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. The position is subject to budgetary approval and salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Applications should include a C.V., a published example of their work, and letters of reference from three referees (under separate cover). Application materials should be received no later than 15 December 2006 and should be addressed to:

Chair, Search Committee for Writing for Children
Department of Theatre, Film, and Creative Writing
The University of British Columbia
6354 Crescent Road
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z2.

Siiiiiiigh.

It's The End of the World As We Know It

…and I feel fine.

Really.

Counting down to the end of this edifying, soul-strengthening, mind-clarifying edit (Maybe if I don’t call it bad names, it’ll get easier?), I am going to totally scam off of Jen Robinson and list a list of things I wish I had time to read. No, no, don’t think it’ll be full of wise books and fun titles like she has. No, mine is just a wee bit more …basic. To begin:

* Five days worth of newspapers. Five. When a moment with the press has been mistaken for a sacrament in this little house! Five.

* A stack of catalogues from Coldwater Creek, my guilty-pleasure, fantasy wish-I-was-as-well-or-as-adult-ly-dressed browsing catalog.

* Two chunky adult books: Julie & Julia, which I’ve had to postpone, since my novel is somewhat food-esque (Julia Child appears as a patron saint) and Linda Ellerbee’s Take Big Bites, which is a shame, since I’ve loved Ellerbee since she did that weekly news wrap-ups way back when, and I learned to say in suave, worldly (and gravelly) tones, “And so it goes.”

* An enticingly thick tome called The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction by one Justine Larbalestier, which was her DOCTORAL thesis, and I’ve been dying to get into it, since I actually love old science fiction, and an exploration of women and feminism in its development would be great fun to read. If I had the time. (Edit: Apologies to Justine, who informed me sweetly that it was NOT her Master’s thesis, as I had said earlier, and trust me, I do know that between a PhD Dissertation, and a Master’s Thesis: they’re many years of work and agony different!!) (and how cool is it that one of my current YA idols has read this post?)

* A stack of library books, one of which is The Penderwicks, which I’m halfway through, The Star of Kazan, which I’ve somehow started without finishing the first, plus there’s Dairy Queen, Horn Dawgs and Sex Kittens Fall in Love, and Anatopsis sitting on the floor next to my bed.

* And let’s not get into unfinished manuscripts, things I launched into before this edit. And trying to follow the online novel AF mentioned. And the knitting projects I was trying to do to — ha hah! — unwind.

As my mother always says, “As long as you owe me, I’ll never be broke.” As long as I have ten million projects left unfinished, I guess I’ll never be bored. But good grief! I’d like to finish …something. Perhaps beginning with this … soul-fulfilling edit…

In scanning the newspapers before ruefully setting them aside, I noted that there have been reportedly fewer attempts to ban books in the past year than before (Not that that South Florida or that L.A. area school board have gotten the memo). Of course, that may be because people who like to legislate morality have found another angle…after all, the the separation of church and state is a lie, and not Constitutional… sigh. Maybe I’d better go back to the quiet, insular world of editing… and when I finish, I can look forward to going back to the classics and “reading like a writer.” This New York Times review promises to help me start. I have my doubts.

Via Greenlake Library Blog, I found that Publishers Weekly has a great interview with the ever-hip Scott Westerfeld about the use of the apocalyptic in his novels. I really love the title to his upcoming novel The Last Days , not to mention its gorgeously surreal cover. There’s nothing like the wee yellow eyes to alert one to the fact that the people you’re dealing with…? Are just not like you. They have… special powers. Or else some major health issues…

I hope you all enjoy your well-earned rest during Labor Day like I’m going to.

Cheers! Hang in there, people… the weekend draweth nigh.

It’s The End of the World As We Know It

…and I feel fine.

Really.

Counting down to the end of this edifying, soul-strengthening, mind-clarifying edit (Maybe if I don’t call it bad names, it’ll get easier?), I am going to totally scam off of Jen Robinson and list a list of things I wish I had time to read. No, no, don’t think it’ll be full of wise books and fun titles like she has. No, mine is just a wee bit more …basic. To begin:

* Five days worth of newspapers. Five. When a moment with the press has been mistaken for a sacrament in this little house! Five.

* A stack of catalogues from Coldwater Creek, my guilty-pleasure, fantasy wish-I-was-as-well-or-as-adult-ly-dressed browsing catalog.

* Two chunky adult books: Julie & Julia, which I’ve had to postpone, since my novel is somewhat food-esque (Julia Child appears as a patron saint) and Linda Ellerbee’s Take Big Bites, which is a shame, since I’ve loved Ellerbee since she did that weekly news wrap-ups way back when, and I learned to say in suave, worldly (and gravelly) tones, “And so it goes.”

* An enticingly thick tome called The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction by one Justine Larbalestier, which was her DOCTORAL thesis, and I’ve been dying to get into it, since I actually love old science fiction, and an exploration of women and feminism in its development would be great fun to read. If I had the time. (Edit: Apologies to Justine, who informed me sweetly that it was NOT her Master’s thesis, as I had said earlier, and trust me, I do know that between a PhD Dissertation, and a Master’s Thesis: they’re many years of work and agony different!!) (and how cool is it that one of my current YA idols has read this post?)

* A stack of library books, one of which is The Penderwicks, which I’m halfway through, The Star of Kazan, which I’ve somehow started without finishing the first, plus there’s Dairy Queen, Horn Dawgs and Sex Kittens Fall in Love, and Anatopsis sitting on the floor next to my bed.

* And let’s not get into unfinished manuscripts, things I launched into before this edit. And trying to follow the online novel AF mentioned. And the knitting projects I was trying to do to — ha hah! — unwind.

As my mother always says, “As long as you owe me, I’ll never be broke.” As long as I have ten million projects left unfinished, I guess I’ll never be bored. But good grief! I’d like to finish …something. Perhaps beginning with this … soul-fulfilling edit…

In scanning the newspapers before ruefully setting them aside, I noted that there have been reportedly fewer attempts to ban books in the past year than before (Not that that South Florida or that L.A. area school board have gotten the memo). Of course, that may be because people who like to legislate morality have found another angle…after all, the the separation of church and state is a lie, and not Constitutional… sigh. Maybe I’d better go back to the quiet, insular world of editing… and when I finish, I can look forward to going back to the classics and “reading like a writer.” This New York Times review promises to help me start. I have my doubts.

Via Greenlake Library Blog, I found that Publishers Weekly has a great interview with the ever-hip Scott Westerfeld about the use of the apocalyptic in his novels. I really love the title to his upcoming novel The Last Days , not to mention its gorgeously surreal cover. There’s nothing like the wee yellow eyes to alert one to the fact that the people you’re dealing with…? Are just not like you. They have… special powers. Or else some major health issues…

I hope you all enjoy your well-earned rest during Labor Day like I’m going to.

Cheers! Hang in there, people… the weekend draweth nigh.