The StoryCellar Holiday Gift Guide is Here!
Searching for the perfect literary present to give or receive? I've got you covered.
December 2, 2024
Dear Writers,
Welcome to StoryCellar: News & Opportunities for Writers. I’m glad you’re here!
This week, I’ll email paid subscribers with a link to a complimentary online lesson on how to turn your vacation—whether it’s a day-trip or a two-week adventure—into personal essays and articles for newspapers and magazines. You’ll also have access to member lessons (video and PDF) from previous months.
You can become a paid subscriber, as well!
StoryCellar is my labor of love and literary citizenship. Your contribution provides me with a little free time to volunteer for National Ski Patrol; here I am helping Outdoor Emergency Care instructors to pass their skills refresher course by pretending to be impaled by a broken ski pole.
The StoryCellar Holiday Gift Guide
Golly, I used to hate the December holidays. I loathed the sentiment, the enforced merriment, and the mad rush to make everything look like a spread out of Real Simple.
Now, I celebrate what I love about the season—homemade eggnog lattes, lots and lots of fairy lights, gingerbread cats, and a thrift store tree hung with ornaments my family has given each other over the years and topped with a sloth puppet.
Especially, I love giving gifts to my husband and daughter. I really think about their hobbies, their passions, the little luxuries they love but deny themselves, how a particular gift might enhance their workspaces—in my husband’s case, his home office and music studio in a barn was crying out last year for a shag rug and framed Gary Numan posters. In my daughter’s case, her very messy childhood bedroom needs a college-girl makeover this year…Go Ducks!
Here are my gift ideas for the writers in your life…or perhaps you’ll be inspired to request one of these presents for yourself!
Pay for registration to a favorite writing conference. Poets & Writers maintains this free database which allows you to look for conferences locally, regionally, and nationally. Some of my personal favorites: The AWP Conference and Bookfair; The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Winter Conference both in person and virtual; Willamette Writers Conference in Portland; Nonfiction Now Conference; Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association Nebula Conference.
Give your favorite writer a retreat. Here’s a short list of writers’ retreats to get you started. I personally adore Write Doe Bay on Orcas Island and the residencies at Playa Summer Lake on the Oregon desert.—absolutely life-changing. You can also organize a DIY retreat for the writer in your life. Check out these suggestions by author Sarah Penner!
Purchase a newsletter subscription. Substack and Medium newsletters abound; for $60 or less, you can give the gift of inspiring content in your writer’s inbox once a week or once a month. For freelance journalists, subscribe to Find Freelance Opportunities or Study Hall; I find editorial calls for submissions on both sites weekly, and they’re responsible for a lot of what I publish. check out writer/designer Emily Grosvenor’s inspiring newsletter I Would Do it Differently which has changed the way I look at both indoor and outdoor spaces in my life. You don’t have to spend a dime if you do a little research on free newsletters that your writer would love; for example, I look forward to Damn History every month; the author shares fascinating articles on popular history, and it’s absolutely free!
Pay for a membership. Writers’ organizations abound, and a membership gets you access to free workshops, discounts on annual conferences, and networking opportunities with like-minded authors. Here’s a solid list of organizations to start with. I also really like Nonfiction Authors’ Association and Associated Writers and Writing Programs. I have a former MFA student who adores Horror Writers Association and a colleague who loves the Society of American Travel Writers. I use my Newspapers.com subscription for research and to stalk my most scandalous deceased relatives.
Give an online writing class. Maybe the writer in your life wants to take this class from Margaret Atwood. Maybe they’d like to take a course through the Gotham Writers’ Workshop. Maybe they’d like to take an online, learn-at-your-pace class from me! (Details on the latter here.)
Order a book like Priscilla Long’s incredibly-inspiring Dancing with the Muse in Old Age or Emily Grosvenor’s Find Yourself at Home: A Conscious Approach to Shaping Your Space and Your Life from your favorite indie bookstore, and check out this list of innovative books published by small presses. Just a reminder: Amazon and the Big Five publishers don’t need more money. But indie bookstores and small/midsized presses survive because of our shopping dollars. This site makes it easy to spend in a way that helps booklovers. Bookshop: Buy books online. Support local bookstores.
Pre-order a book and request an autographed bookplate from the author. Obviously, you’re not going to email Kristin Hannah or Stephen King for their signature, but other more accessible authors will weep with gratitude if you pre-order a signed copy of their newest book or request an autographed bookplate. My friend Miriam Gershow has a stunning new novel coming out; you can preorder it here: Closer | Miriam Gershow . My author/publisher friend Laura Stanfill has a gorgeous book forthcoming for writers: Imagine a Door — Forest Avenue Press. And for anyone whose life has been touched by someone with Down syndrome, you can preorder my newest illustrated book Down Syndrome Out Loud: 20+ True Stories about Disability and Determination.
A Few Cool Resources for Writers
This 18-minute Ted Radio Hour interview about how we listen to one another might just change your life. It sure as heck changed the way I listen to everyone from my daughter and my husband to fellow authors and bookstore employees and my MFA students! "Tell me more" and other phrases that deepen relationships : NPR
Those who write memoir will appreciate the “Memoir” department of Narratively Magazine. Sample columns include: “Letter to My Teenage Self: An Incarcerated Man Interrogates the Person He Once Was,” “The Paradox of a Fair-Skinned Black Girl in the Segregated South,” and “I Professed My Love at Mile 15...But Not to My Husband.”
Alicia Guo’s Morning Pages are a free, ethereal digital experience that offers both a prompt and a place to freewrite without the pressure of producing anything at all. Recent prompts include “Some things that need to be said,” “Moving towards love,” and “Honest feelings.”
Author Katie Hale published this article: (5) Ten Tips for Doing Book Events - by Katie Hale which I’ve found useful in thinking about how best to give my readers something of value when I visit bookstores and libraries.
Initially, I thought the premise of this article was hilarious. Then, I realized I haven’t written an actual letter to anyone since my mother-in-law passed away. How To Write A Letter In Our Digital Age - The Good Trade . Who wants to be my pen pal?
Workshops, Awards & Calls for Submissions
Do you dream of reviewing books, or do you hope someone will review yours? Poets and Writers has a searchable database of all publications that run book reviews. Book Review Outlets | Poets & Writers
I’ve only just heard of the magazine Off Assignment, and I can’t wait to pitch a travel essay to the editors. Should I write about the time an alpaca spit on me or do an interview with a volunteer Mrs. Santa Claus who made last Friday’s tree-lighting ceremony in Portland’s Pioneer Square an absolutely super-weird delight? Here are the publication’s submission guidelines: SUBMIT — Off Assignment.
Do you write crime novels? I don’t. Even thinking about crime makes me want to take to my bed with my cats. But if you have the stomach for it, you’ll want to check out the Minotaur Books First Crime Novel writing contest. The winner receives a publishing contract and a pretty decent chunk of change: Writing Competitions - Minotaur Books - Home
The Historical Novel Society of North America has a call for conference proposals which opens December 15th, and I’m totally pitching a workshop on how to write short history-themed pieces for all types of magazines while working on a book-length project, plus what do to when you discover a scandalous relative on Newspapers.com. The conference takes place in Las Vegas in 2025. #HNS2025 Call for Proposals
Maybe you’re just now thinking of becoming a writer. If so, the people behind this scholarship want to give you money for a writing class or workshop. CREATIVE. INSPIRED. HAPPY Mid-Career Writing Scholarship | Bold.org
Or maybe you’re early on in your career as a nonfiction writer and would love funding and mentorship from a generous author for an ambitious project. If that’s the case, The Ann Friedman Fellowship is for you! Fellowship — ANN FRIEDMAN
Okay, that’s all for now. Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing!
—Melissa
P.S. Here’s me rocking my new t-shirt designed by Grace Key at Candidly Kind. Grace is one of the stars of my forthcoming book Down Syndrome Out Loud: 20+ True Stories about Disability and Determination. I love this shirt!!
Such a generous newsletter experience! It’s like sitting in a room with you — but I do wish I could do that more!