Summer, 2011
As Editor-in-Chief of Ducts.org it has been my privilege over the past twelve years to work with all kinds of talented editors. Editing is not an easy gig: we get hundreds of new pieces every issue and our peppy editors – all volunteers – must sort through all the aspirants to pluck the best of the best. And thus, I want to thank two out-going editors – Dana Benningfield and Elizabeth Rosen – and welcome our two newest on board. First the thanks. Elizabeth was the Personal Essays Editor for five years. In her time with us she brought a new level of excellence and dedication to our little webzine that could. She was professional in a world (ours) that can be a little chaotic. Thank you, Liz! Dana came on board more recently, but quickly showed an innate gift for managing her department and for performing her work with great enthusiasm. Thanks Dana and enjoy Texas!
As someone greater than me once said, when one door closes, another one opens. And we’re happy to welcome through the open door two brand spanking new editors to Ducts: Lisa Kirchner, Memoirs, and Derek Alger, Essays. Lisa is the producer and host of New York’s only reading and improv series, The Next Chapter. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Salon.com, BUST Magazine, The New York Post, Budget Travel, Kirkus Reviews and TheHuffingtonPost.com,among numerous others. Before moving to the Persian Gulf, she was the religion editor for Pittsburgh’s gay and lesbian newspaper, the bridal editor for its society rag, and an alt newsweekly dating columnist. Her flash essay, “My Husband: My Moto,” appeared in the compilation Learning to Love You More and her solo show, CRANKY WHITE GIRL IN QATAR, is the basis for her memoir.
Derek is currently Editor-at-Large of PIF Magazine. He is a graduate of the Columbia University MFA fiction writing program and his work has appeared in Confrontation, The Literary Review, Perigee, Del Sol Review, and Night Train, among others. He has worked as an editor and reporter for newspapers in the Bronx for over 20 years.
Welcome to both of you!
We also want to remind you that Ducts and its friends continue their attempts to take over the literary world. Greenpoint Press has had a particularly active year. In April, we released Mindy Greenstein’s The House on Crash Corner, a collection of memoir essays, several of which appeared in Ducts, and which was chosen by O Magazine as one of the best books in their May issue. In late August, we’ll be publishing Dr. Benjamin J. Luft’s moving collection of essays, We’re Not Leaving: 9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice and Renewal. And then, in October, we’re publishing gOld, by Harry Getzov, an entertaining, wise and funny collection of interviews with men and women over the age of 70, including nuggets of gold offered by among others, Baseball Hall of Famer, Ernie Banks, Maya Angelou and Bernie Brillstein.
Oh we teach classes, too. Did I mention that? To learn more about our classes and pitch conferences, please visit us at NewYorkWritersWorkshop.com.
Ducts also continues to present the work of up and coming writers at our monthly reading series, called Trumpet Fiction. Please come down to famed KGB Bar and say hello: we’re there the second Saturday of every month from October through June. We’d love to meet you.
Also, you probably noticed an ad for another book, The Portable MFA, on the main page. The Portable MFA gives you all the essential information you would learn in an MFA program, covering fiction, memoir, personal essays, magazine articles, poetry and playwriting. Authors include Tim Tomlinson and Charles Salzberg. We’re lucky to have them on our staff! To buy a copy of The Portable MFA, please click here.
As always, we continue to raise money as part of our effort to bring you the best personal stories on the web. If you enjoy the thought-provoking essays and memoirs, if you are captivated by our fiction, poetry and art, if you find a bit of succor in our humor, consider donating whatever amount you can. As a wise subway-goer once opined, “You don’t have to be Rockefeller to help a fella.” Click here to make a donation!
Thank you once again for visiting with us every six months. We’re grateful and happy to continue bringing you the best personal stories on the web. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to comment or to write us directly at vents@ducts.org. Enjoy!
-Jonathan Kravetz, Editor-in-Chief
This issue of Ducts is made possible with a regrant from the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, supported by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.