"A Humane and Diverse Mindset." A Chat with Jendi Reiter, Editor of Winning Writers
"...writing an epic to a matchstick..."
Hi, me again! I am here with our last editor interview of this month.
Today I had the great fun of speaking with Jendi Reiter, Co-Founder and Editor of Winning Writers.
Winning Writers finds and creates quality resources for poets and writers. It was founded by Jendi Reiter and Adam Cohen in 2001. We are located in Western Massachusetts.
In fact, the Winning Writers About page is extremely modest. In talking to Jendi today, I was wowed to discover all the information, services, contests and awards that their project offers.
Winning Writers posts interviews with contest judges, advice for writers, poetry critiques and scam-busting guides. Their free newsletter provides “news about the best free contests, contests that we sponsor, and great resources for writers.” They offer critique services for books and manuscripts. And they run four writing contests.
In today’s conversation, Jendi explained the rationale behind supporting a contest for self-published books. This is an attempt to eradicate the stigma around self-publishing. Their lists of no-fee writing contests was also borne from this impulse—to eliminate hierarchies in the literary world and create more access for more people.
We spoke in depth about the kinds of work these editors favor for the prose contest. Jendi said they like to see work with “social and political awareness,” as well as “a humane and diverse mindset,” and work which “sees the humanity in every type of person.” I wondered how these editors like to see politics explored in the writing, as many editors shy away from work that’s too politically heavy-handed. I found Jendi’s answer to this question to be quite illuminating from a craft perspective. (You’ll have to watch the video to hear it!)
For fiction, they’re open to all styles. They’re “not genre snobs.” The essays can be narrative nonfiction or journalism. The only style that isn’t accepted here are academic papers.
And, of course, I had a ton of questions about Wergle Flomp, the humor poetry contest that’s been running for 20 years. Jendi took us through the origins of the contest, how it got its name and the ethos that inspired it. For this contest, all kinds of poetry are welcome—parody, satire, word games. But most of all the poem should have “the courage of its convictions.” If you set out to write the worst possible poem imaginable, Jendi hopes it will be “bad in an interesting way.”
The only types of humor that wouldn’t be welcome here is humor derived from making fun of other people, or “punching down.” This is also true of their book contests. Common reasons for books failing to win include “unexamined stereotypes” in the writing, as well as “judging bodies” in ways that put people down.
What are other common reasons for books not to be selected as contest-winners? What are some of the most oft-repeated tropes and parodies these editors see in the Wergle Flomp contest? Is reading entries for a humor poetry contest really fun? What else can writers know to increase their odds of becoming a winning writer?
For all that and more, you will have to tune in!
This video is free and available to all, so please watch, take notes, share, and enjoy!
To everyone who came out today, thank you for showing up! Your faces are the cool steady calm in my week of pending holiday family mishigas.
And, of course, thank you to Jendi for taking the time to take us behind the scenes of another lovely literary resource.
Happy viewing!
Views expressed by any interview guest do not necessarily reflect my own.
Resources mentioned in the conversation:
Thank you, Jendi Reiter, and all at Winning Writers. I enjoy getting your news and appreciate your support. Also, appreciate that you don't shy away from the political. All the best to you.