Hey, there’s an award for Literary Citizenship!

Hey, there’s an award for Literary Citizenship

The blog Beyond the Margins (a great one for writers to follow) put out a call for nominations for what they called “The Above and Beyond Award,” and got fifty nominations…

…fifty of the most generous souls in the writing world: writers who have taught, mentored, published, connected, fostered, championed, edited, soft-shouldered – even paid bills — for other writers. It’s like finding a Map of the Mensches.

I know many of the names listed IRL or from Facebook/Twitter, but have to add two names:

• Dinty Moore, whose daily writing quotes on Facebook and blog for Brevity have taught me much.
• Lee Martin, whose blog posts on teaching and consistent praise for his students at Ohio State always make my day.

Note: these are not millennials. These are two guys who, like me, didn’t grow up with social media but have learned how to use it in a mindful, positive way. See, blogging and SM doesn’t have to be all about self-promotion and bragging on yourself, and it’s not just something the kids do.