See You at the Movies

A piece we ran in September, 2015 has been adapted as a short animated film, and we’re so pleased to share it here (links below).

detail from Permanently Pressed by Yvonne Haugen

detail from Permanently Pressed by Yvonne Haugen

Animation artist Yvonne Haugen says the essay Permanently Pressed by Nicole Chakalis “just triggered my visual imagination - some stories give immediate and strong visuals and Permanently Pressed, in it's delicate and simple style hit home, so to speak.” Watching the completed movie now, it’s amazing to see both the imagery and Peggy’s mood reflected from Nicole’s writing in Yvonne’s work.  

Nicole was a good friend as well as a contributor to Dead Housekeeping, and watching this after her death is bittersweet. Noola Laguardia, one of Nicole’s children, told me that her mom loved Claymation, which is just the icing on the cake. I think she would have loved this.                                                                             

- Meredith Counts

Visit Yvonne Haugen’s website, or go directly to the movie.

And read the story, by Nicole Chakalis, here

title card from Yvonne Haugen's Permanently Pressed

title card from Yvonne Haugen's Permanently Pressed

Dead Housekeeping's Pushcart Nominees

With great pleasure, we sent in our nominations to be considered for the Pushcart Prize this year. Every essay in the Dead Housekeeping world of advice is special to us. These six exceptional pieces prove how much we can give the reader to know, see and feel in 250 words or less. We thank all of our contributors for sharing your memories and methods with us.

They are:

How To Be A Racist And Raise Your Granddaughter To Be An Anti-Racist On The Sly by Jennifer Cumby

Traveling Pies by Emily DeDakis

How to Make an Introduction by Sarah Grey

How to Name a Daughter by Rowan Beckett Grigsby

How to Make Daal by Saadia Muzaffar

How to Decorate by Jen Selk

photograph by Stefanie Le Jeunesse

photograph by Stefanie Le Jeunesse

If you have a memorial how-to to tell in 250 words or less, read our essays, and check out our submission guidelines.

2016 NFPW Contest

Fun news here at the premier internet journal for very short essays about how the dead did things.

We won second place in the National Federation of Press Women's Professional Communications Contest, in the national category "Web site edited or managed by entrant (for profit)."

Thanks to the NFPW, who provided us with some great feedback from contest judges, and who share great resources for writers.