On September 17, 2005, several thousand people attended a day-long William Carlos Williams Symposium honoring Rutherford’s native son on the anniversary of his birth. Sponsored by the newly-formed William Carlos Williams Poetry Symposium (WCWPS), this was the first celebration of the Pulitzer Prize winning poet in his hometown in 22 years, and featured the premiere of a double-screen documentary on WCW and his family, an award-winning slide presentation and bus tour of historic WCW sites in Rutherford, and the first full-length performance of a Williams play in Rutherford. Since 2005, the non-profit WCWPS has held annual events honoring Williams. This year it will host a gala celebration of the poet’s 125th birthday on September 20 and 21, 2008, at the Williams Center, with related activities at the Rutherford Library and Meadowlands Museum.
Books :: Poets for Palestine
Poets For Palestine was published to unite a diverse range of poets, spoken word artists, and hip-hop artists who have used their words to elevate the consciousness of humanity. Sixty years after the dispossession of the Palestinian people, this anthology presents forty-eight poems alongside original works by Palestinian artists. All proceeds from the sale of this collection will go toward funding future cultural projects that highlight Arab artistry in the United States.
100 Words a Day? Every Day?
100 Words is an online writing project that began in January 2001, as an exercise between friends to write one hundred words a day for one hundred days. Now online, members (join for free) can write a hundred words a day for a month and be “featured” for having completed their “batch.” Don’t write every day that month, and you will not be featured. Currently, there are 43 writers featured for August. Jeff Koyen and “Uncle” Roy Batchelor are the masterminds behind 100 Words. Think it sounds easy? Give it a try.
Stanford Festival Seeks Sponsors
The organizers of the Frank Stanford Literay Festival – a three-day event in Fayetteville, Arkansas – are looking for help to honor a few central figures in Stanford’s creative career by supporting their travel to participate in the festival.
Sponsors will be acknowledged in promotional materials and in a commemorative, hand-sewn program designed by Cannibal Books. Sponsors will also receive a broadside of a poem from Stanford’s final book, You, designed and printed collaboratively between Lost Roads Publishers, Cannibal Books and Effing Press. Sponsors will also be verbally recognized at all events, which include a Small Press Reading, several Stanford readings, two panels, a screening or Irving Broughton’s legendary Stanford biopic It Wasn’t a Dream It Was a Flood, and a marathon reading of Stanford’s epic poem The Battlefield Where the Moon Says I Love You.
Donations are tax deductible and payable to Lost Roads. For more information, query Matthew Henriksen at frankstanfordfes-at-gmail.com.
Orlowsy Interview Online
The Cervena Barva Press online newsletter for September includes and interview of Ukrainian poet Dzvinia Orlowsky by Alexander J. Motyl. In it, she comments on the state of reading in America, her influences for writing poetry, why she writes so much about Ohio, what makes a good poem, and translating others’ works. A truly full-breadth interview that provides both a great introduction as well as an inside look at this Pushcart Prize winning poet.
Dzvinia Orlowsky is the author of four poetry collections, the most recent of which is <em>Convertible Night, Flurry of Stones. Her first collection, A Handful of Bees, was reprinted as a Carnegie Mellon University Contemporary Classic in 2008. She is a founding editor of Four Way Books and teaches at a low-res MFA program at Pine Manor College.
ZYZZYVA Seeks a New Editor
In the Editor’s Note of the most recent ZYZZYVA, Howard Junker announces his intent to retire from the magazine, which is now seeking his successor, someone who “will have to be different, will have to take a new direction, because the times have changed.” The informal job description Junker gives draws upon a response he once gave to a Paris Review Questionnaire about “the key ingredients needed to keep a literary magazine afloat.” Junker writes: “Taking its editor George Plimpton as my model, I declared: An independent income is the basic flotation device. Having the office in the editor’s basement reduces rent and the editor’s commute. Also helpful because, even if the budget remains modest, attracting money is key: good looks, charm, guts, a thick skin, a sense of humor, a good work ethic, luck, and the ability to spot and nurture talent.” Sound like anybody you know? If so, Junker closes his editorial: “If you have someone in mind, please let me know.”
Job :: Distinguished Visiting Prof
The English Department at Western Kentucky University seeks applicants for the following position: Distinguished Visiting Professor in Creative Writing (Poetry), Summer 2009
Duties: Teach a four-week intensive three-credit undergraduate/graduate workshop sometime during Summer 2009. Give a public reading.
Renumeration: $10,000 + housing
Requirements: Significant teaching experience, at least one published book
Review of applications begins October 31, 2008, and will continue until position is filled. Each applicant must submit a letter of interest, a vita, a copy of one of his/her books, and two letters addressing his/her teaching expertise, to:
Dr. Tom C. Hunley
Department of English Chair
Distinguished Visiting Creative Writing Professor Search Committee
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd. #11086
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1086
Antioch Fiction Issue :: Difficult Choices
The all-fiction issue of The Antioch Review is out. Editor Robert Fogarty comments on the subtitle “Difficult Choices” – about the range of difficult choices faced by the submissions (aka slush) readers. Their choice, which often involves “the dreaded ‘r’ word” becomes what Fogarty refers to as the Key Question: “Should we publish this story or should we encourage to writer to send on another, better story?” Better than saying the story is rejected, I like Fogarty’s perspective of encouragement, which promotes the concept a writers community – a reason why so many people got into publishing lit mags in the first place.
Being responsive to their writers, Fogarty says they must make a “firm and quick judgement about a story” – but there is no doubt they are also good at what they do, with a number of their fiction writers having received awards and placement in “best of” collections. “I expect,” Fogarty writes, “that several of the writers included in this issue will in the future make a ‘best’ list.” That kind of comment makes it no difficult choice at all to pick up this mag and give it a look see!
CFS :: Two Unique Calls for Librarians
1. Seeking Submissions from Practicing Librarians (U.S. and Canada) for The Published Librarian: Successful Professional and Personal Writing (publisher: American Library Association)
Foreword: Bob Blanchard, Adult Services Librarian, Des Plaines Public Library. Contributor to Illinois Library Association Reporter; Thinking Outside the Book: Essays for Innovative Librarians (McFarland, 2008)
Introductory Note: Wayne Jones, Head of Central Technical Services, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Ed., Ontario Library Association, Access; Ed., E-Journals Access and Management (Routledge, 2008)
Contributors need significant publication credits in order to write practical, concise, how-to articles to help the reader. No previously published, simultaneously submitted, co-authored material. Two articles sharing the range of your publishing experiences: 1900-2100 words total; for example, one article could be 1000 words, another 900-1100 words on another topic. Librarians with ethnic backgrounds serving diverse cultures are encouraged. Contributor’s sign an ALA Writer Agreement before publication. Compensation: a complimentary copy, discount on additional copies
Possible topics: marketing, online publishing, where to send reviews, research skills for historical novels, diversity in publication, ideas from students for YA books, using tools like BIP to locate publishers for your books, storytellers turned picture book authors, interviewing, networking, using a technology edge, promoting your books at conferences. Using issues librarians face such as censorship in poetry, essays, memoir, short stories, columns.
The deadline for current cycle of submissions is October 30, 2008.
Please submit 3-4 topic proposals with a 65-70 word bio beginning with your library of employment, highlighting your publications. Place LIBRARIANS/your name on the subject line to: [email protected]
2. Seeking Submissions from Practicing Librarians (U.S.) for Librarians as Community Partners: An Outreach Handbook (publisher: American Library Association)
Foreword: Kathy Barco, READiscover New Mexico: A Tri-Lingual Adventure in Literacy (Sunstone Press, 2007); children’s librarian, Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Public Library
Afterword: Edith Campbell, Media Director, Arlington High School, Indianapolis. Indiana Libraries, Viewpoints; http://campbele.wordpress.com
Articles by practicing academic, public, school, special librarians sharing their experiences on how U.S. librarians are not tied to computers inside libraries: how librarians partner, outreach, and market libraries in their communities. Librarians with ethnic backgrounds serving diverse cultures are encouraged.
One article, 1900-2100 words; no co-authors. Practical, concise, how-to contributions are needed.
Possible topics: workshops at senior centers, story hours at community swimming pools, innovative literacy outreach, partnering with artists and writers, creative youth participation, effective advocacy with elected officials, working with the media.
The deadline for current cycle of submissions is October 30, 2008.
Contributor’s sign an ALA Writer Agreement before publication. Compensation: a complimentary copy, discount on additional copies,
Please submit 3 topic proposals (each 3-4 sentences) in descending order of choice–hopefully your first will not have been already taken. Please also send a 65-70 word bio beginning with your library of employment, title, highlights of your community library outreach activities, awards, and related professional contributions. Place PARTNERS/your name on the subject line to: [email protected]
*****
Editor Carol Smallwood, MLS, has written, co-authored, edited 19 books such as Educators as Writers and Thinking Outside the Book: Essays for Innovative Librarians. Her work has appeared in English Journal, Clackamas Literary Review, The Detroit News, and several others including anthologies. Pudding House Publications published her 2008 chapbook.
Cheers! Beer! Bowling – ?
Speaking of beer – many thanks to the NewPages supporters who have been contributing to the blog beer fund! Now that school has started up again and I’m back in the classroom, your support means all the more (and goes much faster…). Add to that: I’ve joined a bowling league. I only did so under the promise that it was really a drinking league using bowling as the guise. Our team name? We’re still working on it, but here’s one I liked: We Make Obama Look Good.
Drinking and Writing Brewery
I’ve found a new support group: The Drinking and Writing Brewery.
“Through a radio show, productions on stage and in bars, a website, and on the page, The Drinking & Writing Brewery exists to preserve the spirit and devotion of the hard drinking writer and to uphold the rituals of creativity through their passion for the written word. We strive to attract others who share these principles.”
The radio show is one hour long and each show explores the connection between creativity under the influence and includes interviews and reports on a featured writer, a featured bar/brewery, music, and original writing by artists from Chicago and everywhere else. The Drinking & Writing Brewery Radio Show on WLUW, 88.7FM is aired the first Sunday of every month at 6PM and is available via download on the website after the air date.
Also included on the roster of events, the Beerfly Alleyfight, in which contestants must match homebrew, homemade food, and an art interpretation of both in an “asskicking alleyfight.” And then there’s the Drinking & Writing Festival which requires a two-drink minimum of all participants – images of this year’s winners are on the site.
The masterminds behind this? Pete Crowley, Steve Mosqueda and Sean Benjamin – with plenty of nods to Bukowski.
Conference :: Charles Olson 10.10-11
CHARLES OLSON: Language as Physical Fact
University of Arizona Poetry Center
1508 E. Helen St.
Tucson, Arizona
October 10 – 11, 2008
A Conference and Exhibition sponsored by Chax Press.
What’s New at the Pew
“The Pew Internet Project is an initiative of the Pew Research Center, a nonprofit “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Internet explores the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care and civic/political life. The Project is nonpartisan and takes no position on policy issues.”
Recent reports/memos include (visit the site for complete data):
Podcast Downloading 2008
Mary Madden Sydney Jones
8/28/2008
As gadgets with digital audio capability proliferate, podcast downloading continues to increase. Currently, 19% of all internet users say they have downloaded a podcast so they could listen to it or view it later. This most recent percentage is up from 12% of internet users who reported downloading podcasts in our August 2006 survey and 7% in our February-April 2006 survey. Still, podcasting has yet to become a fixture in the everyday lives of internet users, as very few internet users download podcasts on a typical day.
Search Engine Use
Deborah Fallows
8/6/2008
The percentage of internet users who use search engines on a typical day has been steadily rising from about one-third of all users in 2002, to a new high of just under one-half (49%). With this increase, the number of those using a search engine on a typical day is pulling ever closer to the 60% of internet users who use email, arguably the internet’s all-time killer app, on a typical day.
Home Broadband 2008
John Horrigan
7/2/2008
Some 55% of all adult Americans now have a high-speed internet connection at home. The percentage of Americans with broadband at home has grown from 47% in early 2007. Poorer Americans saw no growth in broadband adoption in the past year while at the same time nearly one-third of broadband users pay more to get faster connections.
Writing, Technology and Teens
Amanda Lenhart Sousan Arafeh Aaron Smith Alexandra Rankin Macgill
4/24/2008
Teens write a lot, but they do not think of their emails, instant and text messages as writing. This disconnect matters because teens believe good writing is an essential skill for success and that more writing instruction at school would help them.
Reissue :: On Reading
On Reading
W.W. Norton, September 2008
ISBN 978-0-393-06656-2
68 duotone photographs/80 pages
“André Kertész (1894-1985) was one of the most inventive, influential and prolific photographers in the medium’s history. This small volume, first published in 1971, became one of his signature works. Taken between 1920 and 1970, these photographs capture people reading in many parts of the world. Readers in every conceivable place—on rooftops, in public parks, on crowded streets, waiting in the wings of the school play—are caught in a deeply personal, yet universal, moment. Kertész’s images celebrate the absorptive power and pleasure of this solitary activity and speak to readers everywhere. Both playful and poetic, On Reading is reissued with striking new duotone reproductions. Fans of photography and literature alike will welcome this classic.”
NewPages Update :: September Book Reviews Posted
Once again, the NewPages Book Reviewers have outdone themselves with a unique selection of books. Stop by and check out these reviews:
Dear Everybody
Novel by Michael Kimball
Alma Books, September 2008
Reviewed by Josh Maday
Vacation
Novel by Deb Olin Unferth
McSweeney’s, September 2008
Review by Matt Bell
Liam’s Going
Novel by Michael Joyce
McPherson & Company, July 2008
Review by Rav Grewal-Kök
In the Land of the Free
Flash Fiction by Geoffrey Forsyth
Rose Metal Press, July 2008
Review by Sean Lovelace
New World Order
Stories by Derek Green
Autumn House Press, June 2008
Review by Dan Wickett
Sound + Noise
Novel by Curtis Smith
Casperian Books, September 2008
Review by Matt Bell
Bill’s Formal Complaint
Poetry by Dan Kaplan
The National Poetry Review Press, March 2008
Review by Micah Zevin
Lands of Memory
Stories by Felisberto Hernández
Translated from the Spanish by Esther Allen
New Directions, July 2008
Reviewed by Josh Maday
Who Can Save Us Now?
Brand-New Superheroes and their Amazing (Short) Stories
Ed. by Owen King and John McNally
Free Press, July 2008
Review by Matt Bell
In Hovering Flight
Novel by Joyce Hinnefeld
Unbridled Books, September 2008
Review by: Christina Hall
LGBT Thowback :: Freaky Lit
FREAKS READ showcases gay literature, erotica in East Village
by Scott Stiffler
EDGE Contributor
Thursday Aug 28, 2008
Just as the city’s gays were starting to clean up their act, along comes a bold and unapologetic happening that puts specific elements of gay life behind the mic and back on the front burner.
Working in the tradition of literary salons set in literate saloons, FREAKS READ is a new monthly event whose gay bar location and 21-plus policy guarantees exposure to the sort of provocative adult content on which urbane LGBTs used to thrive.
Founder and host Charlie Vazquez books the unconventional talent.
“We call it FREAKS READ because we started the reading as part of Freak Week, a week of events leading up to Pride,” he said.
In the true spirit of Pride and all things freaky, Vazquez sorts through the submitted material to ensure the poetry and fiction on display is filled with enough sex, gore and out there concepts to provide LGBTs with an antidote to the encroaching world of baby carriages, Jamba Juice franchises and other soul-crushing hallmarks of urban hetero-assimilation…[read the rest]
A Day of Literature in the Park
On Sunday, Sept. 7, the Christopher Morley Knothole Association will present a “Day of Literature in the Park: Poetry and Prose Picnic.” The event will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Christopher Morley Park, located on Searingtown Road in Roslyn Estates, New York.
The Knothole Association will present live readings and interpretations of classic works of literature. Local residents can be part of the fun by bringing their own poems or novels to read from and then share what they believe the author is saying, what the author’s history is, and why that work of literature has significant meaning. The Day of Literature will be held outdoors under the shade tree at the Knothole, itself the preserved study of Christopher Morley.
Job :: Executive Director SPT
It’s not to late to change your life: Small Press Traffic announces a call for applications for the position of Executive Director, to begin employment on January 1, 2009. Deadline for application September 15, 2008.
Rusty Sighting :: Fried Chicken and Coffee
I just got a note from Rusty Barnes about his newest literary endeavor, starting right now as a blog and seeing where interest might take it: “I’m doing periodic blogposts as well as interviews and reviews and publishing fiction and poetry, all of which is related to rural literature, Appalachian literature, and redneck/white trash literature in general. It’s at friedchickenandcoffee.blogspot.com. Right now I have a couple poems and a story posted, and interviews scheduled with Ron Rash and Silas House, as well as a review of Jayne Pupek’s Tomato Girl.”
NewPages Updates :: New Mag Listings
New Literary Magazines Listed
The Prague Revue – fiction, poetry, reviews, drama, essay, photography
Toward the Light – poetry, fiction, essay, photography
Rabbit Light Movies – video poetry
Torch – poetry, prose, artwork, video
Hawk & Handsaw – poetry, nonfiction, stories, visual art
Wild Violet – poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, essay, art, reviews, interviews
Dreaming Methods – media fiction
New Alternative Publications Listed
RiseUp – a newspaper and online magazine celebrating race and ethnicity
Jobs :: Various
Hartwick College Department of English and Theatre Arts invites applications for a full-time, 3-year position in fiction writing commencing September 2009 (pending final administrative approval) at the rank of assistant professor. Dr. Robert Bensen, Acting Chair, English and Theatre Arts. November 15, 2008.
University of Michigan Department of English Language & Literature invites applications for the Helen Herzog Zell Visiting Professorship in Creative Writing visiting appointment in fiction, which is a three-year appointment (through April 30, 2012), with potential renewal for two additional years (through April 30, 2014). Candidates should be emerging writers (no more than one or two books published or under contract) who have achieved distinction in their writing & excellence in their teaching or who have demonstrated the promise of such distinction & excellence. Send letter of application, c.v. & short writing sample (25 pages) by November 10 to: Professor Sidonie Smith, Chair, Department of English Language & Literature, University of Michigan, 3187 Angell Hall, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1003.
Arkansas Tech University invites applications for a tenure-track, assistant professor in fiction writing, beginning August 11, 2009. Dr. Carl Brucker, Head, Department of English. November 25, 2008.
The 2009-10 Stadler Fellowship offers professional training in arts administration & literary editing in a thriving, university-based poetry center, while also providing the Fellow time to pursue his or her own writing. December 6, 2008.
The Creative Writing Program, New York University seeks a renowned fiction writer of national reputation who will play a leading role within the Creative Writing Program, & will hold a tenured appointment in the Department of English. Position to begin September 1, 2009, pending final administrative & budgetary approval.
University of California, San Diego, Department of Literature is seeking a poet to teach in a thriving undergraduate program & new MFA program. November 15, 2008.
Colby-Sawyer College has an opportunity for an innovative and energetic full-time Assistant Professor of Literature and Creative Writing in the Department of Humanities. This is a tenure-eligible faculty position available in late August 2009. October 15, 2008.
Narrative Contest Winners Announced
Narrative Magazine announces the winners of the 2008 First-Person Story Contest:
First Place ($3,000) Gina Ochsner On Principle
Second Place ($1,750) Heather Brittain Bergstrom Celilo Falls
Third Place ($1,000) Holly Wilson Night Glow
Ten Finalists ($125 each)
Alethea Black Mistake
Abby Frucht But You’re Not
Lisa Fugard The Ghost of Anton Viljoen
Ed Gray Freedom Cross
Barb Johnson Turn It Up
Twister Marquiss Spectator Sports
David Peters The Dressing Room
Marc Petersen Shopping in the Middle of the Night
Debra Spark 46
Terese Svoboda Recon
NewPages Update :: Gimme the Online Print Combo
Starting today, all sponsored listings and basic links to literary magazines – print & online – can now be viewed in the most popular page on our website: HERE
Because we maintain a list of quality online lit mags, we feel it is only fair to include them in the complete list of lit mags. This will benefit both readers and writers who come to NewPages to find the web’s best list of literary magazines.
As always, if you know of a publication that you think should be listed on NewPages, drop us a line: denisehill-at-newpages.com
Video Poetry :: Rabbit Light Movie
Created by Joshua Marie WilkinsonRabbit Light Movies began in February 2007 as a poemfilm journal on dvd (including Episodes #1-4). With Episode #5, Rabbit Light Movies will continue online, updated twice a year, and will no longer be available on dvd. In the short films where the poets’ faces don’t appear, their voices do. No open submissions, queries are welcome.
Some past voices/faces you’ll find on RLM include: Eric Baus, Sommer Browning, Allison Titus, Chuck Stebelton, Catherine Wagner, Joshua Poteat, Jason Bredle, J.W. Marshall, Joyelle McSweeney, Dana Ward, Sasha Steensen, Christopher Stackhouse, Matthea Harvey, Mary Jo Bang, Christine Deavel, Juliana Leslie, Johannes G
Awards :: Glimmer Train June Fiction Open :: August 2008
Glimmer Train has just chosen the three winning stories of their June Fiction Open competition! This quarterly competition is open to all writers and all themes.
First place: Shimon Tanaka of San Francisco, CA, wins $2000 for “The Suit”. His story will be published in the Fall 2009 issue of Glimmer Train Stories.
Second place: Christine Sneed of Evanston, IL, wins $1000 for “Twelve + Twelve”. Her story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories.
Third place: Horatio Potter, also of Wilsall, MT, wins $600 for “Summer Help”. His story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories, increasing his prize to $700.
Word count range: 2000-20,000. Submissions may be sent for the September Fiction Open using our online submissions system.
Just in Time for Back-to-School
Spying on Professors Proposed by NAS
From John K. Wilson
Blog: College Freedom
The National Association of Scholars announced plans for monitoring campuses [“The Argus Project“], and it’s getting some well deserved criticism.
In defense of NAS, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with monitoring what colleges do, and protecting the rights of students and faculty is a good thing. I wish that progressives had some organization that did this, now that NAS, FIRE, Students for Academic Freedom, NoIndoctrination.org, and many others are monitoring campuses.
However, what makes the monitoring by NAS wrong is the ideological nature of it. Note how they proclaim that they will be scrutinizing “politicized teaching” or “slights to conservative students.” Neither of these are violations of student rights (and, of course, slights to liberal students will be ignored). Indeed, it is the attempt to banish “politicized” teaching that threatens academic freedom and free speech on campus.
As I argue in my book Patriotic Correctness, it’s time for progressives to form an activist organization that will monitor violations of liberty on campuses (especially the campuses ignored by the right-wing groups), and protect the intellectual freedom of right-wingers, left-wingers, and everyone in between. If you’re interested in helping with this (whether you’re conservative or liberal), please contact me at [email protected]
Literary Festival :: Words Alive – Sharon, Ontario 9.21
The 2nd annual Words Alive Literary Festival celebrates a rich literary heritage providing a showcase for Canadian authors. One day of author readings, public readings, workshops, panel discussions and storytelling including poetry with music and art. This year’s presenters include:
Allan Briesmaster
Allyson Latta
Anthony De Sa
Barry Dempster
bill bissett
Brenda Byers
Christopher Dewdney
Fay Wilkinson
Heather Whaley
Jim Blake
Karolyn Smardz Frost
Kelley Armstrong
Kim Michele
Marie Campbell
Mary Swan
Maureen Jennings
Maureen Scott Harris
Menaka Thakkar
Peter Unwin
Uma Parameswaran
Valentino Assenza
Jobs :: Various
The English Department at Western Kentucky University seeks applicants for the following position: Distinguished Visiting Professor in Creative Writing (Poetry), Summer 2009. Dr. Tom C. Hunley, Department of English, Chair, Distinguished Visiting Creative Writing Professor Search Committee. October 31, 2008.
Illinois Valley Community College, located in North Central Illinois, anticipates filling this position to begin January 2009. Glenna Jones, Director of Human Resources.
2008 Brooklyn Book Festival Sept 14
On Sunday, September 14, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn Literary Council and Brooklyn Tourism host the annual Brooklyn Book Festival, a huge, free event presenting an array of literary stars and emerging authors who represent the exciting world of literature today.
Confirmed authors include Joan Didion, Richard Price, Jonathan Lethem, Dorothy Allison, Russell Banks, A.M. Homes, George Pelecanos, Terry McMillan, Jonathan Franzen, Susan Choi, Esmeralda Santiago, Thurston Moore, Paul Beatty, Jacqueline Woodson, Chuck Klosterman, Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill, Nikki Turner, Elizabeth Nunez, Ed Park, Pico Iyer, Gail Carson Levine, Cecily von Ziegesar, Chris Myers, Jane O’Connor, Jon Scieszka, Mo Willems and many more.
3-Day Novel Contest
The 31st Annual 3-Day Novel Contest is coming up in September and registration has begun. Every year more than 500 writers from around the world enter to write their brains out over the long weekend and be published. Here’s how it works: entrants begin writing after 12:01am on Sept 1st, and must stop by 11:59pm, Sept 3rd. Participants can write in any location, anywhere in the world. The organizers of the contest say they would know if people were cheating, so no cheating. Writers may write on any subject and in any genre, and finished novels must be submitted by mail in the week following the contest.
NewPages Welcomes New Sponsors
decomP is an online literary magazine that is updated monthly. decomP has been in existence since April 2004 and was originally called Decomposition Magazine. Contributors range from all over the country, and recently, an increased fan base in places like London and Scotland. decomP publish prose, poetry, art, and solicited book reviews. decomP is currently open for submissions.
River Teeth is a biannual creative nonfiction journal co-edited by Joe Mackall and Dan Lehman with the assistance of students in the low-residency MFA program at Ashland University. Founded in 1999, River Teeth combines the best of creative nonfiction, including narrative reportage, essays, and memoirs, as well as critical essays that examine the genre and that explore the impact of nonfiction narrative on the lives of its writers, subjects, and readers. River Teeth is currently open for submissions.
TV :: The Black List
”The Black List’ highlights African-American luminaries
By Mekeisha Madden Toby
Detroit News
Article Last Updated: 08/25/2008 12:05:06 AM PDT
The African-American experience is not relegated to February, declares film critic Elvis Mitchell, whose HBO documentary “The Black List: Volume One” premieres tonight.
A Detroit native and former New York Times film critic, Mitchell, 50, has moved behind the camera, and with the help of acclaimed photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders created “The Black List,” a series of interviews with African-American luminaries in literature, sports, entertainment and politics, including Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison and former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
In addition to touring all over the country to promote “The Black List,” he hosts “Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence” on Turner Classic Movies (TCM), interviewing the likes of Emmy- and Tony-winning actor Laurence Fishburne and comedic legend Bill Murray. Mitchell’s show will return in January.
Here’s what Mitchell had to say about the film — which he dedicated to the late Bernie Mac — and other subjects…[read the rest]
To Note or Not to Note Contributors
The most recent issue of Spoon River Poetry Review includes an interesting commentary from Editor Bruce Guernsey on the inclusion or not of contributors notes in a literary publication. (And is it contributors / contributor’s / contributors’ – I’ve seen all of these!)
Bruce Guernsey addresses SRPR‘s choice to omit these notes – I would recommend your picking up the most recent issue to read his comments in full. In less than two pages, he succinctly and thoroughly discusses the practical issue of space in a print publication as well as the “symbolic” issue of wanting readers to focus on the poem rather than “the celebrity mentality that infects the current poetry scene.” Though Guernsey admits he is just as guilty of going to contributors notes “in this all-too-competitive market world” to see “where so-and-so has recently published.”
Interestingly enough, a SRPR reader sent in an e-mail saying contributors notes help know where else to find an author’s work. And my response to this was the same as Guernsey’s: “Look on the Internet.” It does seem to be the knee-jerk response to any question we have these days, and it’s Guernsey’s comment on this that I found most poignant: “…given the sources we now have on the Internet, that information can almost always be easily found online. Speed and information go well together. It’s poetry, that primitive technology, which is slow going and belongs in journals and books – when we can’t be there to hear it, anyway.”
Do You Know Jié kè About Chinese Literature?
“You’ve had almost a fortnight to brush up your on Chinese literature in honour of the Olympics. Time to see if you’re up to speed.”
Test your knowledge of Chinese literature
guardian.co.uk
Thursday August 21, 2008
[Dragon and NewPages name picture curtsey of Chinese-Tools.com]
Seriously?
The Headline: “Woman Arrested For Failing To Return Library Books ‘Angels and Demons’ and ‘White Oleander’ borrowed last year”
ABC/wisn.com
August 21, 2008
GRAFTON, Wis. — A woman has been arrested for failing to return two books to the Grafton Library…[read the full story here]
It may sound extreme, until you read that she ignored notices, including a court date, thinking, “What are they going to to, arrest me?” Uh, yeah, since what you did went from “borrow” to “theft”, arrest would be the right response… I just hope the books were worth it – I mean, do you think she even read them?
Listen & Be Heard Open Mic
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 from 8-9:30pm PST. Three rounds of open mic. The lightning round (30 seconds) and spotlight round (five minutes) will feature several designated poets who signed the open mic list ahead of time at Listen & Be Heard Poetry Cafe. The third round will be for poets who are listening to call in and share one poem. Hosted by Martha Cinader Mims. Scheduled to be featured are Bill Vartnaw, Olivia Johnson, Dana Teen Lomax and Gerald Schwartz.
Women’s Lit :: Tulsa Studies
The newest issue of Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature (27.1, Spring 2008) features a special section: Revisiting Female Authorship in the Long Eighteenth Century. Also included in the publication are articles on the work of Peal S. Buck, Una Mars, and others. The publication accepts submissions of articles, notes, contributions to archives, and queries on literature in all time periods and places, including foreign-language literatures, and in every genre—poetry, prose, drama, essays, diaries, memoirs, journalism, and criticism. TSWL currently has a special call for papers: Women Writing Race – deadline January 19, 2009.
Barry Unsworth on Historical Fiction, Language and Aging
An interview with Barry Unsworth, winner of the Man Booker Prize in 1993 for his novel Sacred Hunger, has recently been posted on Littoral: The blog of the Key West Literary Seminar. Unsworth discusses the effects of expatriate life, of aging, and the role historical fiction plays in understanding our past and our present.
Here, he comments on how age has affected his writing: “With time I have grown more sparing with the words. I think less of fire-works and flourishes. I try to get warmth and color through precision of language. This is more difficult, I think, which may be why I find writing novels so challenging and exacting.”
And on public appearances, he comes to this: “There is also a division of persona in the way the writer is perceived, the discrepancy between the effects of his books and the impression he makes when the reader gets to talk to him or listen to him. It has to be admitted that there will often be an element of disappointment here. The best of us goes into the book. We are not, with some rare and spectacular exceptions, so brilliant or wise or witty as might have been hoped or expected. Far from it. And perhaps the lure of readings and talks and panels, and all these public forums, is simply a doomed desire to live up to the promise, to not disappoint.”
Read more of the interview on Littoral.
Barry Unsworth will deliver the John Hersey Memorial Address to open the second session of the 2009 Key West Literary Seminar.
Jobs :: Various
The English Department at The University of Texas (Austin), in conjunction with the Michener Center for Writers, seeks applicants for the James A. Michener Chair in Creative Writing (Fiction). November 1, 2008.
The MFA program at Texas State University, invites applications for a tenure-track position in poetry writing. The program’s permanent poetry faculty are Cyrus Cassells, Roger Jones, Kathleen Peirce, and Steve Wilson. Prof. Tom Grimes, Chair, Poetry Search Committee. November 1, 2008.
The Department of English of Texas State University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in English position, with a specialty in fiction writing.
The English Department at Trinity College seeks to hire an actively-publishing poet to fill a tenure-track Assistant Professorship in Poetry Writing and Literary Studies. Paul Lauter, Chair. November 1, 2008.
Colby-Sawyer College has an opportunity for an innovative and energetic full-time Assistant Professor of Literature and Creative Writing in the Department of Humanities. October 15, 2008.
The Wheaton College Department of English invites applications for a tenure-track position in Creative Writing – Creative Nonfiction. Dr. Sharon Coolidge, Chair. November 14, 2008.
Jonathan Galassi Receives Perkins Award
The Mercantile Library Center for Fiction in New York City has selected Jonathan Galassi, president of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, as the recipient of its 2008 Maxwell E. Perkins Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Field of Fiction. The award recognizes an editor, publisher or agent who, over the course of his or her career, has discovered, nurtured and championed writers of fiction in the U.S.
(Publishers Weekly, 8/20/2008 7:33:01 AM)
Robert Stewart on the Quality of Literary Magazines
This current issue of New Letters (74.3, 2008) follows the magazine’s recent National Magazine Award for the essay “I Am Joe’s Prostate” by Thomas E. Kennedy (73.4, 2007). In his editor’s note, “Time and the Fabric of Immensity,” Robert Stewart reflects on the awards night and give further consideration to comments he made in his acceptance speech. “What did it mean, then, for me to say in my acceptance ‘speech’ to the audience at Lincoln Center on May 1st, that the mission of a literary magazine differs in quality from that of many other, even other fine, magazines?”
Considering the participants in the audience, many of them “great editors of our time,” Stewart questions himself: “Who did I think I was?” He goes on to discuss the difficulty readers as well as even he had with the very essay that won the award that evening, questioning its ‘literary-ness’ and further the very definition of ‘literary.’
The burden of creating this definition not only rests on editors, but readers as well – perhaps not accepting at first what they read, but then coming to find a place for it in their literary experience. Stewart bookends his editorial with Don Quixote: “Good, literary writing trumps everything. It carries us along and expands our scope. We readers merely need to have courage equal to that required to write it. Didn’t we laugh at Don Quixote, also? Yes. His story is terrifying and hilarious. It’s literary.”
Essential SF Books of the Past 20 Years
Posted by John DeNardo on the SFSignal: What Are the Essential SF Books of the Last 20 Years? The post is open for and includes numerous comments from readers.
Dennis Lehane Move from Book to Film to “Literature”
Lehane, a favorite with filmmakers, expands his literary horizon
By Chris Vognar
The Dallas Morning News
Until now you’ve been able to find Dennis Lehane’s work in two places: the mystery paperback shelves, where his superbly crafted novels have been confined to a sort of genre fiction ghetto, and the multiplex, where filmmakers have converted his cinematic prose into movies such as “Mystic River” and “Gone Baby Gone.”
The film streak won’t stop with “The Given Day,” Lehane’s epic historical novel built around the 1919 Boston police strike. Columbia Pictures has already snapped up the rights, and Sam Raimi is expected to direct. But when the book hits stores in September, you can expect to find it in the literature section — where, some might argue, Lehane’s work has belonged all along…[read the rest]
Award :: Tupelo Press First Book Award
Tupelo Press is delighted to announce the results of the 9th annual First Book Award, in conjunction with the journal Crazyhorse. This year the annual First Book Award, which will be published by Tupelo Press with the generous support of The College of Charleston in fall 2010, goes to:
Megan Snyder-Camp of Seattle, WA for The Forest of Sure Things
Co-runners up:
Shane McCrae of Iowa City, IA for Mule
Marc McKee of Columbia, MO for Fuse
Other finalists:
Matthew A. Andersson of Barrington, IL for What a Vessel in a Stem
Beth Bachman of Nashville, TN for Temper
Colin Cheney of Brooklyn, NY for Here There Be Monsters
Adam Fell of Madison, WI for Human Resources
Paul Legault of Charlottesville, VA for With
Erin Lyndal Martin of Newport, VA for Hive Mind
Rob Schlegel of Missoula, MT for flame & fern between our fingers flow
Matthew Shindell of La Jolla, CA for In Another Castle
Amanda Rachelle Warren of Kalamazoo, MI for Ridge Runner
All manuscripts were read by Carol Ann Davis and Garret Doherty, Editors of Crazyhorse, and the winner was selected by a panel of three judges consisting of Carol Ann Davis, Garret Doherty, and Jeffrey Levine, Editor-in-Chief of Tupelo Press.
Jobs :: Various
The Department of Literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, invites applications for a tenure-track or tenured position in Creative Writing-Poetry. This is a “re-opened” search. November 1, 2008.
The University of Wyoming English Department invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in nonfiction to join the MFA faculty, appointment to begin in Fall 2009.
MFA in Creative Writing–Chair, Antioch University, Santa Barbara. Nanci Braunschweiger, Human Resources.
Colby-Sawyer College has an opportunity for an innovative and energetic full-time Assistant Professor of Literature and Creative Writing in the Department of Humanities. October 15, 2008.
New Online Lit :: Torch
Amanda Johnston, Cave Canem Fellow, Affrilachian Poet, and now founding editor, brings readers and writers the new online publication Torch: poetry, prose, and short stories by African American Women.
“Torch was established to promote the work of African American women. We provide a place to celebrate contemporary poetry, prose, and short stories by experienced and emerging writers alike. We prefer our contributors to take risks and offer a diverse body of work that examines and challenges preconceived notions regarding race, ethnicity, gender roles, and identity.”
Torch accepts submissions of poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, photography and artwork, from April 15 through August 31.
The inaugural Spring/Summer 2008 issue includes FLAME – an interview, biography, and work sample of Tayari Jones, and SPARK – featuring work by Kamilah Aisha Moon, poetry and prose by Lauren K. Alleyne, Tara Betts, Renee Breeden, Kelly Norman Ellis, francine harris , Lilian Oben, darlene anita scott, Nancy Shakir, Bianca Spriggs, a short story by Keli Stewart, and artwork by Nicole Goodwin (work featured above: “Flowers for the Fallen”).
New Lit on the Block :: The Normal School
“The Normal School is a bi-annual journal featuring nonfiction, fiction, poetry, criticism and culinary adventure journalism. We are nestled happily into the California State University at Fresno like a comfy spore in a benign and mighty lung. We dig quirky, boundary-challenging, energetic prose and poetry with innovations in content, form, and focus, which isn’t actually as high-falutin’ as it sounds. We’re just sort of the lit mag equivalent of the kid who always has bottle caps, cat’s eye marbles, dead animal skulls, little blue men and other treasures in his pockets.”
The Normal School accepts submissions of nonfiction, fiction, poetry, criticism, culinary adventure journalism, and video and audio essays. No previously published works, sim/subs okay.
Subscriptions are $20 for for two years (4 issues) and can be ordered online using PayPal. Single issues are $7 each.
Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel
The Thomas Library of Wittenberg University will be hosting a reading and discussion series on Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel. Associate Professor of Communication Dr. Matthew J. Smith will discuss five graphic novels about the Jewish experience: A Contract With God by Will Eisner (Sept 9). The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman (Sept 23), Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer by Ben Katchor (Oct 7), The Quitter by Harvey Pekar (Oct 28), and The Rabbi’s Cat by Joann Sfar (Nov 11 ).
Participation is free and open to the public, and thanks to a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association, books will be provided to registered participants.
Best of the Net Nominations Sought
Calling all Internet-only journals!
Sundress Publications has opened submissions for its second volume of the Best of the Net Anthology.
“This project works to promote the diverse and growing collection of voices that are choosing to publish their work online, a venue that still sees little respect from such yearly anthologies as the Pushcart and Best American series. This collection is intended to bring more prestige to a innovative and continually expanding medium. Our second issue included work by Ron Carlson, Dorianne Laux, Simone Muench, Charles Jensen, Matt Hart, and more.”
Submissions from editors will be open from July 1, 2008 to September 31st, 2008. Winners will be announced in January, 2009.
For more information, visit http://www.sundress.net/bestof/
New Lit on the Block :: Hawk & Handsaw
Hawk & Handsaw
The Journal of Creative Sustainability
Unity College, Maine
“Like Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the contributors to Hawk & Handsaw know which way the wind blows. They know that a sustainable lifestyle can be messy and meaningful that it requires reflection, deep philosophical commitment and, more often than not, a good sense of humor. To this end, Hawk & Handsaw celebrates the thinking and reflection that ground sustainable practices and practitioners.
Hawk & Handsaw is published annually and accepts poetry, nonfiction, stories, and visual art from Aug 15 – Nov 15.
Contributors to the first issue include written works by James Engelhardt, Jennifer A. Barton, John Lane, Luisa A. Igloria, Bibi Wein, Andrew Tertes, Bruce Pratt, Michael Bennett, Mimi White, Christie Stark,, Paul Sergi, David Trame, Holli Cederholm, Tyler Flynn Dorholt, Michael P. Branch; and visual works by: Suzanne Caporael, Christopher Becker, Karen Gelardi, Lisa B. Martin, Emily Brown, Mark Newport, Emily Brown, Christopher Becker, Emily Brown, Karen Gelardi, Emily Brown, Suzanne Caporael