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Gary Sullivan is selling original art he’s done for the “New Life” series of poetry comics which have appeared in Rain Taxi from 1997-present. Comics versions of poetry by K. Silem Mohammad, Rod Smith, Katie Degentesh, Tao Lin, Flarf Basquiat/Kevin Young, and more to come.

From Creative Nonfiction Magazine:

For a new book project to be published by Southern Methodist University Press, entitled “Immortality,” we’re seeking new essays from a variety of perspectives on recent scientific developments and the likelihood, merits and ramifications of biological immortality. We’re looking for essays by writers, physicians, scientists, philosophers, clergy–anyone with an imagination, a vision of the future, and a dream (or fear) of living forever.

Essays must be vivid and dramatic; they should combine a strong and compelling narrative with a significant element of research or information, and reach for some universal or deeper meaning in personal experiences. We’re looking for well-written prose, rich with detail and a distinctive voice.

For examples, see Creative Nonfiction #38 (Spring 2010).

Guidelines: Essays must be: unpublished, 5,000 words or less, postmarked by August 6, 2010, and clearly marked “Immortality” on both the essay and the outside of the envelope. Please send manuscript, accompanied by a cover letter with complete contact information (address, phone, and email) and SASE to:

Creative Nonfiction
Attn: Immortality
5501 Walnut Street, Suite 202
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

READ International is a UK-based agency that sends used books to poverty-stricken areas of the world where they are used in literacy programs, in schools and in the community. Writers have become essential to the agency’s fundraising efforts through Read for READ International, a short story contest with a difference. Stories from 30 short-listed authors are competing until mid-July to raise the most money for the organization. The ten stories that raise the most money will go to a judging panel and the top three will be included in a fundraising anthology alongside work by established writers. Readers are asked to support their favorite story by donating a minimum of 2 pounds (about $3 US dollars) through a secure donations site via Pay Pal.

Several other charities are asking authors to donate stories. Cross Genres is currently asking authors to post stories to support re-building efforts in Haiti. Oxfam is well-known for its fundraising anthologies and the planned Write for Charity anthology will support the work of Unicef Canada.

Submitted by Kate Baggott
Freelance writer, English teacher
http://www.katebaggott.com

Check out Anis Shivani’s 15 Feisty Small Presses And The Books You’re Going To Want From Them on The Huffington Post.

Bucknell English Department seeks Assistant Professor of English (Creative Writing). Oct 15 deadline.

UNC Pembroke seeks Assistant Professor in English Education and Assistant Professor in English/Interim Editor, Pembroke Magazine.

Penguin has a job opening for an Editor in their Young Readers division (NY).

Penguin also offers ten-week internships in areas such as contracts, editorial, graphic design, managing editorial, marketing, production, publicity, sales, subsidiary rights, and operations. Fall deadline for application is Aug 15 (Spring Jan. 11, Summer Feb. 28).

“What Comes” is a of a brand new poem broadside by Carolyn Forch

Creative Nonfiction is currently seeking medical/biological illustrators for #40: Animals. This is an excellent opportunity for illustrators (student or professional) to have their work prominently featured in a literary magazine with an international audience and a circulation of over 7,000.

Artists will work closely with editors and designers and receive a modest honorarium. Creative Nonfiction is seeking all types and interpretations of animal illustration in the field of medical and biological illustration.

Interested artists should email three low-resolution jpeg samples of their best work to information[at]creativenonfiction.org no later than July 15th. Artists will be chosen by August 1st, with work taking place between early August and the middle of October.

From IR Associate Editor Deborah Kim: “Indiana Review is having the Blue Light Trivia Contest in July. Each week, we’ll be posting a different trivia question. First person to answer correctly in the comments will receive our newest issue, 32.1, Summer 2010.”

After fourteen years of editing Pleiades, Kevin Prufer is stepping down to make the move to join the creative writing faculty at University of Houston. “Others, notably Wayne Miller, Phong Nguyen, and Matthew Eck, will handle the day-to-day editing of Pleiades. From afar, I’ll join Joy Katz as Editor-at-Large and continue my work co-direting the Unsung Masters Series.”

The Newly Redesigned Literary Magazine Reaches Out to MFA Students

PITTSBURGH, PA, JUNE 23, 2010: The Creative Nonfiction Foundation (CNF) has received a grant from the BNY Mellon Audience Development Fund to reach writing students in creative nonfiction Master of Fine Arts programs. The campaign aims to develop CNF’s relationships with MFA students across the country, engaging them as not only readers but as potential contributors.

“Creative Nonfiction is an essential resource for anyone studying the genre, and in forming early relationships with MFA students–as both readers and writers–the magazine will continue to reach and publish today’s most promising new voices,” CNF Editor Lee Gutkind said.

55 organizations applied for BNY Mellon Audience Development Fund grants, but only 21 received funding. The grant will enable CNF to offer complimentary departmental subscriptions to Creative Nonfiction to schools with MFA programs in creative nonfiction; to provide complimentary copies of its Summer 2010 issue (#39) for graduate-level classroom use; to make an editor available for an in-class discussion, in person or via telephone or Skype; and to provide subsidized Creative Nonfiction subscriptions for all active students in these programs (a 4-issue subscription will be available for $12, reduced from $32.).

Edited by Lee Gutkind, Creative Nonfiction has been devoted exclusively to vividly written literary nonfiction since its first issue, published in 1994. In March, with the publication of issue #38, the tri-quarterly journal re-launched as a quarterly magazine with an updated look and larger size. Expanded content combines long-form essays and true stories with columns on craft, reflections on the current state of literary publishing, encounters with editors and writers, regular columns by Phillip Lopate, Richard Rodriguez and Heidi Julavits, and more.

For more information, please contact Creative Nonfiction at (412) 688-0304 or email: fletcher-at-creativenonfiction-dot-org

[Press Release from CNF]

Third Mind Books is self-proclaimed as “Your Primary Source for Beat Literature.” It’s the result of Arthur S. Nusbaum’s lifetime of involvement in beat literature, including having met many of the orginal artists of the time: “I am a long-time collector & enthusiast of the Beat Generation & its legacy, with particular emphasis on the life & work of William S. Burroughs.” Nusbaum has developed “a resource by & for the collector-enthusiast that offers desirable, significant rarities for sale. A description of the condition & content of each item is written or extensively edited by myself.” Beat-related writing (essays, interviews, etc.) are posted regularly on the NewsBeat blog (contributions welcomed), and there’s also an area to post “My Wants” and “Your Wants” for Beat materials. Future plans for Third Mind Books include a curated museum with tours (Ann Arbor, MI).

Read more about Nusbaum in this Ann Arbor Chronicle article.

Poet Peter Seaton passed away last month, but news of his death has only recently been making its way through the community. Read more here on fait accompli (Nick Piombino’s blog) and here on PennSound.

PEN American Center Announces the launch of PEN Reads, an online reading group to go live on July 6:

PEN American Center, the largest branch of the world’s oldest literary and human rights organization, announced today the creation of PEN Reads, an online reading group that will bring readers and writers together to discuss works of literature relevant to PEN’s mission. The inaugural title will be The Hour of the Star (New Directions) by the legendary Brazilian author Clarice Lispector.

Each book will be discussed for five weeks on the PEN web site, which will feature a series of posts by writers, translators, scholars, and other prominent literary figures. They will discuss the novel and its author and how the book speaks to PEN’s mission to foster support for basic human rights and promote mutual understanding through the shared experience of literature.

Readers will be able to comment on each post, participating in a larger dialogue with the discussion’s contributors and with each other.

The initiative was created by PEN’s Membership Committee under the leadership of former Chair Jaime Manrique. He says, “PEN Reads’ choice of The Hour of the Star by the great, and incomparable, Clarice Lispector as its inaugural author reaffirms PEN’s commitment to honor, and help preserve, the literary legacy of the writers of the world whose works matter in a major way.”

The inaugural post, by award-winning novelist Colm Tóibín, will appear at www.pen.org/penreads at noon on Tuesday, July 6.

NewPages encourages group participants to check with local, independent booksellers to purchase The Hour of the Star – and to purchase an extra copy to donate to your local library if they don’t already have one.

From Narrative Magazine:

Until the final showdown on July 11, thirty-two soccer teams will compete in South Africa to steal Italy’s crown as World Cup champions.

For the players, the games are the ultimate moment of competition. For the countries they represent, it’s a time for national pride. For South Africa, the World Cup is a chance to grow, pumping more than 50 billion dollars into the economy and turning the world’s eye to their spot on the map.

The face of the World Cup is Zakumi, a golden leopard with flowing green hair. He’s fifteen, called “Za” for short, and lives by the official motto, “Zakumi’s game is fair play.”

The designers assigned to create Zakumi set out to integrate the many aspects of the World Cup into a single marketing image: a mascot. What would you have come up with?

This week, Literary Puzzler challenges you to create your own World Cup mascot. In just three or four sentences, provide a portrait of the character you’d craft as the image of the summer’s competition.

Send your mascot to Puzzler by Sunday noon, Pacific daylight time.

2012 Sandburg-Auden-Stein Residency: Intensive Learning Term poet-in-residence program, from 30 April to 18 May 2012. An award of $3,100 (plus room and board) will be given to the 2012 poet. The Humanities Department faculty will evaluate the submissions and choose the winner. Poets who have published at least one book of poetry are eligible. Submissions are due on Sept. 10, 2010, and should include the following: five poems from your most recent book, a single page personal statement regarding your poetics and teaching, a current r

Starting with its previous issue (#4), Marginalia began to include letterpress works with their publication. The letterpress works are produced on a Chandler & Price Platen Press, with chapbooks designed and printed at Now It’s Up to You (157 S. Logan, Denver CO 80209) with the assistance of expert printer Tom Parson. The newest issue (v5) – the Eksphrasis Issue – includes three letterpress postcards, showcasing the work of Sasha Chavchavadze, Rachel Burgess, and William Gillespie.