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NewPages Blog

At the NewPages Blog readers and writers can catch up with their favorite literary and alternative magazines, independent and university presses, creative writing programs, and writing and literary events. Find new books, new issue announcements, contest winners, and so much more!

Survey :: Africa in Higher Education

Ph.D. student Natasha Himmelman, University of Cape Town is conducting a survey on

African Studies
Africana Studies
Diaspora Studies
Caribbean Studies
African American Studies

in institutions of higher education. Seeking undergraduate, postgraduate, and recent graduate responses to simple 10-question survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2Z6QC7C

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Natasha at nhimmelman[at]gmail.com

SciFi World View

World Literature Today‘s newest issue (May/June 2010) includes a special section devoted to speculative fiction. Editor Daniel Simon writes: “SF in WLT?” and answers with, “In the current issue, it matters less how we define the world and more how we see through it, or around it, and into the realm of other possibilities.” And so, SciFi it is – featuring Kij Johnson, China Mieville, Federik Pohl, George Zebrowski, James Gunn, Lavie Tidhar, Pamela Sargent, Paul Kincaid, David Fowler, Grady Hendrix, Tom Shippey, and Davor Slamnig.

Exclusive online content includes Rob Bollmar’s podcast interview with Cory Doctorow, the complete text of the short stories by Pamel Sargent and Lavie Tidhar (excerpted in the print edition), Paul Di Filippo’s extended reviews of the best speculative fiction of 2009, and much more SF-related content.

the Unrorean’s New Editor

Begun as an answer to Aurorean editor Cynthia Brackett-Vincent’s frequent quandary, “I wish this fit the Aurorean!”, the Unrorean publishes poems that are too long, too dark or too experimental for the Aurorean’s format. Its tagline: “$2 each U.S. (less than a cup of gourmet coffee & more satisfying). One-year subscription {2 issues} $4 U.S. (much more satisfying than just one issue!). There are no formal guidelines or deadlines, & we do not send proofs. Work sent solely to the Unrorean is not acknowledged (but we promise to take good care of your poems).”

Now, the Unrorean welcomes Devin McGuire as Editor as it expands readership and visibility as a small-press broadsheet. Cynthia Brackett-Vincent will be behind the scenes as Managing Editor.

Its format: 11×17; laser-printed; folded into 5 1/2 x 8 1/2. Various colors. 2-4 11×17 pages. Although there are no formal guidelines for the Unrorean, material submitted from approximately January-June is considered for the Summer/Fall issue and material submitted from approximately July-December is considered for the Winter/Spring issue.

New Lit on the Block :: Camera Obscura

Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Camera Obscura is the kind of publication that will definitely keep readers demanding print publications they can hold in their hands. A biannual independent print journal and “internet haunt,” Camera Obscura features prose & photography by established, as well as, emerging writers and photographers. Don’t let the 9×6 format fool you – the high quality production makes the images on these pages fill the mind’s eye (a true model of how art is best reproduced for greatest viewer appreciation).

Behind the scenes at Camera Obscura are Editor M.E. Parker, Prose Editors Meredith Doench, Tim Horvath, Shane Oshetski, and M.E. Parker, Photography Editors Kate Parker and Lisa Roberts.

The first issue is a packed 128 pages, including fiction by Claire Bateman, Joshua Cohen, Patrick Dacey, Kane X. Faucher (Editor’s Choice Award for fiction), Amy Glasenapp, Cynthia Litz, Robert McGowan, Nani Power, Thea Swanson, Michael Trocchia, Ren

Cable in the Classroom

Television is emerging as the medium of choice for serious visual storytellers, says instructor Jason Mittell who teaches an entire semester using HBO’s The Wire. “If you have a compelling short story to tell, film is the medium to do it,” he said. “If you want to tell a long-form story or create a world where characters can grow, television is the place to do it.” Read the full story on the Rutland Herald.

Writers Grant Competition

The Elizabeth George Foundation is accepting applications for writing grants for 2011. Grants will be made to provide support for unpublished fiction writers, for unpublished and published poets, and for emerging playwrights. Interested writers should send a letter of inquiry to: Elizabeth George, Director, The Elizabeth George Foundation, PO Box 1429, Langley, WA 98260. Letters need to be received by the Foundation by July 1, 2010 to be considered for a grant for the 2011 calendar year.

Job :: Web Project Manager

The Poetry Foundation Web Project Manager. The project manager is responsible for the online experience of poetryfoundation.org, which requires defining website upgrades and additions to poetryfoundation.org and for managing those projects internally through the web design, development and implementation process. Candidates with a working knowledge of contemporary literary culture and/or poetry are especially encouraged to apply. May 15

New Lit on the Block :: The Packinghouse Review

Cofounded by David Dominguez (poetry editor), Rick Garza (fiction editor), and Alma Dominguez (managing editor), The Packinghouse Review will publish fiction and poetry biannually. Their first issue includes fiction by Neal Blaikie, David Borofka, Daniel Chacόn, and Liza Wieland, and poetry by Christopher Buckley, Gerardo Diego (translated by Francisco Aragόn), Frank X. Gaspar, Rojoberto González, Lee Herrick, David Hurst, Maria Melendez, Chad Prevost, Dixie Salazar, and Michael Spurgeon.

The Packinghouse Review also includes a Student Intern Editor, a position currently filled by Cecilia Ruiz of Reedley College, California.

The publication is available for single copy purchase via Amazon.

Poetry Northwest Relocates

Last year, Poetry Northwest celebrated its 50th anniversary, “quietly” – as editor Kevin Craft notes. The publication has not survived these five decades unscathed, having suspended publication briefly at the turn of the new millennium. But Poetry Northwest came back “reestablished as a nonprofit enterprise on a foundation of community support.” Facing and embracing change once again, Poetry Northwest has relocated from the Attic Writers Workshop in Portland, and returned to its birthplace of the Puget Sound region. The magazine is now “housed and published by the Written Arts Program at Everett Community College. But,” Craft adds, “it will depend, as it always has, on the support and interest of community of readers all over the country.”

This newest issue of Poetry Northwest (Spring & Summer 2010) features works by new and known writers: Bob Hicok, Linda Gregg, Paisley Rekdal, Sierra Nelson, Christopher Merrill, amy Greacen, Andrew Zawacki, Jason Whitmarsh, Joelle Biele, Jeff Hardin, David Sofield, Ted Gilley, Ronald Wallace, Spikanth Reddy, Kelli Russel Agodon, Rick Barot, Rod Jellema, Eamon Brennan, Lilah Hegnauer, Daniel Groves, Daniel Lamberton, Zach Savich, Jay B. Thompson, and Kevin Craft. Artwork by Claire Cowie and Jay Bryant.

Fiction Noir

The newest issue of Criminal Class Review (v3n1) is devoted to fiction noir. The independent publication self-described as “Literary Scum,” initially set out to publish “hard luck tales that went unheard,” according to editor-in-chief Kevin Whiteley. “Our stories and poems seek to transcend the gap between song and story. We are interested in where the ‘hard luck’ songs originated, and the tales from the street which spurned them. Punk rockers, Hooligans, outlaws and the like…C.C.P. is not a shoulder to cry on, a place for broken hearts, or an album for family stories rather a fictionalized confession booth for felons, scumbags, and psychos. We don’t take anything less than blood, violence, and abusive aspects of life.”

Given that, it’s no wonder CCP was receiving more and more noir submissions, which resulted in this issue, featuring works by Rick Villanueva, William Hillman, Marguerite L. Harrold, George Tabb, Sam Allingham, Andrew Riconda, David S. Pointer, Daniel Porder, John Haggerty, Gleb Boundin, Douglas Thomas Wallace, David Corbett, Brian Murphy, Mickey Disend, Scott Palmer, Jim Goad, Lex Sonne, and Stephen Elliot.

New Lit on the Block :: Lo-Ball

Quietly entering the scene, Lo-Ball has all the promise of becoming an established publication. Editors D.A. Powell and T.J. Di Francesco mean to keep the production simple, touting the magazines as a “no frills” publication. This production approach passes no judgement on the magazine’s content, however, which includes in its first issue new poetry by J. Peter Moore, Rachel Zucker, John Casteen, Erin Belieu, Camille T. Dungy, Ely Shipley, Paisley Rekdal, David Trinidad, Katie Ford, Timothy O’Keefe, Ryan Courtwright, Ryan Call, Randall Mann, Kristen Tracy, Kristen Hatch, Luke Sykora, Stephen Elliott, John Beer, Peter Covino, Ash Bowen, CJ Evans, Ilya Kaminsky, Rachel Loden, Derek Mong, Benjamin Paloff, and Alex Lemon.

Published semiannually, Lo-Ball is available by single copy or two-issue subscription via PayPal – at one of the most low-ball prices I’ve seen on a lit mag in a long time ($4.99/issue). Printed by Bookmobile with glossy cover and nice stock, they’re not out to make money on this one (thus the .org, I’m guessing). And my favorite promotional line in the publication, “Lo-Ball respectfully reminds you to have your pets spayed or neutered. Or both.” How can you resist?

Toad’s Museum of Freaks and Wonders

An albino woman, a dwarf named Toad, and two Italian prisoners of war on a rabbit-ridden farm in the nether reaches of Australia: what could be a better premise for a novel? Setting such a bizarre and unique concept at the center of a piece of fiction is a bold strategy, but Goldie Goldbloom’s debut novel, Toad’s Museum of Freaks and Wonders, never falls short of the mark. The winner of the 2008 AWP Award for the novel, it is apparent from the first few pages that you are in the hands of a master; Goldbloom writes with clarity and complexity, balancing abstract questions of identity, love, and value with a tensely developed plot and rich characters. Continue reading “Toad’s Museum of Freaks and Wonders”

Mattaponi Queen

In one of the many aching, tender scenes in Mattaponi Queen, a woman goes to Wal-Mart with her husband, who is dressed in drag. He’s about to have a sex change operation and the public shopping expedition is her way to support and process his decision. Later, she wonders: “How old do you have to be to understand how love works?” Continue reading “Mattaponi Queen”

Further Adventures in the Restless Universe

Dawn Raffel's newest collection of short stories, Further Adventures in the Restless Universe, is an intriguing look at relationships. The spare, unfussy prose explores familial boundaries, the complicated connections between mothers and their children, sisters, aunts and great aunts, husbands and wives. The mundane matters of every day existence – taking a child to a museum or carving a pumpkin, a phone call to catch up, a day spent at the beach, learning to drive – fill up Raffel's prose; each story occupies only a few pages (in some cases only one), but each moment captured by her prose completely fills up the whole space. Continue reading “Further Adventures in the Restless Universe”

Quotidiana

The gift that Patrick Madden gives us in Quotidiana is the gift great essayists have given us for centuries and that is the elegance of a mind at work. The essays Madden offers in this new collection are essays in the most traditional, classical sense. They do not traffic in the far-fetched or the bizarre, competing with reality television to hold our attention with a cacophony of sound, nor do they rely on the story to bear the weight of their subject, rather they investigate the way ordinary experience confounds and delights us, once we stop and pay attention. Continue reading “Quotidiana”

Bharat jiva

kari edwards’s last book, Bharat jiva, was published posthumously. The book represents a leap in style, control and application of language, and scope of address and content over hir earlier works, disobedience, iduna, and a day in the life of p. For example, whereas obedience continually lists and refines those lists, working from inclusion and exhaustion, Bharat jiva has a huge scope, a generous posing of questions against lists. Continue reading “Bharat jiva”

0º,0º

Scientific metaphors are invisible pitfalls for most poets, mainly because the average writer is unable to grasp how wildly ridiculous his or her musings and conjectures are. Reciprocally, poetry put forth by physicists, if sincere, can leave one rather cold. Fortunately, Amit Majmudar easily sidesteps both problems in this wonderful collection by having both a real scientific background and genuine empathy, creating a coherent work with sustained intellectual and emotional focus. Continue reading “0º,0º”

Lost Alphabet

Lisa Olstein's Lost Alphabet is a serious meditation. All 90 pages of poetry have the same short paragraph form with a bracketed title that informs and sometimes subverts the poems. The setting seems post-apocalyptic in a quiet sort of way. There are no Mad Max renegades, but there is an unnamed narrator who moves to the edge of some pre-industrial village of horse traders where people dance to music made with a “dull spoon on the side of a pig.” The narrator is obsessed with the study of moths. The goal of this study is at first unclear, but as the narrator focuses more on the project, more questions arise. Continue reading “Lost Alphabet”

A Little Middle of the Night

Of all of the Iowa Poetry Prize winners I have read, Molly Brodak’s A Little Middle of the Night may be the most stunning, the most complete and beautiful package; every poem in the book is a gem and they all fit together to form a simple and elegant volume that I am pleased to have in my collection. Continue reading “A Little Middle of the Night”

Life of a Star

Life of a Star presents itself as a series of short ramblings of the narrator, who is also the main character. The ramblings could even be called diary entries as they are the thoughts and desires of the narrator. The main character is a woman who imagines herself to be an actress, something that is evident throughout the book. Continue reading “Life of a Star”

Bookstore Destroyed & Bookstore Saved

Destroyed: Cover to Cover Books & Gifts, 202 West Wisconsin Ave., Tomahawk, WI was destroyed by fire last week.

Saved: “The Toronto Women’s Bookstore, which was set to close last Friday [4/16] if a buyer could not be found, will be staying open until the end of May, and perhaps beyond that, if one of two interested buyers comes through with a workable offer.” Quill & Quire

Back to the Future: TKR Adds Letterpress

The Kenyon Review Editor David H. Lynn’s editorial in the newest issue (spring 2010) comments on the “future of literary publishing.” TKR itself went part-digital a while back with KROnline to complement TKR in print, as well as adding a daily blog, online book discussions, and collaborating with JSTOR to complete an electronic archive.

Lynn comments, “It surely would have been easier simply to continue printing this journal four times a year and leave it at that. But I’m convinced that sooner or later, such isolated publications will come to seem anachronisms, curiosities, not vibrant players in the literary community.”

But far from being a full-fledged missive on going digital, Lynn recognizes the continuing place of ink and paper in our lives, its historical relevance, and its place in the lives of future readers and writers, which is why TKR will be launching a small letterpress operation. “Even as we develop literary media for the future, I believe it’s our responsibility to keep the old technologies, teaching our associates where all the current publishing structures originated. Letting them get their hands dirty.”

TKR is planning printing opportunities for their summer program, and looks to add chapbooks and broadsides in the future, “just for the fun of it.”

Scrabble Lets Nouns Play

“The rules of word game Scrabble are being changed for the first time in its history to allow the use of proper nouns, games company Mattel has said. Place names, people’s names and company names or brands will now count.” Hmph. Are they going to start including an apostrophe so McDonald’s can be spelled correctly?

Flyway Redefining Enviromental Writing & Contest Winners

Flyway: A Journal of Writing and Environment Managing Editor Liz Clift writes: “Flyway begins its 16th year, we reflect on the meaning ‘environment’ takes on for different people. Traditionally, environmental writing refers to writing about nature, often as an advocate of the natural world. With this in mind, it’s easy to view the manmade world as less important and thus deny it a place within the environmental literature canon. However, environmental writing now includes urban and other manmade environments as legitimate components of modern human experience. This issue of Flyway explores both human and nonhuman environments, because we shape the environment that shapes us.”

This issue also features winners of their “Home Voices” writing contest: Kathryn Sukalich (1st place), Kimberly L. Rogers and Rachael Button (honorable mentions), and their “Notes from the Field” writing contest: Cassandra Kircher (1st place) and Gabriel Houck (finalist).

Nominate 40 Under 40: the Future of Feminism

From the Feminist Press:

The Feminist Press is 40 years old in 2010 – what better way to honor the past than by celebrating the future! We are searching for 40 fabulous feminist women and men* to honor as the “40 Under 40” to pay attention to in the future.

Help us choose the women and men of talent and commitment who best represent what feminism is all about: gender equality and social justice.

We are looking for people in all fields: the arts, community organizing, social justice, medicine, law, politics, business, philanthropy, etc. Please be sure to include contact information for your nominee(s).

All 40 honorees will be acknowledged at our 40th anniversary gala at the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC on October 18, 2010. And when you send us your nominations, you’ll be entered in a raffle to win a ticket to the gala.

We’ve made history as the world’s oldest continuing feminist publisher. Send us your suggestions for “40 Under 40” and be part of the next 40 years and beyond.

Email your suggestions to Maryann Jacob Macias, Development Manager: mjacob-at-gc.cuny-dot-edu by Friday, May 14.

*Most of our honorees come from the northeast U.S. We wish we could fly people in from further away. Please donate if you can, to help us honor women and men from around the U.S. www.feministpress.org/support-us

Inkwell 2010 Contest Winners

Manhattanville College’s Inkwell Spring 2010 features a number of winners of their 2010 competition:

Poetry Winner: Starkey Flythe
Honorable Mention: Jim Knowles
Notable Finalists: Phillis Levin, Rachel Michaud, Dan Preniszni, Alinda Wasner (Fall 2010)

Fiction Winner: Aram Kim
Honorable Mention: E. B. Moore
Notable Finalists: Joan Corwin (Fall 2010), Starkey Flythe (Fall 2010), Daniel Austin Warren

Elizabeth McCormack Master of Arts in Writing Poetry Winner: Kristina Bicher
Elizabeth McCormack Master of Arts in Writing Fiction Winner: Terry Dugan

How Did You Meet?

Ploughshares, Spring 2010, edited by Elizabeth Strout, opens with her introduction, not just to this issue of the journal, but to Journals. She writes of her first awkward year away at college, where (like so many of us) she believed others to be so much more confident, comfortable, and learned. She slinks into the library and dashes to the first stacks, the periodical section, where she finds familiar magazines: “But I found a whole row of other things. Journals, some thick, others quite thin, lay on a tilting shelf with their faces toward me. Some had colorful covers, some had very simple and unassuming covers. Inside them–the type pressed into the paper, so that even touching them brought a certain thrill–I found story after story, poem after poem. Who knew? I had not known.”

Do you remember discovering literary magazines? It seems most of us do not know them until our college years, and often times by accident. I have made it my “mission” as a teacher to introduce my students to literary magazines, to make the introduction formal, purposeful, and as often as possible. To put a magazine into a young reader’s hands and say, “Read this, I’d like to know what you think of it.” And to be rewarded, time and again, as I was the time I put a copy of Agni into a student’s hands. She returned next class, looking at me wild-eyed, and said, “I never knew writing like this existed.”

And it is to the credit of editors as much as writers that this kind of writing “exists” and can be put into the hands of readers of all ages. New Red Cedar Review Managing Editors Ashley Luster and Emily Wollner comment: “As we embraced our roles as managing editors of Red Cedar Review, the journal that we had grown to love over the past few years, we made it a priority to define the nature of the material with which we were working. What does it mean exactly to be a literary journal? Associated commonly with dusty library tomes and complex pleonastic prose, the ‘L’ word is one that often frightens away people who lie outside of its writing communities and seemingly elite social circles. It seems, though, that the literary merit of a creative piece is not necessarily a consequence of its form or its language, but is something that lies within the way these factors work in tandem to present an idea. In this way, we strove to expand the definition of literary in this issue of RCR to include any spark of creativity that lends itself to ink and paper.”

Knockout LGBTQ Youth Suicide

Knockout is doing its part to fight suicide in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth population. Five percent of the proceeds from sales of the Spring 2010 (3.1) issue will go to The Trevor Project, which operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for LGBTQ youth. For more information, visit thetrevorproject.org.