Buruma Takes the Reins at NYRB, the Poetry Sleuth, and More
On not giving up on getting published; Nicole Krauss on what she’s reading; the timelessness of W. S. Merwin’s poetry; and other news.
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Brief but Spectacular With Lisa Lucas
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“They make us more empathetic. They connect us to one another. They make people who are not like us more human.” Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation, shares her love of books and why reading them is so important for PBS NewsHour’s “Brief but Spectacular” series.
Upcoming Prose Contest Deadlines
Fiction and nonfiction writers: The weather’s changing and hopefully stirring up creative energy for you to put towards your writing. Consider submitting to the following contests with upcoming deadlines, each offering at least $1,000 and publication.
Hippocampus Magazine Remember in November Contest: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Hippocampus Magazine is given annually for an essay. The winner will also receive free admission to the annual HippoCamp Conference for creative nonfiction writers in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in Summer 2018. Deadline: September 15. Entry fee: $12
Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction: A prize of $10,000 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a novel. Lindsey Drager, Daniel A. Hoyt, and Chrissy Kolaya will judge. Deadline: September 15. Entry fee: $25
Dzanc Books Short Story Competition: A prize of $2,500 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a story collection. Deadline: September 15. Entry fee: $25
Disquiet/Dzanc Books Open Borders Book Prize: A prize of $5,000 and publication by Disquiet, an imprint of Dzanc Books, will be given annually for a novel, a memoir, a collection of short stories or essays, or a cross-genre work that “exhibits a marked commitment to mutual understanding and cultural exchange across the globe.” Deadline: September 15. Entry fee: $25
TulipTree Publishing Stories That Need to Be Told Contest: A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story or an essay “that tells a story.” The winning work will also be published in the contest anthology, Stories That Need to Be Told. Deadline: September 16. Entry fee: $20
Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines and submission details. Check out our Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more upcoming contests in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.
Steinbeck Heir Wins Lawsuit, Dracula Prequel, and More
Alexandra Kleeman on writing fiction; twenty-four poets on what rescinding DACA means; E. B. White’s Maine farm for sale; and other news.
Edwidge Danticat on DACA, #MakeNovelsModern, and More
Feminist writer Kate Millett has died; Hilda Doolittle’s childhood home declared a literary landmark; John Williams’s novel Stoner to be adapted for screen; and other news.
State Your Beverage
Many people associate drinking apple cider with popular fall activities in the northern and eastern United States, such as apple picking and leaf peeping, but few likely know it is New Hampshire’s official beverage. The state approved the official designation in 2010 following a petition submitted by fourth-grade students. In fact, more than half the states in this country have official beverages, a trend started by Ohio, which made tomato juice its official beverage in 1965, and followed by Massachusetts (cranberry juice) and Florida (orange juice). Many other states (Wisconsin, New York, Vermont, and Oregon among them) selected milk. Write a personal essay or manifesto under the premise of petitioning for your own beverage of choice. Support your argument with personal memories, anecdotes, and research.
Six-Word Immigrant Memoirs, Book Doulas, and More
Writers and critics remember John Ashbery; conquering submission phobia; Gabriel Tallent on writing his debut novel, My Absolute Darling; and other news.
John Ashbery Has Died, Literary Agents in D.C., and More
Poetry Foundation announces 2017 fellowship recipients; novelist Susan Vreeland has died; Christopher Soto on political poetry versus protest poetry; and other news.
Rebel in the Rye
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Danny Strong’s directorial debut, Rebel in the Rye, is a biopic portraying J. D. Salinger’s earlier years, focusing on his service during World War II and the 1951 publication of The Catcher in the Rye. The film is adapted from Kenneth Slawenski’s biography J. D. Salinger: A Life (Random House, 2011), and stars Zoey Deutch, Nicholas Hoult, and Kevin Spacey.
Genre:
A Different Tongue
In a New York Times review of three recently reissued books by English-born artist and author Leonora Carrington, Parul Sehgal describes Carrington’s habit of writing in rudimentary Spanish or French, an example of exophony, the practice of writing in a language that is not the writer’s native tongue. Sehgal also recounts Samuel Beckett, who after adopting French, stated in a letter: “More and more my own language appears to me like a veil that must be torn apart in order to get at the things (or the Nothingness) behind it.” Write a short essay about a particularly resonant memory. Then try rewriting the same memory either in another language, even if you only have a basic knowledge of it, or in a style of English that has been “torn apart” and defamiliarized. Do you find this practice freeing or limiting? Which elements of the memory and your storytelling are drastically altered, and what remains consistent throughout both versions?
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