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.
Genre: Fiction
The Snowman
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The Snowman (Knopf, 2011), the crime novel written by Jo Nesbø and translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett, has been adapted into a feature film. Directed by Tomas Alfredson, the film stars Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer, and Chloë Sevigny.
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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.
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.
Back to School
The campus novel is a work of fiction that revolves primarily around an academic campus, most often a college or university. Some fall into the category of coming-of-age stories, such as Jeffrey Eugenides’s The Marriage Plot and Elif Batuman’s The Idiot, while others are more focused on faculty, such as Mary McCarthy’s The Groves of Academe and Philip Roth’s The Human Stain. Campus novels offer the opportunity to explore characters within the hierarchical structures and pressurized environment of a closed educational system and the contrasting perspectives of teachers and students because of differences in age, power, class, and social and cultural values. Write a short story that focuses on students and/or teachers in a high school or college setting, perhaps integrating elements of comedy and satire like Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim and Jane Smiley’s Moo, science fiction like Jonathan Lethem’s As She Climbed Across the Table, murder mystery like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, sports like Chad Harbach’s The Art of Fielding, or supernatural Gothic horror like Joyce Carol Oates’s The Accursed.
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.
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Imagine Your Audience
In “How Deep This Grief: Wrestling With Writing as Therapy” in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, Ian Stansel recounts not being able to write about his sister after her death, but realizing that he could write for her and try to write a book that she would love. Part of Stansel’s writing practice involves choosing someone he knows, often a family member, to stand in as the “ideal reader” that he keeps in mind while working on specific projects. Write a short story and use someone you know as an imagined ideal reader. Does having one specific person as your imagined reader inspire you to draw certain ideas, motifs, traits, or themes to the surface?
My Absolute Darling
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“I wanted to write a book that would help you take a little bit more care.” Gabriel Tallent talks about the main character in his debut novel, My Absolute Darling (Riverhead Books, 2017), and how he hopes the book will resonate with readers. The novel is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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Upcoming Prose Contest Deadlines
Prose writers, end your summer strong and submit to the following contests in fiction and nonfiction by Thursday, August 31. Each contest offers an award of at least $1,000 and publication.
Gemini Magazine Flash Fiction Contest: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a short short story. Entry fee: $5
Glimmer Train Press Fiction Open: A prize of $3,000, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 20 copies of the prize issue is given twice yearly for a short story. A second-place prize of $1,000 is also given. Entry fee: $21
Glimmer Train Press Very Short Fiction Award: A prize of $2,000, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 20 copies of the prize issue is given twice yearly for a short short story. Entry fee: $16
Gulf Coast Barthelme Prize for Short Prose: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given annually for a piece of short prose. Roxane Gay will judge. Entry fee: $18
Gulf Coast Prize in Translation: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given for a prose excerpt translated from any language into English. John Keene will judge Entry fee: $18
New Guard Machigonne Fiction Contest: A prize of $1,500 each and publication in the New Guard is given annually for a short story. Chris Abani will judge. Entry fee: $20
Red Hen Press Quill Prose Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a short story collection, a novel, or an essay collection by a queer writer. Ryka Aoki will judge. Entry fee: $5
Snake Nation Press Serena McDonald Kennedy Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Snake Nation Press is given annually for a short story collection or a novella. Entry fee: $25
Sustainable Arts Foundation Writing Awards: Awards of $5,000 each are given annually to fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers with children. Writers with at least one child under the age of 18 are eligible. Entry fee: $15
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.
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