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“We have to imagine new futures, and I think what storytellers can do is begin to imagine new ways of being, and new places that we can all go to.” Mohsin Hamid discusses his latest novel, Exit West (Riverhead Books, 2017), and speaks about the importance of storytelling on Late Night With Seth Meyers.
In “The Emotional Realist Talks to Ghosts” in the March/April issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, George Saunders discusses the different stages of writing his debut novel, Lincoln in the Bardo (Random House, 2017). The long process included attempting a third-person version of the story, as well as a play. Though neither form was quite right, Saunders says, “It made me more convinced that there was definitely a story there.” Take a short story in progress and rewrite one particular scene in two new forms—from a different narrative point of view, and in a dramatic script format. What are the main ideas that remain consistent and integral to the story throughout all three versions?
Spuyten Duyvil releases protest poetry anthology; Oxford American rings in twenty-five years of Southern writing; Donika Kelly on loneliness and poetry; and other news.
“In the book, I talk a lot about old folklore and old legends, but I also want to capture what’s happening now...” In this video interview, filmmaker, visual artist, and musician J. D. Wilkes speaks about the origins of his debut novel, The Vine That Ate the South (Two Dollar Radio, 2017).
A novelist explores the finer points of writing fiction in this series of micro craft essays. In the latest installment: the art of writing dialogue, and Richard Price’s Lush Life.
Do you have a work of fiction or nonfiction ready to submit? Get this week started by submitting to the following contests—which offer prizes of up to $10,000 and have deadlines within the next two weeks.
Colorado Review Nelligan Prize: A prize of $2,000 and publication in Colorado Review is given annually for a short story. Richard Bausch will judge.
Deadline: March 14
Entry Fee: $17
Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest: A prize of $10,000 is given for an essay. Two $2,500 runner-up prizes will also be awarded. The winning essays will be published in Creative Nonfiction. The theme for the contest is “Dangerous Creations: Real-life Frankenstein Stories.”
Deadline: March 20
Entry Fee: $20
Ruminate William Van Dyke Short Story Prize: A prize of $1,500 and publication in Ruminate is given annually for a short story.
Deadline: March 15
Entry Fee: $20
The Pinch Literary Awards: Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in the Pinch are given annually for a short story and an essay. Caitlin Horrocks will judge in fiction and Jill Talbot will judge in nonfiction.
Deadline: March 15
Entry Fee: $20
James Jones Literary Society First Novel Fellowship: A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. A selection from the winning work will be published in Provincetown Arts. Runners-up will each receive $1,000.
Deadline: March 15
Entry Fee: $30
Southampton Review Frank McCourt Memoir Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southampton Review is given annually for a personal essay.
Deadline: March 15
Entry Fee: $15
Prairie Schooner Book Prize: A prize of $3,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press is given annually for a short story collection. An editorial board will select finalists; Kwame Dawes will serve as final judge.
Deadline: March 15
Entry Fee: $20
Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines and submission details. Visit our Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more upcoming contests in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.
Penguin Random House announces global publishers for Obamas’ forthcoming books; Melissa Febos on looking at hard truths; Robert James Waller has died; and other news.
Rick Bass has been named the winner of the thirteenth annual Story Prize for his collection For a Little While (Little, Brown). The award honors an outstanding collection of short fiction published in the United States in the previous year, and comes with a $20,000 purse.
A new theory on Jane Austen’s death; writers weigh in on the future of music; the work of Instagram poet Reuben Holmes; and other news.
“I was interested in the transmission of artistic practice—art, music, ideology, politics—from West to East and back again, and how that gets reflected in the creation of art.” Madeleine Thien talks about the premise and themes of her third novel, Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Granta Books, 2016), which is longlisted for the 2017 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.
