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Penguin Books India recalled and intends to pulp Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternative History; Grove Atlantic will publish a collection of stories by actor Jesse Eisenberg; Francine Prose and Zoë Heller discuss the need for negative book reviews; and other news.
“My business is to create,” wrote William Blake. This week, write a story whose protagonist is also in a creative enterprise. Your character can be an artist, or he or she can be involved in a field your typical reader may not initially think of as creative. Try to find and describe this creative impulse.
The second Poets & Writers Live event was held on June 21, 2014, at Scandinavia House in New York City, and featured agents, editors, and authors engaged in panel discussions and conversation about how to sustain the writing life, the many reasons why we write, the author-agent relationship, and how agents and editors work together on behalf of writers. The day-long event concluded with a reading by award-winning poet Frank Bidart followed by a cocktail reception where writers networked and discussed the day's program.
The inaugural Poets & Writers Live event was held on January 11, 2014, at the literary arts center Beyond Baroque in Los Angeles, and included a talk on publishing, a panel discussion about resources for writers who live in Los Angeles, a conversation about why we write, a featured reading by Dani Shapiro, and a literary mixer where participants shared advice and inspiration.
The biennial South Carolina First Novel Prize, sponsored by Hub City Press and the South Carolina Arts Commission, is currently open for submissions. The winner will receive $1,000, publication, and national distribution for a first novel.
Residents of South Carolina who have lived in the state for at least one year and who have not yet published a novel are eligible. Writers may submit a novel manuscript between 150 and 400 pages with a $35 entry fee by March 3. Submissions may be sent via postal mail or hand-delivered to the South Carolina Arts Commission offices. Visit the website for complete submission and eligibility requirements.
Novelist Ben Fountain, author most recently of the novel Billy Flynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Ecco, 2012), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was shortlisted for the National Book Award, will judge.
Susan Tekulve of Spartanburg won the 2012 prize for her novel In the Garden of Stone, which was published by Hub City in May 2013. Matt Matthews of Greenville won for his novel Mercy Creek in 2010, and Brian Ray of Greensboro won in 2008 for Through the Pale Door.
In addition to publication and promotion by Hub City Press, the winner will also receive significant promotion from the South Carolina Arts Commission and the Humanities Council of South Carolina, including an invitation to appear at the 2015 South Carolina Book Festival, as well as a number of other festivals, bookstores, colleges, and libraries throughout the country.
Established in 1995, the Spartanburg, South Carolina–based non-profit Hub City Press publishes six books a year by emerging and established writers. For more information about the First Novel Prize, visit the South Carolina Arts Commission website or call (803) 734-8696.
In the video below from the National Book Foundation, Ben Fountain reads from Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.
Amazon’s editorial director offers a bevy of love stories for Valentine’s Day; Open Road will acquire digital publisher E-Reads; Eric Bennett details his time at the venerable Iowa Writers’ Workshop; and other news.
W. H. Auden’s poem “Musée des Beaux Arts" draws inspiration from Pieter Bruegel's painting Landscape With the Fall of Icarus. Many poets have found inspiration in other media: Painting, sculpture, even memorials appear in poems. This week, respond to a piece of visual art in verse. You can describe the work in detail, or the source of your inspiration can be subtly channeled into your poem. Similarly, you can choose to title your poem after the artwork or find a new title.
"It's okay to love your writing. Just don't love your writing." This rather quirky clip acknowledges the inevitable approach of the year's most saccharine holiday, Valentine's Day.
