The Smitten Author
"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.
Last Days of William Butler Yeats, Literary Love Affairs, and More
Another executive of Barnes & Noble’s Nook division has reportedly left the company; Amazon is expanding its Kindle business in Brazil; the Irish Times examines the last days of William Butler Yeats; and other news.
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Video Killed the Literary Star
Novelist, critic, and essayist Walter Kirn, whose book Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade is forthcoming from Liveright in March, recorded this open letter to Gary Shteyngart and "his accomplice" James Franco.
Sony Reader Ends North American Business, Laura Miller on Literary Elitism, and More
Former U. S. poet laureate Maxine Kumin died yesterday at age eighty-eight; Penguin Random House will close two Penguin warehouses as it restructures; Alexander Chee examines the nature of pervasive Internet outrage; and other news.
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Maxine Kumin
The award-winning poet and former poet laureate is seen here reading three poems at the 2008 Dodge Poetry Festival. Kumin passed away on February 6 at the age of eighty-eight.
Execution of Poet Hashem Shaabani, Self-Publishing Degree, and More
The University of Central Lancashire has created an MA program designed to teach students self-publishing; the Seattle Times investigates Amazon’s long-term strategy; Roxana Robinson shares her thoughts on the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman; and other news.
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Interview
Most people will sit through dozens of interviews throughout the course of their lives. This week, write a piece reflecting on your own history as an interviewee. When did you sit through your first interview? What was your worst experience in an interview? Do you have any pre-interview routines? This exercise may provide a miniature arc of your career, or it may inspire you to reflect on some previously unexplored memories.
Anne Waldman
The author most recently of Gossamurmur (Penguin, 2013) reads from "Manatee/Humanity" as part of Poet-to-Poet, an educational project from the Academy of American Poets for National Poetry Month 2014.
Celina Su
New Memoir Contest Open to Writers Over Fifty
The Huffington Post, the AARP, and Simon & Schuster have teamed up to launch a new memoir contest for writers over the age of fifty. One grand prize winner will receive $5,000 and a publishing contract with Simon & Schuster.
Writers born before December 31, 1964, and who are residents of the United States may submit a synopsis and the first 5,000 words of a memoir by February 15. Submissions must be sent electronically via e-mail. There is no entry fee.
Complete guidelines and eligibility requirements can be found here.
Ten finalists will be invited to submit their complete memoir by June 15. Final manuscripts should be between 20,000 to 50,000 words in length. The winning work will also be excerpted in AARP The Magazine and will be featured on the Huffington Post website.
Judges will include editors from each sponsor, including the Huffington Post’s Arianna Huffington and Huff/Post 50 editor at large Rita Wilson, a top editor from Simon & Schuster, and AARP editorial director Myrna Blyth. “We’re searching for the next great memoir,” says Blyth. “We want to find a gifted writer who can tell a remarkable story of his or her life. We believe this memoir contest could really be the chance of a lifetime.”
The winner will be announced in September. To receive a list of contest results, entrants may send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to AARP & Huff/Post 50 Memoir Contest Winner’s List Request, 601 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20049.
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