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The Love Song of Jonny Valentine by Teddy Wayne explores the underbelly of fame in twenty-first century America's celebrity culture, told through the eyes of an unforgettable child. Here the author, whose first novel, Kapitoil, was published by Harper Perennial in 2010, endorses his own book.
Macmillan settled with the Department of Justice over e-book pricing; Brain Pickings uncovers a touching letter from Charles Dickens to his son; a series of humorous vignettes by Virginia Woolf will be published for the first time; and other news.
In Ferlinghetti: A Rebirth of Wonder, which opens tonight in New York City, director Christopher Felver reveals the poet's true role as a catalyst for numerous literary careers and for the Beat movement itself. The documentary features one-on-one interviews with Ferlinghetti as well as appearances by Allen Ginsberg, Dennis Hopper, Dave Eggers, and others. For more opening dates, visit the First Run Features website.
The Oklahoma City-based Arcadia Magazine is currently accepting submissions for its inaugural short story contest. The winner will receive a prize of $1,000 and publication in Arcadia. The deadline for entry is February 15.
Fiction writers may submit a short story between 4,000 and 7,000 words, along with a $15 entry fee, via Submittable. There is no required criteria beyond the word limit; stories of any subject or style are eligible. Multiple entries are welcome, but must be submitted separately. All entries will be considered for publication.
Founded in 2009, Arcadia is a print journal published twice yearly in the spring and fall that features the work of both emerging and established writers. In addition to the contest, the magazine accepts year-round submissions of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as cultural criticism, drama, visual art, comics, music, craft essays, and everything in between—including letters, to be included in the new Epistolary feature on the journal's website. Whatever the form, the editors state on the site, “We want to see it, read it, hear it, and love it. If it kicks ass, we will find a way to publish it.”
Visit the submissions page for complete guidelines.
For more from the Arcadia editors, check out the September/October 2012 print issue of Poets & Writers Magazine for an article on how to submit to Arcadia.
Reagan Arthur has been named the next publisher of Little, Brown; David L. Ulin discusses the newly-published work of New Yorker legend Joseph Mitchell; novelist Alix Ohlin considers the intricate relationship between male writers and female readers; and other news.
The key to Malcolm Gladwell's success? "I happened to be doing things that I wanted to do and they happened to strike a chord at a certain point." Or maybe it isn't quite that simple. The author of Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, and other books goes on to say, "Mastery is one thing; success and popularity are another."
In Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction authors Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd describe how in "The White Album," an autobiographical essay by Joan Didion about the 1960s, Didion "uses her own responses to the times as a means of trying to capture a broad truth about events." Choose a period in your life, and write an essay about loosely related events you experienced that together offer insight into a certain time or place.
GalleyCat lists a few ideas of how authors can make use of Twitter’s new Vine; Peter Osnos considers the fate of Barnes & Noble; Publishers Lunch has created a new edition of Buzz Books—a free e-book which features excerpts from upcoming releases; and other news.
Write a story of 1,000 words from a main character's perspective about the moment his or her life took a significant turn. Keep the description about the moment sparse, focusing on what happened versus how it happened. For an example, read Denis Johnson's short story "Car Crash While Hitchhiking."
Two girls, ages four or five, wearing little Palestinian kaffiyeh head scarves, join the protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on October 20, 2012. They hold a sign that says in Arabic: “The system is killing me; my blood is cheap for you.”
