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Thirty years after the publication of The Invention of Solitude, Paul Auster returns to the memoir form with Winter Journal, one of the twelve titles included in this issue's Page One. In this video, Auster reads from the first chapter of the memoir, published this month by Henry Holt.
Laura Miller weighs in on the state of literary criticism; BuzzFeed rounded up thirty writing tips from acclaimed authors, including Elmore Leonard, Toni Morrison, and Edgar Allan Poe; the New York Times examines the growing enterprise of self-publishing; and other news.
Willow Books is currently accepting submissions for its first annual Literature Awards. A prize of $2,000 will be given for a book-length work of literary prose, and a prize of $1,000 will be given for a full-length collection of poetry. The two winning manuscripts will be published in spring 2013 by Willow Books.
The Willow Books Literature Awards are given to United States writers from culturally diverse backgrounds. “Our mission is to develop, publish, and promote writers typically underrepresented in the market,” the press’s website states. Ten finalists will be announced on January 21, 2013, and the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony and reading in Chicago later in the spring. The remaining eight finalists will have selections of their work published in an e-book anthology. All finalists for the awards are expected to attend the ceremony and assist in future online publicity for the press.
Judges for the poetry prize include poets John Murillo, Ching-in Chen, and Naomi Ayala; judges for the prize in literary prose include fiction and nonfiction writers Pauline Kaldas, Latha Viswanathan, and Ana-Maurine Lara.
“We are excited about our new competition and the caliber of our judges,” says Randall Horton, editor of Willow Books. “We are also planning to host workshops during the awards weekend, so watch for updates.”
Poets may submit three copies of a collection between 50 and 125 pages, along with a $25 entry fee; prose writers may submit three copies of a novel, short story collection, memoir, or essay collection (totaling no more than 100,000 words), along with a $30 entry fee. The deadline for submissions is October 1. Submissions are accepted via postal mail only.
Willow Books, established in 2007 as an imprint of the Detroit-based Aquarius Books, publishes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Some of the press’s recent authors include Tara Betts, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Krista Franklin, and Tony Medina.
Willow also partners with the Cave Canem Foundation to publish the biennial Cave Canem Anthology, a collection of poetry by Cave Canem faculty and fellows.
For the required entry form and complete submissions guidelines for the Literary Awards, and for more information about Willow Books, visit their website.
"Writing can be so lonely," says Emma Straub, who is profiled in the current issue of the magazine, "that it's nice to have another warm body nearby, snuggling up next to you." Listen to the author of Laura Lamont's Life In Pictures reflect on the bond between artists and animals in this video from the Morgan Library & Museum and read Eryn Loeb's new profile, "Emma Straub's Life in Letters (So Far)."
Author Porochista Khakpour has been diagnosed with late-stage Lyme Disease, and needs assistance covering substantial medical bills; Roxane Gay offers thoughts on how to be a writer in today's world; Flavorpill lists its most anticipated books coming out this fall; and other news.
Using the advice column as your form, write about a problem or challenge you have faced. Addressing a fictional recipient who is facing the same issue, offer your best advice on how to handle the situation. For inspiration, check out the Rumpus's advice column, "Dear Sugar," penned by creative nonfiction writer Cheryl Strayed.
Scott Smith, author of A Simple Plan (Knopf, 1993) offers what might be the perfect voice-over for Peter Heller's The Dog Stars, the story of a pilot living in a world filled with loss, published this month by Knopf.
GalleyCat created a flow chart to illustrate Project Guttenberg's top free e-books; Dwight Garner weighs in on the role of a critic in the age of social media; Michele Filgate lists twelve books everyone should read before summer ends; and other news.
Write a short story in which a museum is the setting for the central conflict. Consider the following questions: What kind of museum is it? Why are the characters there? Do any of the museum's objects trigger a turn in the story? Visit a local museum or peruse one's holdings online to find inspiration.
In this video for Electric Literature's Recommended Reading, Erin Smith animates and scores a sentence from "Recovery" by Helen DeWitt, set to music by Spookfish. Here's the sentence: "Um, okay, no, not purring like, obviously, producing a sound that is more reminiscent of steam engine FX than your typical purr."
