Janice Maffei, Stony Brook Southampton

I sought a program where writing would not be locked down in a narrow routine, overworking a single muscle in poetry, fiction, essay, etc. I am delighted with my selection of Stony Brook Southampton. I'm on the Manhattan track, which allows me access to unparalleled talent, and so close to home! My work has grown through exposure to top tier novelists, playwrights, essayists, and more. Their genuine interest in my work is an unexpected tonic and contributes to a dynamic, supportive classroom experience.

How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive

Published this month by Melville House, Christopher Boucher's novel, How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, tells the story of a newspaper reporter living in western Massachusetts and trying to raise his son, a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle. To promote the book, Boucher yesterday set off on a road trip from Los Angeles to Boston in a 1972 Beetle.

Flannery O'Connor Award Goes to East Coast Writers

The winners of the 2011 Flannery O'Connor Short Fiction Award have been announced. The publication prize, which has bolstered authors such as Ha Jin and Antonya Nelson early in their careers, was awarded to E. J. Levy of Washington, D.C., and Hugh Sheehy of New York City. Each will receive one thousand dollars, and the University of Georgia Press will publish their books in the fall of 2012.

Levy, whose stories and essays have appeared in the Paris Review, the New York Times, and the Nation, among other publications, won for her collection, My Life in Theory. She is also the editor of Lambda Award–winning anthology Tasting Life Twice: Literary Lesbian Fiction by New American Writers (Harper Perennial, 1995).

Sheehy won for The Invisibles, which series editor Nancy Zafris described as a collection of “eerie tales extraordinarily narrated.” The title story from his winning manuscript appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 2008, edited by George Pelecanos.

Along with Zafris, authors M. M. M. Hayes, Bruce Machart, Kirsten Ogden, and Lori Ostlund served as judges. The competition will accept submissions for the next O'Connor competition from April 1 to May 31, 2012.

In the video below, past winner Antonya Nelsonwho received the O'Connor Award in 1989 for what became her debut collection, The Expendables—discusses the story behind her stories.

Jane Moon, The New School

While researching MFA Creative Writing programs, I had two main requirements: it had to be located in New York City and it had to offer classes in writing for children and young adults. The New School matched both of these criteria, but had other benefits as well. Faculty was made up of notable authors, small class size which meant more attention to students and there was access to a network of amazing writers. In my first year, I got to meet renowned authors from my genre.

Nancy Mendez-Booth, Rutgers-Newark

I applied to three area MFA programs in early 2010. I was nearly forty, newly “downsized,” and not convinced pursuing a creative writing degree was practical. I researched each program extensively. Reviews and statistics are valuable, but the personal connections I made during my search helped me select the MFA program that is right for me. Campus visits, MFA program events, and informal conversations with students and faculty yielded the most valuable information. My main criteria were location, accessible faculty, and diverse student body (especially age!).

Shawn(ta) Smith, Queens College

I chose an MFA in fiction because as a librarian, I have access to all "information" and find that truth wavers along that thin fiction line. Surrounding my life are ancestor-spirits who've charged me the task of storytelling on their behalf, first-person. My politics walk in hand with public education, thus CUNY [City University of New York] is my home.

Margery Hannah, Stony Brook Southampton

My predominate consideration in MFA program choice was curriculum. My goal is to graduate with a publishable, quality novel; therefore, programs steeped in academic scholarship were not considered. At the end of the day writing creatively involves time and space. Although some say geographical location should never be considered when applying to graduate school, I know opportunity often manifests itself in specific hubs; therefore, the majority of my applications were sent to the northeast region of the country.

Krystal Languell, New Mexico State University

I applied to several MFA progams in the Southwest, a region I’d always been fascinated with. I chose New Mexico State University in Las Cruces sight unseen on the basis of funding (great, especially combined with the low cost of living) and population—I wanted to replicate the small town environment of my college town, Bloomington, Indiana, as much as possible. When I visited Las Cruces the summer before my first semester, I was generously hosted by several graduates of the MFA who I would never see in a classroom, but who offered their homes and hobbies to me as if we were family.

London Riots, Book Sales Increase, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
8.9.11

Rioting in London has spared most bookshops, with the exception of a gay and lesbian bookstore; book publishing is stronger today than two years ago, according to recent sales data; Mark Twain House employee pleads guilty to wire fraud; and other news.

Agent Brian DeFiore

BookBaby president Brian Felson sat down with literary agent Brian DeFiore at this year's London Book Fair to discuss whether it's fair that large publishers, under the agency model, pay standard royalties of 25 percent of net ebook sales to authors despite saving money as a result of not having to print or ship books.

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