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I think I first encountered Poets & Writers when I was living in northern Westchester, and I was starting to write, and not yet publishing, which is really the loneliest moment in a writer’s life.
—Roxana Robinson, writer
Carol Ann Duffy is set to pen a royal wedding poem; Mark Twain's autobiography is selling so fast printers can't keep up; V. S. Naipaul announces plan to call it quits; Chinua Achebe makes a rare public appearance tonight in England; and other news.
CNN takes a look at the production of a play based on Adam Bertocci's Two Gentlemen of Lebowski: A Most Excellent Comedie and Tragical Romance, published last month by Simon & Schuster. Bertocci transforms Joel and Ethan Coen's 1998 movie, The Big Lebowski, into a five-act comedy of errrors written by William Shakespeare.
For poets interested in seeking a Web venue for their work, online journal Gemini Magazine, which holds annual competitions for short stories and flash fiction, is now accepting entries for its inaugural poetry prize.
The winner, selected by editor David Bright, will receive one thousand dollars and publication in the February 2011 issue of Gemini.
Poets may submit as many poems as they wish, with an entry fee of five dollars for every three pieces sent (electronically or via snail mail). The deadline for entries is December 31.
Full competition guidelines are on Gemini's contest page, and the most recent issue is available on the magazine's front page. For more on the magazine's philosophy and aesthetic, check out two interviews with editor David Bright, on Essential Writers and Duotrope.
Scribd launches a global literacy campaign; the Chinese government refuses to allow any of Liu Xiaobo's relatives to collect his Nobel Peace Prize; the Seattle school board may ban Huxley's Brave New World; the bad sex award short list; and other news.
Terrance Hayes, who on Wednesday took home the National Book Award in poetry for his latest collection, Lighthead (Penguin), read one of his poems at the Jazz Poetry Concert in Pittsburgh.
The winners of the National Book Award, including a punk rocker, a poet influenced by music and memory, and a dark horse indie press author, were announced last night at a ceremony in New York City. Terrance Hayes won in poetry for Lighthead (Penguin); Jaimy Gordon won in fiction for her horseracing novel, Lord of Misrule, published by independent publisher McPherson; and Patti Smith won in nonfiction for Just Kids (Ecco), a memoir of her life as a young songwriter in New York City and her friendship with the late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.
This year's judges were Rae Armantrout, Cornelius Eady, Linda Gregerson, Jeffrey McDaniel, Brenda Shaughnessy in poetry; Andrei Codrescu, Samuel R. Delany, Sabina Murray, Joanna Scott, Carolyn See in fiction; and Blake Bailey, Marjorie Garber, Jennifer Michael Hecht, Seth Lerer, Sallie Tisdale in nonfiction.
Each winner received ten thousand dollars, and the finalists in each category, including poet C. D. Wright, novelist Nicole Krauss, and nonfiction writer Megan K. Stack, each received one thousand dollars.
In the video below, Smith reads from her winning book and performs her classic song, "Because the Night."
Nick Hornby launches the Ministry of Stories in London; literary agent Irene Goodman auctions off manuscript critiques for a good cause; the role of self-promotion in contemporary poetry; Barnes & Noble investors extend their poison pill provision; and other news.
James Frey's latest controversy; Leonardo DiCaprio is set to star in The Great Gatsby; drinking your way out of writer's block; novelists turn to writing video games; and other news.
