Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories.
With the support of BBC Arts and Arts Council England, writers Kit de Waal and Molly Flatt have organized Big Book Weekend, a free virtual literary festival [2] that features author events previously scheduled to take place at various in-person festivals, now canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus. Big Book Weekend will take place from May 8 to May 10 and will feature twenty-seven events, including a conversation with Bernardine Evaristo. (Guardian)
Kundiman is celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month [3] with several events and initiatives, including an online workshop with Purvi Shah titled “Poetry & Protest” on May 30. The organization will also host its annual Wikipedia edit-a-thon from May 17 to May 22 to increase the visibility of Asian American literature on the site.
The Mystery Writers of Americas announced the winners of the 2020 Edgar Allan Poe Awards [4], which honor the year’s best mystery writing. Angie Kim’s Miracle Creek won the award for best first novel by an American author, and Adam O’Fallon Price’s The Hotel Neversink won for best paperback original.
In a conversation at Granta, Saskia Vogel and Jen Calleja discuss “that grey area we inhabit somewhere within the hyphen between writer-translator [5].”
“I’m not sure what validation even means. If you are looking for validation (a stamp of approval?), you may not last long.” Lorrie Moore talks to the New Yorker about her journey to becoming a writer [6].
Peter Kispert, Nicolette Polek, and Mary South compare notes on the art of the short story [7]. (BOMB)
Robert Mezey [8], a beloved poet, translator, and professor at Pomona College, died on April 25 at age eighty-five. (Los Angeles Times)
The New York Public Library has created an album of sounds from New York City for those missing the buzz of public life [9]. The track list includes “The Not-Quite-Quiet Library.” (Electric Literature)
And the Daily Shout-Out goes to Hub City Bookshop [10] of Spartanburg, South Carolina, for its new Books by Bicycle delivery service. Local readers can fill out a questionnaire about their reading preferences and choose from a variety of special box deals, including “Coffee & a Classic” and “Bed, Bath, & Best-seller.”