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.
The Orwell Foundation announced the shortlists for its annual prizes for political writing and political fiction [2]. The six titles on the fiction shortlist are Lucy Ellmann’s Ducks, Newburyport; Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other; John Lanchester’s The Wall; Attica Locke’s Heaven, My Home; Edna O’Brien’s Girl; and Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys. The winners of each £3,000 prize will be announced on June 25. (Guardian)
Cave Canem has appointed Ann Marie Lonsdale [3] as its fourth executive director. Lonsdale succeeds Sandra Bowie, who served as interim executive director after Nicole Sealey stepped down in June 2019. The board of directors stated, “As Cave Canem approaches its twenty-fifth year, we are excited to work with Ann Marie to build on the organization’s foundation and advance our mission to cultivate the artistic and professional growth of Black poets.”
“I am used to identity as conditional, changing depending on the context.” Sejal Shah, the author of This Is One Way to Dance, talks to the Rumpus about language, humor, and searching for a definition of home [4].
Shah recently published the first in a series of Craft Capsules [5] for Poets & Writers Magazine.
“Such is the opportunity in the current crisis: to transform disruptive emergency into structural change.” Hal Foster reflects on how to move forward after tragedy [6] and the COVID-19 pandemic. (Literary Hub)
“I let myself imagine what it would be like to just add one more sentence, or one more paragraph, day by day.” Amy Jo Burns discusses the origins of her debut novel [7], Shiner. (BOMB)
In conversation with Judy Blume, Curtis Sittenfeld, the author of Rodham, talks anxiety, parenting as a writer, and her fascination with Hillary Clinton [8]. (Interview)
“I have been alone and because of my aloneness I have started a relationship with the sky.” Nina MacLaughlin muses on the sky [9]. (Paris Review Daily)
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation recommends seventeen books by Canadians of Asian descent [10].
And the Daily Shout-Out goes to Franny Choi for her informative mini-lecture “Reading Poems Out Loud (A Beginner’s Guide) [11],” which features helpful tips for all those writers preparing to read at virtual events.