Gigantic’s going intergalactic with Gigantic Worlds, the lit journal’s first venture into book territory, in the form of a sci-fi flash fiction anthology. Authors include Jonathan Lethem, Lynne Tillman, Ed Park, Grace Krilanovich—and potentially you. Gigantic is currently seeking funding for their mission: the more money they raise, the nicer the rocket ship (or something like that).
Otherworldly Mission Seeks Crew and Funding
New Margaret Atwood Coming in September
MaddAddam, the third book in Margaret Atwood’s trilogy that began with Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood will be out in the U.S. in September. Bonus: the cover of the book’s Australian edition.
●
●
A Truly Author-itative Map
Geoff Sawers has designed maps detailing the rich literary landscapes of the United States, England, and Wales.
●
●
Multiplicity
Flip through the blurbs on a recently published novel and you’re likely to come across a ton of stock phrases. Gary Shteyngart parodied this repetition — as well as other facets of the blurb-industrial complex — in a bit of improv last year. At The Morning News, Christine Gosnay writes about a poem that gave her a genuinely new reaction: the sense that she was “more than one person.”
Douglas Adams Poem Unearthed
This month, a Brentwood School archivist unearthed a two-page poem entitled “A Dissertation on the task of writing a poem on a candle and an account of some of the difficulties thereto pertaining.” The kicker? It was written by a 17-year-old Douglas Adams, nine years before he published The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
●
●
The Gatekeepers
“The state of diversity and equity in publishing is grim and has been for a long time—since the industry’s founding back in the day.” Camille Rankine, Morgan Parker, Year in Reading alumnus Alexander Chee, and seven other writers talk about diversity in publishing.
The World’s Most Literary Rent Party
A literary event with an extremely star-studded guest list will be held next month for a good cause. The World’s Most Literary Rent Party Ever will raise money for author Charles Bock’s wife, who is receiving treatment for leukemia, and will include Jonathan Franzen, Jonathan Safran Foer, Mary Gaitskill, Joshua Ferris, Rivka Galchen, Amy Hempel, Nicole Krauss, Rick Moody, Richard Price, George Saunders, and quite a few others.