Tom Jenks, co-founder of Narrative Magazine (which charges writers $23 to submit), is releasing a 400-page, six-chapter craft book on the art of imaginative fiction titled A Poetics of Fiction. The information inside the book is billed as “more than useful—it’s essential and not readily available anywhere else”—maybe that’s why it retails for $225.
Chapter One: Open a Savings Account
Tote Bags Everywhere
"There is also a particularly awkward and dispiriting form of loneliness that settles in the shoulders when faced with a room filled with social media connections, those digital acquaintances who remain strangers in the flesh." Life amongst the introverts, and other dispatches from AWP 2013.
That’s One Way to Get to Miami
Do you love the city of Miami Beach? Prove it with a poem. At stake is a two night stay at the Catalina Hotel and Beach Club, and the deadline for submissions is December 2nd.
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Harry Potter V. Willy the Wizard
Lit crit becomes a legal matter: "The contrast between the total concept and feel of the works is so stark that any serious comparison of the two strains credulity," wrote the English judge who has dismissed the case against J.K. Rowling brought by the estate of Willy the Wizard author Adrian Jacobs. Jacobs' estate claimed that Rowling had plagiarized elements of Willy the Wizard's plot in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
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The Sounds of New York
"Learning to really listen to it and learning to kind of embrace it, rather than running away from it, was a very useful thing to do," says Hari Kunzru of the sounds of New York City’s streets. The sirens, horns, and arguments are the inspiration for his new “multimedia book,” Twice Upon a Time: Listening to New York. (Bonus: Kunzru has participated in our Year in Reading series two times in the past.)
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The Festival of Books is Upon Us!
The LA Times' Festival of Books is happening this weekend, and attendees have not one, not two, but three chances to see Millions staffers Patrick Brown and Edan Lepucki. On Saturday, Patrick will be hanging out on the Nuts and Bolts publishing panel, and on Sunday, he'll be moderating one entitled Art of Immersion. Also on Sunday, Edan will moderate the Visionary Eyes fiction panel with Aimee Bender, Mark Leyner, Ben Ehrenreich, and Elizabeth Crane.
Jay Gatsby, Iconic American
BBC's Tom Geoghegan asks whether or not The Great Gatsby is "the perfect tale for modern America."
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Wells Tower on Mitt “Tin Man” Romney
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned author Wells Tower hit the campaign trail with presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, and his lengthy piece entitled “Desperately Seeking Mitt” is sure to ruffle some red-colored feathers.
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