Hunger Mountain Bradbury Lists

For Hunger Mountain #15, Editor Michiah Bay Gault offered a challenge to several writers as well as contributors included in the issue. Write a "Bradbury List" - writing practice of word association which Bradbury shares in his Zen and the Art of Writing. Contributors include Bruce Smith, Michael Martone, Angie Estes, Paul Lisicky, Ted Sanders, Jededian Berry, Weston Cutter, Richard Adams Carey, Casey Thayer, David Yost, Deborah Vlock, Gladys Haunton, Stacy Heiney, Jaydn DeWald, J.D. Lewis, Josie Sigler, Lee Wind, Mark Halliday, Melissa Febos, Michael Burkard, and Mojie Crigler. None of these list contributions were "edited or polished," and so represent a wide variety of free association samples by writers. Fun stuff!

Rape New York

Rape New York is Jana Leo's forthcoming book from The Feminist Press.

From the publisher: "In the gripping first pages of this true story, Jana Leo relives the moment-by-moment experience of a home invasion and rape in her own apartment in Harlem. After she reports the crime, she waits. Between police disinterest and squabbles from the health insurance company over who’s going to pay for the rape kit, she realizes that the violence of such an experience does not stop with the crime. Increasingly concerned that the rapist will return, she seeks help from her landlord, who refuses to address security issues on the property. She comes to understand that it is precisely these conditions of newly gentrified lower-income areas which lead to vulnerable living spaces, high turnover rates, and ultimately higher profits for slumlords. In this most singular memoir, Leo weaves a psychological journey into an analysis that becomes equally personal: the fault lines of property mismanagement, class vulnerabilities, and a deeply flawed criminal justice system. In a stunning conclusion, Leo has her day in court."

New Lit on the Block :: SPLIT

Former publisher of Purpleprose.com, Richard Kriheli has set out to "make some definitive advances" in publishing SPLIT, both socially - by bringing together "artists and folks who love the arts," and progressively - by riding the new wave of "the digital arts curation and circulation experience."

Kriheli explains, "SPLIT is an experiment in digital publishing designed to showcase emerging talent in the art of storytelling. We are focused on the advancement of the literary arts and seek to break the predictable trends of traditional publishing. It is said that in order to actualize change, a split from routine must be in order."

To create this new split, Issue.01 includes a novel excerpt by William Creedle, art by Vince Beauchemin, Malathip Kriheli, and Michelle Han, fiction by J.A. Pak, John Abbott, and Everett Maroon, and poetry by Cassie McDaniel.

The magazine is available online via website format, and each piece allows opportunities for readers to tweet and comment/like via Facebook interface.

Submissions of stories, photos, art, poetry, "whatever," are currently being accepting for the spring issue, themed "Spill." Deadline March 1.

Passings :: Akilah Oliver

Poet Akilah Oliver passed away on February 24, 2011.

Job :: Quiddity Production Manager

QUIDDITY Production Manager

Position Summary
~Manage the production of Quiddity’s international literary journal (print and electronic components) and website, upholding all quality, calendar, and budgetary expectations; manage and advance the distribution of Quiddity’s international literary journal and public-radio program through traditional and emerging venues

~Part-time (24 hours per week) with the potential for teaching courses—which would include an additional stipend at the qualifying adjunct pay rate—in the Writing and Publishing and Communication Arts degree programs

Essential Job Responsibilities
~Oversee the submission systems (electronic and traditional) and acquisition processes for the print journal and reading series, including the coordination of query and galley correspondence as well as reading series proposals and writing and book/video trailer contests

~Coordinate and execute all editing and production schedules for the print journal and website; coordinate the production schedule for the public-radio program; support editorial board through production processes

~Advance Quiddity’s subscriber base, listener base, readership, and distribution using established and emerging resources

~Supervise and mentor student interns and cultivate Quiddity’s internship program

~Perform the layout for the journal’s interior print pages and its electronic format(s), design covers and promotional materials, manage web design, and expand web content

Other Functions
~With the approval of both the division chair and the supervisor, may teach courses in the Writing and Publishing and Communication Arts degree programs for an additional stipend at the qualifying adjunct pay rate

Minimum Job Requirements
~MA, MFA, or MSc in Creative Writing, English, Communications, or related field

~At least one year of experience with a print publication or journal of national distribution

~At least two semesters’ teaching experience at the university level with potential to supervise internships and teach the following courses in the Writing and Publishing Program:

Editing for Publications
Layout and Design for Publications
Writing Colloquium—Person in Community
Research Writing
Introduction to Creative Writing
Introduction to Literary Analysis
Modern Literature
LITR/COMM Applied

Specific Skills
~Must be graphic-design savvy and be well versed in user-friendly, multimedia web development

~Proficiency in web design software and CSS, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Audition (or similar software) Outlook, Excel, Access, File Transfer Protocol

~Exceptional reading, writing, and proofing skills

~Outstanding professional communication skills

~Established track-record of organizational management and
follow-through

~Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines

~Ability to work outside of regular business hours when necessary

~Ability to work as part of a collaborative team

Supervisory Responsibilities
~Supervise and mentor undergraduate student interns enrolled in Quiddity’s internship program

Twenty (20) hours per week performed in-office, on-campus, and be
scheduled during regular business hours to correspond with schedules of
student interns and fellow editorial board (faculty/staff) members;
four (4) hours per week may be performed off-site.

To Apply
Send the following items to the address below.

~A letter of application: in your letter of application, summarize any
relevant experience.

~A detailed résumé or CV

~Copies of transcripts: unofficial copies of transcripts are fine at this point. If you are chosen for an interview, official copies will be required.

Attn: Joanna Beth Tweedy, Editor and Host, Quiddity
Benedictine University at Springfield
1500 North Fifth Street
Springfield, Illinois 62702
USA

Please, no phone inquiries at this time. Receipt of complete applications will be acknowledged via email.

Spoon River Poetry Review Contest Winners

Winners of The Spoon River Poetry Review Editors' Prize Contest are included in the most recent issue (35.2): First Place Nancy K. Pearson, Rummer-ups Charles Atkinson and Alexander Landfair, and Honorable Mentions Rebekah Dinnerstein, Kelly J. Lund, and Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach.

New Lit on the Block :: Rem Magazine

Rem Magazine: The Radioactive Underground Journal, whose radioactive symbol reads "anti-fiction," "anti-poetry," and "anti-aesthetics," is an international experimental journal based in New Zealand/Aotearoa that "embraces new ideas and new forms as the foundations of innovative art and writing." New Zealander Orchid Tierney is the managing editor, with Simon Todd, associate poetry editor, and Tamara Azizian, magazine assistant.

The first volume (November 2010), available via Issuu, includes works by Katie Robinson, Bonnie Coad, Iain Britton, Amanda Anastasi, Kevin O'Donnell, Corey Mesler, P.A. Levy, Kelino A. Soriano, Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé, Zarah Butcher, RC Miller, Vaughan Rapatahana, Howie Good, Ricky Garni, Nalini Singh, Kevin Simmonds, Kyle Hemmings, Travis Macdonald, Matt Dube, Matthew Dexter, Michael Botur, Lei Wen, Gabrijel Savic Ra, and Sudhir Kumar Duppati.

Despite the "anti" comments, Rem does have submission guidelines which state they accept poetry (visual, free-form, concrete, asemic, vispo), fiction, non-fiction, essays, images, reviews on film, books, art, comics, graphics or installations, cross genres, and cross medias. No audio or video at this time. Submissions are open, and writers should read the first volume for a better understanding of the kind of works Rem accepts.

Hunger Mountain Contest Winners

The latest issue of Hunger Mountain (#15) includes numerous genre contest winners:

2010 Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize
Winner: Mojie Crigler
Runner-up: Josie Sigler

2010 Ruth Stone Poetry Prize
Winner: Ashley Seitz Kramer
Runner-up: Nancy K. Pearson
Finalist: Stacy Heiney

2010 Katherine Paterson Prize for Young Adult Writing
Winner: Jaramy Conners

New Lit on the Block :: Mead

Mead: The Magazine of Literature & Libations is a new online literary journal with Editor-in-Chief Laura McCullough, Managing and Translation Editor Michale Broek, Travel Editor Suzanne Parker, and Wine & Beer Editor Kurt Brown. Now any lit mag that has a Wine & Beer Editor has got my readership!

Self described, "At Mead, we pair our literature, like a good sommelier, with a specific libation so that under each drink category you will find a poem or piece of prose that reflects something about the character of that drink... Like Proust’s cup of tea, literature has memory; from memories issue literature. Drink well."

The first issue includes contributions from Bob Hicok, Paul-Victor Winters, Ben Nardolilli, and Barbara Daniels, poems by Carmelia Leonte translated by Mihaela Moscaliuc, poems by Boris Vian and Jacques Prévert translated by Laure-Anne Bosselaar, an interview with poet and wine connoisseur Marty Williams, a review of works by Amitava Kumar by Ken Chen, "No One Does It Like the Belgians" beer talk by Kurt Brown, "On Food and Drink: Post College, Post-Loaded" by Jamie Iredell, and "single-shot" reviews of Katheleen Graber's The Eternal City and James Richardson's By the Numbers.

Submissions are open and, if accepted, poetry and prose poems will appear under one of the drink headings on the homepage:

Coffee & Tea: caffeineted with a kick, oily, roasted, ceremonial

Wine & Beer: ranging from the full bodied to the bubbly to the micro-brewed and yeasty: fermented

Cocktails & After Dinner: hot, sexy, provocative, moody, noirish, offers a toast

Pure Spirits: Isn’t this self-explanatory?

Tey Roberts Dedication

The fourth issue of Ping Pong: An Art and Literary Journal of the Henry Miller Memorial Library is dedicated to Tey Roberts. From the Editor's Letter: "Finally, it is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of our friend, Tey Roberts. We would like to dedicate this issue of Ping-Pong to her memory. If you ever drive through the Carmel Highlands you can still see her hand painted signs for peace on the roadside. She was that rare person who actually served as an example of the way of the Buddha."

Tey Roberts passed away in March of 2010. Her obituary can be read here, and River's Dharma is a blog dedicated in her memory.

When One Closes a Bookstore, Another One Opens

Wit and Whimsy in Marblehead and the Elephant’s Trunk in Lexington are two new children's bookstores open in the Boston area, catering to events as much as to books.

Passages North Contest Winners

The Winter/Spring 2011 issue of Passages North includes the winners of their 2010 fiction contests:

Waasmode Fiction Prize
Judged bye Rebecca Johns
Winner: Tori Malcangio

Just Desserts Short-Short Fiction Prize
Judged by Jennifer A. Howard
Winner: Darren Morris
Honorable Mentions: Edith Pearlman, Jendi Reiter, Thomas Yori

New Lit on the Block :: The Caterpillar Chronicles

The Caterpillar Chronicles considers itself a "fledgling...literary and arts magazine which was born in the liminal realm between text and image." Diana Voinea, Alexandra Magearu, Ema Dumitriu, Ana Roman, and Saiona Stoian are the publication editors, along with collaborators Mihaela Precup and Dida Dragan.

"Our magazine hopes to kindle experimental exercises in creative writing based on images," the editors write. "Each issue will propose themes and images as starting points for texts of many forms, lengths, colours and complexions. We're also open to various other means of artistic expression such as photographs, paintings, drawings, collages, comics, videos, mixed media, etc."

Under Calls for Submission, TCC includes:

Text and Image with an image as the starting point for texts of fiction or poetry (Andrew Abbott’s painting “Killer Quaker” pictured)
The First Line - a first line with which to begin and then continue a short story (for the next issue, the line comes from Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five)
Imaginary Letters - letters addressed to real or imaginary people, living or dead
The Art of Lying - fictional auto/biographies
Videos, Photo-Essays, Reviews, Criticism, Featured Artist and more

Contributors to the first issue include Bruce MacDonald, Jason Heroux, Prasanna Surakanti, Kara Evelyn, Peter Taylor, Tommy J. Moore, Richard Ballon and Sonia Saikaley, Andrew Abbott, Ema Dumitriu, V.O., Diana Voinea, Alexandra Magearu, Celia Andreu-Sanchez & Miguel Angel Martin-Pascual, Alexandra Magearu, and Corina Pall.

The Caterpillar Chronicles is currently accepting submissions of poetry, critical essays, short fiction, nonfiction, reviews, visual art, comics, lost genres and "anything else we haven't yet thought of."

Spoon River Poetry River Digs Deeper into the Critical Essay

Kristin Hotellina Zona, the new editor of Spoon River Poetry Review, introduces herself in the Summer/Fall 2010 issue by making promises to both maintain traditions and make some changes. One change will be more prose in the magazine, since both readers and writers "depend upon criticism that engages the poem directly." Thus, SRPR "will now feature a substantial analytical essay that blurs the line between the relatively short, opinion-driven review and conventional criticism." The issue features Andrew Osborn's review, "Like Animals, Like Love," which includes readings of new books by Peter Campion, David Baker, and Melissa Range in the "model of critical investment" Zona hopes to see regularly with each issue.

Film Fest Explores Southern Literature

Virginia Commonwealth University’s second annual Southern Film Festival features a diverse lineup of films based on classic works by Southern writers. This year’s festival, with a theme of “Screening Southern Literature.”

Closing? Maybe, Maybe Not

Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca, NY announced its closing at the end of March, but this past week has brought forth a grassroots effort in the form of a community buyout. Will it work? "Though the venture is 'not a money-making opportunity,' Proehl said, he believes the loss to the community would be more than the value of the store." So we say again and again with indie bookstores - it's more than just a bookstore. It would be nice to see the Ithaca community really make this work and perhaps create a new (re)model for this idea of community or co-op bookstores.

Slab Poetry Contest Winners

Slab Elizabeth R. Curry Poetry Contest Winners are featured in the latest issue (#5) as well as on the Slab website: First Place Mary Elizabeth Parker; Second Place John Nieves; Third Place Nicelle Davis.

New Lit on the Block :: Lingerpost

Editor Kara Dorris is the driving force behind the new online poetry journal, Lingerpost. Publishing biannually, Lingerpost seeks to publish both new and established poets. Lingerpost is influenced by Emily Dickinson's experience of knowing poetry: "If I read a book [and] it makes my whole body so cold no fire ever can warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only way I know it. Is there any other way."

Using this as its guiding principle, the first issue of Lingerpost includes works by Sheila Black, Mary Stone, John Chávez, John Chávez & Crystal Gibbins, Amy Schreibman Walter, Susan Briante, Austin Tremblay, Adam Crittenden, Tanaya Winder, Natalie Day, Elizabeth Brasher, Carmen Giménez Smith, and Brett Thompson.

Lingerpost is currently open for e-mail submissions of poetry; simultaneous submissions accepted.

EXPeriemental Poetics and Aesthetics

EXPerimental Poetics and Aesthetics is a bi-annual, online, peer-reviewed journal featuring research on intermediate genre such as visual poetry, performance poetry, digital poetry,sound poetry, fractal poetry etc. as well as book reviews, performance reviews and other reviews that deal with experimental poetic modes.

From the editorial: "EXPerimental Poetics and Aesthetics wants to generate a space for critical reflection on hybrid forms of poetry and art. We are looking for papers and research projects of different kinds that can expand our perceptions and reflections on issues such as aesthetics, visual-aural perception and neuroaesthetics, technology and computerization in poetry, experimental poetry, digital poetry, visual poetry, fractal poetry, quantum poetry, combinatory poetry, performance poetry, etc."

The publication accepts submissions may be sent in English, Spanish or Portuguese.

Virginia Indie Film Festival

Virginia Indie Film Festival take place February 26 and 27.

Closings :: Fremont Place Books, Seattle

After 22 years, Fremont Place Books will be closing its doors. Owner Henry Burton writes, “Local, independent bookstores are so much more than places to purchase a product. They are centers for inspiration, information sharing, and community building. As such I have felt a tremendous responsibility to keep the store open. I am well aware that closing the store is not only a loss for me personally, but also a great loss to Fremont.”

Fremont Place Books will have an open house on its last day, Feb. 27, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., to celebrate, as Burton wrote, “all that is great about books, bookselling, and being part of a community.”

Best of the House Short Story Winners

Issue 9 of Clapboard House online literary journal features the Best of the House Short Story Contest Winners: "Manhunt" by winner Ruth Joffre, and finalists "La Fecha" by Avra Elliott and "Healthy and Happy" by Max Gray.

Clapboard House submissions are now open for short fiction and poetry as well as submissions from poets to their no-fee Best of the House Poetry Contest, to be judged by Eric Nelson. Deadline May 1.

Fugue Prose and Poetry Contest Winners

Fugue’s Ninth Annual Prose & Poetry Contest are featured in the newest issue (#39). Junot Díaz, fiction judge, selected first place: Colette Sartor, “A Walk in the Park”; and first runner-up: Paul Vidich, “Jumpshot.” Ilya Kaminsky, poetry judge, selected first place Caitlin Cowan, “Flight Plan"; first runner-up: Corrie Williamson, “The Language of Birds”; and second runner-up: Rachel Patterson, “August Ghazal.”

Fugue's Tenth Annual Prose & Poetry Contest is open for sumbissions until May 1, with judges Judith Kitchen (nonfiction), Dorianne Laux (poetry) and Steve Almond (fiction).

New Lit on the Block :: Floorboard Review

Ashland University MFA graduate Jen Kindbom is Editor of the new poetry and photography online lit mag Floorboard Review. Working with her are photo editors Erika Schade and David Patrick, and poetry editors Joey Connelly, Grace Curtis, Maureen Flora, Russ Novotny, Rachel Peterson.

In addition to the online magazine, the Floorboard Review site also includes the FloorBlog, featuring interviews and columns by contributors to the latest issue.

Issue 1 published in January 2011 includes works by Ruth Foley, Christopher Woods, Laura Madeline Wiseman, Margaret Walther, Ray Manlove, Jessica Bixel, Daniel Ford, David Patrick, Sarah Wells, Michael Chin, Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingde, Margaret Houston, Christa Lee, Carol L. Berg, Joey Connelly, Stephen Mead, and Meredith Danton.

Floorboard Review is currently open for online submissions of poetry and photography.

Thoreau Society Online Auction

Online Auction to benefit both The Thoreau Society and the Thoreau Farm Trust
February 21-March 18, 2011

The Thoreau Society seeks to stimulate interest in and foster education about Henry David Thoreau’s life, works, legacy and his place in his world and in ours, challenging all to live a deliberate, considered life. The Society believes Thoreau’s writings are as essential today as ever before, if not the more so, as societies and cultures confront the rapid changes that began in Thoreau’s time and continue in our own day.

The Thoreau Farm Trust serves as steward of the Henry David Thoreau birthplace. The Trust believes Thoreau’s extraordinary insights and ideas about life, nature, and individual responsibility are as relevant today as they were during his lifetime and preserves his birthplace as an education center, community resource, and place of pilgrimage.

Both organizations offer educational programming that reflects their missions.

Suheir Hammad: Poems of war, peace, women, power

TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

Poet-in-Residence Extended Deadline

Elma Stuckey Liberal Arts & Sciences Emerging Poet-in-Residence
Department of English
Columbia College Chicago

Two-year position starts August 2011. Poets from underrepresented communities and/or those who bring diverse cultural, ethnic, and national perspectives to their writing and teaching are particularly encouraged to apply.

EXTENDED Deadline for applications is March 1, 2011. To view the complete job listing and apply online, please visit their website at: https://employment.colum.edu (job opening ID 100101).

Bookstores vs. Digital

USA Today's Thursday cover story: Is there hope for small bookstores in a digital age?

Women's Works in Review

In The New Republic article A Literary Glass Ceiling?, Ruth Franklin takes on the issue of female writers and the reviews (or seeming lack thereof) of their work.

WSQ New Editors

Women's Studies Quarterly welcomes two new editors: Amy Herzog, associate professor of media studies and coordinator of the Film Studies Program at Queens College, and Joe Rollins, associate professor of political science at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center.

African American Literary Festival

phati’tude Literary Magazine is hosting its 1st Annual African American Literary Festival in celebration of Black History Month. The event is being held at the Queens Library’s Langston Hughes Community Library & Cultural Center in Corona, New York, on February 26, 2011 from 10:00am-4:00pm, which is free and open to the public.

Granta Spanish Translation Online

Granta has been adding open access online content from their #113 issue featuring Spanish writing in translation. Their 'Snapshot' series consists of posts by Latin American writers Horacio Castellanos, Moya Jaime, and Eduardo HalfonManrique, each exploring an image that encapsulates their homeland. Also accessible are works by Andrés Barba, Pablo Gutiérrez, Carlos Labbé, Pola Oloixarac, and Lucía Puenzo.

Happy 10 Pedestal Magazine!

The Pedestal Magazine online celebrates ten years of publishing with its newest issue (#61).

Editor John Amen writes: "In some ways, ten years strikes me as long enough for a venture; as if, after ten years, maybe it's time to start something new, let the old project go. Pedestal, however, continues, in my view, to evolve. I keep feeling as if the magazine is 'just getting started,' as if we've finally reached a 'good beginning point,' finally 'found our stride.' We're receiving stellar work, and a lot of it, from talented writers. The staff has expanded to include so many skilled and dedicated writers and editors. The technology supporting the magazine is now flexible enough to allow for various developments, new features that can be integrated into the magazine's format, thereby creating new possibilities. In short, the project remains new. So, we definitely continue...."

And to do so, Pedestal welcomes three new staff members: Bruce Boston, Marge Ballif Simon, and Alice Osborn.

Brevity's Craft Section

The Craft Essays section in the January 2011 issue of Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction includes interviews with authors Lee Martin and Thomas E. Kennedy, and a new craft essay by by Cynthia Pike Gaylord on how the thesis statement functions in literary works: "I still love thesis statements – after all, they saved me from many long hours staring bleary-eyed at the computer screen. And I do think a writer should be able to articulate verbally the thesis of any personal essay he or she considers nearly complete."

AWP 2011 Return

We have safely returned from AWP 2011 Washington D.C.!

Huge thanks to all who stopped by the NewPages table to say hello and give us a shout out, as well as those who took the time to learn about who we are and what we do.

I need a couple more days to catch up. Please be patient, blog fans - I have SO MUCH to share from AWP as well as the regular goodies; I hope to be back on schedule by mid-week.

Of course, a beer donation or two wouldn't hurt to prime the pump (see beer glass on right).

NewPages D23@AWP

Weather permitting, NewPages will be at the AWP Conference in Washington, DC from February 2 - 6. If you're there, stop on by and meet the people behind the pages! We'll be at table D23 in the bookfair.

Consequently, there will not be as much blogging going on this week. Beer fund contributions, however, are still welcome!

NewPages Updates

New additions to the The NewPages Big List of Literary Magazines:

Assaracus - GLBT poetry
Yomimono - (Japan) poetry, fiction
Open Face Sandwich - prose, art
Puffin Circus - poetry, art
THIS 'zine - fiction, essays
Barnstorm - poetry, fiction, nonfiction, artwork
Paperbag - poetry, sound, experiment, collaboration, visual art
Sphere - undergraduate poetry, fiction, nonfiction
Union Station - poetry, fiction, photography, book reviews, interviews
ken*again - poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, art, photographs and cartoons
Village Pariah - poetry, fiction, nonfiction (sponsor: Mark Twain Home & Museum)
Caper Literary Journal – poetry, fiction, memoir, essay, reviews, art, chapbooks, interviews, video, music
WomenArts Quarterly Journal - poetry, fiction, essays, visual art, music reviews, scholarly articles, creative non-fiction, poetry, erotica, graphic fiction, comics, reviews, photos, artwork, video

New addition to The NewPages Big List of Alternative Magazines:

Persepolis Magazine - multi-university bilingual in English and Farsi (Canada)

New addition to the NewPages Guide to Independent Publishers & University Presses

Fresco Books
Atticus Books
Last Light Studio
Small Desk Press
Casperian Books

Happy 50th American Short Fiction

Launched in 1991, American Short Fiction celebrates its 50th issue with Winter 2010. Congrats ASF!