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 Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) has announced the winners of its annual Firecracker Awards. Johannes Anyuru’s They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears, translated by Saskia Vogel, won the prize for fiction; Jehanne Dubrow’s throughsmoke won for nonfiction; and Jena Osman’s Motion Studies and Laura Moriarty’s Personal Volcano shared the prize for poetry. In the magazine categories, Porter House Review took home the prize for best debut, while Two Lines Journal won for general excellence. CLMP also announced the winner of its Lord Nose Award, which honors “a publisher or editor in recognition of a lifetime of work in literary publishing.” This year’s honoree is W. Paul Coates of Black Classic Press, which specializes in republishing out-of-print works by writers of African descent.
“How will the overwhelming emotion of this moment—melancholy, grief, justified rage—figure into its historicity and what we choose to call it?” Niela Orr reflects on time, justice, and how the ongoing protests for Black lives will be remembered. (Believer)
Six Black British poets respond to the Black Lives Matter movement and reflect on the transformative power of poetry. “Writing poetry for me was always a political act,” says Linton Kwesi Johnson. (Guardian)
Michelle Hart talks to R. O. Kwon and Garth Greenwell about the editorial impetus behind their forthcoming story anthology about kink. “These stories explore kink in the full range of its emotional, ethical complexity,” says Greenwell. (O, the Oprah Magazine)
The American Booksellers Association and Out of Print, the Penguin Random House–owned apparel and accessories company, have launched a new line of literary face masks. Available in seven designs, a portion of the profits will go to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation.
Niko Pfund, president of Oxford University Press USA, has started his term as president of the Association of University Presses. The association also announced the appointment of Lisa Bayer, director of the University of Georgia Press, as president-elect. (Publishers Weekly)
“The community has shown up.” Mitchell Kaplan, the owner of Miami’s Books & Books, talks to the Miami Herald about weathering the pandemic.
“The story of being a reader is often a story of being surprised in a bookstore.” Mark Athitakis, the author of The New Midwest, misses the magic of wandering a good bookstore. (Washington Post)
