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.
Lucy Ellmann has been awarded the £10,000 Goldsmiths Prize for her novel Ducks, Newburyport, which the judges called a “masterpiece” that “remakes the novel and expands the reader’s idea of what is possible with the form.” (Guardian)
VIDA: Women in Literary Arts has released its 2018 VIDA Count, which documents and analyzes the representation of women and nonbinary writers in literary publications. The organization notes Tin House, Granta, and Poetry as leaders in the count.
Bryan Washington’s debut story collection, Lot, is the winner of the 2019 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. The annual $15,000 prize honors the legacy of Ernest Gaines and recognizes “outstanding work from promising African American fiction writers.” Gaines died earlier this month at the age of eighty-six. (Publishers Weekly)
TIME has released its picks for the ten best fiction books of the past decade. The list begins with Jennifer Egan’s 2010 novel, A Visit From the Goon Squad, and ends with Colson Whitehead’s most recent book, The Nickel Boys.
At Literary Hub, National Book Award finalists across all five categories participate in short interviews. The writers share their favorite reads from 2019, the best writing advice they’ve ever received, and more.
Ahead of Thanksgiving, Bustle recommends eleven novels about both the joys and pains of family. The list features Jacqueline Woodson’s Red at the Bone and Helen Oyeyemi’s Gingerbread, among other titles.
Christine Garvey has penned a guide to help artists understand and overcome “scarcity mindset,” which she defines as “the state of believing that what you want is in limited supply.” (Creative Independent)
At Hyperallergic, Laura Raicovich considers how libraries cultivate a unique sense of public spirit.
