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.
Four artists have been awarded Mellon Projecting All Voices Fellowships, which provide BIPOC artists in the Southwest with the funding and mentorship “to advance ideas and projects that investigate race, identity, cultural heritage, power, policy, ability and/or place and community.” Two writers are among this year’s recipients: poet Jake Skeets and playwright Milta Ortiz.
Publishers Weekly checks in with HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Simon & Schuster to learn how each company is adapting to the financial strain of the pandemic. Despite difficult terrain, all three are performing better than once anticipated.
“I felt like I was supposed to show sadness or mourning, and I was sad. I do mourn. I danced anyway. It felt revolutionary, so I won’t let it feel wrong.” Michael Kleber-Diggs recalls listening to the rapper Big Boi while grieving the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. (Literary Hub)
“I wanted my second book to be an exploration of not just myself, but my family history, and my stake in this country as a Black American connecting to other Black American communities.” Morgan Jerkins talks to Electric Literature about the vulnerability required to write her second book, Wandering in Strange Lands.
BuzzFeed has created a list of virtual literary events coming up this week. Highlights include conversations with award-winning writers Isabel Wilkerson, Akwaeke Emezi, and Sarah M. Broom.
“The truth dawns more radiantly when glimpsed through the veil of fiction’s lies.” Merve Emre considers the various levels and forms of deception in Elena Ferrante’s latest novel, The Lying Life of Adults. (Atlantic)
Esquire recommends fifteen short novels, including Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin and Weather by Jenny Offill. “The one-sitting novel isn’t just something you can read in one afternoon—it’s something you should read in one afternoon.”
Michael Hainey highlights three new memoirs about creative lives. (New York Times)
