Our November/December issue includes an interview with Carmen Maria Machado about her new memoir, In the Dream House; Reginald Dwayne Betts in conversation with Mahogany L. Browne about his forthcoming poetry collection, Felon; our fourth annual 5 Over 50; essays from eight innovators on the future of independent publishing; an interview with Carlos Lozada, the nonfiction book critic of the Washington Post; plus a Q&A with Carl Phillips, judge of the Yale Series of Younger Poets, contests, writing prompts, and more.
November/December 2019
Features
Dream House as Interview: Q&A with Carmen Maria Machado
In her new book, In the Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado reimagines the memoir form by examining her personal story of domestic abuse using different tropes and shines new light on the history and reality of abuse in queer relationships.
5 Over 50: 2019
In our fourth annual installment of this series, five debut authors over the age of fifty—Julie Langsdorf, Valencia Robin, Timothy Brandoff, Margaret Renkl, and Peter Kaldheim—share excerpts from their first books.
Name a Song: A Conversation With Reginald Dwayne Betts
Reginald Dwayne Betts, whose latest poetry collection, Felon, is out now from Norton, sits down with poet and activist Mahogany L. Browne for a conversation about political poetry and the realities of the U.S. prison system.
Special Section
The Future of Independent Publishing: Eight Industry Innovators on the Book Business of Tomorrow
Eight publishers and literary entrepreneurs—Fiona McCrae of Graywolf Press, Jamia Wilson of Feminist Press, Molly Barton of Serial Box, Jennifer 8. Lee of Plympton, and others—on adapting to economic and technological changes.
News and Trends
The Second Shelf
In a tiny bookshop in London, writer A. N. Devers spotlights women’s writing by only stocking rare books and modern first editions by female authors.
Where Poetry Meets Journalism
Poet and journalist Alissa Quart is bringing documentary poetry to major media outlets.
Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including Grand Union by Zadie Smith and Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout.
Narrative Medicine for Doctors
A narrative medicine program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison helps doctors care for themselves and others through storytelling.
Small Press Points: Unnamed Press
Unnamed Press, an L.A.–based press, aims to publish story-driven books by underrepresented or marginalized voices.
Literary MagNet: Leigh Camacho Rourks
The author on five journals that published pieces from her story collection, Moon Trees and Other Orphans.
The Written Image: Heaven’s Vault
Heaven’s Vault, a video game by inkle, requires players to translate the runes of an ancient language.
Q&A: A Century of Yale Younger Poets
Carl Phillips, the longtime judge of the Yale Younger Poets prize and the editor of the anthology Firsts: 100 Years of Yale Younger Poets, on how the prize has evolved during the past century.
The Anthologist: A Compendium of Uncommon Collections
A round-up of four new anthologies, including Burn It Down: Women Writing About Anger edited by Lilly Dancyger.
The Practical Writer
How to Get Paid: Finance 101 for Writers
The final installment in our series about writing-related income offers a guide to staying on top of your finances, including worksheets to help determine your freelance rate and tax deductions.
Reviewers & Critics: Carlos Lozada of the Washington Post
Carlos Lozada, a Pulitzer Prize–winning critic at the Washington Post, on his reading process, the role of social media in his work, and more.
The Literary Life
The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem attempting to find meaning in visual artifacts, a short story about a world in which memories can be manipulated, or a nonfiction piece about the season’s soundscape.
The Insanity and the Inspiration: National Novel Writing Month
Follow three Philadelphia writers as they join a community of more than three hundred thousand writers participating in NaNoWriMo, a challenge to write a fifty-thousand-word novel during the month of November.