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.
PEN America has announced the recipients of this year’s Writing for Justice Fellowships, which commission writers “to create written works of lasting merit that illuminate critical issues related to mass incarceration and catalyze public debate.”
For those seeking review consideration, Publishers Weekly has resumed accepting print galley submissions, including adult titles published in October 2021 or later. The trade journal asks that publishers also continue to submit a digital copy even if print galleys are sent.
The New York Times reports on the controversy surrounding Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s recent online essay, in which the author addressed her falling out with former student Akwaeke Emezi—although Emezi is not named explicitly—and expressed broader concerns about the “sanctimony” of social media. Emezi has called out Adichie for her transphobic rhetoric in the past and noted on Instagram that this most recent essay is once again putting them and other trans people at risk.
“For me, celebrating Juneteenth is about recognizing one small step in reclaiming our complete history.” Novelist Paula Woods writes about the importance of both honoring Juneteenth and recognizing a multitude of other significant dates in Black history. (Los Angeles Times)
“Today many feminists in their thirties and forties are riding a fierce, no-holds-barred feminist wave, writing fierce, no-holds-barred books about sex.” Meredith Maran celebrates the new wave of contemporary women writers who are invested in sexual liberation. (Washington Post)
“My student’s raw talent might surpass my own, if this particular assignment is any indication. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a valuable role as a ‘coach.’” Novelist and professor Elyssa Friedland writes about how working with an exceptionally talented student recalibrated her understanding of what it means to be a teacher. (Literary Hub)
“I tell writers all the time, as I do with my child and myself, ‘Practice does not make perfect; practice makes practice.’” Essayist and memoirist Cinelle Barnes shares notes on teaching writing. (Electric Literature)
A number of celebrated actors, including Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley, have been recruited for the film adaptation of Miriam Toews’s novel Women Talking, helmed by writer and director Sarah Polley. (Deadline)
