Emily Dickinson Comedy Series, Salman Rushdie on Literature and Truth, and More
A new exhibit on Tolkien’s Middle-earth; recommended literary biopics; Meg Wolitzer on feminism; and other news.
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Walt Whitman’s Birthday, Bill Clinton’s Reading Habits, and More
Amazon launches new line of digital stories; Zack Snyder to adapt The Fountainhead for screen; what it means to be well-read; and other news.
Scale Model
Essays can take the shape of a variety of forms, and experimenting with structure can often lead you into material that may have otherwise been left unexplored. In her essay “The Pain Scale,” for example, Eula Biss borrows the structure of the medical pain scale, which ranges from zero to ten, to divide her essay into eleven short sections. Each section reflects on the subject of pain from personal, philosophical, and scientific perspectives. This week, try writing your own essay using a scale as a structure. You could choose to invent your own scale or use a familiar one such as the pain scale, the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale, the pH scale, or a musical notation scale.
Tracy K. Smith on Poetry in the Technological Age, Summer Reading, and More
A study on the difference between owning a print book versus an e-book; Elena Ferrante on reading and insomnia; how to read autofiction; and other news.
Golden Man Booker Prize Finalists, 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature Might be Canceled, and More
Accountant at literary agency accused of embezzling $3.4 million; the New Yorker profiles Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; inside the London offices of the Times Literary Supplement; and other news.
Upcoming Writing Contest Deadlines
As we head into the holiday weekend, consider submitting to these writing contests, all of which are given for stories, groups of poems, and essays. Each contest offers an award of at least $1,000 and publication and has a deadline of June 1.
American Short Fiction Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize: A prize of $2,500 and publication in American Short Fiction will be given annually for a short story. ZZ Packer will judge. Entry fee: $20.
Boston Review Poetry Contest: A prize of $1,500 and publication on the Boston Review website is given annually for a poem or group of poems. Mary Jo Bang will judge. Entry fee: $20.
Boulevard Emerging Poets Contest: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who has not published a poetry collection with a nationally distributed press. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $16.
Southern Humanities Review Auburn Witness Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Humanities Review is given annually for a poem of witness in honor of the late poet Jake Adam York. The winner also receives travel expenses to give a reading at Auburn University in Alabama in October with the contest judge; this year's judge is Camille T. Dungy. Entry fee: $15.
Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition: A prize of $5,000, publication in the 87th annual Writer's Digest Competition Collection, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Writer's Digest Conference in New York City to meet one-on-one with four agents or editors is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay. Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in the Writer's Digest Competition Collection will also be given for a rhyming poem, a non-rhyming poem, a short story, and an essay. Entry fee: $25–$35.
Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
Rita Dove on Living Before Writing, an Artist’s Guide to Self-Promotion, and More
Michelle Obama releases cover of memoir; Porochista Khakpour starts digital zine for offbeat writing; children’s author Richard Peck has died; and other news.
Patricia Frazier Named National Youth Poet Laureate, Philip Roth Remembered, and More
The National Book Foundation announces expansion of public programming; a poetry correspondence between Natalie Diaz and Ada Limón; shortlists for Forward Prizes for Poetry announced; and other news.
Trademark
Swedish meatballs are Turkish? Last month Sweden posted on its official Twitter account that Swedish meatballs have their origins in Turkey, thereby unleashing a storm of chaos and confusion as Swedes and Swedophiles alike reconsidered the popular national dish, often enjoyed at Ikea furniture stores worldwide. Using this questioning and rethinking of possession, history, and identity as inspiration, write a personal essay about an idiosyncratic trait that seems inextricably tied to your identity. Do those around you associate you with this trait? How might you be perceived differently if one day this characteristic was no longer yours to claim?
Philip Roth Has Died, Olga Tokarczuk Wins Man Booker International Prize, and More
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students to publish anthology with Random House; romance novelist and lawyer Stacey Abrams wins Democratic primary in Georgia gubernatorial race; Sylvia Plath’s undergraduate thesis on doppelgängers; and other news.
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