World Book Night is scheduled for this Tuesday, and 25,000 volunteers will gather to distribute free books to “light and non-readers across America.” Last year, our own Edan Lepucki participated in the event and wrote about it for our site. However this year, if you’d like to participate on your own, you can enter the organization’s book giveaway to receive “5 free WBN editions to share with others.” Get out there and spread some literary love.
What works of art have you been introduced to by other works of art? The books, music, and films we love can be like trusted friends, recommending new authors or introducing us to kimchi. We all know that art changes lives in major ways, but how has it changed your life in minor ways?
Open City, which is published by the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, is awarding $5,000 grants to “talented Asian American emerging writers looking to hone their creative nonfiction skills by engaging directly with contemporary New York.” The application deadline is April 8.
At Black Balloon Publishing we champion the weird, the unwieldy, and the unclassifiable. We are battle-worn enemies of boredom and we’re looking for books that defy the rules, bend reality, twist preconceptions, and imagine the unimaginable.
If you’re our kind of writer, you’re braver, and smarter, and strategically crazier than all the rest. You’ve already written a masterpiece without a manual and we want to read it; we want to go down the rabbit hole, into the vast nothingness of outer space, swim among the strange illuminating creatures deep in the ocean. And to that end, we’re very pleased to announce the first ever Horatio Nelson Fiction Prize, an award for a previously-completed manuscript which comes with $5,000 and a Black Balloon Publishing book deal. (via Black Balloon Publishing)
Black Balloon kicks ass; maybe you saw we’re doing an event with them in April?
Sundog Lit is putting together their first theme issue, and it’s going to be all about “Games” of all types: video games, baseball games, Game of Thrones, etc…
The cost of applying to The Kenyon Review’s 2013 Short Fiction Contest? Zilch. Nada. Diddly-squat. Goose egg.
Alissa Wilkinson: A Year in Reading
One of the finest sites for booknerds is The Millions, and every year they do a Year in Reading series. With apologies to those fine contributors:
I read not nearly as many books as I wanted to this year, but when I say that I immediately slap myself, because I did read a lot of books. It’s…
Fun Fact: so far Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins (named in Alissa Wilkinson’s post above) is tied for “most mentioned” in the entire YiR series. Can you guess the other book it’s tied with?
Other Fun Fact: we’ll almost never not reblog a shout out to John Jeremiah Sullivan’s Pulphead.
Once Made of Stars: A year in reading
Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff was one of the most entertaining reads this year, and to this day, I’m amazed that this actually happened in real life and grateful that Zuckoff did so much work into making it such a compelling read. Equally as enjoyable for a vastly different reason was
There’s only one word for We Need to Talk About Kevin — one of the books on this really great list — and that word is devastating.
My Year In Books (a visual approximation)
This year I pledged to read fifty novels. As we close in on December 31st, I’m almost there (46!), and determined to finish. It started as a simple volume challenge, and one I thought I could easily succeed at. I’ve always read a lot; it was my job when studying English Lit for my undergrad, and my escape from my ‘real world’ corporate publishing job.
The project has taken on new meaning as I contemplate the 2012 list that has emerged. I’ve never previously recorded what I read and the simple task of listing my progress is quite revealing (yes, you can see both Twilight and Tess of the d’Urbervilles in that pile). The most important rule has become: hide nothing. Full list to come.
The above image includes only those books readily available on my shelves, not pictured: library books, lent books, e-books, being-borrowed books.
This is a solid, well-rounded list if we say so ourselves. However we need to give a particular shout out to how you managed to shelve The Sisters Brothers in such a way that it reaches the same level as the books on Ernest Hemingway’s row! These are some solid construction skills.
The Stomach Flip: My 5 Favorite Reads of 2012 (in order of year published)
John Williams’ 1965 novel “Stoner” focuses on a rather melancholy and emotional story about the journey of a Missouri farmer turned English Literature professor. It is filled with beautiful inspirational passages about the moment we discover our life’s passions. It took me on a very personal…
Great list. Stoner is a house favorite among Millions staffers. It was one of the first books we ever placed in our Hall of Fame, and deservedly so.
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