Joyce Carol Oates has a long history with prisons—she’s sprinkled them throughout her stories, tweeted about their poor conditions, and edited a collection of stories by incarcerated men and women. At least one of her novels is banned in some facilities. So she was the perfect judge for American Short Fiction’s 2019 Insider Prize, our contest for incarcerated writers. In the fiction category, she selected “Mother’s Son” by F.R. Martinez, calling it “intense, lyrical, nostalgic — a kind of prose … [Read more...] about The 2019 Insider Prize, Fiction Honoree: “Mother’s Son” by F.R. Martinez, Selected by Joyce Carol Oates
The 2019 Insider Prize, Memoir Honoree: “Bucknaked Gurney Unit” by Kevin Murphy, Selected by Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates has a long history with prisons—she’s sprinkled them throughout her stories, tweeted about their poor conditions, and edited a collection of stories by incarcerated men and women. At least one of her novels is banned in some facilities. So she was the perfect judge for American Short Fiction’s 2019 Insider Prize, our contest for incarcerated writers. In the memoir category, she selected “Bucknaked Gurney Unit,” by Kevin Murphy, writing that his “memoir of humiliation and the … [Read more...] about The 2019 Insider Prize, Memoir Honoree: “Bucknaked Gurney Unit” by Kevin Murphy, Selected by Joyce Carol Oates
What Doesn’t Kill You: An Interview with Sabrina Orah Mark
Poet Sabrina Orah Mark is the author of Wild Milk, a collection of surreal short stories that marks her debut in fiction. Wild Milk has been called a "necessary book for our perilous age" by Kirkus and a collection of "tales to wake you up at last" by author Edward Carey. Though short, these stories are deep as the ocean blue. You can drown or swim in them (and enjoy yourself either way). I recently spoke with Orah Mark, who opened up about where some of her wilder ideas come from, how she … [Read more...] about What Doesn’t Kill You: An Interview with Sabrina Orah Mark
Putting Emotion into Language: A Conversation with Polly Rosenwaike
In her artfully constructed debut collection, Look How Happy I’m Making You, Polly Rosenwaike presents stories about motherhood, pregnancy, and the range of emotions that surround becoming—or not becoming—a parent. Rosenwaike expertly explores anticipation and excitement, loss and longing in twelve stories, which Kirkus calls “An exquisite collection that is candid, compassionate, and emotionally complex.” Here, Rosenwaike talks about her technique for capturing emotion on the page, writing what … [Read more...] about Putting Emotion into Language: A Conversation with Polly Rosenwaike
Against Arguments: An Interview with Esmé Weijun Wang
Esmé Weijun Wang is the author of the novel The Border of Paradise and the best-selling essay collection The Collected Schizophrenias, published in January. Called “riveting” by NPR and “mind-expanding” by the New York Times Book Review, The Collected Schizophrenias offers an intimate and rigorously nuanced exploration of the myriad meanings of schizophrenia—cultural, sociomedical, and personal. In this interview, we talk structure, subjectivity, and liminality. — Jennifer duBois: Can you talk … [Read more...] about Against Arguments: An Interview with Esmé Weijun Wang
Join us for Lit City at The LINE Hotel, featuring Rebecca Makkai & Paul Lisicky
Lit City at The LINE Featuring Rebecca Makkai & Paul Lisicky in conversation with Richard Z. Santos Monday, May 20th at 7:00pm The LINE Austin | East Lobby 111 East Cesar Chavez Street | Austin, TX 78701 Free entry and valet with RSVP — On Monday, May 20th at 7 p.m., join us in the East Lobby of the LINE Austin for the second installment of our new literary salon, Lit City at the LINE. This month features Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers, … [Read more...] about Join us for Lit City at The LINE Hotel, featuring Rebecca Makkai & Paul Lisicky