Parting Gifts

Robert Bixby, editor of Parting Gifts, accepted my short-short piece "You Are Dying Right Now," today for publication sometime in November of 2006.

It will my second publication there so I'm quite pleased. It's a great journal and Robert Bixby is both editor and publisher.

A Letter from Lynx Eye:

I received this letter in my last issue of Lynx Eye, Volume XII, Nos 3&4:

"Dear Friends and Supporters,

We are pleased to present Volume 12, Nos. 3&4, which represents the final issue of Lynx Eye Magazine.

It has been our pleasure and privilege to publish a magazine that has delighted readers with stories, poems and artwork for more than a decade.

Thank you for your contribution to a highly successful twelve years.

Best Wishes,

Pam and Kathryn"

I hate to see good journals end.

New Pages

Be sure to check out the new lit mag reviews at New Pages

Jai Clare

is author of the week at Authortrek!

History has Shown Us

that nothing is sacred in war. Not civilians, not children, and certainly not art or religious temples. Here's a review of a book that takes a look at the destruction of culture and civilizations in war: The Destruction of Memory.

The reviewer, Simon Jenkins, reviews another book that for him "was the best antidote" for the horror of Bevan's book.

Frederick Busch Interview

here at Identity Theory

and at Bold Type

and you can hear him interviewed by Don Swaim at Wired for Books

RIP Frederick Busch

Frederick Busch dies at 64.

Where Have I Been?

How did I miss this interesting online lit journal/ short story discussion/ blog????

Storyglossia

Dig around a bit. There is an archive full of the editor's discussions of various stories. It's a fascinating, wonderful project.

(Thanks to Dan Wickett for bringing it to my attention!)

Just Finished Reading...

The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress by Michelle Richmond

and

Retribution by John Fulton

Both collections I would recommend. I forgot who told me about Richmond's collection but it's a wonderful read. The stories are linked by one family.

I read a novella by John Fulton in the latest issue of Alaska Quarterly Review and loved it so much I tracked down his collection. Excellent read.

New Narrative

The new issue of Narrative is live for our reading pleasure...

What Seems to be Going On?

"An acclaimed South African writer was embroiled in a plagiarism row yesterday after a leading academic accused her of stealing concepts and translations from other authors." Read the rest at The Guardian.

And Mary Higgins Clark????? Read this bit from the The Grove.

Illuminate

If you're Proud to be Liberal then this is the book for you with essays from Steve Almond, Laila Lalami, Maud Newton and more...

Good Reads

Destroyer by Randall Brown

Ectoplasm by Peter Anderson

Work by Michael Stigman

Two Fictions by Liesl Jobson

Weird Weather

Even though it's cold enough here in North Carolina to have a fire in the fireplace (which we do) I found these daffodils growing outside in one of the flower gardens.

Frostproof Review

Frostproof Review has stated they are inundated with submissions and they are not taking more until after August 2006. If you're looking to place a novella, this is one journal that takes novella-length pieces.

Swink

The new online issue of Swink is available for your reading pleasure. The theme is Taking Sides, and the editors have announced:

Second, this theme issue is our last—Swink’s online edition is changing its format! We’re dispensing with the themes, adding three new departments, and gearing up to publish new work every week.



Our new departments are as follows:



Dead Letter Office.

This department features letters that won’t be sent: letters that say what you wish you’d said but didn’t, what you want to say but can’t, what needs to be said but never will be—except here. At an author’s request, submissions can be published anonymously.

Homefront.

There are a million stories in the naked city—in any city: tell us stories about yours. The feud between your neighbors, the ugliest tree in your favorite park, the girl who sat across from you on the subway, your obsessive-compulsive real estate broker, your transvestite Tupperware saleswoman, the conversation you overheard at the grocery store, the last customers at the all-night diner, whatever goes by the window that makes you look closer.

Wits’ End.

Comic essays, riffs and follies, from low-brow to high concept.

And, as always, we’ll publish:

Fiction.

Stories of all stripes. Excerpts of forthcoming novels and story collections welcome.

Essays.

Nonfiction that doesn’t fit squarely into one of our three nonfiction categories. Excerpts of forthcoming literary nonfiction books and essay collections welcome. Scholarly essays are not.

Poetry.
Featuring up to five poems by each contributor.




We hope this inspires you to submit work to Swink’s online edition in the near future, and to spread the word to fellow writers. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

PeteLit

If you haven't seen this cool literary blog, stop by--it's worth the look.

Illuminate

It's always nice to read about small publishers taking a chance on new writers.

Kurt Vonnegut and Bush

I've always admired Mr. Vonnegut. And now more than ever as he tells the BBC he came out of retirement because of "his contempt for President Bush."

Congratulations to Myfanwy Collins

for her receiving an acceptance from The Kenyon Review for her fabulous story, "Have You Seen Us?"

Well done, my friend!!

Literary Journals

If you're looking for more reviews of lit journals, Cliff Garstang has reviewed a few, and tomorrow there will be Katrina Denza's LitMag Roundup, Part 2 on Moorish Girl

Reminder

Another reminder to check out Myfanwy's Read for information about the Millions Writers Award. Thanks Myf, for taking the time to list some of the stories! Also...check Myfanwy's site for some upcoming great news!!!

A Reminder

Today's the day to hear the lovely and talented Pia Z. Ehrhardt's story read by Hope Davis on NPR. Thanks to Susan Henderson for her link.

A Break...

I'll be out most of the week battling a nasty virus for me and mine, reading books without taking notes, eating chicken soup and rubbing vitamin e oil on the ever-growing red rash under my nose.

In the meantime, don't forget the Million Writers Awards which my friend and fellow writer Myfanwy Collins has so graciously highlighted on her blog. Also check out the lit news at Moorish Girl and some interesting new posts at The Cusp of Something. Keep in mind you can hear Hope Davis read a story by Pia Z Ehrhardt and there's always something interesting on Susan Henderson's blog. For some hearty laughs visit Diary of a New York Lady.


And for some spiritual nourishment check out Ms. Theologian's blog.

Peace.

Dream

Yesterday, I saw an ad near the back of Poets and Writers with a picture of Kafka, So last night, I dreamt of a giant cockroach that was part woman. (It wasn't that giant--maybe three feet long and very thin) I started to kill it with my shoe and reconsidered since it would be a messy ordeal.

Gertrude

I'm pleased to see Eric Delehoy's lit journal, Gertrude is back. I have a special fondness for this magazine because it was the first journal to accept one of my stories. And you can see an excerpt of that story here. (Click on Katrina Leon.)

Illuminate

Dan Wickett interviews Elizabeth Crane.

Thanks to Moorishgirl for the heads up.

Happy Birthday James Joyce

My husband is a fan of Joyce and so every year I buy Tom a gift to celebrate Joyce's birthday. But not everyone is a fan...

Illuminate

Paul Toth interviews Susan Henderson. You can buy Susan's Amazon Short, Motorhead, for 49 cents.

Illuminate

The February issue of The Culture Star Reader features stories, poems, music reviews and this interview with Lydia Davis

Illuminate

You can listen to conversations (scroll down a bit) with Annie Proulx, Joan Didion, Mary Gaitskill (and others) on Santa Monica's Bookworm.

Illuminate

Writer and editor Kay Sexton has a review of Peter Hoeg's "Tales of the Night" over at Moorish Girl.