Suspend Your Disbelief

Archive for February, 2010

Shop Talk |

Writing for the Long Haul

by Celeste Ng

In the L.A. Times, author Dani Shapiro reflects on the challenges of a writing career–the lost days of “writing in the cold” for years while building a reputation, the recent “blockbuster or bust” mentality, and how emerging writers can persevere in spite of all of this: I recently had the honor of acting as guest editor for the anthology “Best New American Voices 2010,” the latest volume in a long-running annual series that contains some of the finest writing culled from students in graduate programs and conferences. Joshua Ferris, Nam Le, Julie Orringer and Maile Meloy are just a few […]


Shop Talk |

Call for Spring Submissions

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Spring submission season is upon us. Here is a selection of postings that we’ve received in the last few weeks from journals seeking work. Please feel free to add others in our comment field, or write us: fictionwritersreview@gmail.com Submit Your Entry Now! Short Fiction Contest 2010 Submissions will be accepted February 1st-February 28th, with the winner announced in late spring. Submissions must be 1200 words or less. There is no entry fee. Louise Erdrich, winner of the 2009 Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement, will be the final judge. The Kenyon Review will publish the winning short story in the […]


Interviews |

The Shape of Disaster: An Interview with Margaret Lazarus Dean

Margaret Lazarus Dean’s The Time It Takes to Fall takes place in the early 80’s in Cape Canaveral, a space town, during a time when NASA and shuttle launches were still a part of the American story of success. Jennifer Metsker talks with the author about how the Challenger disaster affected us, the unique ways fiction captures the felt world, writing from the point of view of a child, and why we should allow our characters to misbehave.


Shop Talk |

Postcards from Penguin: 100 Book Covers in a Box

by Celeste Ng

I can think of a bunch of uses for these supercool postcards featuring vintage Penguin covers. You could use them as snazzy thank-you notes to writer (or reader) friends. You could tuck them into gift books as bookmarks, or let them serve as reminders for books you’ve been meaning to read. You could tack them up above your desk as inspiration (“Note to Self: Write a book like The Great Gatsby“). Or you could frame them and hang them en masse to make great wall art. Those in the UK have had access to these for a few months already. […]


Shop Talk |

NPR's Three-Minute Fiction Contest

by Celeste Ng

NPR has just announced its third Three-Minute Fiction Contest. This year, the judge will be writer and critic Alan Cheuse. The challenge? Write a story about this photo that can be read out loud in under three minutes–that’s about 600 words. Cheuse compares a good short story to a lyric poem — both forms pack the biggest emotional punch and the most information into the smallest possible space. “It’s a love affair, rather than a marriage,” he says. “Or maybe even a one-night stand compared to a love affair.” He’ll be looking for entertainment as well as emotion in the […]


Shop Talk |

One (Love) Story

by Celeste Ng

Yet another reason to read literary journals: they could help you find your soulmate. One Story has a great story up on its blog about how the magazine brought a couple together: Outside the Harvard Bookstore we prepared to part, making the non-committal noises of people who are never going to see each other again. Misery mixed in with relief. Within a few minutes this poetic, literary woman was going to vanish into the bright lights of the bookstore. The kind of woman I’d been dreaming about my whole life. But that’s what it was: a dream. Before she left, […]


Shop Talk |

A Valentine for 2009 from Brian Bartels

by Brian Bartels

Editors’ Note: In early January, Anne and Jeremy wrote our Contributors to hear about their favorite books from 2009, the results of which we’ve compiled as a feature for Valentine’s Day. But we enjoyed the punchy letter Contributor Brian Bartels sent us so much that we decided it deserved its own post. Happy Valentine’s Day! A Letter of Apology: First off, you look great today. No lie. But it’s a sad day for me. If I may borrow the words of Kris Kristofferson, I would trade all of my tomorrow’s for another yesterday. I wish I could get 2009 back, but […]


Essays |

A Valentine: Books We Loved in 2009

by Anne Stameshkin

Every book we feature on Fiction Writers Review has won the admiration of our reviewers. But because it’s a new year, and it’s award season, and today is the official holiday of love, we asked our contributors to tell us which books of 2009 they most adored, cherished, and crushed on. What we received often transcended mere lists; writers shared why these certain books affected them, woke them up, even made them jealous. So in addition to the “favorites” that received the most votes, we’ve also included some of these endorsements and mini-reviews. Most selections are arranged by genre (Novel, Story Collection, etc.), and then there are less conventional categories–like Book You Loved But Would Be Embarrassed to Be Caught Reading.


Shop Talk |

New Yorker Caption Contest

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Cody Walker, friend of FWR and author of the fantastic poetry collection Shuffle and Breakdown (Waywiser Press, 2008), has just had his caption selected as a finalist for the New Yorker’s most recent cartoon contest. Congratulations! To vote for Cody’s caption, or to see the other two finalists, click here. Walker, who was voted The Populist Poet of Seattle, Washington, now teaches writing at the University of Michigan. Reviewing Shuffle and Breakdown, the Seattle Times wrote: It’s not every poet who can pull off a book that combines a high-brow reference to Walt Whitman (the title, Shuffle and Breakdown, is taken from Leaves […]


Shop Talk |

Titles to Avoid

by Celeste Ng

Trimalchio in West Egg. A Jewish Patient Begins His Analysis. Catch-18. Even the greats struggle with their titles sometimes, toying with titles like these before settling on The Great Gatsby, Portnoy’s Complaint, and Catch-22. So what makes a good title–or a bad one? Author and teacher Eric Puchner has some thoughts in GlimmerTrain’s latest bulletin: So, based on years of teaching, I’ve compiled the following list of types of TITLES TO AVOID. (Note: some of the examples below are real titles, from good stories.) The Purely Descriptive: “One Early Morning in Topeka at Dawn” The Lofty Abstraction, AKA the Bad […]




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