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2012 Sozopol Fiction Seminars Application Deadline March 7th

by The Editors

Reminder: There are still a few days left to apply for the 2012 Sozopol Fiction Seminars. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Seminars, which take place each year in the historic, seaside town of Sozopol, on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. Famed fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and naturalist Barry Lopez will be the distinguished English language guest lecturer this season. Lopez is the author of many books, including Arctic Dreams, which received the National Book Award, Of Wolves and Men, which was a National Book Award finalist and the recipient of the John Burroughs and Christopher medals, and numerous […]


FWR at AWP 2012!

by The Editors

We here at Fiction Writers Review are excited to hit AWP and catch up with our friends and contributors. All throughout the conference, you can find us at our Bookfair table (N16)—come by and say hi! And here’s a partial list of FWR-related events: Thursday, March 1st: 12 pm – “Beyond the Workshop”: Contributor Margaret Lazarus Dean and other panelists explore new ways of teaching creative writing.  (Private Dining Room 2, Hilton Chicago, 3rd Floor) 7 pm – University of Michigan Reception: Contributor Valerie Laken reads along with Darcie Dennigan.  (Marquette, Hilton Chicago Hotel 3rd Floor<) Friday, March 2nd: 9 […]


Book of the Week: The World of a Few Minutes Ago

by Anne Stameshkin

This week’s feature is Jack Driscoll’s new collection, The World of a Few Minutes Ago, which was released by Wayne State University Press this month. Driscoll is the author of four books of poetry and four previous books of fiction. His first story collection, Wanting Only to be Heard, won the AWP Award for Short Fiction in 1991, his novel Lucky Man, Lucky Woman won both the Pushcart Editors’ Book Award in 1999 and was subsequently selected as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award title in 2000, and his novel How Like an Angel was a Michigan […]


Journal-of-the-Week Winners: Reed

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Last week we featured Reed as our Journal-of-the-Week feature, and we’re pleased to announce the winners: Stacy Chambers (@stacy_chambers) cbalexander (@gbalexander) Lee Prewett (@SaltonLee) To claim your free subscription, please email us at the following address: winners [at] fictionwritersreview.com If you’d like to be eligible for future giveaways, please visit our Twitter Page and “follow” us! Thanks to our fans.


Contributor News – Winter 2012

by The Editors

We know our contributors are amazing, and we’re always thrilled when the rest of the world notices, too.  So we’re delighted to tell you what some of our talented contributors have been up to beyond FWR’s pages. The latest news, in no particular order: Anne Barnhill‘s debut novel, At the Mercy of the Queen, released Jan 3 and has been receiving good reviews from Publishers Weekly, Amazon, and Goodreads.  Her poetry chapbook, Coal, Baby, will be released from Finishing Line Press in late February. Valerie Nieman recently completed a residency at the Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities. Daniel […]


Publinshers capitalize on Linsanity with instant Linterature, on Lindles

by Celeste Ng

Sorry. As a fellow dorky, Asian Harvard grad, I may have gotten swept up in the adoration of Jeremy Lin that’s sweeping the nation world. And, um, the puns—at least the ones that aren’t ethnic slurs. (Don’t get me started on that one, please.) Anyway. Thanks to his underdog-made-good story, Jeremy Lin has thoroughly saturated pop culture—everything from serious discussions of immigration to discount airfares. And now, Linsanity has entered the literary world. In the fortnight since Lin shot to fame, multiple authors have penned ebooks about him for the Kindle. Reports Fast Company: Several of the e-books repurpose publicly […]


Ann Patchett bests Stephen Colbert

by Celeste Ng

It doesn’t happen often—a guest getting the last word on The Colbert Report?  But it happened just earlier this week, when author Ann Patchett came on the show to explain why she helped open Parnassus Books in Nashville: because she was horrified that her town had NO bookstores. I was lucky enough to hear Ann Patchett in person, at the Muse and the Marketplace conference in Boston a few years ago, and I was impressed by how sharp she was—for example, she delivered a witty and inspiring keynote address without a single page of notes.  (I wish I were cool […]


What is the… What?

by Celeste Ng

Okay, let me walk you through this one. The Thing Quarterly is a “periodical in the form of an object.” Says its site: Each year, four artists, writers, musicians or filmmakers are invited by the editors (Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan) to create a useful object that somehow incorporates text. This object will be reproduced and hand wrapped at a wrapping party and then mailed to the homes of the subscribers with the help of the United States Postal Service. The most recent issue (Issue 16) is a work by Dave Eggers in the form of a shower curtain. The […]


An old dog reads ebooks

by Charlotte Boulay

In my early 30s, I don’t think of myself as old very often. Except sometimes when I’m on the train or at a park and I see everyone (everyone!) who looks to be about my age or younger, and sometimes people a bit older than me, too, texting like the wind. I’m a super slow texter. Even with my fancy new smart phone, I don’t see myself getting faster any time soon. I guess texting is okay, but I still like to actually talk to people most of the time Am I just not willing to work at it? Or […]


Book-of-the-Week Winners: Wherever You Go

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Last week we featured Joan Leegant’s debut novel, Wherever You Go, as our Book-of-the-Week title, and we’re pleased to announce the winners. Congrats to: Wendi Corsi Staub (@WendyCorsiStaub) Vicky Ludwig (@greentea166) LauraCatherineBrown (@lauracbrown) To claim your free copy, please email us at the following address: winners [at] fictionwritersreview.com If you’d like to be eligible for future giveaways, please visit our Twitter Page and “follow” us! Thanks to all of you who are fans.


10 Social Networks for Writers

by Celeste Ng

We’ve talked before about the love-hate relationship many writers have with Facebook. On the one hand, it allows writers to connect with friends, fellow authors, and fans, making that whole writing thing feel a little less lonely. On the other hand—timewasting! timewasting! timewasting! Maybe you want to spend time on a social network and feel productive. In that case, Mashable has compiled a list of 10 social networks geared specifically towards writers. From Inked-In to Writertopia to We Like to Write, each offers different support to writers: critiquing, paid work, or just a community of other writers. Do you know […]


"On behalf of the American people, we simply want to know what it is you'd say you're about, in a nutshell."

by Celeste Ng

The Onion must have some book-lovers on staff these days—because their literature-related headlines of late have been painfully funny. See their latest, “Miranda July Called Before Congress To Explain Exactly What Her Whole Thing Is.” You should really just read the whole thing, but—okay, here’s a little taste: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) at one point attempted a drastically different style of questioning in which he clearly explained to July what his own whole thing is in hopes that she would reciprocate in a way that everyone could understand. “Perhaps we’re approaching this in the wrong way; Ms. July, when I […]




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