Suspend Your Disbelief

Posts Tagged ‘Blog’

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Catskill Studio for Writing

by Anne Stameshkin

The fabulous Thisbe Nissen (Out of the Girls Room and Into the Night, Osprey Island, The Good People of New York, The Ex-Boyfriend Cookbook) is starting a summer writing workshop in the Catskills. In her own words: Dear Everyone, Some of you may know that up here in Saugerties, NY we’ve been hatching a plan for a summer writing workshop, and now that we’ve got some official flyer-type-things and an application form and even a website, I’m sending this out in the hope that you all might pass it along to potentially interested students, former students, or anyone you know […]


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new interview with Colson Whitehead on FWR

by Anne Stameshkin

At the Ann Arbor Book Festival, FWR’s Jeremiah Chamberlin talked with acclaimed novelist Colson Whitehead about the process of writing his latest book, Sag Harbor, the art of manufacturing genuine nostalgia, and the duality of veering “between the capricious horribleness of the everyday and the absurd beauty of existence.” Click here to read their conversation.


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What are you doing this summer?

by Anne Stameshkin

FWR’s contributors are participating in some very cool programs, and we’re eager to know what other writers are up to over the next few months. Leave a comment here, or email fictionwritersreview@gmail.com to tell us where you’ll be writing, teaching, or otherwise fictionizing. (And check in tomorrow to hear more about the Catskill Studio for Writing.) 1. Natalie Bakopoulos is currently teaching a week-long writing workshop on the Greek island of Andros as a part of the Aegean Arts Circle, which was founded in 2003 by Amalia Melis. Stratis Haviaris, a poet and the founding editor of the Harvard Review, […]


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new review on FWR: Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link

by Charlotte Boulay

a taste: I want my life to be a Kelly Link story. I mean it, even though many of the characters in her stories are a little lost, literally or emotionally, and even though others are in danger. Pretty Monsters is intended to be a young adult collection of short stories. This in itself is new—there aren’t many YA story collections, are there? But even if there are, there is nothing like Kelly Link. It’s useful that a few of the stories in Pretty Monsters are republished from her earlier collections, Magic for Beginners and Stranger Things Happen, because I […]


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Short Story Month rec: "Miserere" by Robert Stone

by Greg Schutz

Asked about his childhood religious beliefs by an interviewer, Robert Stone once said, “I was in that very difficult position you get in when you really believe in God, and at the same time you are very angry: God is this huge creature who we must know, love, and serve, though actually you feel like you want to kick the son of a bitch.” Throughout his career, Stone has drawn upon this confluence of anger and belief—and the despair that often results—to create some of his most resonant work. At their best, Stone’s portrayals of men and women guided (and […]


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enduring fictional characters: narrative curse?

by Anne Stameshkin

Check out this NPR blog post to find out who the “longest running fictional character” (in any medium) is. If you want to guess before clicking, here are Glen Weldon’s criteria: Consistent: Makes regularly scheduled appearances — no yawning gaps between adventures. Continuous: The character’s adventures form a central narrative that builds on what has gone before. (Read: Katzenjammer Kids, I know you’ve been around a long time, but you’re a gag strip, not an ongoing narrative. Thanks for playing, we have some lovely parting gifts.) New: The constant churning out of fresh content, not simply adaptations, retellings or reprints. […]


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recommended lit journal: Waccamaw

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Earlier this month Waccamaw launched its Spring 2009 Issue. This is the third volume of the online literary journal published at Coastal Carolina University. The mission of the journal is to combine the rigorous quality and attention to detail of print journals with the reach and distribution of the Internet. And this attention to detail is visible not only in the quality of the authors being published here, but also little things like font choices (Georgia) and the off-white background that gives the illusion of reading from a “page.” The journal even has an ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) and […]


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new review on FWR: Friend of Mankind by Julian Mazor

by Helen W. Mallon

Julian Mazor’s wonderful, unsung second collection of stories, Friend of Mankind published in 2004, thirty-six years after his first. Mazor’s elegant language evokes settings that are simultaneously a backdrop for and a mirror of his characters’ inner lives, and his compassion for these characters is almost physical. Click here to read the full review by Helen Mallon.


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recommended event: Guerrilla Lit Reading Series tonight!

by Anne Stameshkin

I’ll be on a plane to San Francisco, but if you’ll be in NYC tonight, head to BAR on A – 170 Avenue A @ 11th – at 7:30 PM to see FWR contributor and fictiontastic writer Lee Goldberg read with Meakin Armstrong and Deenah Vollmeras part of the Guerrilla Lit Reading Series. From anywhere, you can follow Guerrilla Lit on Twitter: http://twitter.com/guerrillalit. About the Writers* Lee Goldberg teaches Literature and Composition at LaGuardia Community College. He has an MFA from New School University and is a founding member of the Guerrilla Lit Reading Series. He is currently working on […]




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