Suspend Your Disbelief

Posts Tagged ‘FWR news’

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FWR at AWP

It’s here – AWP 2011! If you’ll be in D.C. for the conference, please come see Fiction Writers Review at Table B-18 in the bookfair. Quick reminder: our Editor, Jeremiah Chamberlin will be moderating a panel on criticism, we’ll have two book signings at our table, and a number of our contributors are featured speakers this year. Here again, are some highlights: Friday, February 4 9 am:“The Good Review: Criticism in the Age of Book Blogs and Amazon.com” Panelists: Jeremiah Chamberlin, moderator; Charles Baxter; Stacey D’Erasmo; Gemma Sieff; Keith Taylor. This panel examines how criticism is changing in a literary […]


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Come see us at AWP!

It’s hard to believe that nearly a year has gone by since last spring’s Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference, which took place in Denver. But the 2011 AWP conference is already around the corner! This year’s four-day event will be held in Washington D.C. from Wednesday, February 2 – Saturday, February 5. And, as always, Fiction Writers Review will be there. This year we’re at Table B-18 in the bookfair. So please come see us. We’ll also be busy with plenty of events. Our Editor, Jeremiah Chamberlin will be moderating a panel on criticism, we’ll have two […]


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Recently on FWR…

Hello, blog readers! In case you’ve missed any of FWR’s features so far in 2011, here’s a quick recap, complete with tasty excerpts: – In her interview with novelist Tracy Chevalier (Remarkable Creatures, Girl with a Pearl Earring), Felicity Librie uncovers how research fuels the process of character development, how the past sheds light on our present moment, and why Chevalier will never tire of getting lost on a journey of discovery. TRACY CHAVALIER: I put the story first, and the characters. The history always has to be secondary. I don’t want to be a teacher, I want to be […]


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The Difference between the Lightning Bug and the Lightning

New South Books, an Alabama publisher, plans to release a version of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn wherein the n-word is replaced by the word “slave.” 219 times. The professor who originally approached the publisher with the idea did so because he himself felt uncomfortable using the word in class. I, of course, feel uncomfortable even writing it out. And if I were teaching Huck Finn, I wouldn’t utter it either, though its presence certainly wouldn’t keep me from teaching the book in the classroom and discussing this discomfort with my students. Needless to say, the release of this […]


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Celebrating 1,000 Fans on Facebook

A little over a week ago, we announced that the Fiction Writers Review Facebook Page was closing in on the 1,000 Fan Milestone. First and foremost, we’d like to thank you for your support. The response to our weekly Book of the Week giveaway has been excellent. Not only are we thrilled to have the opportunity to publicize books we love, and to put them in the hands of our readers, but it’s also been great to have so many of you–writers, editors, publishers, booksellers, agents, and fellow readers–come together to help us spread the word. After all, the more […]


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Commemorating 1,000 Fans on Facebook

At the end of August, Fiction Writers Review launched a Fan Page on Facebook. The goal was threefold: to introduce new readers to FWR, to create an informal place for conversations about writing, and to give away lots of free books. And though we’d always hoped this project would also help bring together a thriving literary community, we had no idea it would happen so quickly! After just two months, our Facebook community has grown to over 950 friends and we fast approach 1,000. Still, the best surprise has been in the wonderful range of individuals who have joined us […]


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Recently on FWR…

This fall has been an exciting one for Fiction Writers Review. Shortly before Labor Day, we launched our Facebook page and began our ongoing Book of the Week promotions. Each week we’re giving away several free copies of a featured book we love. No catch, no gimmicks. To be eligible for this and all future drawings, just become a fan of our Facebook page. This week we’re excited to give away signed copies of Michelle Hoover’s debut novel, The Quickening; to learn more about the book, read T.L. Crum’s July review on FWR. Here’s a quick look at some recent […]


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Dzanc Books Write-a-Thon

How is it September already? Summer seems to have suddenly vanished–school is starting, college football is underway, and it was fifty degrees here in Ann Arbor yesterday. Fall is on the horizon. Likewise, the 3rd annual Dzanc Books Write-a-Thon is nearly complete. But you still have until the end of today to join in! Just send an email to info@dzancbooks.org saying that you’d like to be included in this year’s event. However, even if you’re not participating you can still help support the cause by donating on behalf of one of the writers involved. No amount is too small–$5, $10, […]


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Recently on FWR…

Here’s a recap of the features that rounded out August on Fiction Writers Review: Tyler McMahon interviews Tatjana Soli, author of The Lotus Eaters. Says Soli: I traveled in Asia briefly with my husband years before I thought of writing the book. Once I was deep into the research, I planned a trip to Vietnam that had to be cancelled due to a family emergency. But then a strange thing happened once I had the first draft down—I had this particular place so strong in my head, it was literally feeding the story. I was afraid that if I went […]


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Recently on FWR…

In case you missed them, here’s a roundup of recent features from FWR: In an interview with Christopher Mohar, author and teacher Anthony Doerr discusses his curiosity about the world and “engaging with factual information for fictive purposes”: What I work to dispel in my students is the prevailing myth that inspiration comes like a light bulb over the head, a lightning stroke to the spleen, and all we have to do as artists is wait for the lightning and then transcribe it. I think instead work comes from hundreds or thousands of hours of working through things, from pouring […]