You’ve amassed some stories. Maybe you have enough for a collection, maybe you’re still a few shy. It’s not an obvious grouping of stories: there are no common characters or recurring places or a clear theme. How do you organize…
Obsessions lie at the heart of most of the things we do well. And figuring out what your obsessions are in writing may well be the key to figuring out that next short story or novel. Poet Natalie Diaz talks…
A note from the author accompanies each of the stories we publish. We ask the author to write something—anything—about the craft in their story. We love these Author’s Notes, as they shed an important light on each story. Every time…
Light the Dark, edited by Joe Fassler Penguin Books, 2017 A collection of craft essays from a series in The Atlantic, this is a book to treasure, one to read again and again. The online series, called “By Heart,” is curated…
Another AWP has come and gone. This time we got palm trees, warmer weather for many, and late arrivals from the New York crowd, as a Nor’easter hit just as planes were scheduled to leave. Some committed New York writers…
Here’s a quick look at some of the great books out this week. Happy pub day to all! Alan Hollinghurst, The Sparsholt Affair Knopf From The Guardian: “Alan Hollinghurst’s sixth novel, The Sparsholt Affair, opens in Oxford during the second…
If you’re heading to AWP, please stop by and say hello! We’ll be at Table 1219, along with drDOCTOR and Triangle House. Are you staring at that AWP schedule, not sure where to begin? Quite a few of our authors…
Here’s a quick look at some of the great books out this week. Happy pub day to all! Ramona Ausubel, Awayland Riverhead From Kirkus Reviews: “Eleven stories laced with humorous developments, mythic tendencies, and magical realist premises. Ausubel (Sons…
The start to a story is so important. It’s what draws the reader in, it’s what sets the stage for everything to come. When we read stories (and especially when we read submissions!), an arresting first line can capture our…
The 2017/2018 winner of The Story Prize is Elizabeth Strout, for her collection Anything is Possible. The other top two finalists were Daniel Alarcón for The King Is Always Above the People and Ottessa Moshfegh for Homesick for Another World. In addition, Lee…
