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The Sept/Oct 2015 issue features profiles of award-winning author Ann Beattie and poet Dean Young; in-depth interviews with 37 INK publisher Dawn Davis and BuzzFeed Books editor Isaac Fitzgerald; our ninth annual special section on MFA programs, including essays on the culture of graduate programs in creative writing and a discussion of diversity and the MFA; and much more.
Agents & Editors: Dawn Davis
by Michael Szczerban
Dawn Davis—vice president and publisher of 37 INK, an imprint of Simon & Schuster's Atria Publishing Group—talks about editing Edward P. Jones, the lack of diversity in publishing, and what some of the most successful authors have in common.
Agents & Editors | editors
Once Something Is Said: A Profile of Ann Beattie
by Joshua Bodwell
Ann Beattie's rise to literary stardom in the 1970s prompted readers and critics alike to anoint her as the voice of a generation, but her nineteenth book, The State We're In: Maine Stories, published in August by Scribner, proves again that...
Imagination at the Center: A Profile of Dean Young
by Kevin Nance
If there's one thing that bores Dean Young, it's poetry that is consistent. "Consistency is for insects," he declares. Which is why in his new collection, Shock by Shock, published this month by Copper Canyon Press, the poet doesn't dwell on...
Degrees of Diversity: Talking Race and the MFA
by Sonya Larson
Warren Wilson College's low-residency MFA program is taking strides to address questions of diversity, having started a conversation among faculty and students about the intersection of race, culture, and craft in the MFA landscape.
Identity | MFA programs | panels
The Way of the Workshop
by Kevin Larimer
Not all MFA workshops are created equal. Eight writers and teachers describe their individual approaches to workshop and the culture of the classroom, revealing a range of aesthetic and pedagogical principles that reaffirm the value of writers...
The Mature MFA: Going Back to School as an Older Student
by Shannon Reed
Shannon Reed's friends didn't quite understand her decision to go back to school at the age of thirty-eight to earn an MFA. For writers thinking about returning to school as an older student, Reed provides a primer for what to expect, soliciting...
A Distinguished Degree: Eight Elements of Unique MFA Programs
by Dana Isokawa
From programs with a social justice focus to editorial training and degrees in translation, many MFA programs feature unique elements beyond the traditional workshop model. Here, we round up eight programs across the country that offer something a...
The Fine Art of Selecting a Program: Five Reasons to Consider an MA
by Joey Franklin
For those considering a graduate program in writing but who may not feel the MFA is right for them, an author and teacher offers five practical reasons to consider a Master of Arts degree as an alternative.
My Own Path to Publication: Choosing to Forgo the MFA
by Marie Myung-Ok Lee
Though helpful to many writers, the MFA degree is not a requirement to become a working writer, particularly if teaching is not one's career goal. Novelist Marie Myung-Ok Lee talks about her decision to forgo the MFA, and forge her own path to...
The Aha! Moment: Rene Steinke of Fairleigh Dickinson University
by Michael Bourne
Rene Steinke, the director of the low-residency MFA program at Fairleigh Dickinson University, discusses the potential she saw in fiction applicant Jessie Vail Aufiery's writing sample, including a short story called "The Pleasure of Giving."
The Written Image: The End of the Tour
Iconic author David Foster Wallace is the subject of the recently released film The End of the Tour, in which actor Jason Segel stars as Wallace. The film is an adaptation of David Lipsky's Of Course You End up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip With David Foster Wallace, which chronicles Lipsky and Wallace's 1996 road trip during Wallace's promotional tour for Infinite Jest.
film | interviews
Searching Indie Bookstore Shelves
by Rachael Hanel
Supporting local bookstores may have just gotten a little easier. A new digital tool called CityShelf allows users to search the shelves of independent bookstores in select cities throughout the country from their mobile devices.
bookselling | e-books | bookstores
Small Press Points: Bleeding Heart Publications
Small Press Points highlights the innovation and can-do spirit of independent presses. This issue features the Bangkok, Thailand–based Bleeding Heart Publications. Established last year by Scottish ex-pat Gordon Ross and U.S. writer Cali Dawson, the press is committed to publishing fiction and nonfiction from English-language writers from all over the world.
international | independent/small presses
Literary MagNet
by Travis Kurowski
Literary MagNet chronicles the start-ups and closures, successes and failures, anniversaries and accolades, changes of editorship and special issues—in short, the news and trends—of literary magazines in America. This issue's MagNet features Table Talk, Black Clock, Huizache, Bitter Oleander, and American Chordata.
literary magazines | independent/small presses | university presses
Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
With so many good books being published every month, some literary titles worth exploring can get lost in the stacks. Page One offers the first lines of a dozen recently released books, including Jonathan Franzen's Purity and Salman Rushdie's Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights, as the starting point for a closer look at these new and noteworthy titles.
debut authors | first book | book reviews
Shenk Ascends Black Mountain
by Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum
Joshua Wolf Shenk, the new executive director of the Black Mountain Institute (BMI)—an international literary center that supports writers whose work addresses political and cultural issues—discusses BMI's role in the culture of creative writing and what he plans to bring to the organization.
interviews | literary organizations
Hong Kong MFA Program Closes
by Joanna Scutts
Last month, the City University of Hong Kong's highly respected MFA writing program abruptly shut down. Joanna Scutts investigates the program's sudden closure, which has prompted protests and political speculations from students and faculty around the world.
international | MFA programs
Bridging the Student-Mentor Gap
by Marwa Helal
The Bridge, an online forum launched by the literary nonprofit Brooklyn Poets, fosters connections between emerging and established writers, and provides a student-mentor alternative to the traditional MFA program.
writing practices | writing groups
The Practical Writer
Reviewers & Critics: Isaac Fitzgerald of BuzzFeed Books
by Michael Taeckens
Isaac Fitzgerald, editor of BuzzFeed Books, talks about the growth of the site's book review section, what a typical day in the BuzzFeed office looks like, and how the Internet has changed the discourse around books.
bookselling | interviews | commercial publishers | book reviews
Adjunct Anxiety: Teaching, Writing, Constantly Striving
by Melissa Febos
Adjuncting can be difficult, even for those who love teaching writing. A writer and teacher recounts the challenges of her adjunct experiences after graduating with an MFA and publishing her first book.
Turning Down the Deal: A Crash Course in Publishing
by Mike Harvkey
A novelist and former fiction reviews editor at Publishers Weekly offers an industry insider's perspective on how to publish a book on one's own terms—even if it means turning down a deal.
The Poet's Job: How I Make a Living in Poetry
by Ken Waldman
Alaska's Fiddling Poet, who over the past twenty years has been playing his fiddle and reading poems for audiences across the country, talks about how he has built a career—and a life—out of touring and sharing his music and poetry with others.
poetry | creative process | craft | performance | jobs
The Literary Life
Story Collection as Form: Building a Book of Short Fiction
by Justin Taylor
How does a story collection happen? Justin Taylor, the author of two short story collections, offers advice about the various ways in which to build a book of short fiction.
Getting the Led Out: Discovering a Better Essay in the Foothills of South Carolina
by Joni Tevis
The process of writing is one of discovery. A creative nonfiction writer describes how an essay in her new collection came to life, with a little unexpected help from Led Zeppelin.
Know Thyself: The Linguistics of Place
by Jeremiah Chamberlin
Contributing editor Jeremiah Chamberlin discusses the value in understanding and appreciating the linguistics of place—in this case, the Midwest—in works of fiction, using the stories of Jack Driscoll and Bonnie Jo Campbell as examples.
Why We Write: Failure Is an Option
In the life of a writer, sometimes failure is an option, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Fiction writer and contributing editor Michael Bourne shares what he has learned from writing—and failing to sell—two novels.
Compose a poem from a stranger's perspective, unlock your unconscious with "automatic writing," or create your own astrological forecast—three prompts to help you reach new depths in your writing.
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From Poets & Writers, Inc.