The Writer April 2022

THE WRITER WAS FOUNDED IN APRIL 1887 by two newspapermen, William H. Hills and Robert Luce, and the magazine has routinely commemorated this anniversary in five- and 10-year increments ever since. It’s always such a delight to see how the magazine celebrated the special April anniversary issue over the years, such as when President Kennedy sent a congratulatory letter for The Writer’s 75th year in print in 1962. (“You have performed a real service, particularly to the younger and more hesitant writers,” Kennedy wrote. “Each generation has its blazing geniuses, but the advancement and enrichment of our culture is made equally by those whose talents develop slowly, tentatively, and only with encouragement.”) In 1977, longtime “Off the Cuff” columnist Lesley Conger reflected both on the magazine’s 90th year and the…

Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts BY MATT BELL Author and writing teacher Matt Bell offers a three-part plan to help aspiring novelists finish a manuscript. First is the exploratory phase of discovery and drafting; the second involves structured outlining and rewriting; then, finally, is the “refuse to be done” stage of polishing and making final revisions. “Bell’s cheerleading is bolstered by plenty of interviews and examples…and writers intimidated by the process will find solace in the case he makes that while good writing is not easy, putting one’s whole self into a novel is an ‘incredible joy,’” writes Publishers Weekly. Out March 8. The Lonely Stories: 22 Celebrated Writers on the Joys & Struggles of Being Alone EDITED BY NATALIE EVE…

Upcoming calls for submissions Claymore Award: Thriller/mystery/suspense manuscripts The Claymore Award, sponsored by Killer Nashville, rewards authors of “unpublished English-language manuscripts containing elements of thriller, mystery, crime, or suspense” that are not currently under contract. These elements can also include manuscripts in the action, adventure, alternate history, horror, sci-fi, speculative, and Western genres. Submit the first 50 pages for a chance to win steeply discounted admission to the annual Killer Nashville conference and potential publication. Enter by April 1. killernashville.com/claymore Clinch: Writing about martial arts This new publication seeks previously unpublished creative writing submissions (poems, short fiction, essays, etc.) about or relating to martial arts for its inaugural issue. Submit by April 1. clinch.submittable.com/submit Orison Prize: Poetry and fiction The editorial staff at Orison Books will award $1,500 and publication…

IN APRIL 2003, LAWYER AND POET Maureen Thorson resolved to write one poem every day for a month and post them on her blog. Other poets followed suit, so she shared links to their blogs. A few years later, impressed by how many people had adopted the practice, she launched the website NaPoWriMo.net. It’s short for National Poetry Writing Month, and it provides a gathering place for those committed to writing 30 poems in 30 days. Inspired by National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the online event attracts participants worldwide. “The only assignment is to put something on the page,” Thorson explains. “It doesn’t need to be particularly good or exciting or long or important. Just get it down.” She’s quick to add that there’s no prize, no quality control, and…

THE WEBSITE FOR THE 10-YEAR-OLD journal Atticus Review has a lot going on. You can read fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction by contributors from around the world. You can subscribe to “The Weekly Atticus” for short essays and letters penned by the editors. You can read blog posts pertaining to the journal, and you can click on the “Mixed Media” link for hybrid pieces ranging from short video essays and poems to works that combine literature and visual art. On the website, editors note that they “like hybrid, unconventional work that pushes boundaries, elevates and edifies on an intellectual level, that investigates the inscrutable essence of a thing, that avoids artifice to stand firmly in its unique voice.” Spend some time looking through the archives, and you’ll see right away…

Getting to know Black American literature Over the past five years, I’ve been making a concerted effort to read more Black literature. And I’ve noticed that the work I was encouraged to read in college, from writers like Zora Neale Hurston or Toni Morrison, or even the work that I read in my MFA program, from Zadie Smith and Edwidge Danticat, bears little resemblance to the work I’m reading today (Victor LaValle’s The Changeling or Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half, Kiese Laymon’s Heavy). To help me shed some light on the breadth of Black American literature, I turned to Monica L. Miller, a professor of English and Africana Studies at Barnard College. Miller is a scholar of African American culture, art, and literature, and her book, Slaves to Fashion: Black…