Book Reviews for the Corner

Tags

authorajpalm, blog purpose, book reviews, Facebook, Sarah Abraham, The Writer's Corner, wildorange55

Hello friends!

Sorry for the long absence. I was busy with a whole lot, plus I honestly lost interest in this blog, not to mention purpose. Writing advice and lists of writing contests and opportunities were neat ideas, but this dawned on me: Thousands of people like me put writing advice on the web, and as for the contests, all I’m really doing is re-posting them. It wasn’t a bad thing necessarily, however, I was quickly bored and I want to provide something unique and worthwhile to my readers.

I have thought about abandoning the Corner all-together. After a talk with my two friends Shayla and Brandi, though, I now know what I am going to do.

Once a week, I’m going to post a book review on the Corner. What kind of books will I read? All sorts, I suppose. Like most writers and poets, I own heaps of unread books. I rarely read for pleasure anymore and yes, that sounds so horrible, I know. Something “more important” or urgent always takes up my time, or I’m too lazy and watch something on YouTube and Netflix, or I sit down and write something myself. This will be a wonderful way to create a habit to finish a book every week, and then I can share my thoughts on it. Apparently, my friends liked my short review of Ready Player One.

The first review will go online Saturday, April 2. I will announce what book I’m reading as soon as possible on the blog’s Facebook and my Twitter @authorajpalm.

By Sarah Abraham on Flickr, aka “wildorange55.”

Writing Prompts from “Mysterious” Book

Tags

amwriting, mysterious book, writing, writing prompts

I picked 10 lines from a favorite book of mine that will serve as writing prompts. Pick one and use it as the beginning of a short story, or perhaps as the theme for your short, or… do whatever you wish with it! As long as it’s a short story or flash fiction. See it as a fun experiment.

Found a tumblr a long time; apologies, but I can’t remember who took this picture.

By the way, if you mention in the comments which book it is and from which author, kudos.

Up and down he paced, consumed with anger and frustration, grinding his teeth and clenching his fists, casting angry looks out at the empty, star-strewn sky every time he passed the window.

The sight of them looking so nervous made him feel slightly ashamed.

But the great black dog gave a joyful bark and gamboled around them, snapping at pigeons, and chasing its own tail.

“It’s best to know what the enemy are saying.”

He was talking in a very fast, feverish way.

The happiness that had filled him since Saturday was gone.

It was as though a film in his head had been waiting to start.

“Well, wouldn’t it have been easier if she’d just asked me whether I liked her better than you?”

There were screams and yells reverberating from somewhere above them.

“It was foolish to come here tonight.”

**

There you are. Happy writing!

When the Creativity runs dry

Tags

creativity juices, free-writing, goals, motivation, novel, writer's block, writing, writing advice

A raven flying around in the neighborhood the other day. One of my favorite birds.

There have been more times than I can count of me sitting down to write and knowing exactly what I want to say, but perhaps not how to say it. I might be tired from work or from doing several household chores. It might be a good solid 15 minutes of typing and suddenly, when I’m done with a scene, my brain freezes.

Let’s forget that “writer’s block” even exists. It’s an evil term, if you ask me, because it’s like blaming an explicable condition that “prevents” us from writing. Some of us avoid writing out of pure laziness, procrastination, insecurity or whatever it might be. As much as we love telling stories and tinkering on them, sometimes the words won’t flow, and as time moves forward in its typical rapid pace, we start blaming it on writer’s block. It happens to the best of us.

No one and nothing – including writer’s block – can stop you from writing. No one but yourself.

As for myself, my greatest fear is that my novel is too outlandish, too complicated, with too many characters, overbearing, et cetera, et cetera. Based on what some of my beta readers have said, yes, the story is outlandish. As I look at my character list and the diagram showing how they all connect to each other, I think the novel may indeed have a lot of characters. Not as many as the book series A Song of Ice and Fire, but hello, if George R. R. Martin can be successful with an outlandish story with tons of characters, why can’t I? And even if I didn’t have anyone to compare myself to, I should still tackle this story head on and finish it.

There are plenty of reasons for all of us to shy away from a writing project. However, remember that it feels so damn good getting something done. Yesterday I re-wrote the prologue and it felt so satisfying. Writing the third chapter feels like a breeze now.

Never be afraid to change the rules. If you’re trying to write a story, but something doesn’t feel right, figure out why you keep getting stuck and adjust from there. No one is hovering over you and no one will criticize you if you, for example, suddenly decide to write in present tense instead of past tense, or write from a different perspective. The editing can come later. It’s called a “rough draft” for a reason.

If you find yourself unmotivated, dried out or stuck for some reason, I’ve thought of a few things you can do to get those creativity juices flowing.

• Go for a walk.
• Do a chore in the house or exercise to get your mind off the story for a while.
• Clean your work space.
• Watch a favorite movie or read a favorite book of yours that has inspired you before, something that makes you think, “Wow, this is awesome. I want to make something like that.”
• Free-writing for five minutes or so; it doesn’t even have to be about the story itself.
• Hang out with friends for a while, relax, listen to what they have say (they might tell a nice anecdote).
• Go out and have a cup of coffee or eat lunch/dinner where you feel comfortable, take in that energy around you.
• Meditate.

I hope this helps.

Happy writing!

More Writing Competitions This Spring

Tags

Aerogramme Writers, fellowship, fiction, open submissions, poetry, screen-writing, writing, writing competitions

“Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” | Jack Canfield

My old journals and notebooks.

I thought I’d put up another post about competitions and open submissions. There’s so much out there for writers and poets once you start looking. Personally I’m excited for the $35,000 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. It would be so cool to write something that could go on screen. I already have some neat ideas (leaning towards comedy).

Before I start, Aerogramme Writers put out an article listing many opportunities for writers in March and April. Please have look; they’re one of the best sites to go to if you’re looking for challenges.

The 7th Annual Spirit First Poetry Contest is open for submissions of poems that relate to meditation or mindfulness. Poets may submit up to three unpublished poems. The first place winner will receive $200; second place will receive $150; and third place will receive $100. Deadline is February 29.

The Lindquist & Vennum Prize for Poetry is currently open for submissions. Poets can submit a book-length manuscript, but there is no page requirement. The winner will receive $10,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions. Deadline is March 1.

Lake Forest College and &NOW Books are currently hosting the Madeleine P. Plonsker Emerging Writer’s Residency Prize. Fiction writers under forty may apply for the prize, which includes $10,000 and a three-week residency at the college. Deadline is March 1, and only the first 200 applicants will be considered! Apply for this one right now if you’re interested.

America Magazine, the National Catholic Review, is holding its 2016 Foley Poetry Contest. Poets may submit one unpublished poem for consideration. While the poem must be 30 lines or fewer, there is no restriction on genre. The grand prize winner will receive $1,000 and publication in America. Deadline is March 31. 

Winning Writers is currently hosting it Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest.Poets can submit one humorous poem for consideration. The first place winner will receive $1,000; second place will receive $250; and 10 honorable mentions will receive $100 each. All winners will be published online. Deadline (appropriately) is April 1.

Blue Mountain Arts is hosting its 28th Biannual Poetry Card Contest. Writers can submit poems that focus on a special occasion or person. There is no limit to how many poems a writer can submit. The first place winner will receive $300; second place will receive $150; and third place will receive $50. The winning poems will also be published online. Deadline is June 30.

The Griffin Poetry Prize welcomes poets and translators to submit their work. Two prizes will be awarded. The Canadian Prize will go to a Canadian poet or translator who has published or translated a work. The International Prize will go to a poet or translator from any part of the world. Each prize winner will receive $65,000 CAD. In addition, shortlisted poets will receive $10,000 each. Deadline is June 30 with a second deadline of December 31.

 

For more competitions, check my previous post on this subject.

Brief Review of “Ready Player One”

Tags

book review, compare and contrast, dystopia, Ernest Cline, Ready Player One, video games

WARNING: SPOILERS.

“The Distracted Globe” – Ready Player One Fan Art by Andrew Guerrero

Ready Player One reminded me a few other books as I read it.

In the beginning, as the author showed the grim reality of 2044, I got a strong 1984-feeling. More people lived in poverty than ever before, there were neighborhoods with trailers stacked on top of each other like dysfunctional Leggo towers and many sought refuge in the OASIS, an advanced virtual reality. It’s not that it was anything like 1984 (more like the opposite in several cases, since in that world, you can enroll in online school without giving your real name), but I definitely had the creeps. If the energy crisis blows out of proportion and the unemployment sky-rockets, I can see all that crap happening. Plenty of us are already hiding behind one screen or the other, and using the Internet to “connect with people,” while we’re pretty much just shouting in the void.

Another book I thought of was The Hunger Games: Our heroes are a group of young people trying to win a contest. With a prize of riches beyond imagination. The difference, of course, is that they enter it willingly and they don’t realize that they’re in real mortal peril until the bad guys catch up to them. It definitely doesn’t feel as dark and depressing either. I’m grateful for the humor that the protagonist Wade Watts and his friend Art3mis bring to the page. (Aech, Shoto and Daito are beautiful characters as well.) Their vast knowledge of video games and 1980’s trivia showed some realistic sides to being introvert geeks: One, Wade was overweight from his sugar-inflated poverty diet and his continuous game-play; Two, neither of them had any real friends outside the OASIS because they didn’t spend much time outside. The passage that stood out to me the most in the entire book was:

Standing there, under the bleak fluorescents of my tiny one-room apartment, there was no escaping the truth. In real life, I was nothing but an antisocial hermit. A recluse. A pale-skinned pop culture-obsessed geek. An agoraphobic shut-in, with no real friends, family, or genuine human contact. I was just another sad, lost, lonely soul, wasting his life on a glorified videogame.

But not in the OASIS. In there, I was the great Parzival. World-famous gunter and international celebrity. People asked for my autograph. I had a fan club. Several actually. I was recognized everywhere I went (but only when I wanted to be). I was paid to endorse products. People admired and looked up to me. I got invited to the most exclusive parties. I went to all the hippest clubs and never had to wait in line. I was a pop-culture icon, a VP rock star. And, in gunter circles, I was a legend. Nay, a god.

It becomes so easy to feel bigger and more powerful than you actually are when you’re being some alter ego in a game. Last summer when I had two crappy minimum-wage jobs, I would try to forget about my day by turning on Skyrim or Mass Effect and go on quests, fight criminals and save people. Video games is sort of the modern day version of playing Cowboys and Robbers. But towards the end, I like that Wade and his friends begin to realize that even if they find the Easter Egg and win the contest, the world hasn’t changed. There’s still poverty, famine and so forth. The only difference now is that they have the power to do something about it.

As for Wade and Art3mis, who by the way is an amazing female character, I love how their relationship develops over time. It has its ups and downs and it doesn’t feel unnatural or forced. They show that a simulation can only do so much for a person; humans need true contact with each other. Even if you talk about everything between heaven and earth, it’s not until you spend time together that you know them.

I loved the book (five out of five)! Ernest Cline managed to tell a story nicely with characters who could have easily become stereotypes, but he made all of them interesting and appealing. The plot itself was clever, not to mention the riddles within the contest.

There were only a few times when I blanked out during the extreme nerd rage or video game monologues, but that’s mainly a personal taste; it doesn’t make the story any less good. I know next to nothing about the 1980’s so I had to mainly “tag along for the ride” and trust that Wade knew what he was talking about. Honestly I think even if the reader knows nothing about that era either or doesn’t play video games, they can enjoy the story nonetheless because of Wade’s fun, witty and smart narration.

Upcoming “Compare&Contrast” with Ready Player One

Tags

book review, compare and contrast, Ernest Cline, movie, Ready Player One

Quick announcement, folks. The regular Wednesday post is postponed to Friday, because of two reasons. Honestly, I cannot think of anything clever to talk about; all my creativity fuel is being channeled to my fictional stories at the moment (check most recent post on competitions and you will understand). Second of all, my time is also consumed by job hunting. Oh joy…

But fret not, on Friday I will give you a fun review on this cool book called Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It takes place in 2045 when the world is falling apart due to the energy crisis, poverty and hunger, and most people try to escape through O.A.S.I.S., a virtual reality. Then there’s also the Hunt, a video game contest where the winner can go home with billions of dollars. Different books and various uncomfortable thoughts have passed through my mind. There’s one book in particular that I’ve recalled several times, because I get the same eebie jeebies as I’m reading. I also love the writing itself.

I’m only half-way through, but I’m certain that I’ll finish on time. Last night I hit that point in the book when you can’t put it down. I had to call it at three in the morning (so sleepy right now).

P.S. Apparently they’re making this into a movie and Steven Spielberg will direct it; can’t wait to see that magic happening.

The Importance of Short Stories & Competitions

Tags

magazines, open submissions, publications, Ray Bradbury, short stories, Shoveling Shit in Hell, The Central Review, writing advice, writing competitions

Who has brought the beginning of their novel to a creative writing workshop? Show of hands? All of you? Most of you? I thought so. I’m guilty of bringing the first couple of chapters of my novel to a workshop once and I still feel bad about it, because it was way too much. I can’t remember the page limit our professor gave us, but I know I overstepped it (over 30?). And not only did I overstep the limit, I didn’t double-space; I only spaced it 1.5 so I could shorten the number of pages. I knew perfectly well what I was doing.

Most professors teaching a creative writing class will encourage his or her students to bring short stories. I don’t want to say because writing short stories is a lost art. It probably seems like it since everyone wants to write a New York Times Bestseller and perhaps have their book turned into a movie or TV series.

Aside from being short but sweet pleasantries, short stories serve a purpose for any writer who wants to master their skills: It has a beginning, middle and end, which everyone in the workshop can read and analyze when they have a short story. It also allows a writer to finish a story. It’s good practice. They’re truly healthy doses of creativity. Plus, a short story can always lead to something unexpected, which I will get into in a minute.

Like Ray Bradbury said, “Write a short story every week. It’s impossible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.”

Additionally, short stories are easier to sell. I hope I don’t sound like a poser when I say that, but it’s true. I searched writing competitions and magazine submissions before the weekend started and found many interesting goals to pursue. [List of competitions and possible publications are further down the page.] Yesterday I sent in a short story I wrote two years ago… after dusting it off, editing out over 2,000 words and re-reading it ten times over, of course. I also submitted an article to another competition, which I frankly don’t have a ton of hope for, but at least I tried.

I know that over the past year or so, I’ve said things like, “Write for you, man. No one has to see it.” Writing is something personal, yes, we do it for ourselves. Not having your name out there doesn’t make you less a writer. However, getting published is such a rewarding feeling; it’s like winning a prize at the end of a marathon. So why not give it a go? Jeez, the only thing I’ve gotten published since high school – not counting any news articles – is a one-act play called “Shoveling Shit in Hell,” which got out last spring in The Central Review. It was so fun to attend the event that followed the publication where all of us writers met with friends and faculty at the library at Central Michigan University. Each and every one of us read his or her piece to the audience. I was a little nervous when it was my turn and it didn’t help that the guy reading with me played the snobby character as a Silicon Valley girl; it took me a moment to choke down my own laughter before I could go on.

Me introducing myself at opening event of The Central Review’s spring edition on April 24, 2015 (courtesy of the student magazine’s Facebook page).

As I was saying earlier, a short story can lead you places. After sending the short story, I recalled all the little “spin-offs” I had cooked up in my mind. The story itself had many interesting characters, not to mention that it had an epilogue that introduced several possibilities. For whatever reason, I tucked away the story somewhere and forgot about it instead. I’m happy I picked it back up, because I think I finally found the people and the setting for my crime novella. Sometimes a story has the weirdest sense of sneaking up on you.

Wow, a novel with a deadline on May 1st, this novella and several short stories I got to write. I am good at giving myself homework.

Here are some competitions and open submissions for you to look into. Good luck to you and may the best man or woman win!

• Visions of the Future in Cicada Magazine: Due Feb. 7
• Science poetry competition in Event Horizon Magazine: Due Feb. 29
• Innocence and Experience in Parabola (The Magazine of Myth and Tradition): Due March 1
  • Same magazine has submissions for Paths to Healing (Due June 1) and Generosity and Service (Due Sept. 1).
• Returning Home in Temenos: Due March 21
• Florida Keys Flash Fiction Contest (three-week residency): Due March 31
• Identity in Story Magazine: Due May 1
• General issue in subTerrain: Due May 1
• Nostalgia in subTerrain: Due Sept. 1
• Chicken Soup for the Soul has several submissions coming up:
  • Dreams and Synchronicities, and The Spirit of Canada: both due March 31
  • The Joy of Christmas: Due April 30
  • Stories about Teachers and Teaching, and Blended Families: both due June 30
• The New Yorker has open submissions year-round.
• Fantastic Stories also takes submissions, original stories up to 3,000 words long, either science fiction or fantasy.

Find a Writing Routine, Job or No Job

Tags

daily habits, day jobs of successful authors, postivewriter.com, procrastination, writing, writing routines

*Sequel post to ‘A Writer Needs a “Real” Job’ posted last fall.*

Jodi Picoult said during one interview that writer’s block isn’t real, only a sign that you have too much time on your hands: “If you have limited amount of time to write, you just sit down and do it. You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”

Among the vast majority of writing myths, one says that you cannot have a day job if you want to be an author. You cannot do both at the same time. That mediocre job will suck all the motivation and inspiration out of you. As I’ve stated in another blog post, that mediocre job can serve as a pool of ideas where you go fishing five days a week. As for Picoult’s comment on writer’s block, having a job forces you to pin down a writing routine. Otherwise it’s easy to procrastinate, which happens to even the most passionate writers. For example, I have the bad habit of blogging in the last minute, which I’m thankfully breaking as I’m typing this.

And that’s for just my blog, which I consider to be a hobby, while writing short stories and finishing my novel is my “secondary job.”

The key to avoid procrastination – whether you’re currently working or not – is to make writing part of your daily routine. Bryan Hutchinson wrote an article on how to become a more prolific writer on positivewriter.com:

• Take note of the things you do consistently every day before and after work. Consider writing them down so you can become more conscious of them.
• Create a space of time within your current daily rituals for writing every day. Make sure it’s at a time of day that works best for you. I write best in the morning and other people write better at night. When do you write best?
• Commit: It’s important to commit to writing at the same time every day so that it becomes a natural, automatic part of your day, regardless of whether you feel inspired or motivated. It’s believed that it takes 21 days (source) to create a habit, so hang in there and keep going. In my personal experience it takes up to 60 to 90 days, but I’m stubborn like that.

Another cool thing to do if you’re finding yourself unproductive, it helps to read about successful writers’ daily routines. Perhaps there’s something that looks appealing. It all comes down to figuring out what works for you. Like E.B. White, the famous author of Charlotte’s Web, once said: “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.”

You’re Unemployed: What Now?

Tags

accomplishments, career versus job, five-year plan, goals, self-help articles, unemployment

Last month I read many articles advising you what to do if you get laid off and how to stay motivated when you face set-backs. There are emotional and practical methods to get yourself back on your feet. It’s incredibly difficult to get through those “to-do lists” when you feel like knocking people’s hats off or lounging in front of the TV all day. But it’s do-able and frankly, when it really comes down to it, you simply have to do something to pay the bills. Currently I’m applying to both regular jobs at Kroger, etc. as well as jobs related to my field.

Motivation post-it notes on my closet door.

Accepting the fact that I may have to work behind a cash register for a while after having such an exciting newspaper job was the hardest thing I had to do. An old friend of mine helped me getting there: “There’s your job and there’s your career, and sometimes you need a job while you work on your career.” It’s become a mantra in my daily life as I fill out applications, rewrite cover letter after cover letter, and read my resume at least five times in a row.

From what I gathered in the articles, here’s a list of things that help you get through the sudden change emotionally.

• Mourn the loss, then move on.
• Rediscover your interest: They advise that you write a list of 25 accomplishments to get an overview of what you’re good at and what you enjoy.
• Have things to look forward to… 1 year from now, 5, 10, 15… 40.
• Don’t let fear or anger be your life coach (or make any rash decisions).
• Get someone to keep you focused.
• Resist temptation to hide out at home.
• Avoid “self-medicating” yourself.
• Make an effort to spend time with friends and family.
• Dive into a good book.
• Meditate.
• Exercise.
• Keep your sense of humor.

As for the practical steps to take after getting laid off, one article said it’s vital to negotiate severance pay and check logistics, such as how long the health insurance coverage will last. Talk with your (former) employer if you may use them as a reference and/or if they can write a letter of recommendation. Get help finding a job and file for unemployment. (For more tips and details in the article, click here.) Since I live in Michigan, I’ve signed up for Pure Michigan Talent Connect, but I think if you file for unemployment in whatever state you live in, they will point you to a site where you can search for jobs.

Another good thing to do – especially if you work in the media industry – is to update your online status: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, an online portfolio if you have one.

I personally have discovered it helps to accomplish something every day. It can be something as simple as doing laundry and making yourself a good meal to start with. As time goes on, you can set bigger goals for yourself: It’s healthy to stay busy somehow until you got a job again. For example, I’ve dedicated more time and energy to my writing, and I have done some indoor gardening. Today I bought some canvas so I can paint more and sometime in the week, I plan on taking a walk in the woods to snap some winter photos.

If there’s a lesson in losing a job, I would say as much as it sucks to have no control over it, you have power to make the situation better. Maybe you can find a cooler job somewhere else. Maybe it allows you to spend some time on things you haven’t been able to do for a while. Maybe it gives you a chance to reflect on what you want out of life.

Book Recommendations 2016

Tags

book list, buzz books, literary hub, reading challenge, releases 2016

 The ice and snow have kept many of us indoors. Seems like the best time to settle down with a cup of tea and a good book. I myself am working on a “reading challenge” right now (see picture on the left). But for those who would like some tips, I’ve found a few book lists.

One is from Emma Watson’s book club; I found it on 16 picks for your feminist book club.

Actress, model, and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson recently started a feminist book club called “Our Shared Shelf.” We’re all in, and even better, we have a few suggestions. Here are 16 books to read in your feminist book club.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In this short, but powerful essay based on her TEDx Talk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie writes about the importance of gender and gender equality.

Dietland by Sarai Walker

Our favorite feminist manifesto of 2015 will have you ready to revolt faster than you can say patriarchy.

Feminism Is For Everybody by bell hooks

Every feminist should be acquainted with the great bell hooks, and this exploration of race and class-spanning feminism is an essential introduction.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood’s classic imagines a dystopia where rich families have returned to the nightmarish practice of using concubines to conceive children.

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Bad Feminist became an instant classic thanks to Roxane Gay’s astute and witty essays on gender, sexuality, and race.

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan’s landmark book The Feminine Mystique identified a problem that had no name, sparked a new dialogue for women, and launched the second-wave feminist movement.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Plath’s only novel chronicles the breakdown of aspiring poet Esther Greenwood, as societal and internal pressures drive her to contemplate (and attempt) suicide.

Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit

This scathing, hilarious essay collection inspired the term “mansplaining,” which is (despite claims that argue otherwise) definitely a real phenomenon.

The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks

The young superheroine of this comic doesn’t just battle out-of-this-world monsters — she’s forced to reckon with the ones in everyday life, too.

Spinster by Kate Bolick

Don’t be surprised if your views on marriage do a 180 after readingBolick’s part-memoir, part-biography of some thoroughly modern women from history.

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Tina Fey’s memoir includes self-deprecating essays on body image, hilarious anecdotes from the set of Saturday Night Live, and razor-sharp responses to shut down the haters.

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf’s writing often explores feminist themes, but her classic work A Room of One’s Own offers the best discussion on the role of women in fiction.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

LeGuin’s genre-transcendent work always gazes deep into the human soul, even when those humans exist in fantasy or science-fiction worlds. In her most acclaimed work, an interstellar human ambassador’s encounter with a genderless planet forces him (and the reader) to reconsider everything he thinks about men, women, and identity.

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman,” writes Simone de Beauvoir in what has become one of the most significant books in feminist philosophy.

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

In the follow-up to her memoir Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?Mindy Kaling provides more “down-to-earth, everygirl essays” on topics like her sorority experience, filming sex scenes, and running her own TV show.

Science…For Her! by Megan Amram

Parks and Recreation writer Megan Amram’s hilarious book is a pitch-perfect satire of women’s magazines.

Joy Williams cover from lit hub’s website.

I realize these books won’t available for a while, but I’d like to show that the literary hub has posted which books will be released by Buzz Books in the spring and summer this year.

The Notables

Don DeLillo, Zero (Scribner, May)

*Louise Erdrich, LaRose (Harper, May)

Mark Haddon, The Pier Falls and Other Stories (Doubleday, May)

Herta Muller, The Fox Was Ever the Hunter (Metropolitan, May)

Annie Proulx, Barkskins (Scribner, June)

Anna Quindlen, Miller’s Valley (Random House, April)

Edna O’Brien, The Little Red Chairs (Little, Brown, April)

Stewart O’Nan, City of Secrets (Viking, April)

Helen Oyeyemi, What is Not Yours is Not Yours (Riverhead, March)

Dana Spiotta, Innocents and Others (Scribner, March)

Joy Williams, Ninety-Nine Stories of God (Tin House, July)

 

Highly Anticipated

Charles Bock, Alice & Oliver (Random House, April)

Jennifer Haigh, Heat and Light (Ecco, May)

Adam Haslett, Imagine Me Gone (Little, Brown, May)

Jenni Fagan, The Sunlight Pilgrims (Hogarth, July)

Boris Fishman, Don’t Let My Baby Do Rodeo (Harper, March)

Manuel Gonzales, The Regional Office is Under Attack! (Riverhead, April)

Elizabeth Kelly, The Miracle on Monhegan Island (Liveright, May)

Karan Mahajan, The Association of Small Bombs (Viking, March)

*C.E. Morgan, The Sport of Kings (FSG, May)

Robin Wasserman, Girls On Fire (Harper, May)

READ AN EXCERPT FROM GIRLS ON FIRE

Charlotte Rogan, Now and Again (Little, Brown, April)

Sunjeev Sahota, The Year of the Runaways (Knopf, March)

Amanda Eyre Ward, The Nearness of You (Ballantine, July)

 

Emerging Voices

Allison Amend, Enchanted Islands (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, May)

Ramona Ausubel, Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty (Riverhead, June)

Mischa Berlinski, Peacekeeping (Sarah Crichton Books, March)

Mark Binelli, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ All-Time Greatest Hits (Metropolitan, May)

Liz Moore, The Unseen World (Norton, June)

Bonnie Nadzam, Lions (Grove, July)

Marie NDaiye, Ladivine (Knopf, April)

Hannah Pittard, Listen to Me (HMH, July)

Elizabeth Poliner, As Close to Us As Breathing (Lee Boudreaux Books, March)

Alexis Smith, Marrow Island (HMH, June)

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Sarong Party Girls (William Morrow, July)

Rufi Thorpe, Dear Fang, With Love (Knopf, May)

Ayelet Tsabari, The Best Place on Earth (Random House, March)

*Shawn Vestal, Daredevils (Penguin Press, April)

 

There are more categories, including a nice list of debut novels and additional links to excerpts, but I don’t want to drag it on. Feel free to click the link.

🙂

Happy reading.