TGIF! Though to be honest, it hardly feels like Friday to me, since I was traveling the early part of the week. Short weeks have the distinct disadvantage of providing you with a full five days of work (and often more) and the need to squeeze it into a shorter time span. So this is going to be something of an abreviated post, but I hope it gives you all some food for thought and maybe fires up your creative instincts. Just a small reminder: we’re heading into the last days of the month, so this weekend is a great time to think of what your goals were and wrap things up before kicking off May with a nice clean slate.
As mentioned above, it’s been a busy week, so my links list is on the short side. But bigger isn’t always better, and I hope the ideas and individuals on the other end of these links make you excited to go write and get your stories into the world. Enjoy!
Meet Lisa Lucas, the Ultimate Cheerleader for Literature – A lovely interview with the executive director of the National Book Foundation.
Why You Love the Smell of Old Books – On our sense of smell and its link to meaning and memories.
Granta 139: Best of Young American Novelists 3 – Every ten years, Granta magazine makes a list of the most promising young novelists under 40. Here’s this year’s list, with links to some of their work (some locked to subscribers, others open).
10 More of the Best Young American Novelists – Because every list can be improved upon.
Opportunities for Writers: May and June, 2017 – A round up of places to submit your work, etc., with deadlines in the next two months.
Just wondering what is the criteria to be best novelist. Some might argue that the ability of a novelist to
reach out to millions of readers who enjoy her/his books is a good criteria to be on a list. But these
authors are ignored. Novelists, for example, who write romance for the masses are ignored, but readers will decide that authors like E.L. James should be on the list. I like to see a list of Best American novelists decided by
readers/buyers of books. I wonder if Stephenie Meyer was on the list by Granta when she was an author younger than 40 years old. Wonderful weekend to all.
Of course all of these lists are subjective, and the people/groups who compile them have their own criteria for making their choices. It could be argued that the lists of best authors decided by readers/buyers are the best-seller lists. I just think these lists are interesting as a means of possibly discovering new-to-you authors, and I like linking to them when I come across them. Everyone is, naturally, free to decide how accurate they are based on their own tastes, etc.
Thank you for the links for places to submit, and for all your suggestions at the recent workshop in beautiful Utah. I look forward to putting all I learned into practice, and will be on the lookout for more great workshops. Enjoy the spring weather!