failbetter

The new issue of Failbetter is up, featuring an interview with Ann Tyler, short fiction by Benjamin Krier and Kevin Sampsell (it is my humble duty to promote all Kevins, as I married one), and art by Shawn McNulty. Plus they sell this great bib for $6.99.

very short

When Mark Budman of Vestal Review asked me for a short-short, I was happy to comply. The magazine publishes stories of 500 words or fewer. My story collection contains several very short stories, but none this short. It turned out to be quite a challenge whittling a story down to so few words, but it…Continue reading very short

Rick Bass on shyness

Rick Bass has a wonderful nonfiction piece in the new issue of Narrative Magazine about what it means to be shy: When you’re shy, and a writer, it’s not the same as being just, say, shy and a mechanic, or shy and a typist: I mean, people know you’re watching them. It’s like you’ve lost…Continue reading Rick Bass on shyness

mama smarts

Andi Buchanan, managing editor of the hip online mama mag Literary Mama, has a new book out, Literary Mama: Reading for the Maternally Inclined, which she co-edited with Amy Hudock (Seal Press, Jan. 2006). This compendium of work gleaned from the magazine features well-known and beginning writers tackling motherhood from many different angles, from adoption…Continue reading mama smarts