American Short Fiction blog

Music has never let me down so maybe it’s the heat that has me talking silly. But this August and September, I say we throw the book at Lollapalooza 2010, Ozzfest UK, and Hungary’s Sziget Festival.

I say let’s thrash, head-bob, and chillax to those headlining bands on our trusty iPods while we spend our economy-squashed, ice cream-truck-driving summer job money on something novel. Like, say, hitting one of the world’s most amazing writing festivals.

There’s the Library of Congress National Book Festival, for example.

When? Saturday 25, September 2010

Where? on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 3rd and 7th

Cool come-on: Hear and hobnob with more than 70 headlining writers, including Isabel Allende, Brad Meltzer, Katherine Paterson, [Texas Book Festival 2009 Literary Death Match judge] Jane Smiley, Scott Turow, David Remnick and Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk. Plus, it’s free and open to the public.

More info: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/

Not far enough out for you? Try the Brooklyn Book Festival.

When: Sunday, 12 September 2010 – with special events on September 10, 11, and 12

Where: Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon St., Brooklyn

What the Brooklyn Book Festival has to offer:  With nearly 100 emerging and already emerged sparkling and devastating authors BBF is a huge, premiere, free public event for book lovers.

Cool come-on: Themed readings

More info: http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/BrooklynBookFestival/festival.html

Still not far out enough for you? How about . . .

The Edinburgh International Book Festival

When? Saturday, August 14, through Monday, August 30

Where? Charlotte Square Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland

What the Edinburgh International Book Festival has to offer: Edinburgh, UNESCO City of Literature, itself isn’t enough? How about 17 days, 750 events, 800 authors, over 40 different countries represented?

Cool come-on: It coincides with the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, as well as the other festivals which comprise the Edinburgh Festival.

Another cool come-on: As the press release goes, “We are the largest public celebration of books in the world.”

More info: http://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival

I’d stage-dive to all that. You?

Buried treasure. Tar and feathering. Small yellow oblong stones that emit light and visions. Fiery revivals. The violent face-off of a father and his daughter’s suitor. . .  and all of that in our first story. You could say our Summer 2010 issue is action-packed.

As is American Short Fiction’s Indian Summer Party, coming soon to the Mohawk. Come party with us—your faithful local literary magazine.

Danny Malone, local folk rocker and SXSW favorite, will play a set to kick off the evening. Tomás Morin will dazzle you with his nationally renowned poetic verse (check out his recent interview with KUT here). Austin actors Elizabeth Bigger and Chris Gibson will knock the August lethargy right out of you with readings from the new issue. You’ll have drinks. (Hello, happy hour specials!) You’ll pose for photos. You’ll experience the most creative Thursday night this summer. And you’ll support emerging authors and artists. Why wouldn’t you be there?

American Short Fiction’s Indian Summer Party launches off the ground on the inside stage at the Mohawk at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 12. That’s 912 Red River.

You’re coming, aren’t you? Please let us know you’re in via our Facebook invite.

And you can pre-order your copy here.

Likely you’ve already seen Steve Almond’s spot-on take on AWP 2010 at The Rumpus.

Writer and teacher John Dufresne was at AWP, too, and his recent blog post sums up the surreal process of getting oneself going on the journey home from the madcap adventure that was AWP in Denver.

What the Sydney Morning Herald called “Women arrested for trying to take corpse on to plane,” Dufresne called “He always sleeps like that.” We ASF staffers, some of whom were up at 4:30 am for a Sunday morning flight out of Denver, are wondering, “Were we the women or the corpse?”

We may never know.

What we do know: we had a blast. Thanks to all our contributors and readers, new and returning, who attended our panel on the Long Short Story (blogged here and here), who shared a drink with us at Jonesy’s EatBar during our happy hour, and who stopped by our booth to say hi. You give life to American Short Fiction.

Catch you next year, AWP!

Here’s the least of it: If you’re looking for a wild literary ride, get to New York City’s West Village on May 1 for the PEN Cabaret.

Natalie Merchant will perform from her new album, Leave Your Sleep (Nonesuch), which features interpretations of classic poetry from Ogden Nash, Christina Rossetti, Robert Louis Stevenson, and others. Stick around and meet Booker Prize-winning novelist Ben Okri, and Georgian novelist, poet, and performance artist Irakli Kakabadze. Later, get spooked by cyber ghost story writer Ariel Dorfman. Special global guests will be announced. The entire event will be emceed by editor, author, and jazz singer Rakesh Satyal.

Got more time and energy to spare? Stay for the week-long party leading up to the Cabaret, when PEN World Voices, a festival of international literature, takes over NYC.

From April 26 to May 2, PEN plans for a stellar lineup of emerging and established authors to take to stage and panel  across New York City (and several satellite locations from San Francisco to Washington D.C. to Portland) for their Sixth Annual World Voices Festival.

Check out more participants after the jump.

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Doug Dorst, Nell Freudenberger, ZZ Packer, Angela Pneuman, Wells Tower. In a panel discussion that includes American Short Fiction’s own Jill Meyers.

The Austin Public Library Friends Foundation presents the New Fiction Confab, featuring some of America’s most prominent emerging writers. On the agenda for this Saturday, April 17: a 3:45 pm panel discussion as mentioned above, moderated by Texas Monthly editor Jake Silverstein. Arrive at 1 pm for a series of short readings and Q&A with the writers.

This confab is free and open to the public. It happens at Faulk Central Library (800 Guadalupe Street). Need more info? Grab it here.

Also on this day from 10 to 11:15am at libraries throughout Austin: fiction workshops for elementary, junior high, and high school students led by Nell Freudenberger, Angela Pneuman, and Wells Tower. Check it.

About the authors… (more…)

American Short Fiction is in Denver for the writing conference AWP. If you’re around, please drop by and visit us at the book fair. Our table is J10 in the Convention Center’s Exhibit Hall A. The book fair is open to the public on Saturday, April 10. We have the beautiful new issue on sale, plus posters, pencils, and loads of info.

Today at noon, I’ll be moderating the panel “Going Long: The Long Short Story,” which will examine the revered, but not often published, long short story. Award-winning writers Karen Brown, Joan Silber, and Josh Weil are part of the panel–they’ll read their work and talk about the long story’s rewards and challenges. You can find the panel in room 110 at the Convention Center.

And tonight. . . American Short Fiction is throwing a happy hour! Starting at 5 pm, we’ll be at Jonesy’s EatBar, 400 East 20th Avenue. We’ll be celebrating our new Spring issue and joining up with former contributor and all-around friend of ASF, Owen Egerton, for the AWP launch of his new novel just out from Dalton Publishing. Come have a drink with us!

Please join us tomorrow at Club de Ville for an evening of music and readings—and teleportation.

We’re kicking things off at 7. Get there early. You don’t want to miss any of the great fiction, poetry, music, or Owen Egerton’s masterful emcee-ing. There’s a suggested donation of $2 and the chance to win amazing goodies from the participating presses.

We’ll also have the beautiful new issue for sale.

Club de Ville is on Red River, between 9th and 10th Streets.

See you there!

ASF is exerting a little Peer Pressure on March 27 at Club de Ville.

That is, we’re throwing a big bash to honor Small Press Month, and we’re inviting fellow indie presses Effing Press, Dalton Publishing, and Monofonus Press. Each press (or, in the case of us, magazine) will present one reader. We’ll also have a few great bands lined up for your listening pleasure. Please save the date.

This reading will mark the launch of ASF‘s latest issue, Spring 2010, which features great new work from Matt Bell, Laura van den Berg, and Jeff Parker, among others. Holy smokes, it’s a good issue. We’ll be posting up more details very shortly.

If you belong to our Facebook group (which, if you haven’t joined, shouldn’t you?), you’ll be getting our invite to Peer Pressure within 24 hours.

The good ship Five Things is hauling booty back from ancient Greece with gyro meat in its teeth and fables on its mind.

The ship runs aground at the doors of United States Art Authority at 7 p.m. just in time for a night of fractured tales and funny fables. Plus 21st-century pan flutists and lyres.

We like to think it’ll be the kind of night that would make Aesop twirl his toga in disgust!
The readers:
Evie Worsham | Giuseppe Taurino | Gretchen Phillips | Greg Koehler | Willy Razavi

The musicians:
The Gary | Aly Tadros | Emcee Eats

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The first one was so fun, they’re doing it again.

If you’re in Austin tonight—and you’re not at the John Banville reading at Ransom Center’s Charles Nelson Prothro Theater—hit Hotel San Jose at 8 p.m. for Teleportal 2, the literary series for people who love reading but hate readings.

Beaming in: a live reading by Austin poet Nick Courtright, a virtual reading by noir novelist Richard Lange, and excerpts from the film 60 Writers/60 Places.

The series, schemed up by former ASF editorial assistant Morgan Coy and friends, promises “a relaxed evening of multimedia literary delights.”

ASF agrees. Last Teleportal has us floating in the aisles. The groovy video animation behind Dan Chaon tweaked our funny bone and captured our hearts.

Where again? Hotel San Jose courtyard at 1316 South Congress Ave, Austin.
Need more? Visit Monofonus.