Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories.
Penelope Rosemont revisits the unusual legacy of Mary MacLane, a woman writer born in 1881 who scandalized critics and enthralled readers with her book The Story of Mary MacLane and its representation of a young woman’s inner life. “Who was Mary MacLane—this Montana girl who drove literary critics to distraction and made moralists furious, and whose book was said to provoke insanity, crime, and suicide?” (Paris Review Daily)
Sonya Bilocerkowycz reflects on the writing of her debut essay collection, On Our Way Home from the Revolution: Reflections on Ukraine, and finding hope despite enduring and stifling political absurdities. (Los Angeles Review of Books)
Michelle Hart previews thirty-one LGBTQ books that are forthcoming in 2020, including Cleanness by Garth Greenwell and Homie by Danez Smith. (O, The Oprah Magazine)
At Electric Literature, Kacen Callender discusses the magical elements of their new book, Queen of the Conquered, and how they approach writing for different age groups.
Adrienne Brodeur talks to the Millions about her memoir, Wild Game, and reexamining her family history with a compassionate eye. “When you explore people’s lives deeply, it’s hard not to forgive them their flaws, and to acknowledge both the highs and lows that shaped them.”
Brodeur recently answered Ten Questions from Poets & Writers Magazine.
In a profile at the Guardian, Lisa Taddeo reflects on the years of on-the-ground, cross-country research behind her debut, Three Women.
The Literary Hub staff select their favorite titles of 2019. The collective list features translated literature, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
At the New York Times, Marilyn Stasio picks the best crime novels of the year.
