Phillip is the author of over a dozen books: 

• 4 personal essay collections (Bachelorhood, Against Joie de Vivre, Portrait of My Body, and Portrait Inside my Head), as well as Being with Children, Waterfront, and Notes on Sontag
• 3 works of fiction (Confessions of Summer, The Rug Merchant, and Two Marriages)
• 3 poetry collections (The Eyes Don’t Always Want to Stay Open, The Daily Round, and At the End of the Day).  

He has also edited several anthologies, including one of my personal favorites—Art of the Personal Essay—and he’s the author of To Show and To Tell: The Craft of Literary Nonfiction. 

He is a professor in Columbia University’s MFA Writing Program, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

In this episode Phillip Lopate and I discuss:

• Why you need to have some things you haven’t worked out when you begin to write an essay.
• The ground rules, selection process, and organizational structure for his three volume anthology.
• What qualities make for a great essay, what can kill a piece, and the role the past plays.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About Phillip Lopate

Phillip Lopate is the author of over a dozen books: 4 personal essay collections (Bachelorhood, Against Joie de Vivre, Portrait of My Body, and Portrait Inside my Head), as  well as Being with Children, Waterfront, and Notes on Sontag; three works of fiction (Confessions of Summer, The Rug Merchant, and Two Marriages), 3 poetry collections (The Eyes Don’t Always Want to Stay Open, The Daily Round, and At the End of the Day). He has also edited several anthologies (Art of the Personal Essay, American Movie Critics, and Writing New York). He is a professor in Columbia University’s MFA Writing Program, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

The Glorious American Essay

A monumental, canon-defining anthology of three centuries of American essays, from Cotton Mather and Benjamin Franklin to David Foster Wallace and Zadie Smith.

The essay form is an especially democratic one, and many of the essays Phillip Lopate has gathered here address themselves–sometimes critically–to American values. Even in those that don’t, one can detect a subtext about being American.

The Founding Fathers and early American writers self-consciously struggle to establish a recognizable national culture. The shining stars of the mid-nineteenth-century American Renaissance no longer lack confidence but face new reckonings with the oppression of blacks and women. The New World tradition of nature writing runs from Audubon, Thoreau, and John Muir to Rachel Carson and Annie Dillard. Marginalized groups in all periods use the essay to assert or to complicate notions of identity.

Lopate has cast his net intentionally wide, embracing critical, personal, political, philosophical, humorous, literary, polemical, and autobiographical essays, and making room for sermons, letters, speeches, and columns dealing with a wide variety of subjects. Americans by birth as well as immigrants appear here, famous essayists alongside writers more celebrated for fiction or poetry. The result is an extensive overview of the endless riches of the American essay.

The Golden Age of the American Essay: 1945-1970

A one-of-a-kind anthology of American essays on a wide range of subjects by a dazzling array of mid-century writers at the top of their form.

The three decades that followed World War II were an exceptionally fertile period for American essays. The explosion of journals and magazines, the rise of public intellectuals, and breakthroughs in the arts inspired a flowering of literary culture. At the same time, the many problems that confronted mid-century America–racism, sexism, nuclear threat, war, poverty, and environmental degradation among them–proved fruitful topics for America’s best minds. In The Golden Age of the American Essay, Phillip Lopate assembles a dazzling array of famous writers, critics, sociologists, theologians, historians, activists, theorists, humorists, poets, and novelists. Here are writers like James Agee, E. B. White, A. J. Liebling, Randall Jarrell, and Mary McCarthy, pivoting from the comic indignities of daily life to world peace, consumerism, and restaurants in Paris. Here is Norman Mailer on Jackie Kennedy, Vladimir Nabokov on Lolita, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, and Richard Hofstadter’s The Paranoid Style in American Politics. Here are Gore Vidal, Rachel Carson, James Baldwin, Susan Sontag, John Updike, Joan Didion, and many more, in a treasury of brilliant writing that has stood the test of time.

The Contemporary American Essay

A dazzling anthology of essays by some of the best writers of the past quarter century–from Barry Lopez and Margo Jefferson to David Sedaris and Samantha Irby–selected by acclaimed essayist Phillip Lopate.

The first decades of the twenty-first century have witnessed a blossoming of creative nonfiction. In this extraordinary collection, Phillip Lopate gathers essays by forty-seven of America’s best contemporary writers, mingling long-established eminences with newer voices and making room for a wide variety of perspectives and styles. The Contemporary American Essay is a monument to a remarkably adaptable form and a treat for anyone who loves fantastic writing.

Hilton Als • Nicholson Baker • Thomas Beller • Sven Birkerts • Eula Biss • Mary Cappello • Anne Carson • Terry Castle • Alexander Chee • Teju Cole • Bernard Cooper • Sloane Crosley • Charles D’Ambrosio • Meghan Daum • Brian Doyle • Geoff Dyer • Lina Ferreira • Lynn Freed • Rivka Galchen • Ross Gay • Louise Glück • Emily Fox Gordon • Patricia Hampl • Aleksandar Hemon • Samantha Irby • Leslie Jamison • Margo Jefferson • Laura Kipnis • David Lazar • Yiyun Li • Phillip Lopate • Barry Lopez • Thomas Lynch • John McPhee • Ander Monson • Eileen Myles • Maggie Nelson • Meghan O’Gieblyn • Joyce Carol Oates • Darryl Pinckney • Lia Purpura • Karen Russell • David Sedaris • Shifra Sharlin • David Shields • Floyd Skloot • Rebecca Solnit • Clifford Thompson • Wesley Yang

If you decide to check out the books, we hope you’ll do so via these Amazon affiliate links: The Glorious American Essay, The Golden Age of the American Essay: 1945-1970 and The Contemporary American Essay where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 377

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 377: The Art of the American Essay Anthology – Interview with Phillip Lopate appeared first on DIY MFA.

Cynthia is a New York Times bestselling author known for her award-winning children’s and YA books. She writes both realistic contemporary stories and fantastical narratives, and most recently, she won the American Indian Youth Literature YA Award for Hearts Unbroken published by Candlewick.

Today we’ll be discussing one of her most recent projects: Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for kids, a Middle Grade anthology published by Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint at HarperChildren’s where Cynthia is the author-curator. In addition to her work in publishing, she is also on the faculty of the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a citizen of Mvskoke Nation and makes her home in Austin, Texas.

In this episode Cynthia and I discuss:

• How the lack of Native representation in Middle Grade books inspired Cynthia’s writing and the impetus for Heartdrum.
• What elements are important to include when writing specifically for Middle Graders and how MG is distinct from YA.
• Why it’s important to create an inclusive feeling  of a “we” not “me” book within diverse literature.

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About Cynthia Leitich Smith

New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith is known for her award-winning children’s and YA realistic contemporary and fantastical books. Most recently, she won the American Indian Youth Literature YA Award for Hearts Unbroken, published by Candlewick, and she looks forward to the release of Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, a Middle Grade anthology published by Heartdrum.

Cynthia is the author-curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint at HarperChildren’s and on the faculty of the MFA program in Writing for Children’s and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She’s a citizen of Mvskoke Nation and makes her home in Austin, Texas.

You can find Cynthia on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn. 

Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids

A collection of intersecting stories set at a powwow that bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride.

In a high school gym full of color and song, Native families from Nations within the borders of the U.S. and Canada dance, sell beadwork and books, and celebrate friendship and heritage. They are the heroes of their own stories.

Featured contributors: Joseph Bruchac, Art Coulson, Christine Day, Eric Gansworth, Dawn Quigley, Carole Lindstrom, Rebecca Roanhorse, David A. Robertson, Andrea L. Rogers, Kim Rogers, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Monique Gray Smith, Traci Sorell, Tim Tingle, Erika T. Wurth, and Brian Young.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 346: Curating a Middle Grade Anthology of Intertribal Stories – Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith appeared first on DIY MFA.

I love etymology, but not once until today did I look up the origins of anthology. To my delight, it derives from flowers and the human propensity to gather them together. How, as a lover of words and gardens had I missed this connection?

My go-to source for word origins is a two-volume Oxford English Dictionary I keep by my desk that I now need a magnifying glass to read.

Anthology: a flower-gathering; a collection of the flowers of verse.

The word compounds from two ancient Greek words, anthos meaning flower and logia referring to a collection of writing. What makes the OED an adventure in squinting are the extracted quotes included to establish a word’s journey through the panoply of work printed in English. From the entry for anthology, I find this quote:

“In the anthologies of earth…one flower beyond every other is liable to change, which flower is the countenance of woman.”

Thanks, Thomas De Quincy for that gem from your 1822 memoir Confessions of an opium-eater. A classic mansplain of a woman’s nature. What a chuckle.

The Best American Comics

Still, I love that the word once meant a gathering of flowers. It brings the literary anthology out of the dusty storage bin of textbooks to offer color and beauty to the world. My brief etymological research has given me a kinder view of anthologies as a species of book, one I will apply to reviewing the latest issue of The Best American Comics, guest edited by cartoonist Jillian Tamaki.

Since 2006, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has been publishing these annual anthologies of comics. Each guest editor sifts through hordes of submitted work from the previous year to gather together a bouquet of comics. Each issue combines the art of the times with the tastes and intentions of the guest editor. Of course, reader preferences come into play, which is no doubt why the series has different guest editors each year, not just to expand the boundaries of bestness, but to attract new readers by offering more diversity in selections.

How to read an anthology of comics?

It’s a book, so the first instinct is to start at the beginning and slog through to the end, but once upon a time…the end is hardly how one enjoys a collection of flowers in a vase or in a garden. The eye scans the scene, delighting in singular blooms at the same time appreciating the overall composition and the effect of contrast, texture and color. A well-designed garden or flower arrangement begs a meandering kind of enjoyment. This garden-stroll approach works for reading anthologies, especially those that are visual.

To enter into an anthology of comics, first scan, then read, and by read I mean look more carefully at the drawings and read the words, simultaneously. As with flower bouquets or planted mixtures of blossoms, an anthology editor can arrange work so it comes together to create connections that one might not notice if taken in isolation. Too many of the same kind of flower or too much uniformity between plants in a garden breeds boredom. Too much variety could be amazing or confusing, depending on how it’s arranged.

A scan through the 2019 anthology reveals restraint in color, a spectrum of greens balanced against bright primary hues and tempered by a large field of black and white comics. My eye falls on “Vanguard” by Leslie Stein, the splashes of watercolor and loose lines appealing to my nature. I’m further intrigued by how Stein draws to music, something I’ve been doing for a few years as well. It’s awesome how much expression her characters convey when they often have just two tiny dot eyes to signify a face. The sequence of panel-free vignettes follows a narrative exploration of drawing to music, ending in her experience of drawing to live jazz at the Village Vanguard in New York. The writing is introspective and funny.

“Vanguard” is my favorite flower in the bunch, but you may pick another. Such is the abundance of bouquets.

What comics do that a bouquet of flowers likely won’t is expose social injustice and personal torment. The 2019 Best American Comics includes excerpts from work that navigates the balance between being a mother and an artist, the urgency of finding friendship at summer camp as an immigrant child, the struggle of finding intimate human connection after the death of a transexual spouse. It grapples with thin interpretations of Martin Luther King Junior’s legacy, faces climate change while on a road trip, reveals the sad futility of explaining polyamorous relationships with nonbinary lovers to a sick mother who won’t stop saying ‘he’ when ‘they’ is what’s desired.

Comics gathered together in the 2019 Best American Comics represent much of what makes comics art compelling. How they draw you close with the craft of line and get you to linger with their stories. How they stay in your heart after you return them to your anthology shelf. Like a garden lures bees with its beautiful blooms, and, once-sated, off they buzz, their bodies dusted with pollen, ready to help make flowers bloom elsewhere.

Rebecca Fish Ewan, a poet/cartoonist/writer and founder of Plankton Press, teaches landscape architecture at Arizona State University. She grew up in Berkeley, California, and now lives in Arizona with her family. Her recent books: By the Forces of Gravity, a cartoon/poetry memoir, and coming this Fall (June release delayed due to pandemic) Doodling for Writers (Books by Hippocampus). You can connect with her at rebeccafishewan.com 

The post A Bouquet of Comics appeared first on DIY MFA.

Sam Hooker writes darkly humorous fantasy novels about things like tyrannical despots and the masked scoundrels who tickle them without mercy. He knows all the best swear words, though he refuses to repeat them because he doesn’t want to attract goblins. 

Seven Jane is an author of dark fantasy and speculative fiction. Seven is a member of The Author’s Guild and Women’s Fiction Writing Association. She also writes a column for The Women’s Fiction Association and is a contributor to The Nerd Daily.​

They are both authors of stories included in the anthology A MIDNIGHT CLEAR, six stories of not-so-merry yuletide whimsy, from Blackspot Books.

In this episode Sam, Seven and I discuss:

• Writing a short story when you usually write novels
• Adjusting your writing process to fit a new category
• Creating suspense in an insular, character-driven story
• Using winter as the inspiration for a short story

Plus, their #1 tips for writers.

About Sam Hooker and Seven Jane

Sam Hooker writes darkly humorous fantasy novels about things like tyrannical despots and the masked scoundrels who tickle them without mercy. He knows all the best swear words, though he refuses to repeat them because he doesn’t want to attract goblins. 

Seven Jane is an author of dark fantasy and speculative fiction. Seven is a member of The Author’s Guild and Women’s Fiction Writing Association. She also writes a column for The Women’s Fiction Association and is a contributor to The Nerd Daily.​

A Midnight Clear 

Six stories of not-so-merry Yuletide Whimsy from the authors of Black Spot Books! 

A woman so cold she hardens to ice on a winter’s eve. Risen from his grave before his time, a winter god alters the balance between seasons. A wolf’s holiday season is interrupted by a strange curse. From a murder at the Stanley Hotel to demons of Christmas past, present, and future, and a mad elf and Santa’s Candy Court, the authors of Black Spot Books share their love for winter holidays in this collection of dark winter tales, destined to chill your bones and warm your heart for the Yuletide season.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode #282

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 282: The Themed Anthology — Interview with Sam Hooker and Seven Jane appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today I am so excited to be hosting Brazilian author Tony Bellotto on the show!

As some of you may know, my parents are from Brazil and my first language is actually Portuguese. Though I was raised in the U.S. I consider myself as much Brazilian as American so I am super thrilled to have a Brazilian author here today!

Tony is the author of the best-selling Bellini mystery novels, which have been released as major feature films and translated widely, establishing him as the preeminent writer of Brazilian detective fiction. He is also a guitarist and songwriter for the famed Brazilian rock band Titãs (The Titans), which has released twenty albums and sold over six million copies.

On top of all that, Tony is also the editor of Rio Noir and São Paulo Noir, both published by Akashic Books, who are also releasing the English translation of his Bellini mysteries starting with his debut novel, Bellini and the Sphinx, which is now available.

Now listen in, and get ready to hear a little Portuguese, as Tony and I chat about the two awesome anthologies he edited and what it really means for a story to be noir.

In this episode Tony and I discuss:

• The broad definition of “noir”.
• How to create a crime fiction anthology with non-crime fiction writers.
• Using humor to create the noir atmosphere.
• Why you should divide an anthology into sections, and how to do it right.
• International publishing and the translation process.

Plus, Tony’s #1 tip for writers.

About Tony Bellotto

Tony Bellotto is the author of the best-selling Bellini mystery novels, which have been released as major feature films and translated widely, establishing him as the preeminent writer of Brazilian detective fiction.

He is also a guitarist and songwriter for the famed Brazilian rock band Titãs (The Titans), which has released twenty albums and sold over six million copies. Tony also writes for the newspaper O Globo and hosts a television show.

He is the editor of Rio Noir and São Paulo Noir, both published by Akashic Books. Bellini and the Sphinx the first of the Bellini mysteries is now available in English from Akashic translated from Brazilian Portuguese into English by Clifford E. Landers.

Rio Noir

Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book, and with Rio Noir, beloved Brazilian rock star and best-selling novelist Tony Bellotto brings the series to South America for the first time.

Brand-new stories by: Tony Bellotto, Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza, MV Bill, Luiz Eduardo Soares, Guilherme Fiuza, Arthur Dapieve, Victoria Saramago, Arnaldo Bloch, Adriana Lisboa, Alexandre Fraga dos Santos, Marcelo Ferroni, Flávio Carneiro, Raphael Montes, and Luis Fernando Verissimo. All stories translated from Brazilian Portuguese by Clifford Landers.

São Paulo Noir

Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. On the heels of Rio Noir, beloved Brazilian rock star and best-selling novelist Tony Bellotto ushers another world-class city into the Akashic Noir Series with São Paulo Noir.

Brand-new stories by: Tony Bellotto, Olivia Maia, Marcelino Freire, Beatriz Bracher & Maria S. Carvalhosa, Fernando Bonassi, Marcelo Rubens Paiva, Marçal Aquino, Jô Soares, Mario Prata, Ferréz, Vanessa Barbara, Ilana Casoy, and Drauzio Varella. All stories translated from Brazilian Portuguese by Clifford Landers.

If you decide to check out São Paulo Noir, Rio Noir, or Tony’s latest English release Bellini and the Sphinx, we hope you’ll do so via these Amazon affiliate links, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 238

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 238: Pushing the Boundaries of Noir — Interview with Tony Bellotto appeared first on DIY MFA.

On the show with me today, I have the DIY MFA podcast producer, Elisabeth Kauffman. As you’ll learn in the episode, though, Elisabeth is also taking on a big new role at DIY MFA and we’ve got a really exciting announcement too. But first, here’s a little more info about who she is and what she does when she’s not moonlighting at DIY MFA.

By day, Elisabeth is a freelance editor at Writing Refinery, helping authors find their voices, develop their manuscripts, and birth their stories into the world. When she’s not editing novels, she’s editing this podcast and doing all those little, behind-the-scenes things that keep DIY MFA Radio running smoothly. Seriously, while you might not hear Elisabeth’s voice on the show very often, she is just as much a part of this podcast as I am, from helping to decide the episode lineup, to keeping me on track when I babble, and editing anything that might get me into major trouble.

Today, though, I have Elisabeth on the show for a particularly exciting reason. She’s here to help me make a special announcement!

*drumroll please*

DIY MFA is launching an Anthology!

Elisabeth will be co-editing this anthology with me, but really this project is her baby. She’ll  be taking the lead on this and spearheading the editorial team while I help to direct the overall vision of how the Anthology will fit within DIY MFA overall.

I can’t tell you how excited we are about this project. For a while now I’ve wanted to create a forum where my word-nerd family could share their writing plus get a chance to see their names in print (or digital ink). This is also a way for new writers to get that first publication credit, which–as I’ve learned from personal experience–can potentially open the doors to many other publications down the road. Listen to the podcast for more details about this new DIY MFA opportunity!

In this episode, Elisabeth and I discuss:

• What the anthology is all about,
• Our mission for launching it, and
• The “secret sauce” that makes this anthology different from any other.

One of the big reasons that Elisabeth and I are launching this Anthology is that we want to bridge that gap between the Write with Focus and Read with Purpose components of DIY MFA. The process we’re using to select pieces for this anthology puts craft and creativity front and center, so get your writing chops ready. We’re looking for pieces that don’t just tell a good story, but that illustrate particular aspects of craft, or use elements of craft in unique ways. Also, because the main requirement for submission is that your piece use a Writer Igniter prompt, you’ll get brownie points for being really creative.

Later in the episode, Elisabeth and I get on the subject of submitting work to magazines and anthologies, and we give you lots of tips on how to submit to us, as well as other places too! Listen to the episode for tons of tips about the ins and outs of submissions and how to put your best foot forward when you send out your work.

Writer Igniter Anthology submissions are officially open!

If you want to submit to the Writer Igniter Anthology, learn more at DIYMFA.com/writer-igniter-submissions. Make sure you read the submission guidelines thoroughly, then email your submission to submissions@DIYMFA.com. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Link to Episode 36

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome.

The post Episode 36: Writer Igniter Anthology appeared first on DIY MFA.

Enter Corey Brown: a fellow member of the Quill & Coffee writing group, an excellent writer, and a good friend.  When it comes to short fiction, Corey’s also the most well-read person I know and his knowledge of short fiction ranges from classics to obscure gems that make me wonder “where has this story been all my life?“

I would have listed the obvious choices: Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to FInd,” Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” John Cheever’s “The Swimmer” or Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral.”  Corey’s list is much more interesting.  When I asked him what was the hardest part of putting this list together, he said: “Stressing about who wasn’t on the list.”  I hear you, Corey.

Now without further delay, here’s this month’s suggested reading list, compiled by Corey Brown.

So many stories! How does one truly find the time to read them all? Well, one story at a time. For me, I devour short stories daily. They bring me great joy and inspire me to get to the real task at hand—writing.

The world is not lacking in short stories, perhaps maybe readers. Oftentimes, short stories, I think, don’t get the same level of respect as the novel, but there are a lot of gems out there. And no: this is not a definitive list. Yes—these writers, plus several more not listed have influenced in me some way: Donald Ray Pollock, A.M. Homes, Flannery O’Connor, James Franco, Miranda July, ZZ Packer, Raymond Carver, John Cheever, Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, Annie Proulx, Clive Barker, Chuck Palahniuk and…you!

Where is your gem of a short story for the world to read and celebrate? After seeking out these writers and their work, command your talent to the page. For a writer writes.

A writer also reads. In this particular case, short stories.  Here’s a list to get your started:

Short Fiction Suggested Reading

(Elements of craft represented by these stories are in italics.)

• Aimee Bender, “Night Trilogy.”  Style / Point of View (POV)
  
• Truman Capote, “Miriam.”  Dialogue / Character / Plot.
• Dan Chaon, “Shepherdess.”   Plot / Structure / Style.
• E.L. Doctorow, “Edgemont Drive.”  Dialogue / Character / Style.
• Lisa Glatt, “What Milton Heard.”  Character / POV / Voice
• Patricia Highsmith, “A Mighty Nice Man.”  Dialogue / Character / Plot
• Shirley Jackson, “Mrs. Anderson.”  Dialogue / Character.
• Stephen King, “The Gingerbread Girl.” Plot / Structure / Style.
• Ander Monson, “To Reduce Your Likelihood Of Murder.”  Style / Voice.
• Alice Munro, “Free Radicals.”  Dialogue / Character / Plot.
• Joyce Carol Oates, “Wolf’s Head Lake.”  Tone / Mood / Voice / POV.
• Davy Rothbart, “How I Got Here.”  POV / Character / Voice.
• Joy Williams, “Charity.” Plot / Dialogue.

The post Short Fiction Suggested Reading appeared first on DIY MFA.

As I see it, there are two ways you can compile short stories: in anthologies or collections with stories by multiple authors, or in collections of stories by one individual author.  Within each of these categories, though, there is a lot of room for play, and that’s what I’d like to look at today.

Anthologies with Multiple Authors

In anthologies with multiple authors, you can have everything from a straight-forward compilation from the short story masters, to something based around a theme.  A classic example of the former, of course, would be the Best American series where each year a guest editor selects his or her favorite stories from publications across the country.

Personally, I happen to think the collections based around a theme are a lot more fun.  You see a lot of this in short story collections for the teen audience.  Zombies vs. Unicorns, for instance, addresses that all important question “Which is cooler, zombies or unicorns?”  Geektastic is filled with stories from some big name authors in the teen literature world and celebrates all facets of geekdom, from trekkies to band camp nerds.

The straight-forward-style anthology tends to consist of stories reprinted from another source, so the person compiling the anthology culls through existing pieces of writing that have already been published.  In the latter type–the anthology centered around a theme–it’s much more likely that these authors wrote their stories specifically for the anthology.  After all, who has random zombie or unicorn stories just lying around?  (Actually…)

In both types of anthologies, though, the strength lies in variety of the voices represented.  The beauty of these collections is that we can hear from authors with very different writing styles, and it’s the contrast and complementary relationship between the stories that lend the collection its artfulness.

Collections by One Author

Sooner or later, authors who write a lot of short stories will have enough to fill a book.  The question, of course, is how to choose which stories go in the book and how these stories relate to each other.  Of course, you can do a “Complete Works” type of collection, which is lovely if only for its completeness, but some writers like to get more creative than that.  Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino is a fabulous collection of stories, all tied together under this theme of a “comedy in the cosmic realm.”  In his collection Past Perfect, Present Tense Richard Peck groups his stories according to theme, lending structure to the collection that ties it all together.

Why Collections are Important

I’ve heard it said by people in the book business that short story collections don’t sell as well as novels.  I wonder, though, if there isn’t a way to turn this bias against short story collections on its head.  In some ways, short story collections can be far more versatile and valuable to a reader than a novel.  In the novel, there’s only one way to read the story: you start on page 1 and read to the end (OK, maybe if you’re reading Pale Fire by Nabokov, that might not be the case, but in most novels you read from start to finish).  In a short story collection, however, the order you read the stories can affect your view of the other stories around it, making it a different reading experience every time.

Maybe someday I will make that anthology and when I do, I know exactly how I’ll put it together: with multiple tracks where readers can choose different ways of reading the collected stories so that they can experience the stories in a new way each time.  Because it’s not just about the individual stories, it’s about how the stories relate to one another.

The post Anthologies and Collections: Putting Stories Together to Tell Bigger Stories appeared first on DIY MFA.