Finalist in Sustainable Arts Foundation Spring Awards

My Henry

Good news, kids:

Out of 900 applicants by artists and writers to the Sustainable Arts Foundation, I was a finalist. Said a juror about my work, "You are an intensely talented young writer and your story was filled with unexpected and unforgettable imagery.”

The Sustainable Arts Foundation's mission is to support artists with children.  Thanks to my son Henry Valentine, I became one such artist.  

For more information about the most fantastic Sustainable Arts Foundation, see http://www.sustainableartsfoundation.org/ 

The Missing Time in Lake Effect (Volume 18)

My story "The Missing Time" is now available to read in the most recent issue of the literary journal Lake Effect.  I'm pleased because I especially like this story and because this is my third publication with the journal.  I was lucky to attend AWP in Seattle last weekend and pick up an advance copy.  You should pick up a copy, too.  Here.

Looking Out of Broken Windows, Debut Collection

"[Dan] Powell uses surreality and magic – a wheeling-dealing cancer, unborn twins scanning their parents-to-be, a self-starting fire – to illuminate truths with poignancy and humour, paying subtle homage to the short story masters who inspired him, from Kafka to O’Connor and Carver." 

--Tania Hershman, founding editor of The Short Review

Just a quick note that Dan Powell's debut story collection, Looking Out of Broken Windows, is due out in less than weeks from Salt Publishing.  I'm quite looking forward to reading his work, since I first encountered him several years ago when he'd stumbled across The Floating Order and took the time to write about it.  A few summers ago, Dan contributed to the Summer Library Series that I ran here on What She Might Think.  It seems fitting now to share Dan's childhood reading experience now that it has culminated in his first book.

Please enjoy Dan's piece, "The Library That Delivered."

Learn more about Looking Out of Broken Windows at his webhome.

Minnesota Review Features Excerpt of How the Sun Burns

The Minnesota Review, publisher of my story "How The Sun Burns Among Hills of Rock and Pebble," is featuring the story on their blog today. The magazine has nominated the story for a Pushcart Prize and is in the process of featuring each of its nominees.  Today is the day for my story, so swing over and have a look, and consider purchasing the issue of the magazine in which the story appears.

The story is the title story for my next collection, How The Sun Burns.

When the Frost Comes in Crossborder

"Prairie Thaw" by Artotem, used under CC license

The literary journal Crossborder will be publishing my story "When the Frost Comes" in an upcoming issue.  Crossborder is a relatively new journal and is run by Leapfrog Press and Guernica Editions.

"When the Frost Comes" is in my next story collection, How the Sun Burns.

Pushcart Nomination: How The Sun Burns, Minnesota Review

Photograph by Marion Doss, used under CC license

Good news! The Minnesota Review has nominated my story "How The Sun Burns Among Hills of Rock and Pebble" for a Pushcart Prize.  This is the title story of my next story collection, and the third time I've had a story nominated for a Pushcart.

"How The Sun Burns" was published in the Spring 2013 issue of the journal. 

A Man Walks into a Bar: An Interview about Time, Writing, and What Isn't Revealed

Photo by Mark Kelly, used under CC license

The incredibly generous writer and editor, Michael Noll, is featuring my story "The Midwife" on his website Read to Write Stories.

On Tuesday he featured a writing exercise based on the story, and today's installment is an interview with me in which I discuss why I don't use advertising in a story and some of the problems caused by writing in present tense and how I tend to deal with those.

A man also walks into a bar. Come on over. :)

Time Present and Time Past: The Midwife is Under Discussion

Photo by Alexis Fam Photography, used under CC license 

Over at Read to Write Stories, Michael Noll is featuring my story "The Midwife" this week in a discussion focused on ways that times moves in the story. Today he has based a writing exercise on it, and on Thursday, you can read an interview with me about some of the story's elements, and other writing-related thoughts.  

"The Midwife" was originally published in Glint literary journal and will be in my next collection, How the Sun Burns.

Million Writers Award Open for Nominations

The 2013 Million Writers Award is open for nominations.

Nominate any short story that was published in an ONLINE -magazine during 2012.

To fill out the nomination form, go here or copy/paste this link into your browser: http://www.storysouth.com/millionwriters/2013-individual-submit.html

Of my stories, "The Midwife" is eligible for nomination. Read the story here, at Glint literary journal.

Minnesota Review Spring 2013: How the Sun Burns Among Hills of Rock and Pebble

the minnesota review: Spring 2013, Issue 80

My story, "How the Sun Burns among Hills of Rock and Pebble" is published in the Spring 2013 issue of minnesota review, which is now available for purchase (Issue #80).

The story is the title story for my next book, How the Sun Burns, and the story was a finalist in the 2012 Kore Press Short Fiction Award.

It also happens to be one of my favorite stories.

Here is the opening:

But aside from the black crepe ribbons that flap on the white poles of the fair entrance archway, anyone who didn't live in the town last summer or close enough to hear the nightly news or who didn't ask about the luminaries lining the dirt avenue that ran along the fair's midway last night, wouldn't know that a young woman named Helen Greene disappeared from last summer's Agricultural Fair.

To read the rest, order this Spring's edition of minnesota review.