Three great bits of biz:

1. StoryQuarterly is now accepting on line submissions year round, and they pay well. From $150 - $750. There is no fee to submit.

2. The StoryQuarterly Fiction Contest is open to all writers. They welcome pieces in the following categories: short stories, short short stories, and novel excerpts. Entries must be previously unpublished, whether in print or online, and no longer than 8,000 words.

First Prize is $2,500, Second Prize is $1,500, and Third Prize is $750. The prize winners will be announced in SQ online and will be eligible for inclusion in the 2008 StoryQuarterly Annual. Additionally, ten finalists will receive $100 each.

There is a $20 fee for each entry. And free with your entry, you'll receive six months complimentary access to Narrative Backstage.

3. There's a brand new issue of StoryQuarterly on line now for your reading pleasure, free of charge. All you have to do is sign in.

I'm taken, in particular, with Skip Horack's story, "Bluebonnet Swamp," which is only 70 miles from my front porch.  

"Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you."

So says Ford Madox Ford, and Marshal Zeringue is putting writers to this test. My page 99 brought me to a page in a story called "The Longest Part of the Day."  

An embrace.  

From Brit, Tessa Hadley, makes this a very good Sunday. THE MASTER BEDROOM (you can read the first chapter), and a short story collection, SUNSTROKE.  

Books. Also, microwaving cake for 20 seconds, and a hundred other things you might not've known about.

Famous Fathers and Other Stories by Pia Z. Ehrhardt
Readers of the quarterly know Ms. Ehrhardt's stories from Issues 14 and 16, and now there's a whole book of them together in one place, which is very convenient. So emotionally honest you almost want to flinch while you're reading.

God Is Dead by Ron Currie Jr.
This is one of those "linked" story collections. Linking these stories is the question What if God died and people found out? Each story burrows into you and rolls around for days, possibly even weeks, but it hasn't been that long since we devoured the book, so it's hard to say that for sure.

Labels: Birdsong

 

Comes out to play.