NCF Tuesday: Summer Reading Mania; Glimmer Train Deadline Today; Simple Dog Goes for Joy Ride

News

Literary Blending with Fantasy/Sci-fi

The Wall Street Journal discusses the line between genre and literary fiction, low and high art. Alexandra Alter dives into the literary novelists’ struggle to compete with ubiquitous fantasy and science fiction. 

Is the literary novelist’s move to blend their genre with popular fiction going to help or hurt them?

   

Analysis of All 7 Harry Potter Novels

Sean Smith at The Boston College Chronicle talks about Romance Languages and Literatures Professor Emerita Vera Lee’s On the Trail of Harry Potter, “which she touts as the first book-length literary analysis of all seven Harry Potter volumes.” She breaks from previously published analyses to focus on how J.K. Rowling created Harry Potter and why.

Would you purchase the literary analysis of the beloved YA series?



Summer Reading List

The New York Times runs down a list of 19 promising new books to keep you busy during the summer. Janet Maslin shows us that trite story lines are a thing of the past. I definitely will be picking up Jennifer Grant’s memoir Good Stuff.  

What’s on your summer reading list?



Contests


Becky Taylor Books

$50.00 Amazon Gift Card Summer Break Giveaway

Deadline: May 31, 2011
Details here

FICTION
Glimmer Train Literary Journal
-       Short Story Award for New Writers
-       First Place Prize: $1,200, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 20 copies of that issue
-       Deadline: May 31, 2011
-       Details here 

Narrative Magazine
-       Spring 2011 Story Contest: Fiction and Nonfiction of 15,000 words or less
-       First Place Prize: $3,250, considered for publication
-       Deadline: July 31, 2011
-       Details here 

Writer’s Digest Magazine
-       5-Minute Memoir, “Tales From the Writing Life”
o   Personal Essay (600 words or less)
o   Prize: Publication in Writer’s Digest magazine
o   Deadline: Rolling submissions
o   Details here 

Fun
If you have a few minutes to spare, check out Hyperbole and a Half, it’ll make you laugh. Enjoy!


Wild Animal (The Simple Dog Goes for a Joy Ride)

Comments

Misha Gerrick said…
I'm not sure whether I'd buy the analysis of Harry Potter. Not a fan of people categorizing the heart out of writing.
May 31, 2011 at 8:06 AM
Anna said…
My first thought re: Harry Potter was that only a tenured professor could get away with that. There are plenty of published literary analyses of good ol' HP-that's not surprising-but I think if this book is marketed to the fans, it would be a mistake. Literary jargon for the uninitiated, and for the initiated, is inherently erudite and annoying to say the least. On the other hand, marketing it this way will help sell copies, which is good news considering the state of most college presses.
May 31, 2011 at 9:18 AM
Jessica Bell said…
Gosh I can't imagine blending my writing with sci-fi and fantasy ... Mind you, that sort of equals speculative fiction, doesn't it? And Margaret Atwood does it brilliantly, and without becoming a pop goddess. That's something to be admired, I think.
May 31, 2011 at 9:48 AM
Anonymous said…
I'm so glad I dropped by. This is a great post. So much information. If I hadn't come over I wouldn't have know about Jennifer Grant's memoir. I LOVE Cary Grant. I grew up with him, virtually speaking. I'm going to read that one!
Ann Best, Memoir Author
May 31, 2011 at 10:28 AM
Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said…
Everyone loves to analyze books that make millions and millions of dollars.
May 31, 2011 at 11:51 AM
TMWHickman said…
I would LOVE to read the Harry Potter analysis, because I am a huge fan of all things language. Rowling did come up with some new "words" in the course of her writing, and I would be curious about how she dreamed them up.
May 31, 2011 at 10:47 PM
Lindsay N. Currie said…
Ah, thanks for posting this. Without writers like you who are connected and post the "buzz" out there, I'd be perpetually out of the loop LOL!
June 1, 2011 at 7:51 AM
Meagan Spooner said…
Man, I love Hyperbole and a Half. And her Simple Dog posts are the BEST.

Great roundup... thanks. :D
June 1, 2011 at 6:48 PM
Will Burke said…
I think I'd enjoy a little literary flavoring in my genre fiction, but too much get's in the way of the story. As for the HP analysis, I think I'd enjoy it, but it's not on my A-List to run out and buy.
June 1, 2011 at 10:12 PM
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