We had a sixteen-hour layover in Madrid en route to South Africa, and there were three things I wanted to do before we left: walk around the Plaza Mayor, eat jamón ibérico, and visit the Museo Reina Sofia. The first two were checked off fairly quickly, as we followed the multinational throng around the Plaza…
Every time I read Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities I get something different from it. Like NPR’s Eric Weiner writes, “I leave it, again and again, and yet never discover it—never really know it.” This latest reading, for me, boils down to one thing: the act of searching, of trying to grasp something that’s always just…
The ‘Writers and Their Pets’ series began with my own desire to celebrate my dog Sally, and over the coming months I will also invite other writers to share with the rest of us the details of their lives with beloved pets. We also ask contributors to the series to tell us about their favorite pets from literature….
We’re excited to announce a new feature for the Ploughshares Blog geared towards writing students: “Writing Lessons.” In this feature writing students will discuss lessons learned, epiphanies about craft, and the challenges of studying writing. The exciting part of this feature is that we want to hear from you, writing students! What have you learned or…
1) First, smell it. Look at the new arrivals, lined up like candy. See if, for one second, you can remember what it was like to walk into a bookstore as a reader. Just a reader, a happy, curious reader. With no agenda, no insecurities, no history of bookstores as scenes of personal failure and…
In Round Four, the Fantasy Blog Draft Managers will set you free with the truth—this week they’re picking nonfiction writers. But the big question is where within the genre of nonfiction will their picks take them? Whence will this truth (or perhaps “truthiness”?) originate? Nonfiction is, arguably, the widest genre we have in writing. It…
My girlfriend’s ex-girlfriend recently sent me a link to an article entitled “8 New Punctuation Marks We Desperately Need.” As is often the case with my girlfriend’s ex-girlfriend, I couldn’t quite tell if she was joking. Further complicating the matter was the fact that the article came from CollegeHumor.com, a decidedly unserious website—and yet I found myself…
In our Roundups segment, we’re looking back at all the great posts since the blog started in 2009. We explore posts from our archives as well as other top literary magazines, centered on a certain theme to help you jump-start your week. This week we have posts on getting rejected. In baseball, if you get out seven times…
Um, the answer is this guy. Hey Writing World, meet Amos Heller: The much-loved, many-fanned bass player for Taylor Swift. (And, ahem, for Ellery.) I’m introducing you to him because—(#truth)—Amos’ literary prowess would put many of us to shame. When I first I got to know Amos, he was always making reference to some great book or author of…
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