June 2014

Alicia Anstead

The night I met up with novelist Glen Duncan

By Alicia Anstead

The writers in this issue are known for the power stories they write and the powerful ways they pull us toward their ideas. Sherman Alexie. Jean Kwok. James Joyce. Tom Robbins. Glen Duncan. We travel with them to worlds beyond our own imaginations. And sometimes to worlds buried deep in the recesses of our imaginations.

Features

Divided nature

By Alicia Anstead

Glen Duncan takes a final bite into his vampire and werewolf trilogy.

Swinging from vines

By Julie Krug

Novelist Tom Robbins creates a hybrid of storytelling and autobiography.

Touching base

By Aubrey Everett

A grandson gives a baseball legend a new inning through memoir.

Jean Kwok: Your own rules

By Megan Kaplon

How to find the story between cultural pressure and personal desire.

Departments

Writing Essentials

A speaker in the dacha

By Marina Chetner

How one writer mastered Russian translation

Writing Essentials

Less legal

By Jack Hamann

Writing by lawyers has changed, dude.

Off the Cuff

Ask the kids

By Elizabeth Fishel

Even “digital immigrants” can master book publicity in the Internet age.

Write Stuff

Going postal

By Ronald Kovach

A new book helps writers achieve success after an MFA.

Conference Insider

Alaskan treasure

By Hillary Casavant

Eowyn Ivey’s tips for getting an agent at a conference

Literary Spotlight

Unsprawling Terrain

By Melissa Hart

A place-based journal merges traditional lit with the nabe.

Lasting Effect

June 1994

By Hillary Casavant

An author of legal thrillers combats “non-writer’s block.”

Also in Every Issue

From the Editor

Take Note

Tips for getting away from the desk, Sherman Alexie, advice on dystopian fiction, tools for marathon writing, prompts, a tip o’ the hat to Bloomsday, and more.

Markets

Classified advertising

How I Write

Ayana Mathis: "I'm not always entirely sure how characters arrive. It’s mysterious to me.”