September 11, 2012 Bulletin The “American Idol of Microfiction” Gets a New First Prize By The Paris Review How fast can you tell a good story? Three times a year, NPR’s “Three-Minute Fiction” challenges listeners to send in the best stories they can write—and read out loud in less than three minutes. So far, more than 45,000 contestants have taken the challenge. It is, in the words of host Guy Raz, the “American Idol of microfiction.” This Saturday kicks off a new round of “Three-Minute Fiction” with guest judge Brad Meltzer. And with a new first prize—publication in The Paris Review. That’s right: the winner will appear in our Winter issue. So sharpen your pencils, eliminate your unnecessary words, and get ready to write. Click here for details—then tune in to All Things Considered this Saturday (5 P.M. EST) to hear the rules for the latest round. [tweetbutton] [facebook_ilike]
September 7, 2012 Bulletin Introducing Our Fall Issue! By The Paris Review We all hate to see summer end, but don’t despair: we bring you our Fall issue by way of consolation! And there’s so much to love. James Fenton on journalism, shrimp farming, interior decoration, gardening, poetry, opera, and more: What I had got from my teaching experience in the Midwest was a feeling for the enormous pressure on people in the poetry world to conform to an entirely negatively defined notion of poetry. It doesn’t rhyme, it doesn’t have any rhythm one might detect, and it isn’t written for the ear but rather the page. It seemed de-natured. These poets had forgotten the lips and the limbs, the dance, the whole bodily element—that had been banished. The manifesto was a piece of devil-may-care. It was actually anti-Iowa rather than anti-American. Roberto Calasso on life, film, and publishing—Italian-style: The publisher after all is considered, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries, a rather eccentric entrepreneur or impresario—a businessman in a very improbable field. But, if he is successful, then he is a good businessman. The author is the successor of the saint, everyone respects the author. So to put the two elements together is highly suspicious in a way, especially in the rather moralistic Protestant countries. In the Latin countries, less so. Plus! Fiction by Jim Gavin, David Gordon, Ottessa Moshfegh, Peter Orner, and Sam Savage. Poetry by August Kleinzahler, George Seferis, Bernadette Mayer, Jason Zuzga, and Guillaume Apollinaire. A portfolio by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman, and collages by Jess. Subscribe now! [tweetbutton] [facebook_ilike]
July 31, 2012 Bulletin Paris Review Moleskines: Now in Stock By The Paris Review We love these limited-edition Paris Review Moleskines. It’s the iconic notebook we all know and love, stamped with our original logo and featuring a quote on the frontispiece from Dorothy Parker’s 1956 interview. Smart, indeed: get yours today! [tweetbutton] [facebook_ilike]
July 24, 2012 Bulletin Dogs, Scientologists, and Ipanema By Sadie Stein Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto, Ipanema “The Girl from Ipanema” is fifty! (Not the real one—she’s sixty-seven—but the bossa nova classic.) It is the second-most-covered song, after “Yesterday.” A graduate student at King’s College London has discovered a previously unknown 1909 short story by Katherine Mansfield in the university library. Read an excerpt from “A Little Episode” here. What these writers think about when they think about running. What Maira Kalman thinks about herself. The most beloved dogs in literature? We think Nana Darling was robbed. Portrait of the artist as a young Scientologist: a 1969 BBC interview with a teenage Neil Gaiman, then a believer. [tweetbutton] [facebook_ilike]
July 17, 2012 Bulletin This Saturday: Help St. Marks Books Relocate By The Paris Review Despite your best efforts, it looks as if our faithful friends at St. Mark’s Books will have to move. That’s the bad news. The good news—at least, if you care about keeping bookstores in lower Manhattan—is that they are trying to find a cheaper location in the East Village. Help them raise money for the move: join the “cash mob” at three o’clock this Saturday afternoon. The first five customers who spend $500 or more will receive a free one-year subscription to The Paris Review. [tweetbutton] [facebook_ilike]
July 10, 2012 Bulletin See You There: Paris Review at the Strand, Tomorrow! By Sadie Stein Mark your calendars! Tomorrow, Wednesday, July 11, join The Paris Review and the Strand for the second in a series of literary salons. Enjoy wine (from Sip) and words (read by Amber Tamblyn) with two New York institutions. See you there! Wednesday, July 11, 7 P.M.–8:30 P.M. The Strand Bookstore, third-floor Rare Book Room 828 Broadway at Twelfth Street Admission: Buy a copy of the current Paris Review or a $15 Strand gift card. To reserve your seat, click here.