Maybe not as firmly established as National Poetry Month, but May is Short Story Month, thanks to the efforts of a number of bloggers and writers. (“Because we said so” IS a good enough reason, actually!)
No, no, the real history of National Story Month is told by Dan Wickett (founder of Dzanc Press and the Emerging Writers Network), which you can read here: http://fictionwritersreview.com/blog/the-origins-of-short-story-month-a-guest-post-by-dan-wickett (scroll down; there was a lot of white space at the top). And be sure to check out the Emerging Writers Network blog, where there will be a post about a different short story collection every day during the month: http://www.emergingwriters.typepad.com/.
And how does all of this affect the price of tea in China? (Oh, such an oldie-but-goodie.) In honor of Short Story Month 2011, this blog will be participating in the Book Giveaway Project. It’s simple: as you may recall from a previous post, I loved Robin Black’s new collection, If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This. So if you send me an email (directions below), you’ll be included in a drawing for a copy of the book to be sent to you.
This special giveaway has been organized by The Fiction Writers Review (http://fictionwritersreview.com/) who has corralled a number of blogs that will be giving away books for free. You can find the participating blogs (and links so you can enter the giveaways) here: http://fictionwritersreview.com/blog/2011-collection-giveaway-project
The Book:
If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black. Stories I desperately wish I had written: no fancy gimmicks like odd points of view, no talking animals, no vampires, no hipsters in Brooklyn. Solid, tense, deeply complex and intensely emotional stories about various forms of loss; Black is a smart and empathetic writer. I read this book while I was on retreat at VCCA, and it changed the way I wrote. When I got home, I immediately added this to my “favorite books” shelf. When I later met Robin and heard her speak at the Conversations & Connections conference, I was agog and wanted to write down every word she said about writing. (Read more about that here: http://workinprogressinprogress.blogspot.com/2011/04/conversations-and-connections-wrap-up.html) So…a book I truly, truly, TRULY love and admire.
You can read more about the book here: http://www.amazon.com/Loved-You-Would-Tell-This/dp/0812980689/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1304603401&sr=1-1
And read more about Robin here: http://robinblack.net/
The Rules:
1. Send an email to Lpietr@aol.com and put Robin Black in the subject line.
2. Include your mailing address. (Sorry, that I am too cheap to ship the book outside of the U.S., so U.S. only.)
3. I promise not to add your email address to any list; your email will be deleted following this contest.
4. The winner will be determined randomly. (If you must know, I number each email in order, then ask my husband to randomly select a number…voila, the winner!)
5. It’s okay to enter if you know me. But don’t blame me if you don’t win—see above.
6. The deadline to enter is Friday, May 27, 5PM EST.
7. If you don’t include your mailing address in your email, your entry will be deleted.
Happy Short Story Month!