On Elena Ferrante and Privacy
Elena Ferrante is the pseudonym of a famous author. Recently an Italian investigative journalist uncovered her true name. This startling discovery rocked the literary world and created a new conversation on whether or not writers have the right to privacy. While The New York Review of Books chose to publish the author’s legal name, many other news sites and literary organizations chose not to. Various places, such as TLS, Vanity Fair, and Jezebel published essays on why they refuse to name this author.
Iran Jails Woman for 6 Years for Writing Unpublished Story on Stoning
In 2014, Iranian authorities ransacked Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee’s home and found a short story she had written about stoning. On Tuesday, October 4th, judicial officials ordered her to Evin prison in Tehran to serve a six-year sentence. It has been declared that she is guilty of “insulting Islamic sanctities” and “spreading propaganda against the system.”
Harlequin Adds New Fiction Imprint
Harlequin’s newest imprint Graydon House Books will focus on commercial women’s fiction. It will begin releasing titles in September 2017.
Penguin & Crown Release New Fiction Email Series
Penguin Random House and Crown Publishing have paired together to release a serialized 11-week newsletter that will feature short stories. These emails will include Anthony Marra, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Adam Johnson, and Elizabeth McCracken, among others.
Sign up to get stories delivered to your inbox here. The first one comes out on October 11.
Speaking of awesome pieces of literature, the shortlists for both the National Book Awards and the Governor General’s Literary Awards were announced this week.
Here are some of the other big literary winners of the past week:
Paul McVeigh wins the Polari Prize for Debut LGBT writing.
Abraham Karpinowitz’s Short Story Collection Wins Canadian Jewish Literary Award.
2016 Queensland Literary Awards announced.
Emily Ramser is an undergraduate studying English, Creative Writing, and Religion at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing, and is expected to graduate in May of 2017. Some of her inspirations include Thornton Wilder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Bhanu Kapil, Andrea Gibson, Gabriel Gudding, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Gail Simone, and Alfred Lord Tennyson. Check out her black out poetry collectionI Forgot How to Write When They Diagnosed Me. You can find more of her work at her blog.
Change Seven Magazine 