Clifford Garstang's Blog, page 140

Happy New Year from Prime Number Magazine!

Prime Decimals 3.7--the final update for Issue 3--is now live! Check out work by Darrin Doyle, Tim Raymond, Ray Scanlon, Joanna Robinson, Mike Berger, Jason Teeple, and William Kelley Woolfitt. Happy Reading and Happy New Year!

Also, we're reading now for Issue 7, scheduled to appear in April, so please submit your work!

Andrew's Book Club

Andrew's Book Club is back. I don't know that I'll have time to read any books that I wasn't going to read anyway, but it will be interesting to see what Andrew picks. Check back on January 1.

Vote for the 2010 New Yorker Story of the Year

Polls will close at midnight Friday, so be sure to vote for the 2010 New Yorker Story of the year--the ballot is over in the right sidebar of the blog.

For links to a discussion of each finalist and in many cases to the story itself, go here.

Literary Happenings 2011

2011 is sneaking up on us. It'll be here in just a few days, and I'm not sure I'm ready. For one thing, I seem to have agreed to participate in some literary events in the first half of the year, which means . . . soon.

First, there's the AWP Conference in DC. Can you believe that's just five weeks away (February 2-5)? Makes me tired (and cold) just thinking about it. I'm on two panels plus I'll be there at the Press 53 table promoting my lit journal, Prime Number Magazine and also my book, In an Uncharted Country.

Then there's the Virginia Festival of the Book, which is March 16-20 in Charlottesville. I may or may not be involved with a program, but I'll still be attending as much of the festival as I can.

And then there's the Queens University MFA Alumni Conference, May 19-22, which is, in part, a celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the program. I'll be there!

Register Now to Beat Price Increase: Writers.com

Prices go up on January 1, so register NOW to lock in the current prices for my classes at Writers.com.

I'm teaching a class that begins on January 10 -- Writing the Short Story: Make Your Story Great! After that I'm also offering a fiction workshop AND a very practical course in getting your short fiction published.

Sign up now!

6 Days Left to Vote for the New Yorker Story of the Year!

Here's a reminder. If you haven't already voted in our "New Yorker 2010 Story of the Year" poll, please do so. Choose one story from among the ten finalists, and you can find links to a discussion of all of the stories (plus links back to the stories themselves in many cases), right here.

The stories are by Joyce Carol Oates, Joshua Ferris, Wells Tower, Tea Obreht, Claire Keegan, Kevin Barry, Jim Gavin, Alice Munro, Jim Shepard, and Samantha Hunt.

Vote!

The New Yorker: "Escape from Spiderhead" by George Saunders

Most of this story will appeal to Saunders fans, I guess. It's definitely got moments. The story is about Jeff, told in his point of view. Jeff is a willing participant in facility that does drug testing because, we eventually learn, it beats being the prison where he's doing time for killing someone in a rage. We learn that some of the other participants in the trials have done even worse things than Jeff, but not before we already have a certain amount of sympathy for them. The guinea pigs here have attached to them devices (Mobipaks) that allow the testers—Abnesti and Verlain—to remotely adjust the drugs they're being given from their command center, the Spiderhead. Saunders has come up with tradenames for these drugs: Verbaluce, which induces lucidity; Vivistif, which seems to have a Viagra effect; and Darkenfloxx, which sends the subject down a deep, dark hole from which he or she may or may not return.
On the day in question they're testing chemically controlled feelings of love, and Jeff first loves Heather and then loves Rachel then loves neither, but in the meantime he's had sex with each of them three times, and they've each had sex with two OTHER men also. But when—and this seems to be the crux of the test—Jeff has to choose whether Heather or Rachel will get the Darkenfloxx, he can't do it. He is equally indifferent to both of them. Eventually, though, he is forced to watch what happens, unless he can "Escape from Spiderhead."
Take a look at "This Week in Fiction" for a hint from Saunders about what he was after here. It seems to me that the choice that Jeff must make is crucial and that the artificiality of everything today makes real feelings suspect.
Didn't love the ending, but otherwise it was entertaining.
December 20 & 27, 2010: "Escape from Spiderhead" by George Saunders

Take a Short Story Writing class in 2011!

I've got a great idea for a Christmas present/New Year's Resolution for aspiring fiction writers: reserve a spot in my short story class that begins January 10 at Writers on the Net..

"Writing the Short Story: Make Your Story Great!" is a 10-week class that combines lecture (an in depth look at story fundamentals as well as study of some classic stories, along with writing exercises) and workshop (each participant will receive detailed comments on one story and one revision from me and all other participants) in a constructive environment for which you never have to leave the house (or get dressed).

Past students have had some nice things to say about the course.

Enrollment is limited, so get your spot now!

Or you might want to take the traditional workshop (no lectures) that begins in March, and you might also be interested in my course on publishing that will kick off later in the spring.

VCCA/The Real World

If you've ever had the pleasure of being in residence at VCCA, you'll recognize this photo--it's the last thing you see as you leave the grounds. It's a warning, but it's also an invitation to carry your creative energy back with you to whatever your "real" life is like. So I'm home now after a productive two weeks in Studio W2, and hope I can do exactly that.

Vote for The New Yorker Story of the Year 2010!

It's time to vote for The New Yorker story of the year. Most people I've talked to think that New Yorker fiction has not been especially good this year, and there was little consensus on the stories that should be included in the final 10 stories for voting purposes, but--for better or worse--here's my list of favorites, in chronological order. A poll will appear in the sidebar to the right--you have until midnight on December 31 to vote and I'll announce the winner on New Year's Day. (Note: links are to the Perpetual Folly discussion of each story, where there may or may not be a link to the story itself, since The New Yorker is providing free access less frequently.)

Kevin Barry: Fjord of Killary (February 1)

Claire Keegan: Foster (February 15-22)

Joyce Carol Oates: I.D. (March 29)

Joshua Ferris: The Pilot (June 14-21)

Tea Obreht: The Blue Djinn (August 2)

Wells Tower: The Landlord (September 13)

Alice Munro: Corrie (October 11)

Jim Shepard: Boy's Town (November 8)

Samantha Hunt: The Yellow (November 29)

Jim Gavin: Costello  (December 6)

Please Vote!