Issue 20.1 commemorating our twentieth anniversary is here. Click on the link to the right for a sneak peak at the issue. There's some fantastic work showcased here and we are all especially proud. Be sure to order your copy (subscription guidelines are linked).

If you happen to be in NYC or the vicinity, stop by our table at the AWP book fair (which will be open to the public on Saturday). The hotel is located on 6th Ave and 53rd...we are on the third floor and would love to meet you. In all honesty, our display simply rocks...plus, we have candy.

I haven't stumbled on much juicy book news lately, but here's a philosophical question before we move on to AWP. I'm curious about how important it is to read classics, not for their contemporary relevance, or human nature, or general awesomeness, but simply because they did something original. For instance, Don Quixote might be the first modern novel, or Defoe or Richardson might be credited with the first English novel. But these books can be boring. A few more examples: Henry James and point of view, Chekhov for psychological short stories, and Thomas Wolfe for a certain kind of lyric southern style. I ask because I recently read the first half of Look Homeward, Angel and then shelved it because it felt old, too similar to too many books from that time period, and it wasn't helping me out. Still, as a southern writer, I feel a sense of duty to have read it, just like as a novelist I feel a certain duty to have read Don Quixote and Moll Flanders. I'd be curious to see some posted responses to this little quandary.

A couple weeks ago, I went to a major book store for the first time in ages.  (I sold my soul to Amazon.com long ago, and can never seem to get out of a Borders or Barnes and Noble store without $80 worth of books and a $4 latte.)  This time, as I was leaving with my $80 worth of books, $4 latte, and $7 sandwich, I realized something strange:  all five of the books I'd chosen were either soon to be or already "major motion pictures."  It struck me as particularly odd since most of them hadn't come from flashy front tables, and others, while "bestsellers," were far from the Da Vinvi Code.  Afterwards, it occurred to me that a slew of books I've read in the past year have been made into really good movies:  The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks, Little Children by Tom Perrotta, and of course, Atonement, which was so successful in limited release it's been widened and is all over the awards circuit. 

So here's my question:  has my taste in novels gotten more mainstream, or is the independent film industry creating a whole new niche for "good selling" books?  Financially, it makes sense.  These films are reasonably cheap to make (no flashy special effects or stunt crews), they have a built in audience (me), and have that artsy quality independent films often strive for, making them great candidates for awards.  These awards, in turn, lead to more movie tickets and a huge spike in book sales.  (My own sister, much to my frustration, just ran out and bought herself a copy of Atonement after seeing the movie, neglecting to realize I'd already given her one last Christmas.)  

Interestingly, the big-budget counterparts of these indie films seem destined for disappointment.  The Da Vinci Code and Angela's Ashes, for example, were read by millions of people in advance and then adjusted plot-wise to reach an even wider audience, creating films that everyone seemed to loathe.  If twenty million people read the book in advance, you've got twenty million different sets of expectations walking into theatres, which is a hard burden to overcome.  Situations such as Atonement's - a book by a seasoned author that sold well, but didn't break any records - seems much more ideal. 

With the film rights to Junot Diaz's new novel sold right after it hit shelves, I'm wondering if we're not headed towards package-deal publication.  When our books get published, maybe Random House will buy the manuscript AND film rights, just to have them in the bank.  If the book does well and a movie is made, they get ALL the money; if it doesn't...well, we'll have our huge advance, and really, doesn't all of our money go back to Borders and $4 lattes in the end anyway?      

A Myspace friend sent this out in a bulletin. Some guy on the Internet went out to Facebook and looked at students' favorite books at a lot of schools, then checked the average SAT scores at each of the schools to graph the correlation between favorite books and test scores. The Holy Bible, Fahrenheit 451, "I don't read," and Fight Club were at the dumb end of the spectrum, One Hundred Years of Solitude and Lolita at the other.

Sycamore Review will have a table at AWP 2008 in New York City. If you plan to attend, do stop by to take a look at our new issue (20.1) commemorating our 20th anniversary. We'll be putting up sneak peaks of the issue on the website soon, so be sure to check back for an interview with Kate Bernheimer as well as an excerpt from the winner of the 2007 Wabash prize in poetry, "Goats."

If you will be attending the conference, you'll have the chance to personally meet our poetry editor, Keverlee Burchett, our fiction editor, Jon Sealy, as well as our non-fiction editor, Jessica Mehr. We would love the chance to talk about our journal, what we look for, and to match a face to the hundreds of manuscripts that come through our office. I'll be at the table as well and would love the opportunity to chat about all things literary. This year's conference is sure to be a jam packed event and we at the journal are excited to be a part of it.

Since the theme of the Key West Literary Seminar was NEW VOICES, I was lucky enough to meet some very talented writers whom not many may know about.  I want to take this opportunity to share some of these incredible people with you.  In fiction, you should read the wonderful work of Tayari Jones.  At the seminar she read from her first novel Leaving Atlanta, a coming of age story set during the city’s infamous child murders of 1979-81.  She also read from her second novel, The Untelling, the story of a family struggling to overcome the aftermath of a fatal car accident .  Tayari is an incredible reader and had me at the edge of my seat for both her readings.

Another fantastic writer, Manuel Munoz, read from his second collection of stories, The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue.  Manuel writers mostly about  the small towns of California's Central Valley (His first collection is called Zigzagger and is also set in this region). 

Jake Silverstein, the Senior Editor at Texas Monthly and a regular contributor to Harper's Magazine, read from two different stories.  His stories "The Devil and Ambrose Beirce" was selected to appear in the Best American Travel Writing 2002 and his story "Highway Run" won the 2007 PEN/USA Journalism award.  Ann Beattie introduced this new voice and from Jake's reading, I'm sure this guy is going places.  He is currently working on a novel about journalism that is "exactly 50% factual."  Jake had many interesting things to say about the relationship between truth and fiction, reporting and literature. 

Junot Diaz was also at the seminar and I'm sure I don't have to tell you to pick up his book, The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao...it has been selling like hotcakes and you can find a review in issue 20.1 which wil arrive shortly. 

Stay tuned for the poet picks of New Voices.   

I've been in Key West for the past week attending some amazing panels and having some great conversations. The theme of this year's conference is New Voices, and I just returned from a panel including writers Junot Diaz, Kevin Young, Nell Freudenberger, Carolyn Mackler, and Manuel Munoz. The panelists discussed whether there is an _American voice _and what it sounds like. Beyond measures of classification (regional, ethnic, etc.) the panelists seemed to agree that "a voice" is in itself a force derived by multiple factors and difficult to define. One knows when one hears it but to deconstruct it is risky because too many factors are inherent in any given writer's voice. Junot Diaz stated that sometimes he feels like a publishing house when it comes to selecting the writers he thinks of as important new voices, writers that will still be read in twenty years. That at best, his choices are like playing the lottery. While it's evident that renowned writers who praise new voices is a sure measure to hear those voices (this whole seminar is based on this principle) it becomes elusive how a new voice is constructed. Some really interesting insights came out of this discussion and ultimately what I took away was that voices stem from multiple and simultaneous realities. That while we strive to make universal statements about ourselves, we are ultimately met with the truth about this country: that it is divided and filled with silences where scores are invisible. So how does one fine a new voice? I think it's more important to know how to listen, to perfect your ears so that when a voice is heard, there is some measure to gauge its originality. Seeking it, however, seems to me a dangerous endeavor.

Over five thousand novels were submitted to Amazon's first ever writing competition. The judges have narrowed the list to 836 semi-finalists who will have their name and book on a page at amazon.com so readers can find out more about their work. It's planned to release a list of ten finalists from the 800 by March. Prizes for semi-finalists include certificates, printers, and most importantly (and helpfully) an increase in sales.

George Singleton has a great essay on the process over at the Oxford American. From what I can tell, it sounds about right.

So what if this makes me a nerd at heart, this site is really interesting. It's a collection of video lectures by specialists in different fields, mostly asking a question or explaining some issue. It's a nice, brief way of noodling around in the intellectual world without having to fully understand any particular field, kind of like a truncated version of college. I stumbled onto Five Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do on YouTube, which led me to Why Aren't We All Good Samaritans, then Beauty and Truth in Physics.

Sudhir Venkatesh, a sociologist, left the ivory tower and infiltrated a drug gang in Chicago to study how that world works. He befriended the leader of the Black Kings, and the leader let Venkatesh run things for a day. Story and excerpt at NPR.

Salman Rushdie is to release his new novel, entitled The Enchantress of Florence, on June 3, 2008. Rushdie is one of my favorite authors and I am currently rereading Midnight's Children (which was selected as the Booker of Bookers). His sweeping narrative voice is epic, and his stories fascinating. If you haven't read The Moor's Last Sigh, Satanic Verses, Midnight's Children, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, pick up any one of them up this year and I'm certain you'll be amazed.

Despite my love of Rushdie's work, I did have difficulty with his last two novels, Fury and Shalimar the Clown. Apparently, Rushdie's new novel is a departure in both "subject matter and setting" said Will Murphy, Rushdie's editor at Random House. His new historical novel follows a "woman attempting to command her own destiny in a man's world," Reuters reported.

We've posted previously regarding former Sycamore Fiction Editor Tadd Adcox's amazing new project:  Fiction Volante.  He is currently writing a synaptic novel on his blog, a series of short narratives linked to each other through associations of phrase or imagery.  Ambitiously, he's set the goal of writing "Something New, Every Weekday, For One Year."   I must say, I was skeptical that Tadd could keep this up, but he's still going strong.  Check out his site, and my favorite entry so far, which I've pasted below.  Who doesn't believe they might find true love on a plane?     

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Check out Bent Objects, a blog with a unique view of our everyday world. What fiction is supposed to do, only with 14 gauge wire and stuff around the house. Rumor has it there's a book of these creations coming out soon, but you'll have to sign up for the secret club email to find out.

Be sure to click back through the older posts. "A Father's P.O.V." and "Style Points" are hilarious.