Lit Journals

I was at Barnes & Noble yesterday and stopped by the literary journal section. I felt like a kid in a candy store! There were so many to choose from... must've been the timing because I've never seen it so stocked before. Here's what I brought home: The Southern Review (Summer 2009); Cream City Review (Spring 2009); Another Chicago Magazine (#49); Zone 3 (Spring 2009). Of these, I've only read Cream City Review before so am excited to see what the others have to offer.

I'm also reading Cliff Garstang's In an Uncharted Country. I'm only a couple of stories in (where do the days go?) but I *loved* "Saving Melissa." The characters were so real, so honest--it had me from beginning to end.

The weather is perfect for sitting outside and reading. I need to find a way to get back to the story I'm working on.

Pretending

I'm thrilled to report that my story "Pretending" is up at Staccato Fiction! If you haven't checked this journal out yet, what are you waiting for? Here's a link.

In an Uncharted Country

Cliff Garstang's collection of linked stories comes out this week. I've just ordered my copy. Have you ordered yours?

Great reads:

I've just discovered two new online journals: Pank and > kill author. I tend to be a little leery about new journals (> kill author is less than 6 months old), but the stories I read in issue 2 were terrific.

Two I especially liked were:
Roxane Gay's Important Things to Know About Career Girls
Lauren Becker's Boilerplate

The other journal, Pank, is out of Michigan and for some reason I thought this was a journal where editors of other journals submitted stories for publication. Not so! Check out Steven McDermott's Sliver -- crisp, fresh prose; engaging. Terrific.

Great read:

I stumbled onto the Waccamaw Journal from Coastal Carolina University and found a great story from Andrew Coburn: Ginger.

Great reads:

Two great flash pieces in decomP:

Alicia Gifford's Smoked Oyster, Thunderhead

Steven McDermott's Insane Barker

Go on, take a look. You won't be sorry.

Wash Me Again

I'm happy to share that my story Wash Me Again is up at Staccato Fiction today. Wander on over and have a looksee!