UNCW is back in session, and so is our weekly Lit News Roundup. We hope that our readers had a wonderful and restful holiday season.
We highly recommend reading this thoughtful and inspiring Slate article by Daniel Menaker, who writes, “The profession, in whatever form, will continue to produce physical and now electronic objects that move not only units but people. Move them and enlighten them emotionally, move them to action, move them to share what they learn and care about with others.”
In case you missed the cover of the Sunday Book Review on January 4, it featured a stunning review by Laura van den Berg of Honeydew (Little, Brown), the new collection by Lookout’s debut author, Edith Pearlman (Binocular Vision). A profile of Mrs. Pearlman, written by another Lookout author, Steve Almond, also appeared in the Times and chronicles her writing and publishing background, leading to her “commercial breakthrough at seventy-eight, after five decades of writing short stories, some 200 of them, nearly all appearing in small literary magazines.” The profile includes a quote by Lookout co-founder and former editor Ben George.
For those of you interested in Honeydew’s cover design, you can view some of the rejected comps, along with the designer’s notes, via Rejected Covers, an ongoing series for which artists reveal their inspirations and unused design ideas.
Congratulations are also due to Ecotone and Astoria to Zion contributor Karen E. Bender on the publication of her new book of short stories, Refund. In his review for Wilmington’s Star News, Ben Steelman says, “Bender writes in a seemingly straightforward, understated style, so that her tiny zingers sneak up on the reader even more stealthily. Her characters confront everyday dilemmas: layoffs, biopsies for possible cancers, letting children know their pet cat has died. In the process, though, they reach uncommon epiphanies.”
A book launch will be held at Old Books on Front Street this Sunday, January 18 at 4 p.m.
More exciting news from our authors: Ron Rash’s novel The World Made Straight has been adapted into a film, which makes its debut today. Get behind-the-scenes info and more about the making of the film—in North Carolina—in this article from the Mountain Express.
And keep an eye out for another Ron Rash book-turned-movie: Serena’s release date is February 26.
Finally, Lookout author Ben Miller, a Radcliffe Institute fellow this year, gave a reading from his recent work. We hope you enjoy listening to “El Rancho Villa” and “Cinema B.C.” If you like what you hear, consider picking up a copy of his terrific memoir in essays, River Bend Chronicle.