Launch of Issue 7: Interviews

Superstition Review Issue 7 has launched and to celebrate we will be featuring blog posts about our artists and authors. Today we will be highlighting a few of the interviews featured in Issue 7.

A native of Detroit, John Grogan spent more than 20 years as an investigative reporter and columnist, most recently at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He also is the former editor of Rodale’s Organic Gardening magazine. His first book, Marley & Me, was a #1 New York Times bestseller with six million copies in print in more than 30 languages. It was made into a movie starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. Grogan’s second book, The Longest Trip Home, also a national bestseller, explores the author’s loving but complicated relationship with his devout Irish Catholic parents. John lives with his wife and three children in eastern Pennsylvania. Read the interview featured in issue 7. John Grogan’s Website

Sloane Crosley is the author of The New York Times bestsellers I Was Told There’d Be Cake, which was a finalist for The Thurber Prize, and How Did You Get This Number. She is also a weekly columnist for The Independent in the UK and editor of The Best American Travel Essays 2011. She lives in Manhattan, where she is a regular contributor to GQThe New York Times, National Public Radio and the inexplicably vast and varied collection of granolas in her kitchen cabinet. Read the interview from issue 7. Sloane Crosley’s Website

Jenifer Rae Vernon’s first book of poetry Rock Candy was published by West End Press in 2009. Rock Candy received the “Tillie Olsen Award” as the best book of creative writing that insightfully represents working class life and culture from the Working Class Studies Association, SUNY, Stony Brook, in June of 2010. In August of 2009, Garrison Keillor selected a poem from the collection, “Blackberry Pie” to perform on Writer’s Almanac. And in October of 2010, Keillor selected a second poem from the book, “Ketchican Wrestling” for Writer’s Almanac. Currently, Vernon lives in Juneau, Alaska with her husband and teaches Communication at the University of Alaska Southeast. Read the interview featured in issue 7 here.

Diana Joseph is the author of the short story collection Happy or Otherwise (Carnegie Mellon UP 2003) and I’m Sorry You Feel That Way: The Astonishing But True Story of a Daughter, Sister, Slut, Wife, Mother and Friend to Man and Dog (Putnam 2009.) Her work has appeared in Threepenny ReviewWillow Springs, Marie ClaireCountry Living and Best Sex Writing 2009. She teaches in the MFA program at Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minnesota. Read the interview in issue 7. Diana Joseph’s Website

Beverly Lowry was born in Memphis, grew up in Greenville, Mississippi and now lives in Austin where she is working on a book about another case of multiple murder, the unsolved killings of four young girls in an I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop, in Austin in 1991. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEA fellowship and the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence, she is the author of six novels and three books of nonfiction, she teaches at George Mason University and is currently Writer-in-Residence at Goucher College in Baltimore. Read the interview in issue 7. Beverly Lowry’s Website

 

The full magazine with featured art and artists from issue 7 can be found here. Check back tomorrow to read about the nonfiction authors featured in issue 7.

Meet the Interns: Kim Jakubowski

Advertising Coordinator Kim Jakubowski is an English (Creative Writing) major completing her senior year at ASU. Her short story, “Heartland,” recently won the Randel and Susan McCraw Helms Homecoming Writing Contest, and is being published in an upcoming issue of Marooned. Aside from her internship with Superstition Review, Kim currently works as an ESL tutor. After graduation, she hopes to travel and continue writing, and eventually pursue an MFA or a career in publishing. This is her first semester with Superstition Review.

1. What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

I am working with Superstition Review as an Advertising Coordinator. Some of my responsibilities include writing press releases, updating SR‘s press kit, coordinating advertisements with other literary magazines, and promoting our reading series, submissions period, and issue launch.

2. Why did you decide to get involved with Superstition Review ?

I read one of my own stories for Superstition Review during my first semester at ASU, and I talked to an intern there who said that working with the magazine was a fantastic experience. I’m interested in gaining some insight into the publishing process, as I am considering a future career in the publishing industry.

3. How do you like to spend your free time?

I spend a good portion of my free time reading and writing. I also love listening to music, playing guitar, and spending time with my friends and family.

4. What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

My passion is for reading and writing fiction, so I would love to try the position of fiction editor.

5. Describe one of your favorite literary works.

My favorites change periodically, but if I had to pick one work to bring to that proverbial deserted island, it would be The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel. This is one work that I never tire of; it’s witty and original, and her use of language is incredibly incisive and beautiful. The binding on my book is already falling apart.

6. What are you currently reading?

I can never seem to read just one book at a time, so at the moment I’m reading a collection of short stories by Alice Monroe, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, as well as the Best American Short Stories 2010.

7. Creatively, what are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on a couple of short stories, as well as a non-fiction piece.

8. What inspires you?

I’m inspired by people with an enthusiasm for life, as well as people who have the strength and drive to pursue what they love.

9. What are you most proud of?

My writing and academic accomplishments have always been a source of pride for me. I’m proud of my determination to achieve my goals.

10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I would love to be a published writer, or involved in the publishing field as an editor. I also hope to travel extensively, maybe live in a foreign country. My plans are a bit vague at the moment, but I hope that I will be able follow my passions and end up doing something that I enjoy.

Lit-ercise: Two Writing Exercises

Give yourself a word count.

1. Give yourself a word count, the smaller the better. Steve Moss, editor of The New York Times and flash fiction pioneer, recommends a word count of 55 words. No more and no less. Try to tell a complete story, a story with a protagonist, a conflict and a resolution. The idea is that once you start to get close to that word limit you’ll find that there are certain parts of your story that you can tell in a more efficient way, or even some parts that you don’t need.  As you write more and more of these you’ll find that you’re writing will become tighter and cleaner.

2. Pull out some stories from your favorite authors. Read their opening paragraphs and then try and imitate their style in an opening paragraph of your own. Authors tend to spend a lot of time on their opening paragraphs and as a result it is usually some of their best work. The goal here is to step a bit out of your style comfort zone, and see what it’s like to write like a published author. You may find that your own writing becomes stronger and more engaging.

 

Meet the Interns: Stacie Fraser

Interview Editor Stacie Fraser is in her senior year at Arizona State University. She is studying English Literature and will be graduating in May. All of the years spent attending classes at ASU she has also been working for Sparky’s Stadium Shop located on the Tempe Campus. After graduating, she hopes to apply her skills learned throughout college and her time at Superstition Review, to a career in editing and publishing. This is her first semester working with Superstition Review.

1. What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

I am an Interview Editor at Superstition Review. I am responsible for selecting authors to interview for our page. My position has me selecting authors, emailing them and asking them if they would be willing to be interviewed for our magazine. I then create a list of interview questions specifically for that author.

2. Why did you decide to get involved with Superstition Review?

I applied to Superstition Review because it is a great learning opportunity. It also allows me to become more familiar with lesser known authors.

3. How do you like to spend your free time?

I love spending my free time outside in Arizona’s beautiful sunshine, running and swimming. I also love going to the movies with friends and reading novels.

4. What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

I would also like to experience everything that the fiction section editor’s have to do at Superstition Review. I am very interested in editing novels for a career.

5. Describe one of your favorite literary works.

I am a huge fan of Salman Rushdie. His novel The Moor’s Last Sigh is one of his best works. Moraes Zogoiby, also called Moor, is the narrator who ages twice as fast as normal humans. The novel is full of magical realism, hybridity and allegory.

6. What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading Blood on the Forge, by William Attaway, for a Protest Literature course. When school is not in session, I enjoy reading books by Janet Evanovich. Her works are much lighter and easier to read than most of the novels recommended for my college courses. Even though I am an English Literature major, I have not read some great classics. Once I graduate I plan to start at the top of my list and read many famous authors like Emily Dickens and J. D. Salinger.

7. Creatively, what are you currently working on?

I am currently toying with the idea of writing fiction short stories. In the past I have written poetry, but all of my writing has been for personal accomplishments, not publication, and will most likely continue that way for a while longer.

8. What inspires you?

My personal drive for success and happiness is my biggest inspiration. I want to be able to handle whatever life throws at me.

9. What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of my college education. Graduation in May will be the best achievement I have accomplished so far. I cannot wait to continue with life and hope to be on a successful career path.

10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years I hope to be working in San Francisco, or some west coast city, for a publishing company as an editor.

Meet the Interns: Britney Gulbrandsen

Interview editor Britney Gulbrandsen is entering into her senior year at Arizona State University. She will graduate in December with a degree in Literature, Writing, and Film. This is her second semester working with Superstition Review, and she hopes her experience here will help her accomplish her dreams and goals of becoming a published writer. She is currently undergoing her last sweep of revisions on a set of short stories, poems, and an essay that she will hopefully send in to some literary magazines later this semester.

1. What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

My position with Superstition Review is Interview Editor. My responsibilities with this position are to choose writers I would like to interview, e-mail them and ask if they would agree to be interviewed, research them and read various works they have written, formulate well-informed interview questions, and correspond with the interviewees.

2. Why did you decide to get involved with Superstition Review?

In the spring of 2010, I interned with Superstition Review for the first time as a Nonfiction Editor because I took a class with Patricia Murphy, the managing editor, the semester before. I really enjoyed working for the literary magazine, so I decided to try it out again.

3. How do you like to spend your free time?

I spend most of my free time playing with my new baby son. He was born on September 6, 2010 and keeps me very busy. I also enjoy cuddling up with my husband for movie date night, reading, writing, scrapbooking, crafting, skimming magazines, shopping, and game nights with friends and family.

4. What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

I would love to try out the fiction editor position or the blogger position for Superstition Review.

5. Describe one of your favorite literary works.

This is the same answer I gave the last time I interned with Superstition Review, but one of my favorite literary works is the short essay “Why I Write” by Joan Didion. It really resonates with me. I find myself re-reading it over and over again. It gets me ready to write something new. It makes me want to conquer my writing fears, increase my confidence, and send something in to get published. I don’t know why this is, I simply know that I love it.

6. What are you currently reading?

Honestly, I’m currently only reading books that are required for my classes. I, sadly, don’t have much time for reading other than that right now. But I did finish Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert this past weekend.

7. Creatively, what are you currently working on?

I’m currently beginning my first memoir. Also, I have various short stories, poems, and an essay that I am finishing final revisions on so I can send them in to literary magazines and contests.

8. What inspires you?

Reading blogs. Different blogs inspire me for different reasons and in different ways. Some inspire me to write more or help me write better. Some inspire me to be a better wife, mother, friend, and person. Other blogs inspire me to get creative with crafts, décor for my house, gifts, and date night with my husband. And some simply inspire me to reach my full potential.

9. What are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of the fact that I didn’t decide to drop out of school when I had my baby. I’m determined to push through it, 15 credit hours at a time, until I graduate in December.

10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years, I see myself as a published writer with three more kids, a few finished books, and hopefully my masters degree.

 

Literary Event: Sherman Alexie at the Tempe Center for the Arts

As part of Project Humanities launch week festivities, they will be holding an event at the Tempe Center for the Arts on Monday, February 7th at 7 p.m.  The keynote speaker for the event will be author, poet and screenwriter Sherman Alexie and he will speak on the topic “People, Places and Stories.”

Alexie, currently residing in Seattle, Washington, bases much of his writing on his experiences as a Native American. Some of his best known works are a book of short stories entitled The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1994), the film Smoke Signals, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, an autobiographical novel for young adults.

In 1999, Alexie was named as one of The New Yorker’s top 20 writers of the twenty-first century. In 2007, Alexie was awarded the National Book Award prize for Young People’s literature for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Last year Alexie won the PEN/Faulkner Award for War Dances, the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award, and was the recipient of the Puterbaugh Award and holds the distinction of being the first American to receive the award.

The event takes place February 7th at 7 p.m. at the Tempe Center for the Arts located at 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway Tempe, AZ. 8528. Parking is free for guests in the lot adjacent to the facility. No tickets are needed for this event; seating is on a first come first serve basis. Guests may arrive at 6 p.m. and doors to the theater will open at 6:30 p.m.

Meet The Interns: Mary Richardson

Mary Richardson is a sophomore at Arizona State University and is a student of the Barrett Honors College. She is pursuing a concurrent major in English Literature and European History. She is also a Fiction Reviewer for ASU’s Lux Literary Magazine. Her career aspirations are to work in editing/publishing or to be a professor.

1. What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

I am the Reading Series Coordinator for the magazine, which means I organize readings events that display the works and talents of selected writers/poets.

2. Why did you decide to get involved with Superstition Review?

I’m really interested in publishing as a career possibility. Also, literature and poetry are very enriching for me, and I appreciate that this internship is centered around these subjects.

3. Besides interning for Superstition Review, how do you spend your time?

I spend a majority of my time running, doing yoga, reading, or writing. It’s also very important to be with my close friends and family.

4. What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

I would be very interested in the Content Coordinator position once I have more experience.

5. Describe one of your favorite literary works.

Wuthering Heights has long been my favorite novel. I’m very intrigued by Emily Brontë’s use of language to present and develop the characters. I’m also interested in how she delves into the concepts of time, memory, and human nature.

6. What are you currently reading?

I recently began One Hundred Years of Solitude.

7. Creatively, what are you currently working on?

I really enjoy writing short stories. Right now I’m in the process of brainstorming a new one.

8. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I see myself continuing my current hobbies and interests, while also pursuing new ones. I hope to be part of a community that appreciates the same aspects of life as I do.

Leslie Marmon Silko to read at The Heard Museum

Superstition Review enjoys updating its readers about upcoming readings in the local community. On November 28th Changing Hands Bookstore will partner with The Heard Museum to present Leslie Marmon Silko’s latest novel The Turquoise Ledge. Named as the November “Republic Recommends” selection by the Arizona Republic, this novel is a highly anticipated memoir of her family history. Influenced by Native American story telling traditions, Silko’s reading should lend a very personal feel at The Heard Museum.

This is Silko’s first publication since her novels Gardens in the Dunes, published in 2000, and Ceremony which is more widely recognized than any other American Novel. As a highly anthologized author, she has also published several essays, short story collections and poetry. Growing up on the Laguna Pueblo reservation, Silko incorporates aspects of Laguna traditions and myths into her writing, making her one of the most influential Native American writers of her generation.

Remember, this event will not take place at Changing Hands Bookstore. It will begin at The Heard Museum at 2 p.m. For more information about how to receive access to preferred seating and to learn more about the event, the event’s webpage is http://changinghands.com/event/silko.

 

Meet The Interns: Katie McCoach

Katie McCoach is in her senior year at Arizona State University majoring in Communications and Creative Writing with her focus in Fiction. Katie is originally from a small town in Maryland and decided on a whim to attend college 2000 miles away from her childhood home. She has had a nonfiction piece published in Kalliope and currently writes for a volunteer newsletter.

Superstition Review: What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

Katie McCoach: This is my first semester with Superstition Review as a Nonfiction Editor. It is my job to solicit submissions, correspond with authors, review submissions, and decide on which pieces will be published in the magazine. And at the end of the year we have our launch party for the issue.

SR: Why did you decide to get involved with Superstition Review?

KM: I am very interested in the publishing business/world and there is no better way to learn about than be apart of it. I love that I get to be a part of the decision making process of what is published; it’s great to be able to show readers what these authors have in them and be a part of that.

SR: Besides interning for Superstition Review, how do you spend your time?

KM: A lot of my time is spent on schoolwork and at my part-time job, but also a lot of it is spent writing; I’m completing my capstone in fiction and I write nonfiction and blog on the side. Besides that I love just being able to grab a margarita with my friends and unwind.

SR: What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

KM: I think interview editor would be a neat position. In my nonfiction class this summer I got a taste for interviewing and I also write mini interviews at my part-time job; I find interviewing different people so interesting because they all have stories to tell.

SR: Describe one of your favorite literary works.

KM: I’ll have to say my favorite author instead, which is Augusten Burroughs. I’m pretty sure I read Sellevison first which is his only fiction piece and it’s hilarious, besides that I’ve read all his nonfiction works and love them. He is an incredible memoirist and my favorite pieces happen to be the simplest moments versus his crazy childhood or alcohol addiction. I love when memoirists make the small moments the most interesting and that is what I reach towards and will hope to find in submissions this semester.

SR: What are you currently reading?

KM: I just finished a young adult series by Scott Westerfeld called Uglies. Even though I should have outgrown young adult fiction by now, I think that they are the most enjoyable works; my favorite part of reading is just letting go and with Scott Westerfeld’s work I can do just that.

SR: Creatively, what are you currently working on?

KM: Right now I am working on my capstone project, which is a few fiction short stories and revising them a lot. And another longer project I’m working towards is a themed short story collection.

SR: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

KM: In 10 years? That’s too far to know! I am not one to overly plan my future because I know things never go as planned completely, but I do hope to be published, living in California and working with a publishing company or in the background of the movie industry. As long as I never stop writing and am happy–if in 10 years I can say that, then I’ve reached success.

Meet the Interns: Christelle Hobby, Web Designer

Christelle Hobby is an ASU senior pursuing concurrent degrees in Broadcast Journalism and Creative Writing.

Superstition Review: What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

Christelle Hobby: I am one of two Web Designers, and we are basically responsible for creating, uploading, and organizing all elements necessary for getting the website up and running.

SR: How did you hear about Superstition Review and what made you decide to get involved?

CH: I received an email telling me about internship opportunities at SR and I immediately went onto the website and knew it was something I had to get involved in. It has all of the subjects I am studying, as well as the areas I hope to find myself working in some day.

SR: What are you hoping to take away from your Superstition Review experience?

CH: I am hoping to improve my skills as a web designer, and I would also like to really understand all of the elements that go into publishing. It is the career I hope to find myself in one day and I just feel like this semester with SR will put me closer to that dream.

SR: Describe one of your favorite literary or artistic works.

CH: My favorite book ever is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I have read it quite a few times and I never get sick of it. It is brutal and romantic at the same time and you find a reason to hate every character as much as you love them. It is a classic that transcends time.

SR: What are you currently reading?

CH: I am currently reading The Shack by William Paul Young. It is a fairly religious piece, which is not a style I typically read, so I am still trying to get accustomed to the prose and the somewhat predictably perfect plot.

SR: What is your favorite Superstition Review section, and why?

CH: I am a Creative Writing Fiction major, so fiction always takes the cake. I never get sick of reading a new story and the writers who have contributed to SR in the past have shown that we can only expect good things from the writers in this edition.

SR: What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

CH: I would absolutely love to be one of the Fiction Editors. While I am excited by the idea of putting together the whole site, like I said, I love my fiction.

SR: Do you prefer reading literary magazines online or in print?

CH: I typically visit literary magazines online, however I don’t think it ever really compares to print. There is just something traditional and wonderful about holding the pages in your hands.

SR: Do you write or create art? What are you currently working on?

CH: I am a writer, and I am currently working to improve my skills by inundating myself with the written word. While I try to continuously produce short stories I am focusing primarily on reading and studying a variety of modern day writers.

SR: What is your favorite mode of relaxation?

CH: It may sound cliché, but a glass of wine, a good book, and fuzzy slippers put me in my favorite state of relaxation.

SR: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

CH: In 10 years I hope to be working for a publishing company and have my own writing be an ever-present side project.