Jenny Erpenbeck opens #Spring 2024 with Sloughing Off One Skin, a haunting #ShortStory that explores truth and identity, translated by Michael Hofmann.
@bookstodon Jakub Żulczyk creates a small epic, as Big Barrel goes in search of grub in Many Years of Hardships, translated by John and Małgorzata Markoff.
@bookstodon Over on the @fictionable#blog Caroline Lucas argues that in the face of division, we must tell "compelling, inspiring stories about what we can and must achieve together".
@bookstodon And on the @fictionable#podcast Jenny Erpenbeck talks about why writers are so suspicious of documents, the trouble with endings and the problem of arbitrary borders.
We're on the lookout for perspectives that are currently under-represented on bookshelves in the UK and in the US, and material first written in languages other than English.
#Spring 2024 is here, with Jenny Erpenbeck – translated by Michael Hofmann – following a paper trail while Jakub Żulczyk, translated by John and Małgorzata Markoff, constructs a small epic. Grahame Williams examines a life without a plan and Lauren Caroline Smith tests her faith. Rose Rahtz reads the signs and Caroline Lucas makes the case for compelling and inspiring stories.
"At the Chelsea production offices, an elevator door opened and there was Bing, magisterial in every respect: a lean, muscular hundred and forty-five pounds and, by the prop department’s tape measure, forty-two inches tall from his forepaws to the top of his skull." —Nick Paumgarten for The New Yorker
"What has unfolded this year around Snows Court is an old-fashioned neighborhood melodrama — 'Kittygate,' if you must — complete with wounded feelings, rampant gossip, sidewalk spies, lawsuit threats and tricky questions . . ." —Andrea Sachs for The Washington Post.
So here's a little taste of the marvellous #ShortStories from Jenny Erpenbeck, Jakub Żulczyk, Grahame Williams, Lauren Caroline Smith and Rose Rahtz for #Spring 2024.
I was back at my first job at iRobot. Some manager I currently follow on linked in last night had re-hired me.
I was excited to just make money again.
Howerver, I didn’t go to work on my second day because of burnout/depression.
I didn’t go to work on my third day because of the anxiety caused by not letting my employer know what was going on.
On the 4th day I went to work. They mocked my apology when I finally talked to them. While I was gone, manager and his friend coworker stormed the corporate housing I was staying at and put all my stuff on the street. They kicked me out and kept mocking me…
Side note: my friend who is getting a degree in writing warned me that dreams do not follow narrative structure and usually make for a bad story as they only make sense to the dreamer. #writing
Looking for new writers to work with on @longreads stories. I prefer to read drafts of personal essays/reported essays but I also consider reported essay pitches, too. Rates start at $500. Read our submission guidelines: https://longreads.com/submissions/