Happy Monday…it feels like it shouldn’t be Monday again so soon. Happy June as well. With the arrival of June it begins to feel more truly like summer. Grass is growing, flowers are blooming, the weather still can’t make up its mind, but here is summer at last. If you are despairing of a summer lull or not sure what to do with some spare time, NewPages is here to help with reading recommendations and new submission opportunities.
Speaking of, enjoy a full list of books received and new issues of literary magazines received during the month of May to keep you busy while you sit outside soaking up the sun…or hiding in the shade with a nice, cool drink. And don’t forget to have fun at your local indie bookstores! There are many with lovely little cafes in them, too.
Want more literary magazine goodness? Discover fledgling publications and the latest issues of your favorites on the NewPages Magazine Stand. Arts & Letters #47 celebrates their 25th anniversary as well as features the journal’s annual prizewinners in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and “unclassifiable” genre. Later this week, discover Issue 38.2 of Zone 3. This issue is available for free online, and features work by Rose McLarney, Carolyn Oliver, Christopher Citro, Desmond Everest Fuller, and more.
Spray Paint Magazine becomes the latest journal to be featured in our New Lit on the Block series. On June 5 you can discover more about this journal “launched with the mission to give artists a voice through publishing prose, poetry, scripts, and visual art pieces in two to three issues a year.”
In book news, stop by the NewPages Book Stand to discover new titles to add to your must-read lists. Cemetery Citizens: Reclaiming the Past and Working for Justice in American Burial Grounds by Adam Rosenblatt “which dives into the ethical quandaries and practical complexities of cemetery reclamation, showing how volunteers build community across social boundaries, craft new ideas about citizenship and ancestry, and expose injustices that would otherwise be suppressed.” Released in May, enjoy Garcia-Gonzalez’s revised edition of The Genetic Universe. The book “forays into numerous aspects of our existence to probe into the constraints of the human experience.”
Coming later this week discover 8000 Mile Roll: A Motorcycle Memoir by M. Scott Douglass is a journal of a motorcycle ride across America that took 24 days and covered 8,001 miles. The 2024 Rattle Young Poets Anthology curates another year of delightful and insightful poetry that happens to be written by young people. As always, this is not a book of poems for children, but the other way around—these are poems written by children for us all, revealing the startling insights that are possible when looking at the world through fresh eyes.
Get book recommendations from our reviewers. Eleanor J. Bader reviews Boopable! by Mary Ann Redmond. “Boopable! utilizes humorous rhymes to evoke affection for nine distinct members of the animal kingdom. And while most of the critters are unlikely to be within booping range of the book’s audience, this does not matter.”
When planning a vacation during the summer, do you ever look up reviews of places that seem interesting? Or do you like to go in blind and leave reviews yourself of the places you visit?
Can you use a review to help you get unstuck from a writing rut? Go to Yelp or whatever site reviews stuff anymore these days and scroll through reviews. Or maybe hit your favorite online retailer to do the same. Find a funny review, a serious review, a review that makes no sense for the product it is on. What story is behind it? Can you challenge yourself to compose a poem that is comprised of review snippets and turn it into something fun or something with more meaning than you would think possible?
Calls, Contests, & More
Below are this week’s writing contests, calls for submissions, and literary and writing events. Enjoy 38 opportunities to get your work published or to enhance your writing craft. Please note: only paid subscribers get access to this information! You can become a paid subscriber for only $5 a month and get early access to submission opportunities and events before they go live on our site.
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