You've probably seen issues of The Common Review in literary dens in Chicago. Though it's distributed in over 300 bookstores nationwide, The Review's essence has always eluded me. The masthead states: "Since 2001 The Common Review has published essays about the books and ideas that matter. Whether the topic is women and Islam or the pleasures of Proust, we are committed to tough, street-smart prose that will challenge, amuse, and sometimes offend—all in the service of building the most thoughtful community of readers in America today."
No longer could I sit on my ignorance. From what i've gathered perusing back issues of the magazine published by The Great Books Foundation, the Review is a discussion on literature, a forum of ideas, and a provocation for reading. For the first time, The Review is expanding its reach into fiction.
“We’re looking for fresh, new work to update our image,” said Daniel Born, Vice President of Postsecondary Education at the GBF and editor of The Common Review. "We are not publishing dead white males."
True. They want to publish you. The Review has launched its first fiction contest and needs work. Details follow:
"Deadline: January 31, 2010 (I know, I know, I tried posting this earlier this weekend but their site was down). All manuscripts must be mailed to The Common Review Short Story Prize, The Great Books Foundation, 35 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 400, Chicago IL 60601. Electronic submissions will not be considered. No reading fee. SASE's are optional. Manuscript length: 500 to 5,000 words. Contact Molly Benningfield, project manager of The Common Review, at tcr(at)greatbooks.org for more information.
All prize winners, plus two Honorable Mentions, will receive a free copy of The Great Books Foundation Short Story Omnibus and a one-year subscription to The Common Review. The first prize winner will be published in the magazine during 2010.
Contest judges for the finalists in the competition are novelist Achy Obejas, former Poetry magazine editor Joe Parisi, and Chicago journalist Danny Postel. All three serve on the editorial advisory board of The Common Review. •"
To iterate: There is no entry fee and the winner gets $400 and publication.
We've heard similar guidelines so I followed up with Born to see what The Common Review is looking for, what endures. "Stories that endure both in the reader's mind and in the canon are those that you can't forget, and those that somehow elude complete interpretation," Born wrote. True.
Comments