Dimiter Kenarov
August 2008
It's
very hard to find fiction by a Bulgarian writer, written originally in
English. For quite some time I thought I was the only one, the pioneer, and I
say this without pretence and with much sadness. But I am no longer alone, or
rather, was never alone.
Enter Dimiter Kenarov. He emailed me a few months back to say, hey, I found your website. Good job, good stories. And then casually he mentioned, I'm completing a PhD in English at Berkley, I've published non-fiction in the Boston Review, in Virginia Quarterly, I've translated the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop in Bulgarian. I was an intern at the Atlantic Monthly (yes, for all the form rejections you can hate him).
So Mitko (diminutive for Dimiter) is pretty awesome. But he strikes again with this spectacular non-fiction piece about the Bulgarian Roma. Yes, the gypsies of Bulgaria all my workshop friends have read so much about in my stories.
Mitko's piece is by far the most detailed and thoughtful portrayal of the life and history of the Bulgarian Roma that I've ever read in English.
Dimiter Kenarov is now officially a contributing editor at the Virginia Quarterly Review. Oh, and just casually again, he was commissioned to write a killer article for The Nation...
Евалата, Митко!
Non-fiction from Dimiter Kenarov:
-
The Little Box That Contains the World: Serbia After the Death of Miloševic
-
Game Over, Perseverance, All I Want Is Everything: Among the Roma of Bulgaria
- Out of
Exile: Notes on Bulgarian Lireature
Meaghan Mullholland
February 2008
My
friend Meaghan Mulholland is a great writer. I have no doubts in my mind that
her fiction will be published and what's more -- that the majority of people
will want to buy her books.
She is now working on an awesome novel, and I beg her to keep writing, to
maybe even speed it up, so I can read a draft while I'm still in the MFA
program at the U of A. Not that I won't buy a copy of the book when it comes
out, but it's mostly for bragging... how great will it be if I can say -- hey,
I read this before you, and before you, and before you...
Well, The Colorado Review recently accepted for publication Meaghan's story "Immersion Program," to which I say, Congratulations! This is such a gentle story, and it's been a runner-up for two of the nation's most esteemed short story contests.
You can read more about Meaghan and her work at meaghanmulholland.com
Kyle Minor - In the Devil's Territory
January 2008
This is one collection of stories I'm really looking forward to. It's from
Kyle Minor so I know
it will be good.
Kyle Minor is Visiting Writer at the University of Toledo and has published fiction, non-fiction and poetry in such esteemed journals as The Southern Review, The Gettysburg Review, Twentysomething Essays by Twentysomething Writers (Random House, 2006).
Random House named Kyle one of the "Best New Voices of 2006," and The Columbus Dispatch named him one of "20 Under 30 Artists to Watch."
Kyle is the coeditor of "The Other Chekhov," a collection of some of Anton Pavlovich's lesser known stories. Greatly recommended. But there is more - a story of Kyle's will be featured in the 2008 Best American Mystery Stories.
Kyle's debut collection, In the Devil's Territory comes out in November, published by Danz books.