The Sister Knot, my novel-in-progress, progresses today with the help of coffee sipped from my new progressive mug. The novel, about a fraught but resilient female friendship that endures despite the damage of childhood trauma, is told from the alternating perspectives of Liane and Frima, World War Two orphans who survive on Berlin’s streets through cunning, theft, and prostitution. Brought to the United States by a Jewish refugee agency, their lives soon diverge when Frima is adopted and Liane is sent to a group home. The novel follows their seesawing relationship through school and work, marriage and motherhood, incarceration and death. As Liane says, “how people turn out is not always the way you’d predict.” Read about my published books in NOVELS.
Category: Publishing News
Publication news and upcoming events
Announcing Ann S. Epstein Writer Newsletter
I have just launched Ann S. Epstein Writer Newsletter, a free monthly newsletter emailed directly to each subscribers’ Inbox. Although I also maintain this website, and social media accounts, the Newsletter is a more personal way to “chat” with those interested in my work. The email will be short, one to two pages, and each issue will include a selection of features chosen from the following:
- WEBSITE RECAP – Titles of my top recent website (blog) posts, including the Category and Date posted if you’d like to check them out (also posted on Facebook and Twitter)
- PUBLISHING NEWS – Information on upcoming publications, readings and other events, and work-in-progress, including behind-the-scenes commentary
- REFLECTIONS – My thoughts about the writing process
- LEARN HISTORY THROUGH FICTION – Historical tidbits gleaned in my research
- LITERARY QUOTES – Provocative quotes from the world of writing, reading, and criticism
- LITERARY LINKS – A nod to articles by others that prompt a reaction, both pro and con
- OTHER – Additional topics generated by me or requested by you
The first issue was emailed on January 27, 2021. If you did not receive a Newsletter and would like to subscribe, please write me at CONTACT US https://www.asewovenwords.com/contact-us/ and be sure to include the email address where you want me to send the Newsletter. Thanks and welcome!
North American Review to Publish “Death, Shmeath”
I’m thrilled to announce that my story “Death, Shmeath” will be published by North American Review, the oldest literary journal in the U.S., with a jaw-dropping roster of authors since its founding in 1815. Here’s the log line: In “Death, Shmeath,” set in 1932 Brooklyn and based on a real character, an Orthodox father struggles with his son’s worldwide fame as the first and only gay Jewish matador. I first read about Sidney Franklin, the real-life matador, two years ago in a series of articles written during Gay Pride Week. I knew there was a story there, but it took a while to figure out who it belonged to. When I decided it was the father, I was ready to write this work of fiction. Read more in SHORT STORIES.
The Blue Nib Publishes Creative Nonfiction “Bear Watch”
I’m delighted to announce that The Blue Nib has published my creative nonfiction piece “Bear Watch,” which describes how my first encounter with antisemitism, on a cross-country camping trip to Yellowstone at age fourteen, taught me the true meaning of adventure. Here’s the link. Read more in MEMOIR. On an added note (see photo below), I have a quill pen tattooed on my right hand but the nib is black, not blue.
The Blue Nib: The Write Life Publishes “Getting Above My Raisin’”
I’m happy to announce that my essay “Getting Above My Raisin’” is now online at The Blue Nib: The Write Life. The essay looks at why writers feel they don’t merit top-tier agents or publishing contracts. Unlike “imposter syndrome,” a psychological condition whose sufferers doubt their competence, “getting above one’s raisin’” is rooted in the conviction that one is from the wrong social demographic. I’d love to hear back if you do (or don’t) experience something similar and how you interpret your reaction. Please leave a comment here or on the essay link. Read more about this article and others in ESSAYS.
“Sophie’s Confession” Published in RAMBLR3
My story “Sophie’s Confession” has just been published in Ramblr, Issue #3. Here’s the log line: “Sophie Tucker, The Last of the Red Hot Mamas, makes a surprising admission on her death bed and leaves the public to ponder its response to discovering the truth behind an illusion.” Copies of the nonprofit Ramblr PDF are available for a nominal contribution. Enjoy the stories, poems, interviews, and art from around the world in this issue.
THE GREAT STORK DERBY to be published by Vine Leaves Press
I’m happy to announce that my novel The Great Stork Derby will be published by Vine Leaves Press. The book is due out in October 2021. Here’s a brief synopsis: Inspired by a bizarre chapter in Toronto’s history, The Great Stork Derby asks whether an overbearing father deserves the chance to make amends with his alienated offspring. Widower Emm Benbow, told by his doctor he can no longer live alone, must move in with one of his many children or go to a dreaded old age home. Fifty years earlier, Emm pressured his wife Izora to enter the Toronto Stork Derby, an actual contest which offered a sizable cash award to the woman who had the most babies between 1926 and 1936. They had a large family, but it was hardly the happy one Emm envisioned. Now, living in turn with each of his adult children, Emm discovers that the true value of fatherhood is not measured in big prizes, but in small rewards. Read more about the book in NOVELS.
Essay on Cultural Appropriation Published in SPILL IT!
My essay “Theirs or Ours? Who Owns Culture? Appropriation on the Docket” is now online in the May 2020 issue of Vine Leaves Press SPILL IT! The essay decries blanket accusations of cultural appropriation and argues that culture belongs to everyone. Examples are drawn not only from creative pursuits, but everyday life such as what we cook, the music we listen to, the clothes we wear, and how we celebrate special occasions. Please use the buttons at the bottom of the essay to share and voice your opinion. Find more of my thoughts about writing in ESSAYS and REFLECTIONS.
The Blue Nib: The Write Life Publishes “Revival”
I’m happy to announce that my essay “Revival” was published by The Blue Nib in its online feature The Write Life at https://thebluenib.com/revival/. Here’s the log line: “Revival” investigates the literary and psychological reasons why writers revisit and revise very old stories they once considered finished, refuting the charge that it’s because they have nothing new to write about. Read more at my website on the page ESSAYS.
Jewish Fiction to Publish “The Women of Tahiti”
My short story “The Women of Tahiti” was accepted for publication in Jewish Fiction (Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 issue). Here’s the log line: In “The Women of Tahiti,” an elderly man, convalescing after heart surgery, fantasizes the healing caresses of tropical beauties while recalling his troubled life as a cripple working for the Kosher Mob. In the early 1900s, the Jewish Mafia transformed organized crime from a thuggish activity carried out by hoodlums into a big business. Some elements in the story are drawn from my father’s life. Read more in SHORT STORIES.