“Spinning Away from the Center”: Stories from the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction

By C.M. Mayo www.cmmayo.com

Just out from the University of Georgia Press, Spinning Away from the Center, edited by Ethan Laughman, includes the title short story from my collection, Sky Over El Nido.

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Book Trailer for Sky Over El Nido

I am endlessly astonished by the changes in the book business. As a writer, it feels like riding the Matterhorn: I'm never sure what's around the next bend (a dip or the Yeti?). Back in 1995, when the University of Georgia Press published Sky Over El Nido, my first collection of stories, a book typically came out in hardcover, received a passle of reviews from magazines and newspapers, and then (if luck had it) there would be paperback edition. Maybe movie options. Maybe foreign rights. Maybe (very rarely) audio. But that was pretty much the whole show. And in less than a slew of weeks, the book would be gone from the bookstore shelves-- adios! Out of sight, out of mind, out of print. (And whoever bothered to read back issues of newspapers for old reviews?) Now, of course, we have websites (mine, www.cmmayo.com, went live in 1999). We have e-books outselling print books, and who knows, maybe "vooks" (video books) will soon take off. Newspaper and magazine reviews are ever scarcer, while blogs, legions of them, have filled in the vaccuum. And because of on-line booksellers such as amazon.com, buyers can find a universe of books, from ye olde best-sellers to the most obscurely self-published, from 1895 or 2005, 2010 or 1973--- and at 4 am, should they happen to be surfing at such an hour.

So: herewith, some 15 years after the book's original publication, is the trailer, a 2 minute video, for Sky Over El Nido. Yes, Sky Over El Nido is still in print in a paperback edition. E-book coming soon.

Nancy Zafris at the Porches, a Writing Retreat in Rural Virginia

This is a splendid opportunity for anyone with a literary manuscript that needs a critical eye. Nancy Zafris, novelist, short story writer, series editor for the Flannery O'Connor Award (and for nine years fiction editor at the Kenyon Review) is leading a 3 day retreat at the Porches in rural Virginia this September. More anon.

Black Elvis by Geoff Becker and The Bigness of the World by Lori Ostlund Take the Flannery O'Connor Award for Publication in 2009

Re: The Flannery O'Connor Award, for which I served as one of the first three judges. Series editor Nancy Zafris has selected two winners, and I'm delighted to say that one of them, Black Elvis, was in my very own Himalaya, I mean, pile of submissions (pictured left). As I plowed through, I had no idea who the authors were--- the manuscripts came to me (as to all the judges) stripped of names, addresses or any other identifying information. Well, now that's official, I know who wrote the zing-on fabulous Black Elvis. Geoffrey Becker, congratulations!

The other winner, The Bigness of the World by Lori Ostlund, was in the pile that went to my fellow judge, G.C. Waldrup. I am very much looking forward to reading it.

Runner-up was Mattaponi Queen by Belle Boggs.

More anon.

Blogging the Flan, Part III

Back blogging next Wednesday with another fun guest-blog post from travel writer and writing teacher extraordinaire, Richard Goodman (read his first guest-blog post here). I'm still plowing down the ohmygod pile of manuscripts for the Flannery O'Connor Award.

Blogging the Flan, Part II

Re: Last Friday's post on (pre-) judging the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. As one of three pre-judges, my task is to select 7-10 out of my portion of 122 book-length manuscripts (pictured left) to send on to the series editor, Nancy Zafris. All come to me without names, addresses or previous publishing credits, so I have absolutely no idea who the authors might be. So far: Round 1 eliminated 50 manuscripts. Round 2 eliminated 52. Top reasons for the thumbs down:

1. clumsy writing
2. lack of vividness
3. clutter
4. cliche
5. unconvincing / inept use of dialogue
6. frigidity
7. unconvincing characters and actions
8. lack of tension
9. bad taste

But there are 20 very promising manuscripts for Round 3. More anon.

Blogging the Flan, Part I

Light blogging this week because, among eleven thousand other things, I'm serving as one of the (three) pre-judges for this year's Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. Our task is to select 7 - 10 semi-finalists each; Nancy Zafris, the series editor, will select the winners. Don't let anyone say Americans don't care about literature! Some fifteen boxes have yielded an unholy mountain of mansucripts, now piled up on the floor and chairs in my dining room (the table itself couldn't take all the weight). More anon.

P.S. "So You Want to Be a Writer" by Charles Bukowski.

Flannery O'Connor Award

The fabulous Nancy Zafris is the new Flannery O'Connor Award in Short Fiction series editor-- here's an excerpt from her bio:

Her most recent novel is Lucky Strike, a Book Sense notable pick. She has also published The Metal Shredders, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her first book, The People I Know, won the Flannery O'Connor Award as well as the Ohioana Library Association award. She was the fiction editor of the Kenyon Review for nine years before becoming the Flannery O'Connor Award series editor. For more information about Nancy, visit her web site at www.nancyzafris.com

And along with G.C. Waldrep and Jane McCafferty, Yours Truly is serving as one of the judges this year. For those thinking to submit a manuscript: Nancy asked me a few questions here.