This Week in Words – Jan 5

by Treehouse Editors

compiled by Rachel Bondurant

The New Yorker interviewed Rivka Galchen this week about her work in the magazine, both fiction and nonfiction. They mostly cover her story in this week’s issue, “The Lost Order,” which is available to read online for free (handy, so you know what they’re talking about).

Also in The New Yorker is a brief summary of some of the major literary feuds of 2012.

The Rumpus talked to Zadie Smith about fashion, identity, the writing process, and the way people read her work, among other things. Smith takes a candid kind of no-nonsense approach to examining her work, and I find that refreshing.

Sundog Lit is looking for a fiction editor. It’s a free gig, but (maybe I’m biased) those can be some of the best places to work. Experience at editing would be nice, but Justin (founding editor) says, “The biggest thing you can possess is the ability to tell what’s working, what’s not, what’s beauty.” That doesn’t sound so tough, right? …Right?

Vernon Lott’s documentary Bad Writing is streaming for free all through January. It follows his quest to discover what makes bad writing and what makes good writing, and along the way he meets some heavyweights in the literary world. It’s a solid resource for young writers, so check it out.