Avoiding Amazon: Where We’re Buying Books

There's a lot of Terrible going on right now, but books make things better! Lately it feels increasingly vital to show our support for small businesses, especially minority-owned ones. Not sure where to go for your book-ish needs, other than Amazon? Never fear! Members of your friendly neighborhood tmr staff have curated a list of …

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What We’re Reading

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron: This classic self-help recovery for creatives book has given me back my sealegs after beginning the MFA. Fighting imposter syndrome, feeling creatively blocked, wondering whether or not poetry is a worthwhile pursuit? This book's week by week readings and activities get me out of my head. Right now I'm …

Five Tricks to Succeed and Survive the Writing Ultra-Marathon (10-16hrs)

  We tend to idealize the writing marathon. Such a delicious, romantic image of writing all day, so into your craft you forget to eat etc. But suppose you do get that one day to make up for all the others you missed, how do you make the marathon (6+ hour chunks of writing time) …

Applying to Grad School? A Quick (Real) Guide to Applying to MFAs

Application season is a dreadful, exhausting season for many MFA-seeking writers. It's true when they say ('they' being current MFA students, past applicants, and program faculty) applying to MFA programs is not for the faint-hearted. For one, it takes forever. Researching and deciding on your top schools is not a simple task. Most programs require …

A Complete, Totally Definitive Guide to Short Story Craft

1. Start the story with an intriguing first line, something that propels the reader forward, captures their attention, makes them feel compelled to read on. Do not start with something boring or commonplace. This is the worst thing you can do. This will make the reader throw your story into a trash compactor and compact …

Making Those Last Words Count

Hopefully you already read this wonderful piece on first lines in fiction. Those sentences are important because, of course, they color a reader’s perception of the rest of the story. Daniel discusses a “solicitation of trust”—“a chance for the author to communicate that the reader is in capable hands.” And he’s right: I’ve put down …

The Novel is Back! (Well, sort of.)

I’m so excited I might split my pants. This fall, the literary world gets two giant releases: Jonathan Franzen’s Purity and Avenue of Mysteries, John Irving’s fourteenth novel. I might very well drive to Barnes & Noble, pluck these novels from the shelf, and stand in the checkout line. I might take my time with …

Things You Will Learn From Spending A Day With Percival Everett

You will learn that Percival Everett’s favorite word is No. You will learn that the gizmo used to castrate a horse is called – somewhat appropriately – an emasculator. You will learn the importance of reading forklift manuals. You will learn that Percival Everett doesn’t believe in the ‘craft’ of writing. You will learn about …

Contributor Update: Susan Meyers

Susan Meyers' "Waiting Room," excerpted below, first appeared in issue 63/64 (Spring/Summer 2005) of the minnesota review. Since then, Meyers received her Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Composition and the Teaching of English from the University of Arizona. She also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Minnesota, and she is currently an Assistant …

Contributor Update: Sam J. Miller

Sam J. Miller's "Operation Skunk," excerpted below, first appeared in Issue 70 (2008) of the minnesota review. Since its publication, Miller has also released Horror After 9/11 (2011), a critical anthology co-edited with Aviva Briefel, along with pieces in The Rumpus, Slice Magazine, Arts and Letters, Strange Horizons, and Electric Velocipede. Miller also has work …

The Best Books We Read in 2013: Fiction Roundup

TMR's fiction readers have a few recommendations up our sleeves—here are the best books we read in the last year. Amy L.'s pick: The Accursed, Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco, 2013) I've been hyping Susan Steinberg's Spectacle a lot this year, but as much as I love that collection, I can't earnestly call it my "favorite." In sort of …

If You’re Stuck, Wait It Out – Advice from an Editor

As writers, we have what would appear to be a very easy job: float through life, and wait for the muse. Forget the crafting, forget the editing – the worst part of writing is just starting.Usually my writing process follows a very similar trajectory: wait for weeks, think about needing to write something, wait another …

What I Like to Read – Will Bebout

Hello, Everyone! My name is Will Bebout, and I am one of the Editors of The Minnesota Review. I must admit, I’m very new to the editorial gig, but I thought I’d let my mind wander a bit about the things I’ve read before and what I’ve liked about them. As a brand new editor, I’m …

A Call for Submissions

Editors Joe Hiland and Michael Mlekoday recently distinguished work they would consider publishing in Indiana Review from work that just isn’t quite right for them. Rarely does an editorial staff pull back the green curtain and show us the Wizard’s working pieces, so to speak. In an effort to offer transparency to our submitters, my …

Freshwater Boys Review

A brief review of Adam Schuitema's April 2010 collection of stories, Freshwater Boys.

Two Journal Reviews: failbetter and Drunken Boat

The Minnesota Review gives a brief but detailed account of two interesting online literary publications.

Death is Not an Option Review

A brief review of Suzanne Rivecca's July 2010 collection of stories, Death Is Not An Option.