Laurel Zuckerman's Paris Weblog

FLASH : Hortense on Tuesday Night by Marie Houzelle honored by Narrative magazine

We are delighted to announce that Best Paris Stories selection, Marie Houzelle's "Hortense on Tuesday Night" was named by Narrative magazine in Top Five Stories 2010-2011. 

Bravo Marie!!

Each September "Narrative" selects the Top Five Stories  for special notice.

(extract) "THIS YEAR’S FAVORITE STORIES OF THE WEEK demonstrate that literary excellence and intense emotional experiences don’t depend on length. In one short short story, two children look on as their mother faces a sudden life-threatening circumstance; and in another short short, love, politics, and desperation intertwine in a brief love affair. These pieces stand side by side with longer stories. In one a young French mother navigates the world of Paris intellectuals, with their complex ideas and casually passionate relationships; in another, a Soviet Jew competes in a chess tournament in Buenos Aires against Israelis, and the thought of defection tempts him. Together, these five stories represent vibrant work by emerging and established writers. We hope you enjoy them. "

"CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS. EACH RECEIVES A $500" 

   Marie Houzelle    Hortense on Tuesday Night 

   Peter Orner    Occidental 

   Benjamin Alire Sáenz    He Has Gone to Be with the Women 

   Sandra Scofield    Staph 

   James Warner    Middlegame 

Hortense on Tuesday Night will be published this fall in the Best Paris Stories collection

Rosa Rankin Gee and Jethro Turner talk about A Tale of Three Cities and the Bookclub at Le Carmen

A couple months ago I had the pleasure of meeting Rosa Rankin Gee at the awards ceremony for the Paris Literary Prize Novella Contest graciously organized by Shakespeare and Company and the De Groot Foundation.

 
Rosa Rankin Gee 

Only 24 years old, Rosa had already been named one of Esquire magazine's 75 Brilliant Young Brits 2010 and had just won the Novella Contest. She told me about two new projects she was launching with photographer-writer Jethro Turner: a literary magazine called A Tale of Three Cities and a “bookclub” in a Paris bar called Le Carmen, where erstwhile strangers exchange books.

 Jethro Turner

The bookclub sounded like so much fun that I sent two young collaborators, Eve Zuckerman and Nisha Somwang, to investigate. The scene, they said, was terrific. (See “Paris Nightlife Goes Literary”)

Somehow, amidst all the excitement, Rosa, Jethro and Eve found a quiet place to talk.

 

 Eve Zuckerman

INTERVIEW : Rosa Rankin Gee, winner of Shakespeare and Company's Paris Literary Prize for Best Novella, and Jethro Turner, co-founder of A Tale of Three Cities literary journal and the Bookclub at Le Carmen,  talk with Eve Zuckerman, for Paris Writers News.

Paris Writers News: Why the book club?

Rosa Rankin Gee: We came out with this very simple idea together and it's been a way of bringing like-minded people together, meeting really interesting bookish, creative, intelligent young people, so it's perfect. Why it's been a success it that it's been a marriage of events that are normally far more stilted. A conventional book club in the English sense is eight people in a living room talking about one book. And this is a lot looser, more relaxed. There's alcohol involved, there's a far bigger crowd, there's music, there's DJs. I think it has been a happy marriage of giving weight to a normal night out.

 PWN : Are there more French or English people who attend?

Jethro Turner: We find it's about 50-50 French and English speakers but then there are Italians, Germans, Portuguese people, so we have a nice mix. Some people do ask, "do we have to bring a book in English?" We say no, we want to encourage people to bring as many different books as possible.

 

PWN : How did you get the word out about the Book Club?

Rosa :  We've been really lucky with PR. It's a lovely, warm, kind of wholesome idea. You can get a lot of mileage out of it. We've been in the New York Times, we've been in all of the Paris blogs. We cultivate very good relationships with them. 

PWN : You invented a concept called solidism. What is it?

Rosa : That goes hand in hand with the magazine and it works on two levels: the fact that we really value printed press and we're not going to have any of the content of the magazine online because we think that really affects the way we read and digest something. And also we believe in really specific things, you know? If you go on our website and click the triangle, you can read more about it.

PWN :  I'm sorry but I own a Kindle.

Rosa :  Get out!

PWN :  Is solidism also a reproach to younger people who are moving away from the book's physical form?

Jethro : I don't thing it's a reproach to young people in any way, it's just the idea of suggesting that there are already positive qualities to print and that it is the beauty of having physical objects and beautiful printed books. It's still a good useful thing to have. And I personally read on a Kindle and I go down on the record saying that. It's really really good for certain things. But for exchanging ideas between friends and swapping books, I don't think that it's going to take over. It's a great way of accessing content but the printed book still has its place.

Le Carmen

Rosa : The least we can do is fight back. Rather than sliding directly into everything being online and Kindles, some young people should at least stand up and say, there is value.

 Rosa jumps up all of a sudden. "Sassy!" She greets her friend and immediately turns back to apologize and continue the interview. Many of those coming tonight have heard of the Book Club through Jethro or Rosa, who greet their friends but also people they didn't know. Very quickly, it becomes difficult to find people who have not been welcomed by one or the other.

PWN : Back to the magazine, A Tale of Three Cities. How do you intend to select content? What are the characteristics you are looking for?

Rosa : To be perfectly honest, I'm editor in chief and...well, what we have in common, the reason why our magazine worked at university [research] is that we have similar aesthetic depths. And of course, these things come down to a matter of taste. We said what our taste is clearly in our manifesto and for us it's whether something is compatible with what we think is good. And I don't think we want to be prescriptive at all. We want to publish good work. 

PWN : Rosa, in addition to co-founding A Tale of Three Cities, has also just won first prize for her novella, the ..... of Sark. What do you have planned next?

Rosa : We have lots of projects on the go, me and this boy, which are not all necessarily literary, some of them are to be kept secret. But my plan now is to finish the novella, make it as good as I can and then write a novel, probably set in Paris, but not one with Paris in the title. 

PWN : What language will a Tale of Three Cities be published in? 

Rosa : Because it's set in three cities of which the common language would be English and our editors are English, the magazine will be in English, but we want there to be a flavor of each city. For example, Ralph, who's the Berlin editor, writes short stories. Most of the stories are Berlin-based and they'll be a reference to the Tour de...., they'll be flashes of each language. I think you'll find we want to capture the essence of the city. 

Jethro : Poems will be published with side by side translations and the original in English but longer fiction will tend to be in English.

 PWN : What kind of readership are you expecting? What are your objectives with the magazine?

Jethro and Rosa: Global domination.

Jethro : To engage with interesting, creative, young people in the three cities. To continue the links between what we think are the most interesting three cities in Europe at the moment for culture.

Rosa : I think it's really important to give young artists a platform. I've been lucky in that I've been published in mainstream publications but the reason we started the magazine is that there are so many young people, young writers, artists who just haven't had that first step. Once they've had that, they can go to other places.

Jethro : Print has a new value now as well because plenty of people are writing for blogs but people are really struggling to get printed. 

Rosa : And we all want to see our names in print. 

PWN : Do you have any advice for young writers and artists?

Rosa : If you're good, send your work to us!

 

The Bookclub: the last Wednesday of every month at Le Carmen, 34 rue Duperré, Paris 9th.

 21st September - a rentrée littéraire special! Open til 4 du matin. Bed time reading.

---

 

Rosa Rankin Gee, 24, graduated in Modern Languages last year and now lives in the 18e arrondissement, in an apartment with a bath in the kitchen. Her novella ‘The Last Kings of Sark’ won Shakespeare & Company’s international Paris Literary Prize. One of Esquire Magazine’s 75 Brilliant Brits of 2010, Rosa also founded Alight Here and the Fun and Beautiful Journal. “She makes sandwiches out of things you don’t normally make sandwiches from, and likes simple adjectives, such as good and bad and fast.”

 Jethro Turner, 24, also lives in the 18e, around the corner from Rosa. His day job is with e-books, but he also writes about food, and about not-food. “Like most moralists he is secretly quite sadistic. He takes photos of interesting people and interesting doorframes.” According to GQ.com, he is a photographer who knows how to dress.

 Eve Zuckerman, 17, was the editor in chief of L’Inébranlable, named Best French High School Newspaper 2011. Her writing has appeared in The Sunday Telegraph, Ireland's Independent, canalstreet.canalplus.fr, bonjourparis.com and Le Figaro in English.  

 

 

Paris Readings and Events September 2011!

This month, news from Gioia Diliberto, Best Paris Stories, David Barnes, Tony Alerbto Rigettini, Mitzi Szereto, Mary Lou Longworth, Elaine Sciolino, Al Herter, The Open University,  Jeffrey Greene, Tatiana de Rosnay, Louis Franke, Jamie Cat Callan, New Voices, New Projects, Ellen Sugarman, Mathhew Rose, Fany Pechiodat and more

New Books

Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway's First Wife by Gioia Diliberto

Parisian Postcards: Snapshots of Life in Paris by Loui Franke

Red Velvet and Absinthe: Paranormal Erotic Romance edited by Mitzi Szereto For review copies and interview requests, contact: [email protected]

Peter St John Dawe’s novel “Triple Agent”, based on the Gospel According to John, has been published as a digital book by Amazon Kindle   http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052YXN6W

My Little Paris by Fany Pechiodat

Susan Tiberghien had a Meanwhile article in the International Herald Tribune, Airport Chatter, July 7,   

Best Paris Stories Cover Contest : Deadline September 30  Many thanks to Tendayi Chirawu for helping us launch the ebook cover design contest!  

Literary Events in Paris (September 2011)

Monday 5th September - 7pm Mary Lou Longworth presents Death at the Chateau Bremont AT WH Smith

Monday 5th Sept, 9pm SpokenWord at Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide. Featuring Mr. Tony Alberto Rigettini as host and special guests from Samizdat Publishing and elsewhere! 103 rue Julien Lacroix Métro Belleville Expecting a crowd so - Get there early if you want a seat!!!!  SpokenWord’s format: 1. Sign up on the night from 8pm 2. Spoken word (poetry, prose, stand up, anything): you get 5 minutes, with a warning bell at 4.45 to let you know you have 15 seconds to finish. 3. Acoustic songs: you get to do one whole song, 5 mins or even a bit longer.  4. We do 2 or 3 rounds, starting at approx. 8.30pm, 9.45pm and 11pm. 5. Cinderella rule: we finish at midnight. (To chat & socialise...) The atmosphere is very supportive of anyone having a go. SpokenWord blog at http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/

 Wednesday September 7 7.30pm PIERS FACCINI and FRANCESCA BEARD, STANDING ROOM at Le Trianon in Montmartre Paris. Presented by Shakespeare and Co, this is the first in a new series celebrating spoken and sung word at Le Trianon in Montmartre. The first installment (in English) will present Piers' songwriting alongside the performance poetry of Francesca Beard, performing separately, then together to create new work on stage.  Tickets: 12€ presale / 15€ at the door.  FNAC http://tinyurl.com/3tpq8n3 or from 10 August at Shakespeare and Company 37 rue de la Bûcherie 75005 OR at the Trianon's café 80 bl. de Rochechouart 75018, or at fnac.com. www.shakespeareandcompany.com   www.letrianon.fr SpokenWord blog at http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/

Wednesday 7 September  19h30 Elaine Sciolino New York Times Paris correspondent presents ‘La Seduction: How The French Play the Game of Life.’ AT Am Library

Sunday 11 September  15h00-16h30 special exhibit ‘A New Yorker Remembers 9/11’, share your memories of 9/11 with Al Herter—native New Yorker and part-time Paris resident. AT Am Library

Sunday, September 11, at 7h30  Reading of play by Gwyneth Hughes: a one-woman show called 'Apple Pie' with an excellent British actress, Anna Cottis.  At Carr's (I rue du Mont Thabor, metro Tuileries).

September 12: Creative Writing Workshop at The Open University in Paris Sept 12th http://bit.ly/qjBShd

12 SEPTEMBER: NIKOLAI GROZNI, WUNDERKIND (FICTION, MUSIC) THEN FLIP GRATER (FOLK) AT Shakespeare and co

Sept 13 at 7 p.m.  Jeffrey Greene will talk about French Spirits and the Golden Bristled Boar: Last Ferocious Beast of the Forest. Read his WSJ and NPR interviews here    World View: 

Thursday, September 15th at 7pm Richard Zimmler presents The Warsaw Anagrams. Born in America, Richard Zimler has worked for many years as a journalist in the San Francisco Bay area. He currently lives in Portugal and has written several novels about generations of a Portuguese Jewish family.  The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, Hunting Midnight, Guardian of the Dawn and The Seventh Gate form the ‘The Sephardic Cycle’ a group of inter-connected, but fully independent, novels. Richard Zimler also wrote the screenplay for The Slow Mirror, a short film which was awarded the Best Drama award at the New York City Short Film Festival in May of 2010. AT Village Voice

 19 SEPTEMBER: BOBBIE ANN MASON, THE GIRL WITH THE BLUE BERET AT Shakespeare and co

 20 SEPTEMBER: DW BROWN, JOANNE BARON, YOU CAN ACT AT Shakespeare and co

 Tuesday 20 September  19h30 Photographer Jennifer Huxta on the intersection of imagery and poetry. AT Am Library

Thursday 22 September  19h30 Tatiana de Rosnay, bestselling author of ‘Sarah’s Key,’ explores her new novel, ‘Rose.’ AT Am Library

Thursday 22rd September - 7pm Jamie Cat Callan, author of French Women Don't Sleep Alone, will present and sign her most recent book Bonjour Happiness. AT WH Smith

26 SEPTEMBER: TARIQ ALI, THE OBAMA SYNDROME AT Shakespeare and co

Sunday 25 September  13h00-19h00 Open House at the Library tours, demonstrations, activities for children. AT Am Library

The Bookclub at the Carmen : Last Weds of each month. See Paris Nighlife Goes Literary for more

Submissions

New Voices, New Projects is a Paris-based platform for artists to exhibit and network innovative new projects that are already in development. We welcome submissions that are multicultural, multilingual and multimedia. We are looking to be struck by originality, creativity and talent.  New Voices, New Projects is a joint initiative between BAW and AUP - please see our website for more details: http://www.bilingualacting.com/index.php?lp=CallForProjectsL Projects should be submitted to: [email protected]

Graphic Designers: showcase your talent with a submission to the ebook cover contest for BEST PARIS STORIES, a collection of the winning stories of the Paris Short Story Contest. 100 euro prize plus publication as ebook cover for the winning artists. Participants: your work will be displayed on Best Paris Stories website + Facebook + other sites! See here for submissions guidelines. Deadline: September 30, 2011

News and calls for submissions from our friends in Geneva (Thank you  Susan Tiberghien!)

(Geneva) American Citizens Abroad is in need of an Editor-in-Chief for their Newsletter. This is a volunteer position, a service to all Americans living abroad. It is an excellent opportunity to hone professional editing skills and to gain a subject area of expertise, while making an essential contribution to a worthy cause. The position requires approximately two days of work each month.  Interested parties should ACA, [email protected].  To learn more about American Citizens Abroad,  www.americansabroad.org

Prose and Poetry Prizes 2011, The New Writer magazine, closing date 30 November. Now in its 15th year, one of the major annual international competitions for short stories, microfiction, single poems, poetry collections, essays and articles; offers cash prizes as well as publication for the prize-winning writers in The Collection, special edition of The New Writer magazine each July. Back copies are available at the TNW website: http://www.thenewwriter.com/subscribe.htm  Further information including guidelines and entry fees at: http://www.thenewwriter.com/prizes.htm

Society of Women Writers and Journalists, International Online “Life Writing” Competition, http://swwj.co.uk/lifewritingcomp.html; closing date, Sept. 30, 2011

Workshop (Geneva) September 17, From Personal Essays to Opinion and Travel Essays. In the afternoon there will be the regular critiquing workshop. Please send your registrations with the attached form, or directly in an email.  If you have already registered, it is noted. Please note that the workshops will exceptionally be at Webster University, Bellevue. We will be there for the full day.

September 11  6 pm (Geneva) : last evening of readings at the Château de Lavigny. Most readings will be in French. Readings tobe  followed by an apératif with the chance to speak with the resident writers. For more information, www.chateaudelavigny.ch. Please reserve with Sophie Kandaouroff, [email protected]. 

Launch of Offshoots (Geneva) 11, at 17:00 to 19:30, with readings and a reception. Geeta Kothari, Fiction Editor, Kenyon Review. 

Registration forms for the Geneva Writers Conference, February 3-5, 2012 will be available on our website and at workshops from November onward.

Editing services

Author/journalist available to edit your fiction and non-fiction work. Excellent references in Paris and US.  email Ellen Sugarman at  [email protected] or call at 06-3836-0545. NO TEXT MESSAGES PLEASE

 Other expos

GOD & COUNTRY | MATTHEW ROSE NEW WORKS ON PAPER Exhibition: 30 Août –30 Septembre 2011 STORIE | 20 rue Delambre 75014 Paris, France Horaires: 15H00 - 20H00 tlj, sauf Lundi Métro: Vavin/Montparnasse/Edgar Quinet