Book News Roundup: Lindy West takes on Jonathan Franzen

  • ZAPP, the Zine Archive and Publishing Project that was formerly based out of Hugo House but which is now looking for a permanent home for its library, is looking for submissions for its next issue of Xenographic, its quarterly publication. The theme is "IRL/URL," and they accept prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, illustrations, and photographs. Send your submissions to info@zappseattle.org by August 9th.

  • Bitch Media, the organization that publishes the indispensible Bitch magazine, is now accepting applications for fellowships which encourage writers to explore themes of reproductive rights & justice, pop-culture criticism, technology, and global feminism.

This fellowship was created in order to cultivate and amplify new voices. If you are a writer who has minimal publication experience, we strongly encourage you to apply. If you are passionate about one of the above subject areas but do not have a history of writing or blogging about them, we strongly encourage you to apply. If you are a writer still figuring out what subjects obsess you, we strongly encourage you to apply.
It’s a strikingly honest inversion of the cliche that white people usually reach for when asked pointed questions about race – “Some of my best friends are black!” – yet somehow more unsettling in its complacency. I don’t know these people, Franzen is telling us. These are not my people. I know enough to be embarrassed but I do not care enough to change.