At the 2019 Lambda Litfest in L.A., I listened to Sam Cohen read from “Sarahland,” the titular story of her linked collection from Grand Central Publishing, an imprint of Hachette Book Group (published March 2021). At one point, the writer friend sitting next to me leaned in, sighed, and whispered, “So good.”
Read MoreHope abounds in Adam Clay’s poems, but it arrives like sandpaper, rubbing the soul down to its truest form.
Read MoreIndian literature is extremely diverse, spreading over multiple vernaculars and dialects, each with vibrant histories. Indian writing in English also represents an old body of work that long precedes the country’s independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
Read MoreA Country for Dying by Abdellah Taïa (Seven Stories Press) and Straight from the Horse's Mouth by Meryem Alaoui (Other Press) seem similar at first glance, at least topically; they’re both accounts of Moroccan sex workers interested in ideas like survival, self-sufficiency, connection, isolation, and loss.
Read MoreThe Clearing, Allison Adair’s debut poetry collection and winner of Milkweed Editions 2020 Max Rivto Poetry Prize, is a fiery, magnificent, urgent debut that reminds us of poetry’s ability to clarify perception, create awareness, and make space for us to connect with our authentic selves as we grapple with life’s chaos.
Read MoreIn the opening sentence of her debut novel, Kept Animals, Kate Milliken doesn’t meander through florid establishing shots: she lights a wildfire.
Read MoreA tale as old as time: I first came across Claire Hopple’s fiction in a slush pile. I remember my foot tapping on the carpet in my old apartment as I read her story, “Talisman,” about a woman following another woman.
Read MoreSue William Silverman’s latest book, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences, isn’t as grim as the title makes it seem. In fact, it’s sarcastic throughout and downright funny in many places.
Read MoreOver the last few years, I’ve encountered Timothy J. Hillegonds’ writing in such publications as Brevity, RHINO, and Baltimore Review, and I’ve always been impressed by his ability to tell personal stories with rich detail and a deep emotional impact.
Read MoreJune Sylvester Saraceno grew up in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, among storytelling aunties and preachers and all the conflicts that riddled the rural South.
Read MoreI first met Katie M. Flynn at the 2018 AWP conference in Tampa, when she was the Fiction Editor for Split Lip Magazine (she has since left the magazine to focus on her writing) and I was the newly enlisted Reviews/Interviews Editor.
Read MoreFrequent readers of Split Lip Magazine are likely already fans of Megan Giddings, whose 2018 flash fiction contribution, “A Husband Should Be Eaten and Not Heard,” earned the distinction of being included in the 2018 Best of the Net anthology.
Read MoreAt AWP ‘19 in Portland, I went to a reading at a Western-themed bar to see a friend read poetry. The lineup was long, as anyone who’s been to AWP offsites can attest.
Read MoreMary South’s writing has an attention to language, a dark, off-kilter humor, and an emotional urgency that makes her stories a great pleasure to read. Her debut collection of short fiction, You Will Never Be Forgotten, published this month by FSG Originals, centers on characters for whom technology is both an encumbrance and a means of potential fulfillment or escape.
Read MoreThe In-Betweens explores the spaces Davon has occupied throughout his life as the child of a Black mother and White father, as a stepson and son, as a person with roots in Alabama and New Jersey, as a Black man in a world where “you fit the description” is offered as a sufficient enough reason to pull a driver over.
Read MoreOlivia Gatwood is a poet whom you’ve likely seen on the internet. Her spoken word videos, including “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” and “Ode to My Bitch Face,” have accumulated over 3 million views. As a queer, emerging poet myself, I’ve appreciated the issues she’s explored in her work.
Read MoreOn her new Sturgill Simpson-produced LP, Deluxe Hotel Room, Lucette explores all types of love and the relationships that come with it. I recently spoke with the Canadian-born musician about her hometown of Edmonton, writing serious songs, and how making the new album gave her the courage to open up to others.
Read MoreIn 2018 at AWP in Tampa, Florida, I asked Teague von Bohlen why people from the Midwest are so tall and he laughed—surprised by my height, I think. I’m short. So short my parents used to joke that something must’ve been in the water in our Boston suburb. Then Teague said, “I think it’s all the corn” and mentioned a book he was working on about the Midwest, one that would pair flash fiction with photographs. I knew immediately I wanted to read it.
Read MoreThe Way Down Wanderers have the trait I love most about my fellow Midwesterners: they refuse to be categorized. Give their sophomore album illusions one listen and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. I recently chatted with one of the band’s two main songwriters, Collin Krause, about their new LP, the great Midwest, and what it means to take risks in your music.
Read MoreThe Tenderness Project is full of writing, music, images with different textures, different rhythms, from different kinds of people, all in the name of tenderness. It feels something like an altar. Though a lot of folks in creative communities have one of Ross Gay’s collections on their shelves or have heard Shayla Lawson belt out Frank Ocean songs between her poems, not many are aware of the collaborative curatorial work they’re doing online. The near-obscurity of The Tenderness Project has created an intimacy amongst the contributors that we hope to invite you into here. There’s room. More than enough, because “we are each other.”
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