Working my way through a pile of magazines recently, I came across an inspiring interview with filmmaker Mira Nair in the April 2007 issue of The Believer. Her thoughts on the creative process were particularly illuminating. Among other things, she reminds us that "if you think of everything as a stepping-stone to something else, you will never be ripe for the picking. That is the key to what I do. I think if you give yourself fully to whatever that is, there are connections that are being made without your knowing it at first. Whereas if you force it, you lose that spark that makes you see something and drop everything. That's how I made Namesake. I just dropped everything when I read that. I wasn't looking for it."
Read the article (for a fee) at The Believer, or read interviews with authors such as Vikram Chandra, Alix Ohlin, and Lemony Snicket on this site for free.
A professional writer and anthologist, I’ve edited or co-edited seven anthologies, including collections of fiction, and have published twelve short stories and over fifty scholarly essays in literary journals and anthologies.
I’m currently editing a collection of short stories on the topic of gambling. The story can deal with any aspect of gambling as long as it is a primary subject. Accepting stories between 5 and 30 pages, must be fully developed with plot, character, development, etc.
I’m not looking simply for “bad beat” stories or other personal narratives / testimonies with no theme or development.
I don’t have a publisher yet, but I will seek either an academic or commercial publisher when I have samples to submit.
Compensation will be negotiated after publisher is determined.
You can see my list of publications and other credentials on my university homepage:
www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~champion
Send queries and stories to:
champion.laurie@gmail.com
Paste stories into the body of the email–attachments will not be opened unless advance arrangements made. Please write GAMBLING STORY in the subject line, as I have a tight spam filter and will check filtered mail daily.
Thanks,
Laurie Champion