News Archives – ZYZZYVA

The Golden State Bundle, Now Available

by ZYZZYVA

April 6, 2021

Posted on April 6, 2021 (April 6, 2021) by Zack Ravas

ZYZZYVA Golden State Bundle: No. 117 & No. 119

Within the realm of literature, there is no need to choose one region over the other. Get the Bay Area Issue and the Los Angeles Issue in our Golden State Bundle and enjoy the work of some of the best poets and writers that California has to offer. Together, the issues in the Golden State Bundle boast many of the West Coast’s finest writers, with fiction by Charlie Jane Anders, Jonathan Escoffery, Rita Bullwinkel, Michelle Latiolais, Chia-Chia Lin, Perry Janes, Ingrid Rojas Contreras; essays by Tom Bissell, Lydia Kiesling, and Wendy C. Ortiz; poetry by sam sax, Victoria Chang, Meg […]

8 Things You Can Do To Support the AAPIs in Your Life

by Mimi Lok

March 26, 2021

Posted on March 26, 2021 (March 26, 2021) by Zack Ravas

The following is a reprint of a Google Doc by author Mimi Lok. You can read the original document here. In the week since the Atlanta shootings, which claimed the lives of eight people—six of whom were AAPI (Asian American & Pacific Islander) women—I’ve seen my own experience reflected in the AAPIs around me in heartbreaking and illuminating ways. What has emerged most clearly are the layers upon layers of pain—the grief and anger for the victims and their loved ones, the fear for our own loved ones and for ourselves, and the added hurt of invisibility and silence within […]

The L.A. Issue

by ZYZZYVA

October 24, 2020

Posted on October 24, 2020 (April 6, 2021) by ZYZZYVA

ZYZZYVA Volume 36, #2, Fall–Winter 2020 (No. 119) - Day and Night Versions

The L.A. Issue. Fiction: Ray Bradbury, Siel Ju, Jonathan Escoffery, Perry Janes, Francisco González, Andrés Reconco, Kathleen Mackay, and Michelle Latiolais. Nonfiction: A. Kendra Greene, Wendy C. Ortiz, Steve Ryfle, and David L. Ulin. Interview: Steve Ryfle talks to the late Wanda Coleman. Poetry: Victoria Chang, David Hernandez, Genevieve Kaplan, Douglas Manuel, Dan Murphy, and Mary Otis. Art: Henry Lara. You can purchase a copy of No. 119 here, or order a subscription to ZYZZYVA now. […]

ZYZZYVA and The Booksmith present Lockdown Lit @ Lunch

by ZYZZYVA

May 18, 2020

Posted on May 18, 2020 (May 14, 2020) by Zack Ravas

Lockdown Literature, a collective of 80+ authors with new books published during the COVID-19 crisis, will partner with The Booksmith, one of San Francisco’s oldest independent bookstores, and the literary magazine ZYZZYVA, to present “Lockdown Lit @ Lunch,” a series of midday conversations between contemporary writers. The first event will be held on Tuesday, May 19, at 2pm EDT, featuring Clare Beams (The Illness Lesson) and Rachel Vorona Cote (Too Much: How Victorian Constraints Still Bind Women Today). Events will be broadcast on Facebook Live (facebook.com/booksmith) and hosted by ZYZZYVA Managing Editor, Oscar Villalon. “There are so many great new […]

In Memoriam: Eavan Boland

by Kenneth Fields

May 6, 2020

Posted on May 6, 2020 (May 5, 2020) by Zack Ravas

(Image credit: Maura Hickey) There are depths we cannot fathom. In this long season of losses, many of us have felt and will feel ourselves dropped into these depths with the death of loved ones. This is how many of us feel about the death of my friend and colleague, the Irish poet, Eavan Boland. She was born in Dublin in 1944 to Frances Kelly, a noted Irish painter and Frederick H. Boland, a famous diplomat. As director of Stanford’s Creative Writing Program for 24 years, she combined her artistic and diplomatic skills to negotiate among fellows, lecturers, faculty, donors, […]

‘Child of Light’ by Madison Smartt Bell: Rolling Away the Stone

by Paul Wilner

April 15, 2020

Posted on April 15, 2020 (April 17, 2020) by Zack Ravas

Too many literary biographies are a waste of space–a cut-and-paste pastiche of previously published materials, random interviews, and unselectively edited quotes, put together in the apparent rush of getting from A to Zed and be done with things. The funeral is more important than what preceded it. Madison Smartt Bell largely avoids these obstacles in Child of Light (588 pages; Doubleday), his masterly new biography of Robert Stone, in which he adheres to the Joseph Conrad dictum that Stone liked to quote: “Fiction must justify itself in every line.’’ Bell is also the editor of The Eye You See With, […]

35th Anniversary Issue: Letter from the Editor

by Laura Cogan

April 13, 2020

Posted on April 13, 2020 (May 4, 2020) by Zack Ravas

ZYZZYVA Volume 36, #1, Spring 2020 (No. 118)

The following is Laura Cogan’s Letter from the Editor in our new 35th Anniversary Issue. You can purchase a copy of the new issue from our Shop page. Dear Reader, This year marks the centennial of women’s suffrage, and while it remains a source of national shame and outrage that we came by this expansion of voting rights so disgracefully late, it will nevertheless be natural for many to take the anniversary as a moment to celebrate how far we’ve come. But the passage of time has (or should have) also shifted our perspective and broadened our lens, so that […]

Shelter in Place Compatibility Quiz

by Christine Sneed

April 2, 2020

Posted on April 2, 2020 (April 1, 2020) by Zack Ravas

For this period of forced togetherness and self-quarantine, take this quiz to determine if you and your mate really are suited to spend so much time together. 1. Fill in the blank: I am a ________ person A. Dog B. Cat C. Horse D. Carp E. Squirrel 2. If you chose “carp,” you did so because A. It is a difficult word for your Uncle Jeff, the family bully, to pronounce B. You are indifferent to cats, dogs, and horses, and squirrels are imbeciles C. As an anagrammable word, it is subpar, but you’re crap at Boggle anyway D. Carp […]

Limited Time Offer: 3 Issues for $35

by ZYZZYVA

March 25, 2020

Posted on March 25, 2020 (April 13, 2020) by Zack Ravas

With our milestone 35th Anniversary issue shipping soon, the best way to ensure you promptly receive it is if you have a subscription. To make that much easier to do, we’re offering a special deal till this Sunday: Get our next three issues for only $35! The 35th Anniversary Issue features fiction by Bryan Washington, Lysley Tenorio, Kristen Iskandrian, and Peter Orner; poetry by Meg Hurtado Bloom, Troy Jollimore, and Jennifer Richter; nonfiction by Lauren Markham; an interview with Margaret Wilkerson Sexton; and much more. So be safe. Mind the six feet of distance.And get ready for a wonderful issue! […]

35th Anniversary Issue

by ZYZZYVA

March 23, 2020

Posted on March 23, 2020 (October 24, 2020) by ZYZZYVA

Our 35^th Anniversary Issue. Fiction: Bryan Washington, Lysley Tenorio, Elizabeth Reichert, Santiago José Sánchez, Mark Chiusano, Peter Orner, and Kristen Iskandrian. Nonfiction: Lauren Markham, Dave Madden. Interview: Margaret Wilkerson Sexton talks to John McMurtrie. Poetry: Meg Hurtado Bloom, Lisa Higgs, Troy Jollimore, Debora Kuan, Jennifer Richter, Dujie Tahat, John Sibley Williams, and Emma Winsor Wood. Art: Anne Siems. You can purchase a copy of No. 118 here, or order a subscription to ZYZZYVA now. […]

New Book Releases to Read During Shelter in Place

by ZYZZYVA Staff

March 18, 2020

Posted on March 18, 2020 (March 18, 2020) by Zack Ravas

Readers and friends, we hope you are staying safe during these trying times. We are all adjusting to the societal changes that are taking place due to the impact of COVID-19. It occurs to us that many new book releases have not received the coverage they would have during a normal news cycle, and their authors’ book tours have been cancelled due to safety concerns. As such, we thought we would collect a list of such books here in the hopes of giving them their due attention, with a reminder that you can order from Bookshop.org to support your local […]

Talking Shop: Chia-Chia Lin on Writers’ Workshops, Pitfalls and Inspiration

by Alicia Long

March 2, 2020

Posted on March 2, 2020 (February 27, 2020) by Zack Ravas

Chia-Chia Lin’s debut novel The Unpassing (FSG) was released last year to widespread acclaim (it was named one of the Best Books of 2019 by TIME, The Washington Post, and Esquire). Her short story “Ring Around the Equator, Pockets Full of Acres” was featured in the Bay Area issue. And soon Lin will be teaching a Fiction Workshop that you can apply to now. Lin recently shared her thoughts on the Writers’ Workshop process, as well as some of the pitfalls students can avoid. ZYZZYVA: What do you think a Fiction Workshop can offer writers who feel their piece is […]