Half-Time - A Short Story for Your Ears

Earlier this year, at Grub Street's Muse and the Marketplace writer's conference, I recorded a short short story for The Drum (the literary magazine for your ears). It was an open mic, anyone could record a story with the understanding that if the editor (erstwhile Beyond the Margins writer Henriette Power) liked it she would use it for her online lit mag.

Alas, the story didn't make the cut. But she sent me the audio file to play with. Unfortunately, Blogger doesn't make it easy to embed an audio file into a blog post. So I've posted it over at my other online playground, Lowell Postcard. If you're interested, take a left turn and check it out.

Chuck Palahniuk at the 2010 Muse and the Marketplace

Chuck Palahniuk was the keynote speaker a couple weeks back at Grub Street's Muse and the Marketplace conference.

The conference was two days, and I was there Saturday helping Henriette launch her new online audio lit mag The Drum. She was recording walk-ins reading flash fiction and, between sessions, some of this year's panelists reading their work, including Maud Casey, Lauren Grodstein, Jon Papernick, and Adam Stumacher, among others.

Sunday was the keynote address. I didn't attend. If you missed Chuck's talk like I did, fear not. Here's the almost 60-minute keynote for your listening and watching pleasure:

Chuck Palahniuk from Grub Street on Vimeo.

Introducing The Drum

Do you like listening to fiction read aloud? Do you like to take your stories on the go? Coming in May 2010 there will be a new literary magazine for your ears: The Drum. Founded by Grub Streeter and fellow Beyond the Margins blogger Henriette Lazaridis Power, The Drum will publish short fiction, essays, and author interviews in audio form. It will be like going to an author reading, except the author comes to you!

As Henriette says, "I want The Drum to be a kind of curated iTunes for new works, with all the 'soundtrack of your life' possibilities that iTunes allows. I think, too, for anyone who views writing as essentially performative, and who values the artistry of the speaking voice, The Drum will, with luck, satisfy their interest."

Most of the stories and essays wil be read by the authors. If you are a writer interested submitting to The Drum, here are the guidelines:

"The Drum is looking for work that pays close attention to language while never losing sight of the narrative drive. We want stories that really do tell a story. And essays that engage in the complexity of an idea. We accept essays (under 10,000 words), short-shorts (under 2,000 words), short stories (under 10,000), and novel excerpts (up to 50 pages; we may choose to publish novel excerpts in two segments). Please send only text files (only in .doc format). If we accept your work, we will be in touch about how to arrange a recording. Make sure that your name and the title of the work appear on each page of the manuscript and present the manuscript with standard margins and type. Include contact information on the first page of the document."

Visit The Drum for more information about where and how to submit.