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Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2016 | CONTEST EDITION

Issue 193, Winter 2015

UPCOMING CNF ISSUE

Be sure to preview "Elusive Boundaries: Mapping CNF in Canada," the Malahat's first-ever issue dedicated entirely to works of creative nonfiction!

Click here for online interviews and a list of contributors.


Get Ready For...

Malahat staff are in high prep mode for this year's WordsThaw, our annual writing symposium, set to take place March 17-20 at the University of Victoria. Stay tuned for more details!


Cheap Cheap: Subscriptions Cost $15 'til January 31!

Holiday Discount Offer

Last chance to buy a gift subscription for yourself or a friend is drawing near! Spend your holiday money wisely and get a year's subscription to the Malahat at our cheapest rate yet.

Buy a subscription here.


Our Back Pages Featured Issue: #70, March 1985

OBP #70

The 70th issue of the Malahat is dedicated to John Metcalf, introduced by Constance Rooke as a stylist and a polemicist, a writer of "all three fictional sizes—the story, the novella, and the novel." She raves about his humour, his precision, and his skill. Rooke’s editorial comment is followed by an equally complimentary introduction from Alice Munro, queen of the short story and recipient of multiple awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Read more about Issue #70.

2016 Novella Prize: $1500 (deadline February 1)

Novella Prize

Shed the holiday fever and get writing!

Think of the novella as a short story fit for royalty. You'll win a cash prize of $1500, publication in the summer issue, and an interview to talk (and gloat) about your winning piece.

This year's contest judges are Mark Anthony Jarman, Stephen Marche, and Joan Thomas. Want to get inspired? Read interviews with each judge on our website.

Entry fees vary by location. All entrants will receive a one-year subscription to The Malahat Review.

Full contest guidelines available on the Malahat website.

 

CNF Issue Preview: Interview with J.D. Zapf

Josh ZapfMalahat volunteer L'Amour Lisik talks with J.D. Zapf about “Median Love,” his nonfiction piece on the interconnectivity of modern love, set to be published in Issue #193.

LL: This piece can be seen as a hybrid of creative nonfiction and fiction. Many writers dispute the limits of CNF and whether or not it can be mixed with fiction. Are there any sacred boundaries you keep to when writing CNF?

JZ: I want to say yes. I think that creative nonfiction is based supremely in fact; it does not intentionally mislead the reader. But if we look at “Median Love,” I have made people up. So, is that not a form of lying?

I’d argue it isn’t, because my intent is clear. The story is intentionally set up like fiction—it is overly specific yet has no real setting and therefore could be about people anywhere, and there is an omniscient narrator.

There are other little things that identify to the reader that this is not a typical creative nonfiction piece. For example, no one has a last name, and the stats often steer us away from seriousness. So I would say I haven’t broken my golden rule of misleading the reader.

Read the rest of J.D.'s interview on the Malahat website.

 

Publishing Tip by rob mclennan: Tips on Attention

rob mclennanDon't think you have the time to write? Ottawa writer and blogger rob mclennan dishes up hearty advice on snapping out of the writers' block mentality and strengthening your time-management regime.

Here's a sample of rob's publishing tip:

Attention is a muscle, one that requires development. I know writers that require a soundless space and enforced solitude; I acknowledge that for some this is the only way to proceed, but it all seems a bit precious, akin to suggesting that one can’t do any work until life is perfect and calm (which never happens, as you know). Silence and attention are not mutually exclusive. So you want to write?

Read the rest of rob's publishing tip on the Malahat website.

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