The Akutagawa Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in Japanese literature. It is given to ‘new or rising’ authors writing in Japanese. The award is presented to two works each year – usually. Some years there’s only one winner; some years there are three; some years they don’t award a prize at all; some years they give out four.…
Submission Opportunities: March 2025
Check out these submission opportunities for March. And join our submission party livestream Monday March 3!
Striving Novelists Support Group: Writing Through Challenges
In this week's Striving Novelists Support Group, we discuss writing fiction as a form of journaling.
“The Vanishing Point” by Paul Theroux
Paul Theroux is a prolific author who, at 83, is reflecting on life and aging in his new short story collection, The Vanishing Point. The stories are mostly unrelated (except for the last section, which focuses on the character Andy Parent).…
Striving Novelists Support Group: Focus, Focus, Focus
In this week's Striving Novelists Support Group, we discuss the impact of writing environments and distractions.
Springtime on Story Street Flash Contest-Now Open!
Time to grow your writing. 100 of your best words could win $100. Our next flash fiction contest opens Feb 14.
Introducing Striving Novelists Support Group: Also, When is Done, Done?
Watch the replay of the new Striving Novelists Support Group. This week's topic: When is done, done? Catch the live stream weekly on Mondays 2pm EST.
Writer on the Road
Dispatches from a Nomadic Literary Life
On a warm July day last year, most of my family piled into a New York City taxi with suitcases and backpacks. The taxi sped toward the Hudson River while the driver talked on his cell phone over music thudding from the radio.…
Do literary awards matter?
Do literary prizes matter?
Yes. And no. And… sort of?
Do literary prizes matter?
No. They are silly popularity contests. There is probably politics involved. If you define importance based on prizes, following their recommendations meticulously, then you are a silly and politically pointless and popularity-obsessed person.…
Subs and Grinders: February 2025
Productive lunch breaks with Story Street. Check out these submission opportunities for February.