It’s been a quiet year for me in terms of publishing flash pieces, but I did a lot of work. I finished and revised a novel. I worked with a bunch of amazing writers over at Lost Balloon. I tried my hand at writing personal essays. I signed with a wonderful agent. I’m looking forward to 2021 and what it brings. Happy New Year!
Author / Chelsea
Wigleaf Top 50 Longlist for 2020
I feel so proud to say that my story “Run” made the longlist for this year’s Wigleaf Top 50. This is my second year making the longlist. I’m grateful to the editors at Gravel, who originally published the piece, and the Wigleaf Top 50 editors, who I know spend so much time and effort on this list every year.
New Story at X-R-A-Y lit mag
My story “First Kiss at the End of the World” about climate crisis and kissing is up at X-R-A-Y literary magazine, accompanied by some gorgeous artwork by Bob Schofield. Please go read!
Queries, Pubs, and Podcasts, oh my!
I started querying literary agents for my novel. It feels a little insane and ghoulish to be trying to market myself right now, but I know that the entire industry is probably in the same mental space. We’re all confined to our homes, hoping our loved ones don’t die, and simultaneously trying to pretend like everything is normal and go about our daily lives, all while wearing face-masks, plastic gloves, and enough hand sanitizer to kill an ant farm. I’ve had some good response so far, getting several requests to read my full manuscript, so at least that is something to be hopeful about.
My flash story “First Kiss at the End of the World” comes out on April 23rd. It’s about love and climate crisis, but as you can tell from the title, it’s probably going to feel topical.
The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast released the episode I narrated for them, where they discuss C.L. Moore’s story “Shambleau.” The piece is about a medusa-like character, a monster I’ve always felt a certain affinity for. This episode is not one of their freebies, so you will need to be a Patreon subscriber to listen.
Upcoming Work
I have two things coming up soon. The first is a story forthcoming from X-R-A-Y lit mag, and the second is a narration for the HP Podcraft Literary podcast. I don’t have exact dates for either yet, so stay tuned!
Interview with Jaquira Díaz in The Rumpus
Ordinary Girls, the debut memoir by Jaquira Díaz, will be published on October 29th by Algonquin Books. I spoke with Díaz for The Rumpus about monsters, the duality of the migrant experience in America, and what it’s like to reject or embrace the label of being an “ordinary girl.” You can read our talk here.
New Piece up in Cheap Pop!
Book Cellar, Read With Audrey, and Last Exit Pub
Next Saturday I’ll be reading at a StoryStudio event at the Book Cellar in Lincoln Square. If you live in Chicago, please come check it out. There is a Facebook event page here.
I was also contacted this week by Rob Paul, the man behind Read with Audrey, a service that pairs people together to read aloud to each other. Audrey will be featuring my story “A Thousand Butterflies” as part of their reading material, and I’m damn flattered.
My story “Bottle Rocket” will be published in the next issue of Last Exit, so please stay tuned for that. I’ve been a fan of editors Julia Dixon Evans and Ryan Bradford for quite some time now, so I’m thrilled to be associated with them and their magazine.
Wigleaf Top 50 Longlist and More!
I just returned from Houston, where I was a panelist for Writefest. It’s a gorgeous city, and I met a ton of talented and friendly writers, editors, and industry folks.
While I was there, a reprint of my story “A Thousand Butterflies” went live over at Flash Fiction Online. You can read the piece here. Big thanks to editor Anna Yeatts and the rest of the staff for giving this piece a second home. I also found out last week that my flash “Hotbox,” published in New World Writing, made the longlist for Wigleaf‘s Top 50 (Very) Short Fictions of 2019. This is the first time one of my stories has made a best of list like this, so I was over the moon when I saw the news.
I feel incredibly grateful to the Writefest organizers, as well as the editors over at Wigleaf, New World Writing, and Flash Fiction Online. Writing can be a quiet, lonely endeavor, full of disappointment and rejection, but then I’m reminded of how much everyone works to lift each other up, and it’s pretty amazing.
Finally, I will be reading with a group of other writers at The Book Cellar in Lincoln Square on June 22nd. Stay tuned for more information on that event.
Interview with Angie Kim at The Rumpus
Angie Kim’s debut novel Miracle Creek will be published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux on April 16th, and tackles contemporary issues such as disability, immigration, and family with an empathetic and compelling touch. I interviewed Kim for The Rumpus, and now you can read our discussion here.
