Thursday, September 24, 2009

Issue Pre-Release Party


The Journal, The Ohio State University’s award winning literary magazine of poetry and prose, is hosting a pre-release party for the upcoming fall/winter issue at Rumba Café on Saturday, October 10th at 8:00 p.m. The evening will feature readings by OSU Alumni Don Pollock, acclaimed author of Knockemstiff, and poet Maggie Smith, author of Nesting Dolls and The Lamp of My Body. The New York-based musical group, Gracious Sakes Alive, is also scheduled to perform.

The Journal has been published biannually since 1973, printing the best work by new and emerging writers around Ohio and the nation. Literary journals nationwide have seen their funding slashed in recent months, and The Journal is no exception. The magazine and its staff are committed to continuing The Journal’s literary tradition; thus all money collected will go towards covering the costs of paying contributors, in addition to production and advertising costs.

The Rumba Café is located at 2507 Summit Street. There is a $5.00 donation at the door. For more information on the pre-release party, and for other ways to donate to The Journal, call 614-292-4076 or go to http://english.osu.edu/research/journals/thejournal.

The Journal Short Story Contest

The Journal is pleased to announce that Lee K. Abbott has chosen a winner for this year's contest. That winner is: Stacy M. Tintocalis for her story "Too Bad About Howie." Lee K. Abbott said of this story:

One of the facts of literary life that so frustrated the late novelist Stanley Elkin was the dearth of a species of narrative he adored: the “sad” funny story (The Dick Gibson Show) or the “funny” sad story (Stanley Elkin’s Magic Kingdom). First, you need feck-free protagonist, like the narrator of “Too Bad About Howie,” a hero too innocent to understand the conflict between the head and the heart: the one proposes, the other disposes. You need, too, a dramatic situation where the stakes are high: anything involving a boy and a girl will do nicely, thank you. And, if you can manage it, you need a style as peppy as it is poignant. Tone, of course, is the devil in all these details: season with rue, in other words. To my mind, “…Howie” satisfies perfectly: I am tickled as much as I am touched.

"Too Bad About Howie" will be published in the upcoming autumn/winter issue of The Journal. Congratulations Stacy.