When Guy Raz officially became the weekend host of NPR’s All Things Considered last summer, two of his goals were to make the show more interactive and to somehow get a professor from Harvard who he really admired involved.

He found a great way to achieve both: he started the “Three-minute Fiction” contest, open to any work of original fiction under six hundred words, and had it judged by the professor he so admired, James Wood. Yeah, that James Wood.

The first two rounds of TMF brought in over ten thousand entries. Many entries were posted on the site, winners were invited on the show and had the pleasure of hearing Wood read their story aloud. …more

Loss and longing sit side-by-side with unexpected humor in Laura van den Berg’s stories, reminding readers of the strange things we encounter every day. …more

It’s a shame the documentary Voices from El-Sayed isn’t as interesting as its premise. …more

Legendary clothing designer Valentino Garavani dressed everyone from Jackie Onassis to Gwyneth Paltrow, and made — and spent! — millions doing it. But why should a Rumpus reader care? …more