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Join NOW!We at The Rumpus are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of writer Ned Vizzini at the age of 32. The author of Be More Chill, It’s Kind of A Funny Story, and other books, Ned was also an advocate for mental health awareness and often spoke publicly about his own experiences with depression. […]
...moreOver at Longform, contributing editor Elon Green and Tits and Sass editor Josephine H. compiled a list of must-read articles about the current state of the American sex industry, called “The Longform Guide to Sex Work.” We’re extremely pleased that longtime Rumpus contributor and columnist Antonia Crane has been included on that list, for her […]
...more“It’s 2011. There’s a shoebox under my desk filled with rejection letters. In defiant bold letters I’ve labeled it Reasons to Keep Writing.” Over at The Outlet, writer and recent Rumpus interviewee Nathaniel Kressen chronicles his journey from frustrated to fulfilled as he took matters into his own hands and self-published his first novel. With […]
...moreWhat do you do if you live in Washington, D.C. in the midst of a federal government shutdown that leaves 800,000 people out of work and affects millions of others? If you’re Sean Carman, a writer, environmental lawyer, and longtime Rumpus contributor, you take to the streets and interview the residents whose lives have been […]
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Writer Nelly Reifler talks about her latest book, Elect H. Mouse State Judge, the bodies of characters, weird writing exercises, and revisiting one’s childhood.
...more“Will social media kill writers’ diaries?” So asks Rumpus contributor Michele Filgate, in a Salon piece that examines the growing usage of Twitter, Facebook, and other public outlets to allow readers to eavesdrop on the personal thoughts and process of being a writer. Opinions from Matt Bell, Jess Walter, Caroline Leavitt, and others round out Filgate’s […]
...moreIf you’ve been keeping tabs on Netflix’s new brand of television, you’ve probably been anticipating the premiere of Orange is the New Black. What you may not know is that the series, about a woman who is incarcerated after she is caught running money for an international heroin gang, is based on Piper Kerman’s memoir of […]
...moreIf you’re looking for a fun and clever way to waste time at work today, it might be worth participating in Electric Literature‘s Author Sexting Hashtag Contest on Twitter. Here are the rules: Embody the voice of your favorite writer in a sext (or sext-up a title) and tweet it at @electriclit with #authorsexts before 8 pm (EST) […]
...moreHave you ever wanted to work on a movie set? Do you live in New York City and have some time to spare? The Rumpus is looking for a few hard-working individuals with can-do attitudes to join Happy Baby as Production Assistants! More details after the jump:
...moreIt’s not every day that The Rumpus finds itself immortalized in animation form. Contributor Yuvi Zalkow was so inspired by his recent interview with Thaisa Frank, he made a fantastic little short about it. We’re always happy to see art beget art, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about this. Watch Yuvi’s film “The Failure of […]
...moreI’m to be his guide in the mountains of Kirkegaard, W. says. His sherpa. I’m to carry his things. What should he bring? His learning, W. says. His years of study in the philosophy of religion. He’ll instruct me as we climb, W. says. He’ll point things out, and when he gets tired, I can give […]
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Halimah Marcus and Benjamin Samuel, the co-editors of Recommended Reading, discuss the ins and outs of editing an ambitious literary project.
...moreI think that most of us believe that time doesn’t really exist outside of the school. Or at least we act like it does not. This is to say, we know that in theory there was life before the school and that there will be life after the school if we can ever get out. […]
...moreIf you live in California, haven’t voted yet, and are still questioning those poorly-worded propositions, don’t fret: KQED has got your back. Compiled by KQED News and The California Report, the NPR affiliate presents voters with an immensely easy-to-understand ballot measure guide. Nonpartisan in nature, the guide cuts through the mumbo-jumbo and complicated language, and […]
...moreThe good news, as The Atlantic Wire reported yesterday, is many bookstores in Manhattan and Brooklyn managed to weather the storm, and should be—if they aren’t already—doing business as usual within the next day or so. The bad news is powerHouse Arena, a beloved bookstore situated in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, was not so lucky. Because […]
...moreAfter you read Brian Spears’s excellent take on our current political climate and why government is actually, in fact, important, get yourself acquainted with everything you need to know about participating in this year’s election. Google’s Director of Research, Peter Norvig, compiled this immensely helpful FAQ, which covers topics such as where you can vote […]
...moreThis month’s Rumpus Book Club selection, The Middlesteins, hit bookstores yesterday, and there is so much love for Jami Attenberg—who is also a Rumpus contributor—it is nothing short of awesome. Here are some links to psych you up for this good read: The Rumpus’s own Saturday Editor Michelle Dean sits down with Attenberg for her “Quit […]
...moreThe last of the presidential debates is on tonight. Before gearing yourself up for that, check out these two great essays we published over the weekend: “If we can’t see the reality we wish, we simply manufacture it. We supply the demand.” Roxane Gay deconstructs our fascination with the revelation of the self. “When I […]
...moreThis month’s Rumpus Book Club author and contributor Jami Attenberg got some love over at Interview Magazine today. In “What’s Eating Jami Attenberg?”, the writer talks shop about her latest novel, The Middlesteins, and also puts in a good word for chivalry in art: “…that’s totally tied into who I am as a writer. But I think of being […]
...more“I think in general writers are pretty nice to each other. And it’s not a zero sum game. I think that people understand that there’s always room for another good writer. I mean there is not a fixed amount of success to go around – it’s an ever-expanding and expandable quantity.” Some wise words from […]
...moreIt’s officially autumn! We welcome you to think about scarves, soup, and playing in giant piles of leaves, but maybe after reading the three great essays we published this weekend first: Matthew Salesses tackles singular models of racial identity—and so much more—in a follow-up to his previous Rumpus essay, “Different Racisms: On Jeremy Lin and […]
...more“Here are some of the things you need to know.” Gooding handed Pilley a card, laminated to slip smoothly into and out of his wallet, with a bulleted list of do’s and don’ts. Pilley stared at the card like it had the answers to the algebra final exam. He licked his white lips and coughed […]
...more“Then again, you might not be the funny type. How about making the rejection letter poignant, depressing, or even hurtful? Push the envelope. Your audience is a bunch of bored writers begging for a little drama in their pathetic lives. Never be sort of poignant! Depress and hurt the fuck out of somebody! (Don’t be afraid to use profanity!) […]
...moreMaybe if I’d participated more when I was a student, I’d have had a well formed outlook about who people really are, and I would have better grasped evil. I wouldn’t have committed as many errors as I have. I knew that people in Colombia killed, but I never thought that people I knew would […]
...moreSteve Brodner is back! Lest you accuse us of being politically biased, here he is live-blogging the Democratic National Convention for The Nation. Get ready for more hand-drawn satire, after the jump:
...more“I lose faith daily. Still. I don’t ever have “writer’s block” (I’m not ever sure I believe in it), but I do let writing go all the time. I now understand that’s just part of my personal process, and I embrace it. There are non-writing times and writing times. Like ocean waves. It is enough.” […]
...moreHappy Labor Day, everyone! We hope you’re able to take it easy today. If you’re planning on knocking around the Rumpus for a bit, check out these fantastic essays we posted over the weekend. You won’t regret it: Jake Cline remembers Beth Orton’s Central Reservation, and why shared music taste shouldn’t necessarily be a relationship dealbreaker. Steve […]
...moreWell this is just excellent: over at The Nation, artist Steve Brodner live-blogged the Republican National Convention—through illustrations. A sneak preview of what you’ll find, after the jump:
...moreDid you know Jean-Paul Sartre was obsessed with halva? Or that Emily Dickinson and Virginia Woolf could have indulged a carb overload with one of their homemade loaves of bread? Over at The Hairpin, Jane Hu puts together a glossary of favored foods by famous writers. Hu covers everything from caffeine addiction, to the chewing […]
...moreBack in March, we published a post on Chris Arnade’s “Faces of Addiction” project, which explores the stories of addicts living in New York City through a combination of photography and text. Earlier this month, Arnade wrote a piece on his Tumblr defending the project, and specifically criticism of his reputation for “touching up” subjects […]
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