Oh Monday. Here are some best-of-the-webs to get you geared up for the week.

Matt Sumell produced this list of Fiction’s top ten troublemakers for The Guardian.

We’re excited about a few things over here. Our anthology closes for submissions on the 31, which means you need to get your stories in pronto. Also, we’re thrilled to announce author Anne Valente will be editing the stories for our online Spring Workshop, which is open for submissions through May 15. Lastly, a huge congrats to Masters Review writer Megan Giddings and her story “The Brothers Wham!” which will be republished in The Best of the Net anthology.

Rob Spillman gave us this great piece in Guernica on Miranda July and her new book, The First Bad Man. “The issue is that words like whimsical are ‘a pejorative masquerading as a descriptor’ and, no surprise, are rarely used to describe the work of male novelists working similar territory.”

Screenwriters, HBO is accepting applications to its HBO Access Writing Fellowship, which opens on March 4, and is looking for diverse writers. Details, here.

We’re Electric Literature devotees. They are always great and always deliver. Here’s this gem, a video of Lydia Davis’ advice to young writers. “Do what you want to do, and don’t worry if it’s a little odd or doesn’t fit the market.”

Thirty-one-year-old author Graham Moore talks writing, failure, and his screenplay The Imitation Game, in this lengthy (and awesome!) interview. “In spending your days making things, you’re constantly recalibrating how much of an editor you need to be, how much you need to trust that hopefully someone will make some merit in what you’re doing, but at the same time be easy on yourself enough so that you can keep going. But you also have to be hard enough on yourself so that you don’t think that just any thing is the most brilliant thing in the world. ”

Want to feel productive on a Monday? Submit to these upcoming contests (a sneak-peek of our March deadlines list)!

Sunday is a time to slow down. Here are some literary links from around the web to help guide you through your morning.

Kelly Link’s new book Get in Trouble was released last week and our friends at Electric Literature have a killer interview.

We were quite taken with Literistic this week. This new service compiles all the upcoming deadlines and contests for the following month and sends you a curated list based on your preferences. Free to subscribe!

The PEN Center USA blog aims to inspire, educate, and support literature. They’re currently hosting a 500-word contest inspired by this Vivian Maier photograph. The contest is $5 to enter and is judged by Amelia Gray. The deadline to submit is Monday, February 9, but look, it’s only 500 words. Details here.

Poets.org posted this poem by Michael McGriff, and we’re, well, obsessed. “Why I’m Obsessed With Horses.”

Our anthology is open for submissions. $5000 awarded to the best emerging writers. Judged by Kevin Brockmeier. Submit now!

Kirstin Valdez Quade’s is a 5 Under 35 award winner from the National Book Foundation and her book of short stories, Night at the Fiestas debuts next month. We love fresh voices and new talent. Here’s a sneak peek of her writing with the story “The Five Wounds,” published by The New Yorker.

There’s no denying it, Margaret Atwood is important for the world. In this Slate interview, she talks about hope, science, and writing for the future.

It’s starting to feel like fall, and along with the changing leaves comes an impressive new crop of books. Here are ten fresh debuts we can’t wait to curl up with this season.  

September

Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle

John Darnielle, of popular band The Mountain Goats, has written a novel, and editor Andrew just loved it. The hermetic narrator Sean spends most of his life creating a role-playing game that his clients play through the mail. But he is forced to confront reality when tragedy befalls two of the game’s most fanatic fans. In his upcoming review, Andrew writes: “ . . . through deft construction and well-earned empathy, Darnielle has crafted a memorable character who is guided through the darkest patches of his life by an inner intensity that burns like a magnesium flare.”

Wallflowers by Eliza Robertson

Eliza Robertson’s debut story collection, Wallflowers, is out mid-September. This young Canadian author has already garnered wide acclaim, and with good reason. The seventeen stories in this thick collection are exquisitely crafted worlds. In the opening story, a teenage girl finds herself alone, the only one in her neighborhood to survive a flood. In another story, Robertson focuses on the fiery, complicated relationship between two roommates. Editor Arielle thoroughly enjoyed this collection. In her upcoming review, Arielle comments: “As a whole, the collection stands as evidence of a truly great new literary talent with a handle on craft, character and subtlety. Robertson can handle the quick turn as well as she can build the slow burn.”

Doll Palace by Sara Lippmann

We loved Dock Street Press’s second release Naked Me by Christian Winn, and we are eagerly awaiting the next book from this new publisher: Doll Palace by Sara Lippmann. This is Lippmann’s debut story collection, but you can sneak a peak at her writing in Joyland, Wigleaf, and SmokeLong Quarterly, among other lit mags. Rachel Sherman, author of Living Room and The First Hunt, has said of Lippmann: “Her female characters see motherhood, womanhood and self-hood through a raw and funny lens: I am about to cry, when I laugh.”
 

October

The Wilds by Julia Elliott

Julia Elliott’s The Wilds is the perfect October book. According to the Publishers Weekly starred review, “Elliott’s gift of vernacular is remarkable, and her dark, modern spin on Southern Gothic creates tales that surprise, shock, and sharply depict vice and virtue.”

By Light We Knew Our Names by Anne Valente

We are beyond excited about By Light We Knew Our Names, Anne Valente’s debut short story collection, out from Dzanc Books. The collection features an all-woman fight club,  ghosts, and pink dolphins. We are so there. If you can’t wait until October 14 to be introduced to Valente’s stories, check out her chapbook from Origami Zoo Press.

Thrown by Kerry Howley

Essayist Kerry Howley closely followed the lives of two cage fighters for three years. Thrown is the miraculous result: a serious, literary, and entertaining work of nonfiction. John D’Agata said, of the book: “Out of the dank basements and glitzy arenas of a brutal sport, Kerry Howley has created a story that is virtuous, rapturous, and utterly consequential.” This one is not to be missed.

Women by Chloe Caldwell

Women, Chloe Caldwell’s elegant, palm-sized novella is, in the words of publisher SF/LD Books, “about falling in love with a woman, about loving women, about being a woman.” Caldwell has already published an essay collection and has a strong fan base. Elisa Albert, author of The Book of Dahlia, said: “I’ll read anything Chloe Caldwell writes. She’s a rare bird: fearless, dark, prolific, unpretentious, and truly honest.” (more…)

What does a writer’s office look like? From Proust’s cork-lined room to Margaret Atwood’s organized desk, writers’ offices are as varied as the work produced within them. The spaces where authors create continue to fascinate us. Check out the great spaces below and send us a picture of your #writersoffice.

BuzzFeed compiled pictures of the creative spaces of many famous artists, designers, musicians, and writers. Among them are Mark Twain, Martin Amis, Virginia Woolf, Nigella Lawson, and Susan Orlean. Check it out.

The Guardian did a two-year series on writers’ rooms that features pictures and short essays from each author about his writing environment. It’s nice to hear authors talk candidly about their routines. The series is full of little gems, such as this one from Justin Cartwright: “It’s only about three metres, but the separation of home and work is crucial.” Read the series here.

From Sir Walter Scott composing epic poetry on horseback, to Agatha Christie plotting novels in her bathtub, this Writer’s Digest article talks about the unconventional writing spots of famous writers. Read it here.

This Poets and Writers article discusses the work spaces of many famous authors and examines the question: “What does place even mean to a writer?” It’s a great read.

The Next Best Book Blog features weekly profiles with writers about their work spaces. They even got Margaret Atwood to tweet a picture of her desk to them! Check it out.

Deadline time is every time. Once again, a collection of deadlines for magazines and writing contests. Most of these end June 30th/July 1st, but make sure to double-check the corresponding websites for any updated information.

Salamander – This Boston-based nonprofit literary organization (with ties to Suffolk University) publishes a magazine twice a year. Their 2014 Fiction Prize will be judged by Jennifer Haigh. The reading fee includes a one-year subscription. The mid-month deadline is creeping up. More details here. Entry Fee: $15. DUE DATE: June 15

 Writer’s Digest – WD’s Annual Writing Competition was in last month’s list but they’ve extended their deadline, which gives you a bit more time to polish and submit your work of memoir, poetry, YA, genre shorts, literary shorts, etc. The Grand Prize is a whopping $3000 and includes an all-expenses-paid trip to the next Writer’s Digest Conference. Submit now. Entry Fee: $30 for the first manuscript; $25 for each additional entry. DUE DATE: June 16th 

Literary Arts – The Portland non-profit literary center is responsible for bringing some of the world’s best writers to Portland to read as well as sharing Portland’s best writers with our public high schools through their Writers In The Schools outreach program. And they also offer Oregon Literary Fellowships, a prize of $2500 awarded to Oregon writers who “initiate, develop, or complete literary projects in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.” They also offer the annual Women Writers Fellowship to “an Oregon woman writer of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction whose work explores experiences of race, class, physical disability, or sexual orientation.” More details here. No Entry Fee. DUE DATE: June 27th

Glimmer Train – This triannual writing journal, which also shares our hometown, has a fiction contest for June that is open to all writers, subjects, and themes. First prize gets you $2500 and 20 copies of the issue in which you’ll be published. Considering every issue sells out, that’s a generous detail. There are second and third prizes as well. Entry Fee: $20 per submission (three max). DUE DATE: June 30th

Red Hen Press – The Short Story Award is given annually by this LA-based literary press. It includes a $1000 prize and publication in the Los Angeles Review. This is a bliNd read, sO doN‘t leAve identifying inforMation in your EntrieS, winkwink. Go ahead, apply. Entry Fee: $20 per two-story submission. DUE DATE: June 30th

National Poetry Review Press – We’ve gone local, we’ve gone West Coast. Now we go national (even though they’re based in CA), with the National Poetry Review Press’s Book Prize, given every year for a poetry collection. This year’s judge is C.J. Sage. Manuscripts should be between 45 to 80 pages. Check it out. Entry Fee: $25. DUE DATE: June 30th

Bellevue Literary Review – Ooh boy, BLR is bringing the heat in terms of judging caliber. Their annual prizes of $1000 are awarded to a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer for works “about health, healing, illness, the body, and the mind.” The Marica and Jan Vilcek Prize for Poetry will be judged by Major Jackson, the Goldenberg Prize for Fiction by Chang-Rae Lee, and the Felice Buckvar Prize for Nonfiction by Anne Fadiman. Submit now! Entry Fee: $20 (the $30 rate includes a subscription). DUE DATE: July 1st