Lit Hub Daily: April 20, 2022

TODAY: In 1611, the first known performance of Macbeth shows at the Globe Theater.

“Doesn’t it scan as odd that the collective book industry reply to ‘your working conditions are so racist they’re a form of psychological horror’ was an ecstatic yes, drag me?” Tajja Isen on The Other Black Girl and lip service in publishing. | Lit Hub Criticism

Middle-earth in watercolor: Alan Lee on the (dreamy) process of illustrating The Lord of the Rings. | Lit Hub Art

“My need was amorphous, inarticulate.” Jesymn Ward recalls discovering the work of Ntozake Shange at just the right time. | Lit Hub Criticism

Jendella Benson’s advice for capturing not just the act of gentrification but the “specific fingerprint of a community that is being erased.” | Lit Hub Craft

Steve Almond and Melissa Chadburn talk about writing ambitious novels and outlasting doubt in the process. | Lit Hub In Conversation

Vanessa Hua considers power and consent inside the surprising history of Chairman Mao’s love for dance. | Lit Hub History

How has the pandemic changed our perceptions of loneliness? Four writers from The Lonely Stories weigh in. | Lit Hub Roundtable

When airline stewardesses were forced to retire at 32—and how they fought back. | Lit Hub History

Contributors to the new Mystery Writers of America anthology Crime Hits Home reflect on its theme. | CrimeReads

Sam Lipsyte explores the brave new world of “digisexuality.” | Harper’s

“You have to have categorical and systemic partitioning, even hard generic distinctions, in order to see curious crossings.” Nan Z. Da and Jessica Swodoba discuss literary criticism’s layers. | The Point

Summer Brennan debunks some myths about nonfiction trade publishing, from advance sizes to book tours. | A Writer’s Notebook

“I think the feminist standpoint is to let each person have their experience.” Chloe Caldwell on writing a book about her PMDD. | The Cut

Gal Beckerman recommends eight books that show how social change actually works. | The Atlantic

Nick Haramis delves into the world of book styling—and the people who fashion books into accessories, decor, and more. | The New York Times

Alsace Walentine of Tombolo Books talks about bookselling during the COVID-19 pandemic. | The Tampa Bay Times

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SUBMISSION DEADLINE APPROACHING

The Ploughshares Emerging Writer's Contest recognizes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by writers who have yet to publish or self-publish a book of their own work. One winner in each genre will receive $2,000, publication in Ploughshares, and a conversation with a literary agent at Aevitas Creative Management. Judged by Amelia Gray, Chen Chen, and Danielle Geller, the 2022 Emerging Writer's Contest is open for submissions until May 15, 2022.

Visit pshares.org to review the contest guidelines and enter your work!

THE FIFTEENETH NOVEL IN MIKE LAWSON’S ACCLAIMED SERIES

House Standoff follows Joe DeMarco to Wyoming, scene of a storied armed standoff between a defiant cattle rancher and federal agents. But DeMarco doesn’t care about the standoff; this mission is personal for him.

Now in paperback.

ALSO ON LITERARY HUB

How dictation software helped Kim Beil navigate pandemic pain.

RECKONING WITH THE HISTORY OF MEDICAL RACISM

A reading list from Dolen Perkins-Valdez.

NOOR NAGA’S LATEST NOVEL

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