We at The Common are proud to announce our nominations for the 2018 Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses series, an accolade bestowed upon small-press writers for works of outstanding writing and literary talent. Each of our nominations represents this culmination of talent and ingenuity alongside the celebration of a daring and modern sense of place.
Don’t miss The Common’s annual author postcard auction! Bid for a chance to win a postcard from your favorite writer, handwritten for yourself or a person of your choice. A wonderful keepsake, just in time for the holidays!
The auction will run from 8 a.m. EST on November 20 to 6 p.m. EST on December 10, 2017. This year’s participants include Junot Díaz, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Zadie Smith, Salman Rushdie, and Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), among others. Click here for more information about the auction.
All proceeds will go toward The Common’s programs. These include publishing emerging writers, mentoring students in our Literary Publishing Internship Program, and connecting with students around the world through The Common in the Classroom.
Join the staff and interns of The Common for our launch of Issue 14! Come to hear readings from our new issue and enjoy wine and cheese in the Mead Art Museum’s beautiful Rotherwas Room.
Free and open to the public – students, parents, and local lit lovers all welcome!
Love reading The Common and in the Boston area this October? Come meet some of the faces behind the magazine! We’ll be attending the 2017 Boston Book Festival on October 28th, from 11am to 5pm in Copley Square, tabling with The Massachusetts Review. We’re in booth 23, which will be located along Boylston Street, up by Trinity Church. We have tasty treats to give out to those who stop by our booth, while supplies last, and discounted issues for sale. For more information on the festival schedule, special events, and visiting authors, click here.
Amherst’s annual literary festival celebrates the College’s extraordinary literary life by bringing to campus distinguished authors and editors to share and discuss the pleasures and challenges of verbal expression—from fiction and nonfiction, to poetry and spoken-word performance.
This year’s festival features award-winning novelist Zadie Smith, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, and 2016 National Book Award Fiction Finalists Chris Bachelder and Jacqueline Woodson, among others.
Bid for a chance to win a postcard from your favorite author, handwritten for you or a person of your choice. A wonderful keepsake, just in time for the holidays.
All proceeds will go toward The Common‘s programs. These include publishing emerging writers, mentoring students in our Literary Publishing Internship Program, and connecting with students around the world through The Common in the Classroom.
Explore the auction here: http://bit.ly/TheCommonPostcardAuction2016. Bidding opens on Monday, November 7th.
The CLMP Firecracker Award 2016. The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) has named The Common a finalist for the Firecracker Award, an award dedicated to celebrating independent literary publishers.
Amherst College posts videos from the various Lit Fest 2016 events. The videos feature Angela Flournoy, Lauren Groff ’01, Deborah Treisman, Harold Augenbraum and Jen Acker ’00.
AMHERST, MA. MAR. 12, 2015—From March 24–26, The Common literary magazine and Amherst College’s Copeland Colloquium will host a series of Arabic cultural events featuring internationally recognized writers, editors, translators, and musicians. Literary conversations will delve into the largely untranslated world of new Arabic writing, fiction in particular, and a live musical performance will bring Arabic music to local audiences. All events aim to broaden and deepen cultural exchange.
CONTEMPORARY ARABIC FICTION: A CONVERSATION: MARCH 24, 4:30PM
What themes and styles are emerging in contemporary Arabic fiction? What are the opportunities and challenges of publishing these works? Panelists include The Common editor in chief Jennifer Acker, acclaimed authors Hisham Bustani (Jordan) and Hassan Blasim (Iraq), Interlink Books founder Michel S. Moushabeck, and executive editor at Penguin Random House John Siciliano. Pruyne Lecture Hall, Fayerweather Hall 115, Amherst College. Reception to follow.
ARABIC FICTION MASTER CLASS: MARCH 25, 4:30–6:30PM
The conversation continues with a translation master class led by Bustani and El-Rayyes. Drawing on texts in an array of source languages, the master class will focus on important literary considerations for translators, translation techniques, and the experimental and collaborative process of translation. Pruyne Lecture Hall, Fayerweather Hall 115, Amherst College.
Email info@thecommononline.org to register.
LAYAALI MUSIC PERFORMANCE: MARCH 26, 7:30PM
The Middle Eastern cultural series culminates in a performance by the Arabic music ensemble Layaali at the Powerhouse at Amherst College. This Massachusetts-based and world renowned group is committed to furthering the appreciation of traditional Arab music and culture through electrifying live performances. The Powerhouse, Amherst College.
Doors open at 7 pm.
You can listen to the following video clips from last year’s Iron Horse concert by Layaali:
“The music of Layaali moves the soul and stirs the spirit.”
–The Palestine Center, Washington, D.C.
All events are free and open to the public.
PARKING MAP
Co-sponsored by The Common and Copeland Colloquium. Supported by the Georges Lurcy Lecture Series Fund at Amherst College and the Corliss Lamont Lectureship for a Peaceful World.
In spring 2016, The Common will publish a special issue of contemporary Arabic fiction in translation, featuring more than 24 writers from 14 countries in the Middle East and Africa.
About The Common (www.thecommononline.org)
The Common is an award-winning, print and online literary magazine based at Amherst College. Inspired by the role of the town common—a public gathering place for the display of ideas—the magazine publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and images that invoke a modern sense of place. Since its debut in 2011, The Common has received multiple awards from the Best American series, a design award from the New York Book Show, and praise for its editorial vision from national media such as The New Yorker, The Millions, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Don’t miss an issue! Subscribe to The Common.