Month: March 2007


Short Shorts

The Guardian challenged a whole bunch of writers to come up with the shortest story possible (in the vein of Hemingway’s “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Find out what Kate Atkinson, John Banville, David Lodge, Hari Kunzru, George Saunders, and many others came up with.



PEN World Voices

The organizers of the PEN World Voices festival have announced their theme and program for this year. I will be taking part in three events. Here’s the first:

History and the Truth of Fiction
When: Wednesday, April 25
Where: Hemmerdinger Hall at NYU: 100 Washington Square East
What time: 1–2:30 p.m.
With Arthur Japin, Laila Lalami, Imma Monsó, Michael Wallner; moderated by Colum McCann
Free and open to the public. No reservations. 

The second:

Where on Earth: The Refugee Emergency
When: Thursday, April 26
Where: Lang Recital Hall, Hunter College: 695 Park Ave.
What time: 3–4:30 p.m.
With Ishmael Beah, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Laila Lalami, Saadi Youssef; moderated by Russell Banks
Free and open to the public. No reservations. 

And the third:

An Evening with The Moth
When: Thursday, April 26
Where: 37 Arts: 450 West 37th St.
What time: 8–10 p.m.
With Neil Gaiman, Pico Iyer, Laila Lalami; and John Hodgman as your MC
Tickets: $30 (includes wine and beer)
Purchase tickets from Ticketmaster: www.ticketmaster.com or (212) 307-4100 

I know what you’re wondering. And yes, I would be nervous, except I haven’t left the house in four days, haven’t showered in two, I’m on my fourth cup of coffee, and I am almost done with Chapter 11 of my novel. My brain is fried, and I have no room for nerves.



New Anthology

I have a story in a new anthology called X-24: Unclassified, edited by Tash Aw and Nii Ayikwei Parkes. It’s a slightly older piece; I haven’t written any new short fiction this year since I’m trying to focus on finishing the novel. But the book includes fantastic contributions by people like Naomi Alderman, Daniel Alarcón, Mohammed Naseehu Ali, Sefi Atta, and many others, so check it out.