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Monday, February 12, 2007

Love, Washington Post Style

I don't normally look at the Washington Post Magazine. It's mostly a pop magazine that comes out every Sunday, covering clever stories of local interest or celebrities. I actually read this week's issue because of the cover story; in celebration of Valentine's Day this week's issue included 5 short stories about love. Each author was given a photograph and, using the photo as a jumping-off point, developed a story on the theme. None of them are high-end lit, but they are cute, sweet stories about the difficulties that come about when the ideals of love and the realities of life collide. "The Exact Distance" by Ron Carlson, "The Last Stop" by Stephen McCauley, "Pita Delicious" b ZZ Packer, "View Master" by Jill McCorkle, and "Little Russia" by Melissa Bank. You can read all five of the stories here.

Somewhat related, the Washington Post is also running a fiction contest. They are asking for the best short stories (no more than 1500 words) about love. Deadline is May 13, and all submissions should go to lovestory@washpost.com as a double-spaced document (no specfic format is mentioned). No mention of $, but the winning story will be published in the Valentine issue of the Washington Post Magazine next year. Not normally known for showing much support to local writers, this is a nice thing for the Post to do. If you're good at slice of life, psuedo-New Yorker relationship stories this might be a good contest for you. For full info, go here and good luck.

Excelsior.

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