13 January 2012
Inside every fat book is a thin book trying to get out.
(Unknown)
January – the month to slim down and de-clutter. Daunting? Don’t despair - as always Peirene can help. All you need is a reward – or two – at the end of this dark month. The Nymph has a couple of irresistible suggestions:
25th February: Peirene Salon with Asko Sahlberg, Finnish author of Peirene No 7, The Brothers. An evening of literature, conversation, dinner and wine. Booking is now open. Indeed, you can now book all four 2012 Peirene Salons in advance. Click here for details.
7th/8th March: Beside the Sea by Veronique Olmi (Peirene No 1) adapted as a play at the South Bank Centre. With the brilliant Beckett actress Lisa Dwan.
But promises of future rewards are not the only consolation we offer. We have some beautiful slim reading for you in store:
In November we ran our first PeiShoStoMo – Peirene Short Story Month. Participants were asked to submit a 900-word short story with a European city in the title. We were amazed by the turn-out. 102 eligible entries.
The judging committee consisted of an author (Richard de Nooy), a publisher (Meike Ziervogel) and a bookseller (Peter Hoe from Clerkenwell Tales).
The winner is Rosa Rankin-Gee with London. “This superb short story is both intriguing and moving. Within 900 words the reader warms to both the woman and boy. A single, powerful image, their two bodies on the bed, intimate yet detached, is more than enough to carry the story. Impressive use of dialogue."
And the two runner-ups are:
Ingrid Murray with Brussels: “Alternating between past and present in a 900-word short story is a risky business. But here it works beautifully. The past feels as immediate as the present, brings the central character to life in the reader's mind and makes the final, shocking realization all the more powerful.“
Joanne Odgen with Edinburgh’s Obscura: “A story with a great twist at the end. What starts of as an utterly predictable tale of adultery is turned on its head by the last sentence. Following the main protagonist, the reader is skillfully misguided until the last moment.”
Congratulation to the winners and thank you to all the participants. We enjoyed reading your entries. PeiShoStoMo is an annual event and our next 900-word competition will take place in November 2012.
Peirene No 7, The Brothers will be in bookshops end of February, but our subscribers have already received their copy. Let me leave you with a first glowing reaction: “ This is condensed Shakespeare, trimmed of all but the dark heart of the drama. Sahlberg’s mini-epic gives us sexual power plays, violence, madness, grief, and that most Shakespearean of literary devices—surprise treachery.” Necessary Fiction
I wish you success and happiness for 2012.
Meike