brandon r. schrand

For all of you nonfiction junkies and students of the craft, you might want to check out Now Write! Nonfiction: Memoir, Journalism, and Creative Nonfiction Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers (Tarcher/Penguin 2009). I’ve got a piece in there called, “Portrait of the Past as Memory,” alongside some of my favorite nonfictioners. Happy to be in such company.

Edited by Sherry Ellis, the anthology has loads of “get you started” prompts by Gay Talease, Robin Hemley, Madeleine Blais , Jenny Boully, Honor Moore, David Gessner, Rebecca McClanahan, Robert Atwan and more. It’s like a K-Tel Hits Package of nonfiction writers all under one roof. Check it out.  

If it sounds weird to write an essay on writing essays, that’s because it is. Sort of. And it’s something I haven’t done, really, up until recently. Last spring I wrote a (somewhat seething and hugely sarcastic) response to this article in Poets & Writers.  That (somewhat seething and hugely sarcastic) response has grown up, matured, and has morphed into a craft piece titled, “Against Everest: Literary Nonfiction & the Art of the Mundane.” It will appear this spring online over at Brevity. If you haven’t heard of Brevity, then you are kicking it with the wrong people. Brevity’s where all the cool [nonfiction] kids hang out.

I’ve got a poem, “Yield,” coming out in issue 11 of High Desert Journal. I’m no poet, to be sure, but I am glad to have a poem in their fine pages. If you haven’t read HDJ, you should, even if you aren’t a resident of the high desert. You should read it because it is one sweet publication of cool art and good words. Now go do it. You know you want to.

My essay, “On Failure,” which appeared in the online literary magazine, Blood Orange Review, has eked out a Special Mention in the 2010 Pushcart Prize anthology. This is my third Special Mention in the prize series with the first two in 2007 & 2008. In 2009, I was lucky enough to actually win the Prize.

This year is especially gratifying because my very close friends and former MFA peers, Bryan Fry and Stephanie Lenox, are two of the three founding masterminds behind Blood Orange Review.  I remember the day Bryan called and asked me to write something for their journal. “We’re doing a special issue on failure,” he said. “And naturally, we thought of you.” I hemmed and hawed, and finally agreed to write something. Glad I did. You can read, “On Falure,” by clicking here.

My essay, “The Bone Road,” winner of the 2008 Thomas Carter Prize for the Essay, has been selected as a Notable Essay in The Best American Essays 2009, guest edited by Mary Oliver. The essay originally appeared in Shenandoah’s spring/summer issue. This is my third essay to have been selected as a Notable. I have had Notables in both 2007 and 2008.

The Enders Hotel has been given Honorable Mention for the 2008 Idaho Book Award.

Another update on the Book of Dads front: it has been given a nice review by the Washington Post and mine is one of the four essays mentioned. Tony Doerr’s stunning essay is also mentioned which is cool because we did a reading together last month.

If you are stumped as to what to get for Father’s Day this year, you might consider picking up a copy of The Book of Dads, a collection of moving, funny, and quirky essays on the “Joys, Perils, and Humiliations of Fatherhood.” My essay, “Comparative History,” sits alongside greats like Nick Flynn, Rick Bass, Steve Almond, Jim Shepard, Anthony Doerr, Ben Fountain, Sven Birkerts, and others. The book is available at a bookstore near you.

In the meantime, check out this Book of Dads interview with editor Ben George, Jim Shepard, and Darin Strauss on the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC. It’s a great interview and my essay even gets a shout-out around minute 27.

Issue 47 of Columbia: A Journal of Art & Literature is now out. It’s an impressive annual publication and my essay, “Growing Up Superfund,” sits alongside some greats like Gary Snyder, Lydia Millet, and Elizabeth Wurtzel. You can also find a panel discussion featuring Mark Greif, Heidi Julavits, and Justin Taylor, as well as an interview with Michael Ondaatje. They have even included a teaser from my essay. Be sure to check it out and ask for the issue at any independent bookstore.

Borne on Air: Essays by Idaho Writers (EWU Press), has just been released. My essay, “Eleven Ways to Consider Air,” is included in the volume, as are essays by a number of renowned writers such as Kim Barnes, Claire Davis, Buddy Levy, Joy Passanante, and others. Look, too, for some knock-out pieces from up-and-coming writers Denice Turner and Jeanette Weaskus.

Edited by Mary Clearman Blew and Phil Druker, the anthology is the third installment in a series on the elements. Previous volumes include Written on Water and Forged in Fire.