The New Yorker's summer special Debut Fiction edition is out. It's one of several annual special editions that cover two weeks instead of the usual one. In recent years it has resulted in the featured authors, such as Jonathan Safran Foer, receiving huge advances for books on the strength of the publicity generated. This year a longish poem, The Clerk's Tale by newcomer Spencer Reece, is featured alongside three short stories by previously unpublished writers. (You can follow the links from The Clerk's Tale to the rest.) There are also interviews with the debut writers, and a recording of Spencer Reece reading his poem. The printed edition contains two more debut poems, a new story by Jhumpa Lahiri entitled Gogol, a new poem by Roger Angell and a memoir by Jonathan Franzen. In short, it's worth a good part of the annual subscription for this issue alone, and certainly worth buying a copy where available. The online edition also includes debut fiction from recent years by Gabe Hudson, David Schickler, and ZZ Packer.



Ossian