Jen Michalski
A Blog for the Rest of Her
Jen Michaski
- Location
- Baltimore,
- Birthday
- May 18
- Bio
- Jen Michalski's first collection of fiction, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, is available from So New (2007), her second, FROM HERE is forthcoming from Aqueous Books (2013), and a collection of novellas, SHORT NOVELS OR VERY LONG STORIES, is forthcoming from Dzanc (2013). One of these novellas, MAY-SEPTEMBER (2010), was published by Press 53 in October as part of the Press 53 Open Awards (1st place, novella). She also is the editor of the anthology CITY SAGES: BALTIMORE (CityLit Press 2010), which won a 2010 "Best of Baltimore" award from Baltimore Magazine. She edits the literary quarterly jmww, cohost of the monthly reading series The 510 Readings and the variety series The Lit Show in Baltimore, and interviews authors at The Nervous Breakdown.
MY RECENT POSTS
- New publication: "Human
Movements"
May 24, 2012 08:22AM - New work
May 04, 2012 03:17PM - Book Ends (and Beginnings)
May 01, 2012 03:16PM - A bear of a reading
April 25, 2012 08:24AM - Before Waking
April 24, 2012 09:36AM
MY RECENT COMMENTS
- “I disagree.
I
want subtle flavors in my
stories, not things doused
with hot
sauce…”
May 01, 2012 04:36PM - “I always look to the
dogs I've rescued. No matter
how many
homes or shelters
they…”
October 26, 2011 01:00PM - “I think most of us are
still working on writing a
good book
first! We've
written…”
October 26, 2011 12:55PM - “I wonder who's been
whispering advice into his tin
ear on
this one.”
October 26, 2011 12:53PM - “Bravo! I especially
concur with four. I was always
taught
that being angry
actual…”
July 25, 2011 08:30AM
Jen Michaski's Links
MAY 24, 2012 8:22AM
New publication: "Human Movements"
No one ever expects to have an affair; at least, Lia doesn’t. She has always assumed that affairs happen to people who are unhappy or somewhat immoral or desperate. But then she… Read full post »
MAY 4, 2012 3:17PM
New work
MAY 1, 2012 3:16PM
Book Ends (and Beginnings)
I was lucky enough to interview Tania James in The
Nervous Breakdown about her forthcoming collection of stories,
Aerogrammes. You can read it
here. Tania's stories remind me of Hondas; well-constructed,
long mileage life. They're not overly flashy, like Maseratis or
Porches, with big voices and very…
APRIL 25, 2012 8:24AM
A bear of a reading
Please come. I promise we won't bite. Unless we're hungry.
APRIL 24, 2012 9:36AM
Before Waking
1. It never rains.
2. It’s never cold.
3. You always have to pee.
4. You live for years in a world, a town, a house intimate with a person whom you have never known in waking life.
5. Someone always has a knife.
6. You always have sex.
7. Sometimes…
2. It’s never cold.
3. You always have to pee.
4. You live for years in a world, a town, a house intimate with a person whom you have never known in waking life.
5. Someone always has a knife.
6. You always have sex.
7. Sometimes…
APRIL 19, 2012 1:22PM
From the Not-So-Funny Pages
I love reading the crime beat section of The Baltimore Guide, our free weekly.
Not because I think the city is a cesspool or anything, but for the
humor. Don't get me wrong; after reading how many houses had doors
kicked in and windows broken, I want to install bars and…
APRIL 18, 2012 12:06AM
The Big Chew
I found out, during a visit to the
storySouth group on Facebook, that they nominated me back in
November for the Pushcart Prize (presumably for my story, "From
Here," which appeared in the Fall 2011
issue). If this is true, and not some error, if they did in
fact nominate/…
APRIL 9, 2012 4:35PM
"Comfort Foods" at Forge
New (old) fiction at Forge
this week:
Adeline looked around the small, clean dining room. She bought the one-bedroom rancher ten years ago, after her divorce from Ray. It seemed the perfect size for her new, modest life of work, television dinners, rented movies, and the occasional bus trip with cowor… Read full post »
APRIL 4, 2012 12:51PM
Moose Calls
It was pretty cool to change my bio this week to
reflect the news from Black Lawrence Press. A
few people have asked me what moose sound like, and I have to admit
I have no idea. But it was definitely a surprise to get the call
this week from/…
MARCH 28, 2012 12:23PM
After-School Specials with Dogs
Dog walks are always exercises in socialization—less for our dog, Sophie, more for me. Sophie is an adult Boston terrier rescue who is mostly blind and therefore fearful of all dogs, which predictably results in crazy aggression when she hears or smells them. Also, I can't discount that/…
MARCH 21, 2012 11:46AM
Making the Rounds
We had a couple of nice PR pieces for The Lit Show this week. First, on Tuesday we sat down with Tom Hall for WYPR's Maryland Morning. The podcast should be up shortly.
The City Paper also ran a nice piece, interviewing me and Betsy:
“When you think of Canton and Fells… Read full post »
MARCH 16, 2012 3:03PM
"Editors in Conversation" Interview in Portal del Sol
This month in Portal del Sol: The
Review of Journals and Editors, Cythnia Reeser of
Prick of the Spindle and I
comprise the "Editors in Conversation" feature. We talk about our
journals, what we look for in literature,and our hectic schedules,
among other things. Thanks to Callista Buchen for setting…
MARCH 15, 2012 11:45AM
The Lit Show Trailer!
MARCH 14, 2012 9:41AM
The Hidden Organ
I always wanted a Visible Man or Woman when I was
little. I can't remember why I never got one, and if I found one
now from a secondhand dealer online, it probably would not pass the
strict rules in place for allowing clutter in the house. I suppose
my/…
MARCH 12, 2012 3:13PM
The Way to Each Other
Thanks, David Atkinson, for the thoughtful review of my
first collection, Close Encounters.
The story of the review, in Indigest Magazine, is even cooler than
the review:You see, there was a Jen Michalski that I knew from way back in third grade and who I went to school with… Read full post »
MARCH 1, 2012 9:22AM
Writers in the Hot Seat
Thanks to former editor Marianne Amoss for her succinct, enticing writeup of The Lit Show in this month's Urbanite:
Have you ever wanted to ask a writer about the story behind the story—why she killed off your favorite character, how he comes up with new story ideas? And have you dreamed abou… Read full post »
FEBRUARY 27, 2012 11:59AM
10 Stories About 10 Movies: The Shining
I was frightened of "The Shining" when I was little,
mostly because Jack Nicholson's character, Jack Torrence, reminded
me of my father—The same plaid shirt, the same
greasy hair combover, the same quiet lurch around the house,
shimmering mercurial rage at imagined conspiracy. Like Alice in/…
FEBRUARY 22, 2012 11:43AM
10 Stories About 10 Movies: Vertigo
When I first saw the movie "Vertigo," I didn't
understand why Gavin Elster threw a mannequin instead of his wife
off the bell tower. It wasn't until I watched again as an adult
that I realized that mannequin was a prop, the limits of 1950s film
production, meant to be/…
FEBRUARY 20, 2012 10:22AM
National Local
FEBRUARY 12, 2012 6:55PM
That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
I feel a pretty bad about writing this piece now:"COMMENCEMENT SPEECH, WHITNEY HOUSTON, EAST SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY, JUNE 9, 2006"
at McSweeney's Internet Tendency.
You almost had it all.
RIP Whitney Houston
FEBRUARY 1, 2012 9:50AM
Some Links You'll Like
I had great fun talking with Laura Ellen Scott about her debut novel, Death Wishing, in my column at The Nervous Breakdown. I hope you read it here.
Baltimore Writer Betsy Boyd is offering a great 6-week writing class at the Creative Alliance. You can find out more about it or sign/…
JANUARY 19, 2012 10:00AM
Something Must Happen
As I walked Sophie this morning in the neighborhood, a
raven flew over us. Caw! It
greeted. Some people find signs everywhere. Am I, for instance, to
deduce that our encounter with the raven means that the Baltimore
Ravens will beat the New England Patriots this weekend (and perhaps
win/…
DECEMBER 29, 2011 9:14AM
I'm Okay, You're a Boston
Saturday a new dog will come into our
life—Sophie, the Boston terrier. She's six or seven (or maybe
five, fingers crossed) and missing her front teeth. She's had a
melanoma removed from her back leg and mammary cancer from her
breasts that may or may not return. She was a/…
DECEMBER 22, 2011 9:09AM
The Final Lap
Busy week before the holidays! First, putting out the winter issue of jmww. There's some great stuff in here, including an interview with Laura Ellen Scott by newest jmww editor Elizabeth Buchanan, and work by Richard Peabody, Robb Todd, Daniel Long, Barbara Diehl, tons of book reviews, and mo/…
DECEMBER 18, 2011 12:49PM
Off to the presses
There's nothing more exciting about putting together an
issue of jmww. You proof
the stories and code them for HTML, and only you, not even the
editors (who only know what has been accepted in their respective
sections) know the entirety of the issue. And there's amazing work
and you're/… 
odetteroulette
Mary Stanik
Juan Ruiz
Martha Nichols
Steve Klingaman
Jimmy Zuma
Salon.com