A Future Science Fiction Writer's Early Beginning

 Writer's Digest in the September 1967 issue published the names of the winners of its Short Story Contest. One hundred and ninety-nine names were selected in five prize categories (plus one Special Award winner).

Looking over the list of names, I spotted one that caught me by surprise--Octavia E. Butler of Pasadena, California. She was the 63rd person of 99 to win Fifth Prize. (Each Fifth Prize winner received a Sheaffer pen and pencil set inscribed with their winning entry).

Butler's fellow winners are long forgotten but she went on to literary fame garnering several science fiction awards as well as a MacArthur "Genius" fellowship.

I would love to know the title and subject matter of her winning short story so I can track it down and read it. Has it been anthologized? Is there a biography of Octavia Butler that identifies this story? It is that story that was the beginning of her literary career. Getting it recognized without doubt spurred her on to continue writing stories and later novels.

The Irresistible Zora Neale Hurston

 I love the following quote from Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960), a Harlem Renaissance writer who was also an anthropologist and a folklore scholar. The quote was published in the July 2009 issue of The Sun, a North Carolina-based culture magazine, in its "Sunbeams" section, a roundup of quotations by prominent people.

"Sometimes I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company?"

Isabel Wilkerson, the author of  two nonfiction books, The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste, was asked by The New York Times Book Review (August 2, 2020) which three writers, living or dead, she would invite to a literary dinner party. She named Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and Zora Neale Hurston.

I've read the biographies of all three writers and read some of their work. I wouldn't mind being present at a dinner party that included them. No doubt such a gathering of powerful intellects would be a mind and life altering experience. Hurston would especially be a joy with her down home humor, playful inventiveness (she coined the term "niggerati," to describe the Harlem literary set of the 1920s), and knowledge of African-American folklore.

How indeed could anyone with any sense deny themselves Zora Neale Hurston's splendid company?

Unpublished Books Set Aside For Unborn Generations

 There is a fascinating art project mentioned in an article about the English novelist David Mitchell that was published in The Wall Street Journal (July 18-19, 2020 weekend issue). Unfortunately, no one now alive will get to experience it. It's called the Future Library and was described in the article as "the World's Most Secretive Library." Located in Oslo, Norway, the Future Library will contain the unpublished manuscripts of contemporary novelists like Mitchell, whose most recent novel is called Utopia Avenue, about a fictional 1960s rock band. The unpublished manuscript he contributed to the library is called From Me Flows What You Call Time.

These manuscripts won't be published until the year 2114 when, according to the article, they will "be printed from paper derived from the Nordmarka forest, outside the Norwegian capital." That's assuming books will continue to be printed on paper.

I'm curious about who came up with this idea, what they had in mind when it was created, how contributors to the project were selected, what is special about the Nordmarka forest, whether or not the Norwegian government was involved, etc. These are questions to which I hope to get answers.

Mary Trump's Book About Her Uncle, POTUS Donald Trump

About two weeks ago, Mary Trump, Donald Trump's niece and the author of Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man (Simon & Schuster, 2020), appeared on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross in an hour-long interview.

Whereas Michael Wolff in his book on Trump, Fire and Fury, briefly mentioned that Trump's older brother Freddy (and Mary's father) drank himself to death, Mary Trump revealed why that happened. He had not met the high expectations of his real estate mogul father and became an outcast and a family embarrassment. "His father's approval," wrote Mary Trump, "...mattered more than anything."

Mary Trump is a psychologist with a Ph.D so her insights into her uncle's psyche should help readers--and voters--understand why he behaves as he does.

I just started reading the book which I am thoroughly enjoying. Too Much and Never Enough is sure to remain on the bestseller list for a very long time. (Unfortunately, the book contains no family photos.)

In the radio interview, Mary Trump revealed she is a lesbian. That's probably near the end of the book. If it is, I hope she will provide readers with more details about her experience coming out.

Note: This blog post has been slightly altered and originally appeared on my Facebook page on July 26, 2020.