Maria Reva’s Endling Has Won the 2026 Aspen Words Literary Prize.
Maria Reva’s debut novel Endling has been awarded the 2026 Aspen Words Literary Prize, which includes a $35,000 cash award. The prize honors fiction that illuminates vital contemporary issues, and the jury praised Endling for its blend of ecological concerns, the Ukraine war, and experimental metafiction. The novel follows a pre‑war Ukrainian snail‑conservation mission that morphs into a broader story of survival amid Russian invasion. The win spotlights the novel’s ambitious narrative structure and its cultural relevance.
How to Enter the Art World by Hettie Judah Offers a Smørgasbord of Sage Advice
Hettie Judah’s new book How to Enter the Art World offers a pragmatic guide for artists navigating career transitions, especially those juggling parenthood, late‑stage starts, or burnout. The text blends concise chapters, an extensive index, and insights from interviews with 50 practicing...
Why Doubling Down on Your Position Never Works — and What Does
The article argues that doubling down on one’s own position backfires in persuasion. It promotes a "them‑first" mindset, leading with emotion, using stories, and mastering subconscious signals like tone and pacing. Practical steps include identifying the counterpart’s priorities, swapping arguments...
🛸 What's the 'Greatest American Utopian Science Fiction Story' Ever Written?
Kim Stanley Robinson, in a Long Now talk, refers to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address as the greatest American utopian science‑fiction story. The article expands this claim, arguing that the address’s vision of a government “of the people, by the people,...