December 06, 2006

"Makedonija" for AWP

Today I received a very pleasing phone call from Davis McCombs, the famous poet and current director of our MFA program. Davis informed me that my story "Makedonija" was chosen to represent our program in the AWP Intro Journals competition.

The Intro Journals Project is a literary competition for the discovery and publication of the best new works by students currently enrolled in the programs of AWP. Winners will be contacted in the spring of 2007 and each will receive an award letter, publication in a participating journal, and a $100 cash honorarium. Winning works will appear in the fall or winter issues of Hayden's Ferry Review, Mid-American Review, Colorado Review, Puerto del Sol, Controlled Burn, Quarterly West, Tampa Review, Willow Springs, and Artful Dodge.

As doubtful as I am about this competition (after all, I am Bulgarian and we are not known for our optimism) I am truly honored to represent the MFA program here.

Along these lines, did you know that in the past few months over 40,000 Macedonians have applied for Bulgarian citizenship? Even Macedonia's ex-prime minister is now, officially, a Bulgarian citizen. So much for pride and nationalism. Sad to see what people will do for a European passport.