Writer & Editor
I’m thrilled to have my short story “Those Who Point Like Arrows” on Terrain.org this month. The piece takes place in northern Spain, and I grew so attached to this protagonist that I started a novel draft about her life after completing it. Huge thanks to Simmons Buntin and the other editors—they were so wonderful, thorough, and thoughtful to work with! ❤❤
I’m honored to have my short story, “Silencing,” in the May issue of World Literature Today. The piece takes place in Ávila, Spain—where I spent part of my childhood after leaving Bosnia—and it follows an older woman who, while spying on her neighbors out the window, gets herself caught in a complicated misunderstanding. Huge thanks to editor Michelle Johnson and her team for all their care. I’m thrilled to be included in this dream magazine, and in such wonderful company. 
I had a daydream that I wrote into a poem, and the lovely folks at The Louisville Review were kind enough to publish it. I just received my contributor’s copies. Big thanks to Amy Foos Kapoor and guest poetry editors Debra Kang Dean and Wanda Fries. ❤️ Can’t wait to explore the rest of the issue!
I watched an interview with George Saunders the other day, about his recent book on writing, and drove out to a local Morgenstern Books to pick up a copy.
And it’s been such a pleasure to watch him break down the complexities of several Russian short stories with his characteristic humility and care.
Here’s a lovely passage from the opening: “The resistance in the stories is quiet, at a slant, and comes from perhaps the most radical idea of all: that every human being is worthy of attention and that the origins of every good and evil capability of the universe may be found by observing a single, even very humble, person and the turnings of his or her mind.”
I highly recommend this thoughtful, inquisitive, funny book to both writers and readers! ❤️
Huge thanks to the editors of Barnstorm Journal for publishing my personal essay in their December issue! I wrote the piece years ago, after a memorable trip to Sedona. I’m thrilled it found such a beautiful home, and—as always—I’m grateful for our writing community and all the writers and editors out there who look over one another’s work with care. ❤️ You can read the piece on their site, as well as hear a recording of me reading an excerpt. Hope you enjoy it!
I’m honored that my book is included on this list of semifinalists for the 2022 Iron Horse Book Prize! Big thanks to Leslie Jill Patterson and to everyone over at Iron Horse Literary Review—both for this honor and for always pouring such immense care and attention into the process. And congrats to all the other semifinalists!!
Midway Journal named my flash piece “Testimony” a finalist in their -1000 Below Flash Prose and Poetry Contest. Big thanks to editor Ralph Pennel, and congrats to the winners!
I’m thrilled to be a semifinalist for the Ohio State University Press 2022 Non/Fiction Collection Prize! Big thanks to the editors, and congrats to this year’s winner!
Phenomenal writer Alina Stefanescu has reviewed Voices on the Move, the anthology of refugee writing to which I was honored to contribute in 2020. The book, edited by Domnica Radulescu and Roxana Cazan, is filled with impactful and diverse voices and includes a range of creative pieces. Stefanescu’s review, “The Aliens Created by Nation-States,” is available on WorldCityLit.
The lovely Crab Creek Review published my poem “Why Do Woodpeckers Peck” in their newest issue, and I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be reading this piece and a couple of others with several writers from the issue on June 1 at 9 p.m. EDT. The event is virtual and open to all. Join us if you can!
Lana Spendl 