Jerome Charyn Anthology
Jerome Charyn Anthology
Jerome Charyn is one of America’s most prolific and respected authors. He has written 50-plus works of fiction, nonfiction, essay collections, memoirs, and more. Charyn is widely celebrated in Europe (particularly France and Germany), including renown for writing award-winning graphic novels. Included in his oeuvre is the Isaac Sidel crime novels, which added a new dimension to the genre, and his recent historical fiction: Savage & Son, Big Red, Sergeant Salinger, and Cesare.
Yet, the same level of popular acclaim has eluded Charyn in the United States, where his reputation as a “writer’s writer” and influential craftsman has won widespread praise from the likes of Joyce Carol Oates, Don DeLillo, and Michael Chabon. Newsday called Charyn “a contemporary American Balzac, “ while the LA Times described him as “absolutely unique among American writers.” The hope of this collection is to echo and sustain Chabon’s declaration: “Charyn is one of the most important writers in American literature.”
Goal
This anthology aims to investigate and analyze Charyn’s deep body of work and impact on contemporary American literature and culture. The secondary aim is to bring Charyn’s work to a wider readership and potentially use the book in an effort to launch an international “Jerome Charyn Society.”
Edited by acclaimed cultural historian Bob Batchelor, the anthology is meant for both general readers interested in literature, authors, and the writing life, as well as specialists. Like Charyn’s work, the essays may blend genre, form, and other traditional narrative structures.
Possible Topics
We invite submissions from across disciplines on topics including the following. Please feel free to suggest additional topics that inspire you.
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Charyn’s works of fiction
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The Isaac Sidel crime fiction, including 50-year anniversary of Blue Eyes (1974/1975)
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Historical fiction
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Charyn and postmodern writing
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The author’s aesthetic style and narrative
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Charyn’s reputation and standing in France, Germany, or other locales
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Work with graphic novels
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Charyn’s nonfiction
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Invented past(s) – Memoirs, fabulist and “real”
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Film and film writing
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Literary works and literary criticism
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Charyn’s “music”
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Literary standing and reputation
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Charyn with/and other writers – Influences (Melville, Dickinson, Marquez, etc.) and contemporaries (Oates, Mailer, Updike, etc.)
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Interviews with Charyn and/or writers on his influence/work
Timeline
Proposals: Due January 31, 2024
Notification of acceptance: February 15, 2024
Submission: Due May 15, 2024
Manuscript: Submitted to publisher: July 1, 2024
Guidelines
We are seeking chapter proposals. Proposals should include a 500-word description of the chapter. Please emphasize if there is a new or novel approach you plan to take and whether the article/essay is focused primarily on a general reader, scholarly/academic, or mixed audience. Additionally, proposals should include the contributor’s short bio (~200-words).
If you have already written an essay on this topic, please let us know. While completed essays will be considered, the author will still be required to submit the documentation listed above. Previously published essays will be considered.
Final chapters should be 4,000 to 8,000-words, including references (CMS, endnotes).
About the Editor
Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian and biographer. He has written or edited 33 books, including biographies of Stan Lee, Jim Morrison, John Updike, Bob Dylan, as well as hundreds of articles and essays on contemporary American culture. For more information, see bobbatchelor.com
See Batchelor’s book review of Ravage & Son and interview with Charyn:
https://www.popmatters.com/jerome-charyn-interview-ravage-son
New Books Network podcast interview: https://newbooksnetwork.com/ravage-son
The book is planned in print, as well as digital editions, available for global distribution. There may also be a companion webpage.
Proposals and questions should be directed to Bob Batchelor. Please put “Charyn Project” in the subject line. bob@bobbatchelor.com