It’s been a busy several weeks, gang, which is why I’ve been relatively quiet lately. But a few cool things have happened since I last updated, and there are some more cool things coming soon:
We’ve had not one but TWO issues of Jersey Devil Press go live: the special Sherlock Holmes issue (the cover of which I made myself) and the February issue, which boasts a beautiful Buzz Siler painting on the cover.
Earlier this month, I read as part of the excellent line-up for the Grief Rites series here in Portland. The theme for the February reading was “Love Letters,” so of course I read the love letter in Hagridden. (Thanks to event organizer Melissa Dodson for inviting me, and to author Corie Skolnick for snapping these photos.)
I’ve booked a room and a flight to LA for this year’s AWP. I’ll be participating in at least one reading and am looking into putting together another, but if you know of any readings I should attend or get invited to, leave a comment! Also, look for me in the bookfair — I’ll have copies of Hagridden and Box Cutters if you’re looking for my books.
Also check out Blue Skirt Productions at bookfair table 675, because their books are totally awesome — they even have adult coloring books!
Speaking of Blue Skirt: I am thrilled to announce that they will be publishing my novella later this year! I’m still in the editing phase (which is another reason I’ve been away from the blog lately), but stay tuned over the next several months for news on that new book.
But wait, there’s more! As I announced a while ago here on the blog, I also have a new chapbook coming out later this year from Red Bird Chapbooks. They’ve recently posted their whole 2016 line-up, and there are some exciting titles and authors on that list, including three with connections to my old grad program at the University of North Texas: a first book of a poetry by my classmate and friend Bethany Lee; a fiction collection by Kelly Magee, whose earlier book, Body Language, I helped select for the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction back when I was in grad school; and a nonfiction book by new friend Gwendolyn Edward, who is a recent alum of UNT’s creative writing program. There’s clearly a lot of great work associated with UNT, gang!
And I’m not the only one with books coming out. Earlier this month, my friend Michelle Modesto released her first book, Revenge and the Wild, from HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray. And earlier this week, my friend Mo Daviau released her debut novel, Every Anxious Wave, from St. Martins.
And first thing next month, novelist and friend Monica Drake will release her first story collection, The Folly of Loving Life, from FutureTense Books — but you don’t have to wait til March! You can pre-order a copy at a (for now) discounted price! Go here for details.
And they’re still not the only people with books I’m excited about!
My friend David S. Atkinson has a new book out next month, too — Not Quite So Stories — and I’ll be interviewing him about it here on the blog.
And Gay Degani, whose new book Rattle of Want I was thrilled to blurb, is on the blog tour circuit at the moment, and I’ll be interviewing her as well.
You might already know David and Gay, by the way — about 18 months ago, they each interviewed me about Hagridden — you can find my old chat with David here, and my old chat with Gay is here. And then stay tuned for my new conversations with them about their work!
And finally, I’ve updated my events page to include a couple of upcoming readings and workshops. That’s right — I said workshops! In April, I’ll be conducting a short seminar/workshop at the Terroir Creative Writing Festival; you can register for the festival here.
And then for four weeks in May and June, I’ll be leading an intensive workshop on historical fiction as part of Terroir’s new WordStudio workshop series. The ongoing series of inexpensive workshops will include classes in poetry, nonfiction, fiction — the first one is about blogging! Check out the Terroir WordStudio site for more information and cost and registration.
Samuel Snoek-Brown 