I’m so incredibly bummed. The Bat Segundo Show, the best literary podcast out there, is ending. Ed Champion says he hasn’t gotten enough donations or funding to keep it going.
Can we actually petition some site to pay Ed for these incredible podcasts and keep it going? Like email Gawker or something? Doesn’t Nick Denton sweat money?
Ed is one of the most insightful reviewers/lit bloggers out there. So, so sad about this.
Maud Newton reports that Hayden Childs has written a fictional book about the making of the greatest album of all time for Continuum’s 33 1/3 series of short books.
In a word, awesomeatude.
I know I am way overdue on a Pilcrow Lit Fest post.
Amy Guth put on a fantastic weekend that went off without a hitch. I got to hang out with James Stegall, Kevin Sampsell, Nick Ostdick, Steve Himmer, Kevin Fanning, Lauren Cerand, Jami Attenberg, Jennifer Banash, Willy Blackmore, Zach Dodson and Jonathan Messinger (and a bunch of other folks I’ll remember and want to put down on this list later).
There was pizza. There were drinks. There was really, really cheap parking (a quarter an hour!)
There was this constant energy about the whole weekend. The panels were insightful. The Quimby’s reading was well-attended. And, perhaps best of all, the silent auction raised $4,000 for the New Orleans Public Library Foundation. The money will go to helping them rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
For a more details about what went down at Pilcrow, check out Amy’s blog.
The Perfect Father’s Day Gift
$12 (free shipping) for American Home Life, a comic novel of suburban fatherhood.
Pay by PayPal to account “dlbarringer@gmail.com,” and include your shipping address.
Father’s Day is June 15.
It’s not every day that I find a book I love. David Barringer, a designer and author featured in Emigre, AIGA Voice, and countless other publications, explores the challenges of postmodern society with his novel, American Home Life. Barringer examines a couple’s playful attempt to raise two well rounded children, while preventing them from being trapped by greed, envy and the monotony of suburban life. The book jacket calls it the “literary equivalent of a TV sitcom,” which would make sense if sitcoms were smart, funny and addictive.–Stacy Cottrell, San Diego AIGA
We all have our lists of writers we love, those writers that not everyone in the world knows about but should. A great, talented writer deserves to be known to everyone, which is one reason why you should read the work of David Barringer. David’s latest book is the novel American Home Life, which is described as a “comic novel about contemporary suburban fatherhood,” but it’s so much more, and it’s amazing.–Bob Sassone, Professor Barnhardt’s Journal
“Edgy, funny, and heartfelt, with a smidgen of George Saunders and a touch of Aimee Bender, Barringer’s American Home Life is an original American confection: bittersweet, satisfying and true.”—Dave Housely, Barrelhouse
“A literary force to be reckoned with. Barringer’s work reminds me of the offspring of Larry Brown and George Saunders, with more pathos.”—Nathan Leslie, The Pedestal Magazine
“Sharp, bold, and deeply affecting, Jackie Corley’s stories are like poetry made from the gritty stuff of hard-scrabble life. Dead garden snakes and forgotten video games, gravestone statues that seem to dance in the night: in Corley’s able hands, the mundane, even the ugly, are transformed. The young men and women who struggle through her slim, piercing collection, stay with you long after you’ve finished reading; tough-talking and scarred, tattooed and tender, they search Corley’s dirty, sparkling New Jersey streets for something always just out of reach.
“A fiercely original debut. Corley is a talent to watch.”
-Scott Snyder, author of Voodoo Heart
The Pilcrow Lit Fest takes over Chicago from May 22 - May 25. I haven’t been this excited for a lit festival since the 215 Festival, circa 2003.
I think Amy Guth is some sorta marketing genius (in addition to being a fantastic writer). The list of attendees is a who’s-who of the small press world. Pilcrow is probably going to grow up into some mega festival in years to come, so I decided I have to be there when it all goes down in ‘08. (I’m going to be on a couple panels at Pilcrow, so drop by if you’re in Chicago.)
There are so many writers and publishers I can’t wait to meet. A lot of us know each other through email, Facebook, web sites or whatever but haven’t gotten a chance to meet face to face yet. I’m really looking forward to that.
Donate to Pilcrow:
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While in Chicago, I’m going to be doing a reading with Kevin Sampsell (Future Tense Publishing) and James Stegall (So New Publishing) at Quimby’s. Check it out.
Sampsell, Stegall & Corley Read at Quimby’s
We’re not just publishers. We actually write stuff too.
Date: Saturday, May 24, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Quimby’s Bookstore
Street: 1854 W. North Ave.
City/Town: Chicago, IL
Ian Spiegelman gave me an awesome blurb for my forthcoming short story collection, The Suburban Swindle (So New Media):
“Finally a 20-something author who is neither precious nor coddled. Finally a young writer who writes about life as it actually is instead of some trust fund prick’s fantasy of America. Jackie Corley is almost completely alone among the new set of writers in that she is actually telling stories about real humans. And she is telling them well, with the kind of immediacy that most young writers have had beaten out of them in MFA factories. Corley is original and unforgiving. I cannot say enough about Jackie Corley. She doesn’t flinch. Read this book.”
-Ian Spiegelman, author Welcome to Yesterday and Everyone’s Burning
Kevin Sampsell gave me a great blurb for my short story collection:
“I am tempted to compare Jackie Corley’s writing to a strong cup of coffee. It wakes you up, it gets you addicted, and sometimes it’s burning hot. Or I could say it’s like whiskey–it’s strong, it blurs your vision, and gives you the guts to face the hard truths and bitter pains of life. But forget about those liquid comparisons, because Corley’s work is solid! The Suburban Swindle unleashes a new, bold, American voice that you’d be foolish to ignore.”
–Kevin Sampsell, author of Creamy Bullets
Outsider Writers has a petition urging Amazon.com to create an “Alternative Literature” category for books.
The petition is a month old but I’m swift like that.
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