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Posts tagged Word Riot Press
Word Riot Press to release anthology of New Jersey writing
0939 days
photo credit: Lauren Vallese June 2009
Press Release
Middletown, NJ — Punk rock-spirited independent publisher Word Riot Press will release What’s Your Exit?: A Literary Detour through New Jersey in May 2010.
The anthology, edited by Alicia A. Beale and Joe Vallese, will include feature new and previously published work from over 40 writers. Among the book’s contributors are Joyce Carol Oates , Tom Perrotta, Robert Pinsky, Jason Biggs, J. Robert Lennon, Alicia Ostriker, Paul Lisicky , Louise de Salvo, Donna Steiner, Joe Weil, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Lee Klein, Suzanne Paola, James Richardson, Susan Fox Rogers, Gerald Stern, JC Todd, BJ Ward, and Sung J. Woo.
What’s Your Exit? will be comprised of contemporary literary fiction, memoir, and poetry about, inspired by, and representative of the Garden State. Themes of family, friendship, travel, culture, sexuality, love, fear, violence, nostalgia, and longing populate the anthology, which features writers and styles as eclectic and beautiful, and as unnerving and mysterious and bold as the place that unites them in this work.
An index in the back of the anthology will list the collected works by Parkway and Turnpike exits, an homage to the traditional way Jersey folk identify and relate to one another—the simple but loaded inquiry, “What exit?”
“We want What’s Your Exit? to be our gift to New Jersey,” said Vallese, a Palisades Park native and undergraduate writing teacher at New York University.
After developing their vision for the anthology, Beale and Vallese sought a New Jersey-based publisher equally enthusiastic about the scope of the project.
“We believe Word Riot Press is a company with the passion and literary aesthetics to propel this book in both a profitable and artistic direction,” said Beale, a Long Branch native.
Word Riot Press publisher Jackie Corley, a New Jersey resident, sees the book’s publication as a milestone for the company. “Up until this point, we have mainly published small paperbacks by rising literary notables, such as Nick Antosca, Kevin Sampsell and David Barringer,” Corley said. “An anthology of this range, with such an impressive collection of established and up-and-coming authors represents an exciting step in our growth.”
HTMLGIANT on World Takes
0940 days
HTMLGIANT’s pr reviews World Takes by Timmy Waldron (May 2009, Word Riot Press):
“Here is a collection perfectly shaped, with a strong, punch of a first story, “Amanda”, that perfectly sets the dark, funny tone for the book. …
“Throughout the collection, Waldron’s characters exhibit a simmering wrongness and inevitable falling apart. Whereas Cormac McCarthy’s work always portrays an aspect of chaos theory, Waldron’s stories better exemplify the theory of entropy. …
“World Takes represents how independent presses can do more than publish books that are too experimental (although many of these stories are formally interesting, for sure) for the major publishers, but also can publish books that make you think, “why doesn’t this guy have a major publisher?” (Elizabeth Ellen does that to me.) And the answer to that would be that they can’t publish every good thing out there, can they? That all presses are run by humans, and many a press will pass up, wrongly, a very good book. I have no idea whether or not Waldron tried to get a major publisher in the first place, but that is’t totally my point. What I mean to emphasize here is how Indie Presses can be of a different benefit to the readers of the world: they can publish the surplus of excellent manuscripts, that for whatever non-reason, are not getting published by Random House.”
New reviews
01008 days
Hipster Book Club on Nick Antosca’s Midnight Picnic:
“This might be the scariest thing about the book, the essential thing that all scary books need: the conviction that, for as long as you are reading the story, the world is inescapably dark, and all one’s experiences that would say otherwise are simply tricks or misunderstandings. The feeling of relief on putting the book down after its satisfying ending—of seeing that it’s light out and your loved ones are alive—is followed by a nagging feeling that one has missed something. There might be dead people right in front of the reader’s face, in a space stained by trauma.”
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P.H. Madore reviews The Suburban Swindle:
“These are stories which even Bruce Springsteen wouldn’t want to tell. Mostly gritty and realist: the kind of stories I love. Corley flexes some real descriptive power… Yes, The Suburban Swindle is full of the stories of street punks and noir beauties–probably the stuff of real New Jersey, not the New Jersey I’ve seen on television. I don’t know. I just know that I liked the way she painted her youthful characters and did this without apology.”
One of the first times P.H. Madore emailed me was to say that some of Word Riot’s design was lame and that I should take down the animated GIF ads I had up. That got my attention. I don’t get insulting emails very often or if I do they’re just lame and emotional and don’t have a point. I thought P.H. had balls to say that, and he was right. I took down the crappy ads.
I was nervous when I saw on Goodreads that Madore was reading The Suburban Swindle. I knew if he thought it sucked he wouldn’t have qualms about saying so. I’m glad he liked the collection.
Go, Timmy, go!
11031 days
WORLD TAKES author Timmy Waldron has recently been honored by the New Jersey State Assembly:
New Jersey General Assembly
Assembly Resolution
By Assemblyman Gusciora
WHEREAS, The General Assembly of the State of New Jersey is pleased to honor and salute Timothy Patrick Waldron, an esteemed lifelong resident of West Trenton, Mercer County, in recognition of his highly acclaimed first book, World Takes; and
WHEREAS, A graduate of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Timothy Patrick Waldron is a renowned author and editor whose work has been circulated widely on the Internet and in print, his debut book of thirteen short stories was published in March 2009 by Word Riot Press; and
WHEREAS, Timothy Patrick Waldron’s World Takes has been noted as being both darkly humorous and endearing as it leads readers through America’s interior landscape with tales that explore people of all backgrounds; and
WHEREAS, Within all spheres of his life and work, Timothy Patrick Waldron has established a model to emulate and set a standard of excellence toward which others might strive; and
WHEREAS, It is altogether proper and fitting for this House to pause in its deliberations to praise the creative work of Timothy Patrick Waldron, and to commend him as an individual of strong character and exceptional determination; now, therefore
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey: That this House hereby salutes Timothy Patrick Waldron, pays tribute to his meritorious record of achievement, and extends sincere best wishes for continued success in his literary career; and,
Be It Further Resolved, That a duly authenticated copy of this resolution, signed by the Speaker and attested by the Clerk, be transmitted to Timothy Patrick Waldron.
All I got are dollars
01044 days
I should carry cash more. I suck at blogging. All I can do is shout out self-promotional lists at you people. And, but, so…
1) Josh Maday’s review of The Suburban Swindle at New Pages:
“Corley has a superlative ear for the music of language. Her lines and rhythms are rich, lyrical, and energetic, carrying the reader along and juxtaposing interestingly with the tension in the stories themselves, reflecting the tension within the characters, between the hard façade and the longing lonely vulnerability behind it… Jackie Corley’s writing captures and conveys the impassable conflict of being human at every level.”
2) Reading in Providence in two weeks organized by William Walsh, author of Questionstruck:
Myopic Books
5 S. Angell Street
Wayland Square
Providence, RI
Saturday, April 18 @ 7 p.m.
Readers: Jackie Corley, Timmy Waldron and Brian James Foley
3) P.H. Madore’s dispatch litareview lives. I have a book excerpt appearing there soon. I got paid in real world dollars – ten of ‘em.
4) So New Publishing introduced the So New Writers Prize. The winner gets their novella published in a limited run of hand-bound books.
5) Contracts are rolling in for the not-so-secret-but-I’m-not-telling-yet anthology that Word Riot Press will publish in Spring 2010. Big names attached to this one.
6) Timmy Waldron has a story appearing as part of genius ml press publisher j.a. tyler’s Stamps Stories project.
7) Tobias Carroll interviewed Nick Antosca over at the scowl
I got Keyhole’s handwritten issue in the mail and thoroughly had my mind blown.
9) I like the look on the face of the old lady on the subway when Blake Butler curses:
Boston and back
01069 days
Timothy Gager invited me back to the Dire Reading Series in Cambridge, Mass. on Friday. T’was awesome. Wish I had more time to wander around Boston but this weekend was too cramped.
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Advance review copies of Timmy Waldron’s WORLD TAKES are in the mail. The files for the final copies are at the printer and the books should be ready in a few weeks.
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Big news on the horizon for WRP’s next title. It’s an anthology with some big names attached. I’m keeping mum until the contracts are signed and make their way back to me.
Backlist bundle sale
01158 days
If you’re participating in <HTMLGIANT>’s Secret Santa, these Word Riot book bundles would be great for giving.
- Johnny Red + We Were Ugly… by David Barringer = $20
- Eighty-Sixed by Brian Ames + Scott Bateman’s Sketchbook… = $18
- Eighty-Sixed by Brian Ames + Naughty Sweet Boy by Ryan Robert Mullen = $15
- Scott Bateman’s Sketchbook… + Naughty Sweet Boy by Ryan Robert Mullen = $15
Win Nick Antosca’s MIDNIGHT PICNIC
01163 days
Copies of MIDNIGHT PICNIC have arrived!
To celebrate, I offered two copies to <HTMLGIANT> for contest purposes. Nick came up with this most excellent contest question:
What is the way you would least like to die?
Head over to <HTMLGIANT> and put in your best death wish.
Better hurry, though. The competition is heating up and the contest ends Monday night.
Pre-order Timmy Waldron’s World Takes
01191 days
Timmy Waldron’s short story collection World Takes is now available for pre-order at Word Riot.
Check out this gorgeous cover design by David Barringer:
Word Riot Press to release Nick Antosca’s Midnight Picnic
01192 days
We’ve made a very special announcement today. You can pre-order Midnight Picnic at Word Riot. And here’s the press release:
Middletown, NJ — Punk rock-spirited independent publisher Word Riot Press will release Nick Antosca’s second novel Midnight Picnic on Dec. 15.
Midnight Picnic was slated to be released by Impetus Press on Oct. 31. The book’s publication was put on hold when Impetus Press publishers Willy Blackmore and Jennifer Banash announced the dissolution of the company due to financial pressures. Shortly afterward, Impetus Press, Word Riot Press and Antosca began discussions about the novel’s future.
“Willy Blackmore and Jennifer Banash’s dedication to Impetus authors is remarkable,” Word Riot Press publisher Jackie Corley said. “When Willy and Jennifer learned of Word Riot Press’ interest in Midnight Picnic, they worked tirelessly to make a deal happen.
“I’m pleased and impressed by how fast Word Riot stepped up,” Antosca said. “Jackie didn’t hesitate, and I think it’s a wonderful thing for independent literature that she runs her press so fearlessly. It’s terrific that she’s going to publish Midnight Picnic.”
An eerie story about the nature of death, Midnight Picnic is a non-traditional ghost story in which a vengeful child searches for his murderer on the deserted roads of the American countryside, drifting in and out of the afterlife.
“If there’s a real Hell out there in the American heartland, and real ghosts, I suspect Nick Antosca has seen them. Midnight Picnic reinvents the ghost story for our unsettled times—it’s a riveting and terrifying 21st Century Book of the Dead that’s one of the most frightening novels I’ve read in years,” said Elizabeth Hand, author of Generation Loss, Mortal Love, and Winterlong.
Jami Attenberg, author of The Kept Man, has called Midnight Picnic “a thrilling follow-up to his contemplative debut, Fires. His imagination makes an astonishing show in this macabre, bizarre and witty story of ghosts and revenge. Impossible to put down until the extremely satisfying end, Midnight Picnic conjures up the mounting tension of the finest Bradbury story.”
John Haskell, author of American Purgatorio and I Am Not Jackson Pollock, concurred with Hand and Attenberg’s assessment of Antosca’s uncanny ability to unearth the darker elements of human nature: “Beneath the skin of emotion there are muscles and nerves, and that’s where Antosca takes us.”
Called a “page-turner” and “a demented little novel” by Publishers Weekly, Midnight Picnic will be at home in Word Riot Press’ diverse stable of literary and experimental works of fiction.
“Nick’s forceful authorial voice has made him a young writer to watch. I’m elated to have Nick as part of the Word Riot Press family,” Corley said.
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