I didn’t do one of these lists at the end of last year. I didn’t do a lot of stuff on this site. It’s been pretty quiet around here. I got a new job and that pretty much abducted my time. I’m trying to slowly trying to remedy that. I’m slowly trying to regain the joy I’ve felt in the past that comes when connecting with the small press/writing community. I got bogged down in the logistics of running Anna to appreciate the rewards. But that’s for another post.

This is a bunch of stuff that pumped my nads last year and continue to pump my nads. I’m gonna spread these out over a few posts. I was supposed to do this for Big Other, but, job stuff, you know. Sorry John. Here’s some books that opened up a bunch of new neural pathways in my brain, even solidified a few into place:

Radical Homemakers by Shannon Hays -  It’s been a pretty political year. I got involved with a giving circle project that caused me to analyze societal issues in a very aggressive way. This book was the spark that lit the fuse for me. Hayes talks a lot about social change starting within the home, a lot about how the industrial food system and consumer culture is wrecking not just the planet but our relationships and how we interact with each other. She proposes the antidote is making decisions within the home that subvert these systems, everything from choosing to purchase food from local sources, manufacturing your own clothes, houshold products, entertainment, growing your own vegetables, cultivating your own livestock, etc. The most interesting thing was how she tracked the history of the American home maker to the beginning of the industrial revolution when men traditionally had to leave the home to work and how the resulting circumstances lead to a cultural epidemic of “Housewife Syndrome” in the 1950’s, which was a catch-all term for depression and a loss of sense-of-purpose of house wives who’d been reduced to consumers and chouffers rather than the beating hearts of the home.

The People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn – I don’t understand how anyone can read this book and not become radicalized. You’d probably need to be immursed in a deep level of denial or have a substantial amount of emotional and capital investment in promiting imperialism, colonialism, and irresponsible captitalism (or some combination of these things) to not be swayed in a radical direction by the steadfast and unwavering American tradition of opression, subjugation, genocide and unchecked cruelty in the name of stealing resources and hoarding wealth that Zinn plainly lays out.

I couldn’t be more behind the curve with this one. It’s kind of like saying, “Have you tried eating honey? Holy shit, honey is fantastic! I need to spread the word about honey!” But whatever. A good book is a good book whenever you read it.

{image via Chase Heavener}

Hello potential submitters. If you’ve been waiting until the last second to send something for Issue Nine: India, consider this the last minute. The deadline for all submissions is January 13th, 2012. Now is the time to send your best story, essay, artwork, photography with some connection to the country of India and her people. The submissions have been piling up and some fantastic names and faces have thrown their hats in the ring. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve not gotten close to reading any of them yet, but I have a feeling the submission stack is brimming with nothing short of the most harrowing tales of love, struggle and triumph that I’ve ever had the privilege to publish. Think your work can measure up to that? Click here to find out.

Hey folks. It’s been kind of quiet on this front for a little bit now because we’ve been hard at work developing this project with Page 15 that I’m very excited about: An Orlando public school student writing contest! If the text in the above flyer is a bit too small go ahead and check this out:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ORLANDO, FL 12.22.11

Flip open the newspaper on any given day and it’s pretty clear, there’s a lot of problems out there in the world. The good news is you can’t be blamed for most of them. The bad news is, someone can, and most times the people to blame are adults.

Page 15 and Annalemma Magazine are putting together an anthology of student writing on this topic: What do adults do wrong and how you would do it right?

Wars, dictatorships, financial disasters, environmental crises, reality television…It doesn’t even have to be a worldwide problem. You deal with adults every day—teachers, parents, bosses—who have a direct effect on your life.  Adults have got a lot to be held accountable for and we want to hear what you have to say about it.

Tell us in an essay or a short story: How do adults tend to mess everything up? What’s wrong with how the world (your world) works? What needs to be done to make it better? Get thinking. Get mad. But most importantly, get creative!

GUIDELINES

You must be enrolled in a high school in Orange County.

1 submission per student.

Write up to 1500 words.

REWARDS

All writers whose work is accepted will receive a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble and your writing will appear in a nationally distributed print publication. You’ll also be invited to an exclusive book release party for you, your friends, family and the community.

Deadline is MARCH 1^st.

HOW TO SUBMIT

1. Email page15contest@gmail.com with your name, grade, school, a parent’s name, email and phone # in the body of the email. Attach your submission in .doc, .docx or rtf.
Or

2. Mail your submission to:

Page 15 Writing Contest

625 E. Central Blvd.

Orlando, F 32801

Include a cover page with your name, grade, school, a parent’s name, email, and phone #.

Stay tuned for more details or go here to see the exact same information.

There are a very decent sized number of people who are subscribing to the print edition of Annalemma. This is working out for us quite well cause it is a deep running desire for this publication to be completely reader funded. This is working our for our subscribers quite well  for a number of reasons: they get a beautiful magazine they’ll keep and read and cherish for the rest of their days, along with a tight feeling of connection to the literary community, the satisfaction of contributing to an independent publication, the list goes on.

But don’t take my word for it, listen to what our subscribers have to say for themselves…

“I wish I knew how Annalemma gets the art and the words to play so nicely together, each enhancing the other without competing or distracting. If I knew, I’d steal the technique for my own mag. As it is, though, Annalemma stands alone. Every issue’s a beauty, to hold and to read.”

– Bryan Furuness, author, The Lost Episodes of Revie Bryson (Black Lawrence Press)

“While I’m a big fan of new reading platforms –I own an iPad– and in many cases prefer it to having the physical book for both practical and environmental reasons, there are those certain cases where only the printed word will suffice. Annalemma is, without a doubt, one of those instances and is the reason I subscribe.”

-  Ryan Holladay, musician, BlueBrain

“Subscribing to Annalemma wasn’t that much of a gamble in my mind. I wanted to support a small publication that appears to value art as much as I do. I have not been disappointed at all. Most of the art and writing contained within each issue reminds me of why I keep trying, why anyone would keep trying, and of those moments when the trying can stop because something truly beautiful has happened. I’m definitely renewing my subscription.”

-  Jaime Santos-Prowse

“What Annalemma does is remind us that an independently curated literary magazine can marry form with function, exceptionalism with elegance. Each issue of Annalemma speaks to me in some intimate way as a reader, shows me what I want to reach for as both an editor and writer, and reminds me that a magazine is at its greatest when it is not afraid to expose the bright red muscle of its big beating heart.”

– Roxane Gay, author, Ayiti (Artistically Declined Press)

Click here to subscribe.

{Atlantic News. Halifax, NS. Via}

This infinite network of knowledge and information we call the internet is fun and all but let’s be honest with ourselves, it’s mostly used for cheap distractions. Not to knock cheap distractions (we need that sort of thing sometimes, say after reading the headline news) but a lot more knowledge, insight and useful information is going to seep itself into the culturally-parched cracks of your mind by reading something in print. It’s the superior medium in that regard.

And what better place to pick up some print media than your local indie book store? Have you been in there lately? It’s great! They got that table in the middle with all the well-curated paperback books, that one you been meaning to check out when it came out as a ridiculously-priced $38 hardcover. Now it’s cheaper! And it’s probably discounted! And look at that person behind the counter, they’re really attractive and possibly single and you should strike up a conversation about something you might have in common like, hey, an interest in books, and look at that, you’ve got a phone number or at the very least, an new ally in the war against ignorance, which is a highly valuable thing. Oh, and while you’re on the healthy road to self-actualization, why don’t you check out the print edition of Annalemma Magazine. We’re in the periodicals section of the following fine stores…

Atlanta, GA

Criminal Records

Austin, TX

Domy Books

Baltimore, MD

Atomic Books

Brooklyn, NY

Greenlight Books

Bookcourt

Spoonbill & Sugartown

Desert Island Comics

Chicago, IL

Quimby’s

Denver, CO

Tattered Cover

Halifax, NS (CAN)

Atlantic News

Indianapolis, IN

Vouched Books

Louisville, KY

Carmichael’s Bookstore

Manhattan Beach, CA

Pages

Missoula, MT

Fact and Fiction

New York, NY

McNally Jackson

St. Marks Bookshop

New Hope, PA

Farley’s

Orlando, FL

Mother Falcon Clothing

Park Ave. CD’s

Ottowa, ON (CAN)

Collected Works Bookstore

Portland, OR

Grassroots Bookstore

Powell’s Books

Providence, RI

Ada Books

Richmond, VA

Chop Suey Books

Seattle, WA

Elliott Bay Book Co.

Bulldog News

St. Louis, MO

Star Clipper

Subterranean Books

Don’t see your favorite store on the list? Shout out your jam in the comments and the elves will get on it.

MLP, [PANK] and us are doing it up at AWP again. It was a fantastic time last year, way better than I expected it to be, and that’s saying a lot because I usually expect these things to be great. Some new names on the bill this year. I’m very excited to see Scott McClanahan and Brandi Wells. I saw Scott last year and no joke almost cried and Brandi is a rad writer. You will be bummed if you miss this.

Last week we announced the theme and call-to-submit for Annalemma Issue Nine: India. If you’re looking to brush up on some Indian online literary publications let me direct you to the attention of Out of Print. Run by an impressively talented and dedicated staff, Out of Print focuses on providing a platform for writers of short fiction with a connection to the subcontinent. In this latest issue, I recommend reading “Mind Over Matter” a story of wealth and power at the horse races by Murzban F. Shroff. Go check them out!

{image by Chase Heavener via}

Annalemma Issue Nine: India – Call to submit

As America and Europe begin to recede into the background of global superpowers, new forces step up as the leaders of the democratic world. Among these powers, is India. With the die of globalization now cast, the geopolitical, economic, technological & environmental landscape is more connected than ever. It is important for people in the West, young people especially, to claim an understanding of how their world intersects and affects Indian culture, and vice versa.

But how can you expect to cover an entire country in one go? And in 104 pages of a literary magazine no less? Agreed, that’s somewhat impossible. The purpose of this issue is to allow a point of entry for Western readers and writers, to forge a new mental pathway to understanding.

What we are humbly asking of Indian writers is this: show us your country. Show us the micro and the macro, show us the beauty and the horror, the power, the corruption, the injustice, the triumph, the enduring beauty, the infinite feedback loop of suffering, all the wonder and terror your country brings to bear.

A lot of American/Western writers might be upset about this, maybe feel left out. So we offer this appeal: If you are a writer who has some connection to India or can offer some informed opinion of your experience as it pertains to the topic, we’d love to read it.

We’ll accepting creative nonfiction, fiction, personal essay and interviews. No poetry, please. Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Please keep submissions under 5000 words. Any submissions over 5000 words, please submit a query letter. Please send only one submission at a time. We’re finding creative nonfiction more compelling these days, so the more of that you send, the more likely you’ll get published.

Click here to submit.

Deadline is January 13^th.

Big ups to Issue Six: Sacrifice contributors Anne Valente and Jim Ruland for snagging a “Notable” mention in Best American Nonrequired Reading 2011. Anne got the hat-tip for her story “A Very Compassionate Baby” and Jim was recognized for his story “Fight Songs”. Both Anne and Jim are fantastic writers and these are great stories. Click here to check out Issue Six where the stories first appeared.

You probably already know about BANR, but if you don’t, I highly suggest picking up a copy. Significantly less dry and stodgy than its series forebears Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays, BANR attempts and often succeeds in showcasing writing equal parts provocative, energetic, inspiring and downright fun. Congrats to Anne and Jim for getting recognized by what is clearly a committee with a keen taste for quality and talent. And thanks to the BANR committee for giving it a read!

Orlando creative stalwart Doug Rhodehamel’s new project was a show all about bacon. Found objects, sculptures, portraits, interactive installations, drinks. All bacon.

Here we have used paper towels from a local coffee shop that resemble bacons.

An interactive piece where the viewer is encouraged to manipulate the sand to best create a bacon-like image, the sand representing the marbled fat of a piece of bacon.

Bacon bits made of cardboard. The viewer is encouraged to take one and bring the experience home. In the US, bacon usually comes from pork belly, often cured then cut into strips and pan fried. Bacon has garnered a lot of attention in American culture lately in what many have deemed “bacon mania” leading to an influx of bacon related and flavored products.

Bacon sculptures hanging from rafters. Due to bacon’s high fat and salt content, the meat is considered very tasty. However, it should be noted that high consumption of bacon could lead to a variety of health problems including, but not limited to, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

I had some bacon flavored vodka at this show. My girlfriend is a vegetarian. She smelled my breath after I took a few sips. She advised that if I wanted to kiss her in the future it would be in my best interests to discontinue use of the bacon flavored vodka. It kind of smelled like artificially flavored bacon that is often used for pet foods. I made the decision to put the drink down.