I mentioned Stephen Elliot’s newest book last week for BBCDW and also touched upon the cool project surrounding it’s marketing, but just to recap:

Stephen is circulating copies of his new true-crime memoir to anyone who would care to read it. All you do is email him, prove that you’re a real person, he sends you the book, you get a week to read it and when that week is up you send it to the next person on the list. Pretty cool buzz-generating idea that I will most likely steal in the forthcoming months. So I signed up and just finished it last night and I’m glad that I did.

Not only is this a great book, but it’s a cool thing to be involved with. It’s not too often that the general public not only gets to read advance copies of books but also gets to be given the chance to by the author himself. Which, I think, is the way it should be. You should be able to reach out to these people and have them reach back to you. That’s what creative writing is all about, for me at least. To connect with people. And it really bugs me when authors are reclusive, don’t do interviews, don’t do readings, don’t really make any sort of effort to engage their audience outside of publishing. So it really pumps me up when you see a talented author getting in the mix and reaching out to people.

Anyway. I think this thing is still going on and you should sign up for it so you can be a part of it too.

I was going to wait about a week to get to this, but I couldn’t wait.

Stephen Elliott’s been circulating pre-release copies of his new book, a true-crime memoir, as sort of a DIY marketing buzz generator. The gist is you email Stephen, ask him if you can read his book, convince him that you’re a real person, he mails you the book and you have a week to finish it, then you mail it to someone else. Sounds like a really cool idea, no? I thought so too, so I emailed him. He sent me the book and I’m reading it right now and I’m pretty blown away by it so far. But this isn’t a review of the contents inside the book.

(Disclaimer: This is kind of a soft edge image that’s supposed to be used for wheat pasting I think. It was the highest res image I could find. You get the idea. I’ll post a sharper one next week.)

The cover graphic for The Adderall Diaries has all the elements that make a stop-you-in-your-tracks image. Loss, abandonment and confusion are conveyed with a few colors, a few layers and a healthy dose of taste. What else do you need to know? Simple, beautiful, creative. Well done.

P.S. The project is still going on if you want to read the book. Click the link above or right here if you’re lazy. Highly recommended.

Sometimes you’re jsut sitting at your desk thinking, “WTF am I gonna blog about today? What’s interesting about reading a bunch of submissions? Aquiring content for the new website launch?” And then this little gem just falls right into your lap.

The triumphant return of DJ Dream Titty is happening tomorrow night at the Cornell Museum of Art as part of their current weekly series Warhol Wednesdays. Come out and look at some Warhol photos, bring some cash for the bar and get lost in the mammary jams the DJ will be spinning.

Looks like the HE boys done did it. They said it couldn’t be done but I believed in them the whole time. Congrats dudes.

Did you kick in some cash? Even a dollar? If so you may have gotten some shout outs on their twitter like so:

Guess this means I’ll be stealing peoples bikes and punching them so hard they will fly up in the air. And then Ice Cube will beat me with a brick.

You know it. You love it. You can’t live without it. So now it’s time to help them out. Kick in a little bit of cash to get the new issue of Hamburger Eyes published. Tough times in print call for those who love it to band together. Are you doing your part?

Hamburger Eyes from Nick Fogarty on Vimeo.

Back when I was a cocky, naive young man in his beginning months at writing school I was under the delusion that no novel existed that could mystify or confuse me, no book could sway my lazer-like focus, and no writer existed that could bury me in weighty ideas. It’s with this attitude that I picked up Infinite Jest. I got about 200 pages in and I quit. Main reason being the sheer size of it. I read that fucker like a bomb squad officer clipping at colored wires and I couldn’t even make a dent in it.

Other people have apparently experienced the same thing when trying to undertake IJ. They decided to take action. Infinite Summer is an online book club of sorts that challenges readers all over the globe to read Infinite Jest over the summer of 2009:

“June 21st to September 22nd. A thousand pages ÷ 92 days = 75 pages a week. No sweat.”

I’ve been putting this book off for a long time and now it’s time to climb this mountain. I going to do it. Who’s with me?

Thanks TheRumpus.net

A few weeks ago wildly successful writer and educational emporer, Dave Eggers, spoke at an Author’s Guild dinner about how things in print aren’t as bad as one would think and that everyone should just chill the fuck out. In the speech he gave out his email address with the instruction, “If you ever have any doubt, e-mail me, and I will buck you up and prove to you that you’re wrong.”

And me being a publisher myself, someone with a vested interest in the future of print (and, really, just a person wanting to get some of his concerns off his chest) I emailed him. And I heard back from him yesterday. Click through to read our correspondence.

Earlier this morning I saw a comment left by Gary Johansan (one of the guys in the Kluge vid). His mention of the U. of Tampa Book Arts Studio piqued my interest so after a little searching around I found their blog. After further searching I even came across Gary’s blog which included this particularly interesting post about the University of Tampa, formerly the Tampa Bay Hotel and currently the Henry B. Plant Museum.

The 6 acre, quarter mile long, 511 room compound was built in 1891 and was an operational hotel until it closed in 1930. After three years of dormancy the University of Tamps was allowed to set up shop within its doors and used its suites as classrooms and offices.

I’ve driven past this building many times but I had no idea what it was. I’m making a pilgrimage there one day to see if I can conjure any turn-of-the-century ghosts.

There are some very cool things in your back yard if you’re willing to dig around a little.

Short Story Month is peaking right now and none are more emphatic about its peakingness other than Dan Wickett over at EWN. Still keeping his promise almost to the point of absurdity. According to Dan (new this Wednesday on ABC!), lots of other sites are getting in on the action. Good ol’ VigLaze has yet to pop up on EWN’s radar, though. Ahem. UPDATE: Booyah!

Anyhoozle, here’s a story from Sam Lipsyte over at Failbetter.com. It’s called Flashback or Why Nobody Won the Fight Between Our Fathers in Walt Wilmer’s Toolshed. I could be totally wrong but I think this is from his novel-in-stories collection Venus Drive. If you’ve never read Lipsyte before you’re missing out on one of the most brilliant living writers. Not only is dude funny beyond description, he has this beautiful way of showing the savage intensity of his characters. Heres a little snippet from the story that I like:

“So,” we heard my father say, “I guess the rocks really needed some trimming, huh? Figured the yard’s all done, might as well mow the rocks while I still have the guy’s machine.”

“Look, I didn’t mow no rocks, Charlie,” said Mr. Cudahy. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? You said you didn’t mow any rocks. Or no rocks, rather.”

This last was so shameless, so shameful, the fop’s swipe, the nerd’s gnaw, so laced with the venom of soft men, that I looked to my friend there beneath the sill, beseeched forgiveness, but I don’t think Boy Cudahy even caught the slight to his father’s speech, or maybe he had, of course he had, it just wasn’t the terrible rent in his world I thought it to be, or that maybe my father intended. I saw it a dirk sunk to hilt in the meat of decency, equality, common cause. But to a Cudahy it probably had the same power “four-eyes” would to my bi-focaled father. Big whoop. Specs. What else you got?

Click on through and read the story. He’s never written a boring sentence in his life.

Harper Collins wishes they had the balls to release a book cover like this.

Last week Keith Phipps of the AV Club posted this review of Theodor Sturgeon’s classic sci-fi novel More Than Human. Before you click through I will forecast your reaction: You will shake your head and whisper, “Damn, if sci-fi novels from back in the day didn’t have the tightest covers.”

So now I’m obsessed with these things. One google search and few clicks later and I unearthed a goldmine of the illest book covers ever drawn.

A few favorites:

Tales of the Cthulu Mythos

The Bull and the Spear

The Beast the Shouted Love at the Heart of the World

Those were the days. All it took to have the sickest job was to have some drawing and painting skills and a shitload of LSD.

After spending a good half an hour browsing these things, the book shelf at your local Borders will look about as stimulating as the pamphlet rack at the doctors office.