Two Prominent Issues of Modern Bookselling

Weebeast & Marcy: The Dynamic Duo

Just a quick note of why I think independent bookstores are struggling, which is easily illustrated by two toys that were given to Women & Children First, the store where I work.

#1: A note to publishers: Don't send bookstores terrifying yellow plush monsters to try and get them to carry your book.  When I receive a box with this crap in it, I throw the catalog away along with the little idiotic Weebeast.  Give the money you spent on that weird promotional choice to your authors.  They need it more than we need a turtle bird with prominent boobs and buttocks.

#2: A note to people who are worried about their local independent bookstore and trying to support it:  Buy books at that store.  Don't bring in a doll of Marcy from Married With Children, and then browse for a while and say you're going to order the books online from Amazon.  Just buy books there.   I happen to believe in the independent bookstore as a public space, and as much as I believe in the importance of growing online communities, there's something that just can't beat giving stickers to adorable kids, bonding over books in person, going to book release parties, or looking at a whole store of titles hand-picked by the people who work there.

Just some thoughts.  And an ass-shot of Weebeast and Marcy to bring us on home:

New Issue of Marginalia Out

Ok.  Listen up.  There is a fantasticnew issue of Marginalia out there in the world now. It includes work by the likes of: Danielle Alexander, Ernst. G. Benkert, Doug Bolling, Dana Burchfield, Lightsey Darst, Brian Evenson, Marc Harshman, Craig Hase, Laird Hunt, Leesteffy Jenkins, Amanda Jones, Toshiya Kamei, Tom La Farge & Wendy Walker, Elizabeth MacKiernan, Harry Mathews(!), Matthew McBride, Tara McDaniel, Jeff McRae, Brian Oliu, Soham Patel, Linda Tomol Pennisi, Simon Perchick, Dennis Phillips, Pedro Ponce, Stephen Roger Powers, Alicita Rodrigues, Joanna Ruocco, Arthur Saltzman, Allegra Jostad Silberstein, Mark Todd, Cheryl Toman, Julie Van Scoy, and Shannon Ward. It also features a beautiful little pull out chap of the homophonic translation "Habit" by Dana Burchfield.

I can't tell you how to actually order one though.  The website seems to be a couple years behind.  I know Marginalia is in the last dregs of some formal sort of shift from institutional to independent, but hopefully some info will go up on their site soon.  In the meantime I think you should just email them at marginalia@gmail.com.

Book Contest: Lost

I want to go to there.

There's good news and there's bad news:

Bad news is that I did not win the 2008 Ronald Sukenick/American Book Review Prize for Innovative Fiction. Good news is that Amelia Gray did, for her manuscript Museum of the Weird. I could not be more whole-hearted in my congratulations.  AM/PM has possibly been my favorite story collection of the last year, so it's all I can do not to smile my face off that more of her stories will be available to the world in a happy little volume.  I can't wait!

Rejection Post-Withdrawal

Black Warrior Review doesn't want the piece I already told them they couldn't have.  They told me so with a little card in the mail.

Little White Poetry Journal

Hey people.  I'm getting to read some awesome work for Little White Poetry Journal, but I am a bit insatiable at the moment, and I want to read more. I have extended the deadline to May 3rd.  Keep it coming.  Send submissions of poetry with a bio to jacjemc@gmail.com.

Today it is raining, so instead of thinking about your work on my bike ride, I will be thinking about it while watching Andy Warhol's Women in Revolt.

Just saying.  Something to keep in mind.

Status Update from The Rome Review

The Rome Review just sent me a note saying they're a little swamped and very sorry they haven't responded to my submission sooner.  I think that's very considerate, even though it's not even been two months since I sent them my story.  Here's what's hilarious though to me: the person who wrote the note took the time to make a comment about my title. I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but perhaps if you just read your submissions instead of apologizing individually to each item in the back-log, you might not have to make apologies at all.

Seriously though, I was both impressed and cracked up by this note, Mr. Hariri.  I like your style.

Rejection 166

I love Public Space so much.  Why can't I have work in there?  Inside those pretty covers?  I wanna get under the covers of Public Space! Probably I can't whine my way in, huh? Bah.  This rejection was totally fast and anonymous.

Rejection 165

I'm not sure how I took such a step back with Diagram.  I was getting really encouraging notes.  One of the editors recognized my name at AWP.  Now: no love.  This is the second flat-out rejection I have received.

I will not give up.  I will also not say, "I am strong.  I am invincible.  I am woman." Because I'm pretty sure that's what they say in the Secret Deodorant commercials, and I refuse to embarrass myself in that way.

Rejection 164

I like that Cooper Renner at elimae.  I think he's pretty much the bees' knees.  Even when he rejects you, you feel like a million bucks. He told me he didn't think the story I sent was right for elimae, but I should send it as a Mud Luscious chapbook submission.  Done and done, Cooper, but thanks for trying to help me out.

Rejection 163

n + 1 sent me a kind and impersonal rejection explaining that as a biannual publication they can only publish a very limited amount of fiction.

This is apparently my new favorite thing to be annoyed by.  Forgive me.