Rejections 254 and 255

Drunken Boat sent a really encouraging rejection telling me they were impressed with my submission, but unfortunately did not feel that this particular piece was right for them.  I guess I'm supposed to wait three months and then send a note mentioning the encouragement.  That sounds about right.  It's in my calendar, Drunken Boat.

Diagram sent a slightly less encouraging rejection, though theirs is worded quite kindly.  So, thank you, too, Diagram.

Today I'm meeting with a tax lady to talk about all the receipts I saved in 2010.  Maybe I will take my winnings and go to Germany for a month and write.  This is the goal.  By tomorrow there will be a new goal.

Press Rejection and Post-withdrawal Rejection

Action Books doesn't want my poetry manuscript and Gulf Coast doesn't want poems I withdrew from them months ago.

I am hacking up my lungs. Patti Smith knew everyone before she was even famous.  I can't decide if I like my couch or my bed better, but rootbeer milk is the answer.

Press Rejection

I was totally honored when JA at MLP said they'd be happy to look at anything I might have that would fit their new Nephew imprint.  Unfortunately, I had a feeling the thing I had that fit their word count range was not right for the project.  I reworked it a little bit, before sending it their way, but in the end, my instincts were right, and JA respectfully declined.

The thing I sent is weird little collection of disembodied quotes from a fake interview.  I've been playing with it for a while now - a few years - and I can't figure it out yet, but someday I will.

That said, there are only 75 copies left of the first book in the Nephew series, and I think you'll regret it if you don't order it.  The snippets I've gotten my eyes on are pretty spectacular.  So go on.  Get.

Some Fun New Business

One of the many reasons AWP is great is because editors haul ass to get new issues done in time to sell them.  I picked up a couple things I'm in while at the bookfair.  They include:

The name says it all.

It's a collection of ghost blurbs from a range of fancy people, all wishing on stars shaped like books for some good old-fashioned reading.  You can get it here and you better because it's real pretty.

Also: the ninth issue of Barrelhouse, but it's not available online yet.  But when it is, it will be here.  "What's the theme?" you ask.  Why, Sex Drugs and Rock n Roll, if you must know.  "Who in it?" you ask.  None other than the likes of Colin Bassett, Joe Hall, Susan McCarty and Brian Furuness, among other literary hippopotami.

Also, right before I left, Dark Sky arrived in the mail and gosh it's good looking.  "Who in dat?" you say.  Well, let me think: me, Elisa Gabbert, Molly Gaudry, Mel Bosworth and Jensen Beach to name a few.  "Where I find dat?" you ask.  Dis place. "What it look like?"

Lastly, I have a stamp story floating around out there, so you best be ordering from your favorite small presses and then maybe you get a nice surprise with my name on it.

And dat be dat.

Rejections 251 and 252

This week I got rejections from:

Upstreet: anonymous.

Noo: A kind not from Mike saying the piece I sent wasn't the right fit, and that the piece made him feel a little drained or scattered as it went on - which seems unsurprising - that's how I was feeling at the time I wrote it.  So I'm going to go back and look at that and think about how I can use that feeling in the story but go a little easier on the reader.

I also got a rejection from Small Fires Press that I'd sent for their Matchbox project.  I'd already withdrawn the piece about 7 months ago, but it was an encouraging note and I'll send them some new options soon and I can't say how appreciative I am of any feedback I can get, even if it's a bit belated.

Also, remember how AWP happened? Lindsay and I done won that gong show with our nasty rap and made some new friends in the process, who I can never look in the eye again.  Also, I saw so many good readings I'm not even gonna bother listing them, and I might have also seen one of my heroes disappoint me  with her answer to the question "What's the biggest threat to women writers?"  I happen to not agree that it's their own conventionality.  That's gross of you to say, hero.

All in all though, I drank too much and laughed way more than is healthy and made new friends and hugged old ones and it was possibly both the best and worst AWP yet. On to the next one.

Rejection 250 and some upcoming readings

Avery Magazine didn't want the story I sent them. This is allowed.  I will still say hello at AWP, Avery.

I thought I'd plug some upcoming readings:

Sunday, January 16th: Me, Jacob Knabb, and TJY are kicking off Orange Alert 2011 at the Whistler, 2421 North Milwaukee Avenue.  6 PM. I'ma wear an outfit. Ain't gonna be nothin' like Tim's though, to be certain.  By outfit, I mean a shirt with possible metallic threads, and also, pants of some sort.

Friday, January 21: Moi  reading and Robert Landislas Derr with a video and audio by Ryan Dunn and Joseph Kramer.  We are all going to thinking about and talking about and showing about and sounding off about Edgar Allan Poe in a year long series at Three Walls, 119 N Peoria St # 2D, about Poe and Roald Dahl and Doris Lessing.  Awesome, right?  7 PM-ish.

Saturday, January 22: I'm reading at Ear Eater, 1622 S. Allport St. Apt. #1, at 8PM, as are, either by skype or in the flesh, Sara Drake, Christopher Higgs, James Payne and Natalie Shapero.

Also: at AWP - Lindsay Hunter and I are teaming up to compete in The Literati Gong Show presented by Flatmancrooked, with Dzanc, Featherproof, Hobart, and Barrelhouse.  Thursday, February 3rd (Washington DC AWP). 7-9pm. Loc: Madam's Organ Blues Bar, 2461 18th St NW, Washington DC. It'sa be untoward, to be sure.

Rejections 248 and 249 and a New Story at Requited

Two stories were rejected from Rhino and Black Clock.

New holiday-themed story at Requited along with new stories from Michael K. Meyers, Michael Czyzniejewski and Andrew Farkas.

Happy New Year!

Rejection 247 and Residency Rejection

The Seattle Review didn't bother to send an email when they declined the long poem I sent them.  I just logged into Submishmash and saw that they'd turned it down.

Hedgebrook doesn't want to give me a home on an island in Washington for 2 weeks.  This is the second time they're rejected me. When all is said and done, due to some unfortunate life events, I would have been unable to go even if they'd asked, but that doesn't change the fact that they didn't want me.

Merry Christmas, fools.

New Story Out in Spork

Forgive that ugly sentence in the second paragraph. My story, "Unaccounted," is up on Spork.

Rejection 246

Redivider has turned down my poetry submission. This equates to no lost love.

Redivider has such a bang-up list of consulting editors.  It includes Matthew Salesses, Emily Kendal Frey, Kathleen Rooney and Lauren van den Berg.  Aside from putting out work, I really enjoy, this list of individuals just makes me want to join their company more.

Again, again.