Emerging Writers Network

Novella Month - Preparations for Search by Joseph McElroy

I'm always a little lost in the wilderness when it comes to just what exactly is a novella. Two years ago I had a few authors that had published novellas give me their definitions but I'm afraid they were mostly a little too smart for me. I know I don't simply believe it's a word or page count. I think there's something that differentiates a novella from a long short story, and from a short novel as well--I just don't know what exactly that is.

A long-winded introduction to say that I'm not fully sure that Joseph McElroy's Preparations for Search is a novella, but it feels like it to me. Originally this material was a portion of McElroy's novel, Women and Men, that was removed. He published it rather quietly in the journal Formations in 1984. Small Anchor Press then published it as a square-bound book with some slight revisions to the text that sold out rather quickly. It has recently been published in eBook form by Dzanc Books in their rEprint Series with an introduction by Mike Heppner.

From this introduction:

In conversation with Joseph McElroy, I once described his short novel Preparations for Search in genre terms as "noir-core," in which the conventions of noir are flattened and compressed into dense, jet-black space, a gravitational singularity...There's a sense of noir in Preparations for Search as well, "noir" as defined by George Tuttle as a subcategory of hardboiled detective fiction in which "the protagonist is usually not a detective, but instead either a victim, a suspect, or a perpetrator"...One could say that McElroy, in both his novels and short fiction, invites us to become sleuths as we plunder, decode, hypothesize about and interrogate his information-rich narratives. But what makes Preparations for Search "noir-core" is McElroy's approach to tempo and tone. Here the prose is so tightly wound—the pace accelerated to two-hundred beats-per-minute—that what we're left with is the structural essence of noir without the flabby clichés.

An example of McElroy's writing, Preparations for Search begins:

     It was only money, but it was quite a lot of money and I told him I felt I couldn't let him have it. Enos said he could understand. I said what he did with the money was his business, but--eleven hundred dollars to pay a detective to track down someone Enos hadn't seen since he was two? He looked me in the eye and asked if it was true that what he did with the money was his business. "What money?" I said, and he laughed and said didn't I mean whose money?

And so it begins. That last line of what I've quoted of Heppner's introduction perfectly describes McElroy's work here. The pace of the book does accelerate with the lack of excess, or cliche, that one might expect from a more standard work. It allows for a quick read, which to be honest I was very happy for as I actually immediately went back to the start to read it again as the prose is not just accelerated but simply lovely. There's a rhythm to it, a flow that is fascinating. It has me more than ready to tackle the slightly over 1000 page long Women and Men--but that will be after Novella Month is over.

 

Dzanc Books to Publish Robert Coover!

Dzanc Books just issued a Press Release--exciting news!                                                  

 

Dzanc Books to Publish Robert Coover

May 29, 2012 - Ann Arbor, MI—Dzanc Books is proud to announce that it will publish The Brunist Day of Wrath, the sequel to Robert Coover’s award-winning debut novel, The Origin of the Brunists, in September 2013. Dzanc Books will also publish an as yet untitled Coover short story collection in September 2014. The Dzanc rEprint Series will be publishing ten of Coover’s backlist titles to eBook form beginning in August 2012 and running on up through August 2013. Titles include the aforementioned award-winning The Origin of the Brunists; Pricksongs & Descants; The Public Burning; Spanking the Maid; Gerald's Party; A Night at the Movies, or You Must Remember  This; Whatever Happened to Gloomy Gus of the Chicago Bears; Pinocchio in Venice; John's Wife; and Ghost Town.

Robert Coover has published fourteen novels, three short story collections, and a collection of plays since The Origin of the Brunists received the The William Faulkner Foundation First Novel Award in 1966. At Brown University, where he has taught for over thirty years, he established the International Writers Project, a program that provides an annual fellowship and safe haven to endangered international writers who face harassment, imprisonment, and suppression of their work in their home countries.  In 1990-91, he launched the world's first hypertext fiction workshop, was one of the founders in 1999 of the Electronic Literature Organization, and in 2002 created CaveWriting, the first writing workshop in immersive virtual reality. Michiko Kakuntaini of The New York Times has said “Of all the postmodern writers, Robert Coover is probably the funniest and most malicious, mixing up broad social and political satire with vaudeville turns, lewd pratfalls, and clever word plays that make us rethink both the mechanics of the world and our relationship to it.” Coover has also received awards from the Lannan Foundation, American Academy of Arts and Letters, National Endowment of the Arts, and the Rea Lifetime Short Story Award.

Dzanc's Executive Director, Dan Wickett, said of the acquisition:  "We are thrilled to be able to bring out both new and past work from Robert Coover, a favorite author of ours here at Dzanc Books for many years. To be able to bring back many of his older works to a new readership is extremely exciting and to see him return to West Condon and the Brunists after all these years with a simply fantastic novel is something we’re very happy to be a part of."

This signing was made through Robert Coover’s agent, Georges Borchardt.

About Dzanc Books

Dzanc Books was created in 2006 to advance great writing and to impact communities nationally with our efforts to advance literary readership and our advocacy of creative writing workshops and readings. As a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, Dzanc Books not only publishes literary fiction, but works in partnership with literary journals to advance their readership at every level. Dzanc is also fully committed to developing educational programs in schools.

For more information on Dzanc Books and its mission, imprints, books, authors, awards, and programs, please visit www.dzancbooks.org.

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National Short Story Month - Trio of Dzanc!

Three story collections I cannot wait to see enter the world are a trio of collections that Dzanc Books is bringing out before the end of the year: Jennifer Spiegel's The Freak Chronciles (June), Luis Jaramillo's The Doctor's Wife (October), and George Singleton's Stray Decorum (November).

The short stories in this collection explore, both implicitly and explicitly, the notion of freakiness.  They worry over eccentricity, alienation, normalcy, and intimacy. What is it that makes one a freak, makes one want to embrace quirkiness, have the fortitude to cultivate oddity? Is there a fine line between abnormality and the extraordinary?  Jennifer Spiegel’s stories delve into these questions and others.

Winner of the Dzanc Short Story Contest, Luis Jaramillo's The Doctor's Wife pushes the limits of what a short story collection can be. In stylish, intimate, and devastating short flashes, Jaramillo chronicles the small domestic moments, tragic losses, and cultural upheavals faced by three generations of a family in the Pacific Northwest, creating a moving portrait of an American family and the remarkable woman at its center.

Eleven stories, all previously published in journals like The Atlantic, Oxford American, and The Georgia Review, in which George Singleton brings small-town South Carolina alive. Using everyday situations like a dog needing its annual vaccination and buckets of humorous observations, Singleton pokes and prods his readers into realizing we're all simply restless for a pat on the head.

NOOK Daily Find - The Consequence of Skating by Steven Gillis

Today Barnes & Noble's NOOK Daily Find selection is The Consequence of Skating by Steven Gillis (Black Lawrence Press, 2010), which can be purchased at the following link for the very low price of $3.50:

 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/ebook-nook-daily-find-bargain-deal/379003102/

 

The Consequence of Skating was named the 2010 Silver Medalist for literary fiction in the IPPY Awards.

"The moments (in The Consequence of Skating)  are small and detailed and probably the best compliment that can be given Gillis is that, as we move through them with (the protagonist) Mick, we really get a sense for what it might feel like to be an actor who is suddenly scriptless, an obsessed boyfriend who finds himself without a partner, a broken man forced to put his life back together.  'Everything is recovery,'  Mick says.  'Think.  Act. Redo...  The cause and effect causes cause and effect, the link inexorable...  I take one step and then another, until I am across the floor and in my kitchen.  In my kitchen I turn on the machine for coffee.  Once I have turned on the coffee, I go and rinse my cup.'"--Dave Housley, American Book Review 

 

"Steven Gillis possesses that rarest of gifts, the voice that seems to flow effortlessly. This guy makes it look easy. Read the first three pages of The Consequence of Skating and if you're not hooked, go see a doctor."--Jonathan Evison, author of  All About Lulu and West of Here

 

"I enjoyed The Consequence Of Skating a great deal, it is a very human book... I am definitely planning of seeking out Steven Gillis' other books." -Simon Barrett, Blogger News Network 

 

As a thank you for purchasing The Consequence of Skating by Steven Gillis through today's B&N Nook Daily Find, you will also be eligible to receive any four Dzanc eBook titles for $15, a savings of over 50%.  You can choose your titles from any available in our regular catalog or our rEprint Series.  Simply forward your B&N receipt email to dan@dzancbooks.org  

All proceeds from the sales of Steven's book go direct to running Dzanc's charitable programs.

Dzanc Books Receives NEA Grant!

Per their blog:

Dzanc Books receives NEA grant to support the publication, promotion and national distribution of books of fiction.

Grant part of NEA announcement of 863 grants and $22.543 million in funding nationwide

November 22, 2011--Ann Arbor, MI—The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman announced that the agency will award 863 grants to organizations and individual writers across the country. Dzanc Books is one of the grantees and will receive a grant to support the continuation of our publishing, promoting and nationally distributing books of fiction. The 863 grant awards total $22.543 million, encompass 15 artistic disciplines and fields, and support projects in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Through the course of 2012, Dzanc Books will publish books by Josip Novakovich, Eugene Cross, Jac Jemc, Matt Dojny, Josh Russell, Henning Koch, Seán McGrady, and George Singleton, a combination of debut authors, mid-career authors, U.S. born, and foreign authors. These will be published in both print and eBook form.

“Art Works is the guiding principle at the NEA,” said agency Chairman Rocco Landesman. “And I’m pleased to see that principle represented through the 823 Art Works-funded projects included in this announcement. These projects demonstrate the imaginative and innovative capacities of artists and arts organizations to enhance the quality of life in their communities.”

“Dzanc believes with absolute conviction in the undiscovered talent of writers at work today,” said Steve Gillis, co-founder and publisher at Dzanc. “It is part of Dzanc's mission to uncover these great works that may otherwise slip through the cracks. Our editors focus on the quality of the work, not the amount of money the writing might earn. It is Dzanc's belief that great writing will find its audience if given a chance to be published.   We are determined to present deserving talent to a broader audience, and coupled with the charity work we do and programs we run nationally in the schools and communities, nothing excites us more than to publish and tour a talented voice. We appreciate the NEA’s belief and support of our work.” 

In March 2011, the NEA received 1,686 eligible applications for Art Works requesting more than $84 million in funding. The resulting funding rate of 49 percent of eligible applications reflects both the significant demand for support and the ongoing vitality of the not-for-profit arts community despite current financial challenges. Art Works grants are awarded based on the applications received by the NEA and how those applications are assessed by the review panels.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA web site at arts.gov.

                                                      About Dzanc Books

Dzanc Books was created in 2006 to advance great writing and to impact communities nationally with our efforts to  advance literary readership and our advocacy of creative writing workshops and readings. 

As a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, Dzanc Books not only publishes literary fiction, but works in partnership with literary journals to advance their readership at every level. Dzanc is also fully committed to developing educational programs in schools.

For more information on Dzanc Books and its mission, imprints, books, authors, awards, and programs, please visit www.dzancbooks.org.

 

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Dzanc Write-a-Thon - My Work

While it may seem from the onslaught of Quarterly posts the past half a day that I'm doing everything possible to avoid sitting and writing something for the Dzanc Write-a-Thon, that is not the case. I'm working on something. For a small taste (apologies in advance):

     (I'm running. There is nothing in front of me but kneehigh grass and daffodil flowers. To the left, a stream; the water is clear and cool. My mane whips in the wind over my sweatglistened neck. Free. Free.)

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     Butch bends down and kissed his wife Jill--some of the egg he has just consumed rubs off onto her cheeck. He walks out the door onto the large wooden porch. Heading toward the barn, he plans to wake up Lester, his farmhand. Lester should be in the fields already--the lazy bastard always needs to be roused. The only reason Butch keeps him on is his size, his bulging biceps. The leather gloves Butch wears fit his fingers perfectly but are a little loose in the thumbs. The soft ground gives way underneath his trunklike legs.

While I am not hoping for accodales for the above two paragraphs (and yes, there is much more), I do hope that you'll consider sponsoring me, or one of the actual authors, in this year's write-a-thon. You can do so by clicking on that link above. Many thanks to those of you that already have done so.

Dzanc Books to rEprint Entire Jonathan Baumbach Backlist

The following is the Press Release over at the Dzanc blog regarding the signing of the 15 titles in Jonathan Baumbach's backlist to their rEprint Series:

 

July 1, 2011 - Ann Arbor, MI—Dzanc Books is proud to announce that it has acquired the eBook rights for Jonathan Baumbach’s entire backlist to be published within the Dzanc Books rEprint Series.  This includes his 14 books of fiction prior to Dreams of Molly, which Dzanc published earlier this year, and his nonfiction, The Landscape of Nightmare.  The full fiction list is: A Man to Conjure With; What Comes Next; Reruns; Chez Charlotte and Emily; My Father More of Less; The Life and Times of Major Fiction; The Return of Service; Separate Hours; Seven Wives; Babble; D-Tours; B, a novel; On The Way To My Father’s Funeral: New and Selected Stories; and You, or the Invention of Memory. These eBooks will be published, three at a time, every other month, beginning in October 2011. The final trio will be published in June 2012, at which time Dzanc Books will also publish a paperback version of You, or the Invention of Memory.

Jonathan, co-founder of The Fiction Collective in 1973 (it was reinvented as FC2 in 1988), the first fiction writers cooperative in America, has seen his work widely praised.   His short stories have been anthologized in Best American Short Stories, O.Henry Prize, and The Best of Tri-Quarterly.  The New York Times Book Review referred to him in 2004 as “. . . an underappreciated writer. He employs a masterfully dispassionate, fiercely intelligent narrative voice whose seeming objectivity is always a faltering front for secret passion and despair."

“Jonathan Baumbach is one of the true paterfamilias of independent-minded writers.”  Steve Gillis said. “He’s been a staple in the literary scene for over 40 years.”

“Reading through his backlist has been a fantastic experience,” said Dan Wickett. “It will be great to see the current generation of readers getting access to these incredible works.”

This acquisition was done through Jonathan's agent, Andrew Blauner of the Blauner Books Literary Agency.

                                  About the Dzanc Books rEprint Series

 The Dzanc Books rEprint Series is dedicated to publishing great works of contemporary literature that have recently gone out of print, as well as titles where the author holds the eBook rights and is looking for a new publishing partner for the electronic version of their book. Starting in Summer 2011, these works will begin being made available to the reading public in the form of eBooks compatible with all currently available eBook platforms, distributed both directly from Dzanc and through most eBook resellers.

This series originates out of a belief that many of these titles did not have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential audiences in the time of their original publication, and that a second chance for achieving a wider readership is long overdue. By bringing them back into print in widely-available electronic formats, Dzanc hopes to restart the critical conversations around these books, and to get them into the hands of the enthusiastic readers they each deserve. Just as the eBook revolution has put an always-connected bookstore in the hands of every participating reader, we believe that our rEprint series is an important and innovative part of ensuring that bookstore’s virtual shelves are stocked with beautiful editions of these titles, all among the very best books of the preceding decades.

                                          About Dzanc Books

Dzanc Books was created in 2006 to advance great writing and to impact communities nationall with our efforts to advance literary readership and our advocacy of creative writing workshops and readings.  As a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, Dzanc Books not only publishes literary fiction, but works in partnership with literary journals to advance their readership at every level. Dzanc is also fully committed to developing educational programs in schools.

For more information on Dzanc Books and its mission, imprints, books, authors, awards, and programs, please visit www.dzancbooks.org.

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I'm participating in the 2011 Dzanc Books Write-a-Thon

As most of you know, I do not write that often, kind of down to once per year to write during the Dzanc Books Write-a-Thon. I'd be honored if any of you felt the desire to sponsor me with a donation (any size is good, trust me) this year.

Details for those that might also be interested in participating:

During July 21-24, 2011, Dzanc Books will hold its fourth annual Write-a-Thon Fundraiser.

While the Write-A-Thon is underway, numerous established and emerging writers will volunteer their time and efforts, writing a new work in response to a prompt that we give them early on July 21. As with similar events (bowl-a-thons, write-a-athons, etc.), these writers will be doing so in order to help raise funds for Dzanc's many charitable endeavors, including the Dzanc Prize, which recognizes one writer annually for both literary excellence and service to his or her community, and our Writer in Residence Program, which places professional writers into classrooms to provide creative writing instructions to public school students who could not otherwise afford the opportunity. It's thanks to our volunteering writers' generous donations of their time and talents that we're able to continue to support and grow these programs.

Want to Sponsor a Writer?

If you would like to sponsor one of our writers (participants are listed in the right sidebar on the Write-a-Thon page), simply click on the DONATE button and fill out the author's name that you are sponsoring. Thank you in advance for your support!

While no donation is too small—any amount is helpful, and will assist in supporting our charitable programs—we would like to offer some incentives to donors:

When you donate, you'll receive a quick thank you email with a donation receipt (Dzanc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, so your donations are tax deductible up to the legal limits applicable), and also asking which of the following Dzanc eBooks you'd like as a more material thank you for your time and donation:  Kamby Bolongo Mean River, Asunder, The Iron Will of Shoeshine Cats, Based on a True Story, Temporary People, or The Consequence of Skating. (All of our eBooks work on Kindle, Nook, PC/Mac, and all other reading devices.)

In addition, anybody donating over $100 will receive a one-year membership in our eBook Club (a $55 value), as a further token of our appreciation.

Everyone that donates will also be entered in a random drawing after the Write-a-Thon is over, with one lucky winner receiving a full run of Dzanc titles from All Over through No Near Exit.

Finally, each day between June 30 on up through July 24, we will also give both the author raising the most funds and the person donating the most money during the 24-hour period (ending at midnight EST) their choice of a free eBook from our catalog.

Want to Participate?

If you are a writer and would like to participate in the 2011 Write-A-Thon, please let Dan Wickett know at dan@dzancbooks.org and he'll get your information listed over in the right hand column.

In addition to the rewards above for our donors, we're happy to also offer some targeted donation raising goals for our volunteering writers:

• All writers raising $500 will receive three Dzanc titles of their choice;
• all writers raising $1000 will receive six Dzanc titles of their choice;
• the author that raises the most money will receive a full run of Dzanc titles from All Over through No Near Exit;
• and the first five authors to raise $750 will each receive a free membership to our eBooks Club.

If you have any questions, please feel to email event organizer Dan Wickett at dan@dzancbooks.org.

Two Great Writers--Two Great Men

Mid-afternoon yesterday, the fine folks at the Independent Publisher Book Awards announced something that I was more than happy to tell you months, or even at least a couple of years ago--Steven Gillis and Hesh Kestin can write their asses off.  Kestin's novel, The Iron Will of Shoeshine Cats, tied for their gold medal as best novel in the category of literary fiction; Gillis' novel, The Consequence of Skating, tied for their silver medal in that same category.

The fine folks at the IPPYs would also tell you they've known this fact about these
two writers longer than simply yesterday as Gillis has also won the bronze medal for literary fiction in 2004 (Walter Falls), and 2006 (The Weight of Nothing), and for the short story collection category in 2007 (Giraffes), and undoubtedly would have won the gold with what should have been his breakthrough novel, Temporary People: a fable in 2008 had his dumbass publisher and partner remembered to enter it into the competition.  And Hesh Kestin? They awarded his debut fiction, Based On a True Story, a tie for the bronze in 2009 for the short story competition.

While both may beg to differ, neither has ever been the pretty young thing, at least not of the publishing industry--both were beyond their 30s when their first books came out, and neither was brushing out lush locks in their author photos. They weren't writing about hot topics that might guarantee five, six, or (are there really such things?) seven figure advances. They were however writing books that matter, books that should absolutely be on your shelves.

What the fine folks behind the Independent Publisher Book Awards probably don't know (I have to say probably as they might and I simply don't know it) is that Steven and Hesh go well beyond great writers--they are both great men. Both felt the call early to write and while both indeed wrote while they were younger, they also set that writing on the back burner, even if only slightly (ie, burning that candle hard at both ends), while earning livings so that they could provide for their families. It turns out they were both excellent at something besides the writing of fiction--Gillis as an attorney and Kestin as a journalist. Based on the dealings I've had with each of their families, I can also state they have done, and are doing helluva jobs as fathers, and family men, as well.

Neither was trained as a writer beyond the old fashioned method of reading thousands of incredible books and writing and revising and throwing away and writing and revising and maybe keeping a little and simply sitting that butt in the chair day after day after day. They both also have a side to them that I love, that others may not quite get, a certain spark to their personalities. For instance, Kestin's original debut was to be a novel back at least a couple of decades ago--his editor left the publisher, a new one came in and immediately suggested a new title for the novel, one that suggested some romantic aspect to the storyline that Kestin a) knew wasn't there and b) made no sense and he let the editor know. You'll notice if you search for Kestin's fiction that his debut was with Dzanc in 2009, not with somebody else decades ago.

They are both fierce about what they do, whatever that may be at any given moment. Having had the great pleasure to spend time with both beyond this virtual world, they are immensely fun to be around, and one should expect humor, great conversation, brilliant ideas and some fantastic stories about their families.

As proud as I am to have had a hand in bringing some of their works to the world, I'm just as proud to call both of these men my friend.

OFFER: I will personally (not Dzanc, this is from me, the EWN, etc.) purchase ten copies of each of the two books affiliated with Dzanc from these two men:  Temporary People: a fable, The Consequence of Skating, Based On a True Story, and The Iron Will of Shoeshine Cats, and send them (a set of all four) to the first ten people that comment on this post (let's say the first 5 here at the EWN and the first 5 on Facebook) that PROMISE to read the four books and spread the word, be it via blogs, reviews, word of mouth, etc. If you read them and like them nearly as much as I do, I will help you arrange to do interviews with these two men.

Dzanc Books to rEprint Abby Frucht

Per the Dzanc Books blog:

 

As part of Dzanc Books rEprint Series, Dzanc is pleased to announce the signing of Abby Frucht to a five book deal. Dzanc will publish eBook Frucht's seminal works, including her Iowa Short Fiction Award winning story collection, Fruit of the Month, as well as four great novels: Snap, Licorice, Are You Mine?, and Life Before Death.

Frucht’s work has been called “sensual, surrealistic, and sensitive” by Library Journal and have been frequently cited as Notable Works by the New York Times Book Review.  Frucht has taught for many years in the MFA program at the University of Vermont College of Fine Arts and currently resides in Wisconsin. 

“Abby Frucht is a fantastic writer,” Dan Wickett said. “We at Dzanc really became aware of her work when we selected a piece for our initial Best of the Web anthology and have paid attention to her ever since.”