Jacke Wilson

December 8, 2013

Dante in Translation

In my shout-out to Graywolf press yesterday I neglected to mention their well-received edition of Dante, translated by the accomplished poet Mary Jo Bang. Writing in The New York Review of Books, Robert Pogue Harrison makes a strong case for Bang’s translation over the recent Clive James version. It does sound better. But frankly I’m not sure either is Continue reading

Authors, Publishing, Writing

Clive James, Dante, Dante Alighieri, inferno, Mary Jo Bang, Robert Pogue Harrison, The New York Review of Books, Translation

December 7, 2013

Small Press Shout-Out: Graywolf Press!

Graywolf Press! We’ve looked at some great small presses recently (including the smokin’ hot Kaya Press and the medieval throwbacks over at Tiny TOE). Soho Press made me want to buy a bundle of international crime fiction for everyone I know. But Graywolf… ah, Graywolf makes me want to move to Minnesota! You know Minnesota – the Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Publishing, Writing

Carl Phillips, Charles Baxter, Graywolf Press, Jane Kenyon, Robert Boswell, Sven Birkerts, Tess Gallagher, Tony Hoagland

December 6, 2013

Small Press Shout-Out: Soho Press!

Today’s small press shout-out is the fabulous Soho Press! Soho has been pumping out quality books from New York City since 1986. They specialize in literary fiction and young adult books and I’m sure they’re all great, but… ah, there’s no point in denying it, I’m most drawn to Soho Crime, their international-themed crime fiction imprint. Continue reading

Fiction, Publishing

Arts, Book, Crime fiction, Literature, New York City, Publishing, Small press, Soho Press

December 5, 2013

More Free Fiction: The Race by Jacke Wilson

More free fiction below… Enjoy! – Jacke The Race: A Novella Excerpt from Chapter Seven When I was young, my class took a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. On the way back from Chicago we stopped at a McDonald’s, and along with the meal everyone received a Monopoly game piece. It Continue reading

Fiction, Novellas, The Race, Writing

Board game, Chicago, Fiction, Monopoly, novella, Rich Uncle Pennybags, The Race

December 4, 2013

Self-Publishing and the Silicon Valley Fortune Teller

Surprisingly good interview with Netscape founder and Silicon Valley gazillionaire Marc Andreessen the other day. Andreessen thinks a lot about the future – not in a dreamy, techno-utopian way, but because every day he has the best and brightest inventors and entrepreneurs pitching their visions to him. And what does he see? Newspapers, magazines, television. Continue reading

Authors, Publishing, The Race, Uncategorized

Amazon Kindle, Critical Margins, E-book, Marc Andreessen, Netflix, Self-Publishing, Silicon Valley, Spotify, YouTube

December 3, 2013

Ordering Adjectives

Hmm. You’d think I’d have already known that adjectives in English follow a precise, well-defined order: Opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose-noun. So you can have a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife. But if you mess with that word order in the slightest you’ll sound like a maniac. But then again, maybe not. After all, according Continue reading

Authors, Writing

Adjective, Arts, Education, English, English language, Language Arts, Word order

December 2, 2013

What They Knew #16

(As a followup to yesterday’s post about Marc Maron’s mid-career renaissance…) “If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud.” – Émile Zola Continue reading

Authors, What They Knew, Writing

artist, inspiration, Zola

December 1, 2013

Marc Maron, Unlikely Inspiration

Anyone looking for a self-publishing success story doesn’t need to look far. The examples of newly minted millionaires (like Amanda Hocking and E.L. James) are highly Google-able. But that’s not why I decided to strike out on my own. No, if I have to point to one inspiration, it would probably be comedian and podcaster Continue reading

Authors, Publishing

Amanda Hocking, Jon Stewart, Louis C.K, Marc Maron, Podcast, Self-Publishing, Tonight Show, WTF with Marc Maron

November 30, 2013

Weird Magazines (and Small Presses)

Nikkitha Bakshani takes a look at the fascinating world of niche magazines put out by very small presses. Bakshani had trouble finding them at first: I was under the impression that I could walk into any news stand in New York and find a slew of oddly titled publications—something about ferrets or specially-authorized Bavarian buses—something effortlessly Continue reading

Publishing

Arts, Business, Magazine, Morning News, Publishing, Science fiction, Small press

November 29, 2013

Small Press Shout-Out: Atticus Books!

Today’s small press spotlight turns on Atticus Books. Yes, it was named after Atticus Finch, but that’s not all – it was also named after the Atticus (i.e., Cicero’s friend), as well as a chance encounter with a bookstore that apparently changed founder and publisher Dan Cafaro’s life. All three inspirations get their due on the Continue reading

Fiction, Novellas, Publishing, Uncategorized

Atticus Books, Atticus Finch, Book, Bookselling, Cicero, Expresso, Publishing, Small press, United States