Apostrophe Cast

If you want to hear the sound of my voice, you can hear me reading my story from the new issue of The Collagist thanks to the awesome site, Apostrophe Cast. I'm proud to be reading alongside Charles Jensen and Kim Chinquee, who have outstanding work in the issue.

I recorded the audio for this thing on my computer while I was in a hotel room in Walterboro, SC. It took me a long time to get it right. One time, someone from housekeeping tried to get into my room, even though I had the Do Not Disturb sign on the doorknob, and I felt very awkward to be reading about how sinkholes are "the most vaginal of god's natural occurrences."

Excerpt from the Big Book of Forgotten Lunatics, Volume 1

I'm happy to report that I have a story in the first issue of The Collagist, an online journal created by Dzanc Books. Matt Bell, the editor, did an incredible job of putting together this issue. There's fiction by Chris Bachelder, Kim Chinquee, Gordon Lish, Matthew Salesses, and a novel excerpt from the new book by Laird Hunt.

I met Laird Hunt back in 2004 when I was at the MacDowell Colony. It was through this residency that I came into possession of one of my most prized pieces of author memorabilia, a box of snack crackers that Laird had partially eaten (the crackers, not the box). I wrote a letter to Laird after he'd left in order to get verification of his having eaten some of the crackers, a letter of authenticity if you will, and he responding by sending the most incredible, hand-written essay/story, which filled up an entire notebook. It was amazing. If you want to read something awesome, check out his novel The Impossibly, which is about "an anonymous secret operative embroiled in the dark underworld of transnational organized crime." It is so damn bizarre and very hilarious.

Mobile Nazario Scenario

My friend, Amanda Nazario, is doing something really cool, but she needs money to do it. In addition to being a really great writer (evidence is here, here, and here), Amanda is also a DJ on Washington Heights Free Radio and has impeccable taste in music. Now she wants to take the show on the road, traveling all over New York (and hopefully the rest of the country), broadcasting the show. To do this, she needs some stuff. She needs a car. She needs a "reliable mobile wifi system". She needs a "basic DJ setup". To facilitate the acquisition of these things, she has set up a Kickstarter page to accept donations for this very rad idea. She needs $10,000. She's got $1,245 so far. There are 64 days left to donate, so I hope you might consider giving something.

So Dark in the Wolf's Maw

I have a story coming up in the MLP chapbook series, which I'm really excited about. Last month, the series featured stories by Molly Gaudry, Elizabeth Ellen, and Ryan Call. Each one of these stories was amazing and totally different. It's a really cool press and so I hope you might consider getting a subscription, which is pretty darn cheap. For 36 bucks, you get a six-month subscription (three chapbooks per month). If that wasn't enough, you also get a copy of Molly Gaudry's novella, We Take Me Apart. How can you go wrong?

You can also buy my individual story (please buy my story) here. It's only three dollars. The story has a wolf and seahorses and x-rays and a winged heart and barium shakes and surgical instruments. Trust me, you'll like it.

SWC

My full-time job is serving as the secretary for the Sewanee Writers' Conference, an annual literary conference that brings together a lot of really incredible writers in fiction, poetry, and playwriting. This is the ninth year I've worked for the conference and it's fun though it's also a nightmare to plan. But I've met some really nice people because of Sewanee. I met my wife here when we were on staff together. And a lot of my best friends are on the summer staff, so it's always nice to see them. But sometimes I get yelled at by a conferee because there is no soap in their room and I feel like I want to punch my hand through a window.

If you're in the area, the readings are open to the public and there are some really great authors here. Josh Weil is reading tomorrow. So are Erica Dawson, Carrie Jerrell, and Juliana Gray, three amazing poets. And then Richard Bausch reads tomorrow night. Tony Earley and Randall Kenan, two of my favorite writers, read next week.

And if you ever come to a writers' conference, don't ask the staff to bring you a diet coke to your room every morning. We will mess you up in secret ways.

NPR

I was really happy to learn that Lucia Silver, the book buyer for Portrait of a Bookstore in Studio City, California, said some really nice things about Tunneling to the Center of the Earth on NPR's Morning Edition today.  You can listen to the show and read about it here.  She called the stories "Like the pen-and-ink love children of Aimee Bender and Lorrie Moore, or George Saunders and Amy Hempel."  So, Ms. Silva, you move to the top of the "Who-Gets-One-of-Kevin's-Kidneys" list.

Avatar Review and ML Press

I've got a story in Avatar Review, which I'm really happy about.  There's also a story by Charles Lennox, which allows me to segue into another topic regarding J.A. Tyler's very fantastic ml press.

For the month of June, J.A. is offering a free copy of "A Field of Colors" by Charles Lennox if you will email your mailing address to him.  Go here for the full details.  MLP does great work and I always look forward to getting the three chapbooks in the mail each week.  I find the ratio is that I love two of them and I have no idea what the hell is going on the third one, but I enjoy trying to figure it out.