Emily Bronte Birthday Celebration and Goth Poetry/Fiction Reading

Celebrate the birthday of legendary goth author EMILY BRONTË at an afternoon of Contemporary Gothic Poetry and Fiction, Sunday, July 30, 4-6 pm at The Parkside Lounge (Houston at Attorney St., NYC). 

The event will feature the phenomenal poet and author Chavisa Woods, whose new book Things to Do When You’re Goth in the Country, was described by Booklist as “This book is tight, intelligent, and important, and sure to secure Woods a seat in the pantheon of critical twenty-first-century voices.” 

In addition, Deirdre Coyle (author of How to Talk to Writers at Parties), and Constance Renfrow (author and editor of Songs of My Selfie: An Anthology of Millennial Writers) will read from their work. 

We’ll also talk about the weird and mysterious life of Emily Brontë, whose only novel, Wuthering Heights, is considered a goth classic. 

An open mic precedes the reading, hosted by poet, playwright and Three Rooms Press co-director Kat Georges. 

Doors open at 3:45 pm. $2 suggested donation and 2 drink minimum. Featured drink: The Dark and Stormy -- the Parkside makes a great one. 

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS: Chavisa Woods is the author of three books of fiction: Things To Do When You're Goth in the Country (Seven Stories Press, 2017) The Albino Album, (Seven Stories Press, 2013); and Love Does Not Make Me Gentle or Kind (Fly by Night Press, 2009). The second edition of this book was released by Autonomedia Press under the Unbearables imprint in 2013. Woods has presented lectures and conducted workshops  on short fiction and poetry at a number of academic institutions, including: New York University (NYU), Penn State, Sarah Lawrence College, Bard College, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn Tech and the New School.


Deirdre Coyle is a goth living in Brooklyn. She is the author of the chapbook How to Talk to Writers at Parties, and her work has appeared in Electric Literature, Lit Hub, Hobart, Joyland, and elsewhere. Find her on Twitter at @DeirdreKoala. 

Constance Renfrow's writing has appeared in such places as Portland Book Review, Huffington Post, Cabildo Quarterly, Denim Skin, and Petrichor Machine. She is editor-in-chief of Three Rooms Press, and hosts a monthly open mic series at New York’s Merchant’s House Museum. Her first book, Songs of My Selfie, an anthology of millennial fiction, was a 2016 IndieFAB finalist. She is pursuing her MFA in fiction from Pacific University.

Independent Publishers: Thriving with Creative Visions

 

By KAT GEORGES 
Co-Director, Three Rooms Press 

It’s a strange time in the world of publishing. The giant publishers continue to merge. Independent bookstores continue the struggle to keep their doors open. New technology has made it easy for authors to publish their own books. 

Yet, somehow, independent publishers are thriving. According to Jeff Herman, author of Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Agents, independent publishers make up half of the $29 billion annual revenue of the publishing world. 

Many small presses are well-known and quite successful, even with out-of-the-ordinary literary titles. Grove Press’ recent release of Helen McDonald’s fabulous memoir H Is For Hawk began with a print run of 5,000 and has sold a staggering 62,000 copies since its March release—a year before the paperback is due out. 

Other small presses are “micro” in their size—under twenty releases per year—yet “macro” in their enthusiasm and commitment to publishing the highest quality work. These micro presses are fueled by passion and commitment to a vision. Three Rooms Press featured five of these New York-based, fiercely independent publishers on July 3 at its third annual “That’s Independents!” celebration of small presses at Cornelia Street Cafe, and discussed the state of the industry with them. 

It’s All About the Vision 

If one thing unites the small presses, it is their dedication to their unique vision. 

For example, Great Weather for Media, which publishes solo poetry collections as well as a cross-genre annual anthology, is committed to “the unpredictable, the fearless, the bright , the dark, and the innovative,” according to co-founder Jane Ormerod. This vision is clearly visible in their most recent release, Debridement, a poetry collection by Corrina Bain, whose poems, as described by NEA fellow and poet Sam Sax “have no qualm reaching down your throat and pulling out your living heart just to say look at it, look. Look.” 

By contrast, the vision can be very broad in scope. Dustin Nelson, founder of InDigest, a magazine and book publisher focusing on “good story-telling in all forms and artists whose curiosity drives them to push beyond the conventions of their media,” incorporates digital work into their publishing scope. "We've published lots of stories and poems, but we've also published videos, GIFs, scripts, podcasts, audio stories, pamphlets, centos built from the Wikileaks Centos, broadsides, games, reviews, rants, diatribes, broadcasts about the apocalypse, memoir, we've told lies about Shakespeare and passed them off as truth, published round table discussions, and have always been open to doing anything that's been created that you can make an argument for calling literary." With so much potential variety, the publisher's role has greatly expanded. 

A Curatorial Role 

In an age where anyone can publish their own book, and the Big Five could publish everything else, small presses have had to find a way to continue make themselves necessary. While they lack the resources to match the six- to eight-figure advances of the major publishers (let alone four- to five-figure advances!), they have the advantage of being willing to take chances on unknown authors and new formats. Small presses have developed into a role of “curator”—presenting consistently high quality work from a variety of authors to an audience carefully cultivated over a number of years. 

Nelson from InDigest notes that “Publishers offer curation and a voice you can trust at a time when there’s so much available that sifting through it would be a full time job.” He adds, “Publishers are still a reader’s most valuable ally.” 

Ron Kolm, founder of The Unbearables—a publisher of “avant-garde writing that attacks the status quo by using the weapon of noir humor”—agrees with Nelson, noting that when independent publishers consistently produce high-quality, good-looking books, “a sort of trust develops between the press and potential buyers or readers . . . And in a world as out of focus as the one we live in, that is not a bad thing at all.” 

Okay, But How Do I Get Published By Them? 

With all this vision and curation, independent publishers might seem to be a perfect fit for all authors who consider themselves to be on the “cutting edge.” But every vision has its boundaries. So how does the aspiring writer hop onto the small press train? 

Start by reading the guidelines, Ormerod notes. “A 50,000 word story will not fit into an anthology. That 30 page epic poem is a ‘no’ as well. We understand the odd typo, but please review your work before sending it to us.” 

Research helps, adds Nelson. “Start a conversation . . . Start talking to people and read other presses. It’s often easiest to define something by figuring out what it’s not . . . . Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Watch TV. Have a beer. Make popcorn. Read again. Talk to a publisher. They don’t really know more than you . . . We all just like books, right?” 

And Kolm recommends networking. “We are very open; we add ‘members’ all the time,” he says. “All one really has to do is come to one of our readings and hang out. We like to drink in downtown bars, such as the Parkside Lounge and the Sidewalk Café, and occasionally, we even shoot pool! Chalk up your cue stick!” 

Three Rooms Press has been hosting annual celebrations of Independent Presses since 2010. According to co-director Peter Carlaftes, it’s a great way for authors to hear readers from a number of presses, and informally meet with them to discover more about what they’re looking for. For Three Rooms, the genre is less important than the style. “We’re publish cut-the-edge creations,” says Carlaftes. “Everything we do has a certain distinctive twist that makes it stand apart from other books in the field.” Forthcoming works include Meagan Brothers’ Weird Girl and What’s His Name, an LGBTQ young adult novel, and Aram Saroyan’s Still Night in L.A. a detective novel by the famed concrete poet. 

“We publish because we want to add fresh ideas to an increasingly homogenized world,” Carlaftes muses. “It’s our way of saving the planet.”

July 5: That's Independents! show at Cornelia St. Cafe NYC features 5 rockin' independent presses talkin' passionate publishing

Three Rooms Press presents The Monthly at Cornelia Street Cafe 

THAT'S INDEPENDENTS! 

A Celebration of Independent (and we mean "Really Independent") Presses 

Friday, July 5, 6 pm Cornelia Street Cafe 29 Cornelia Street (between Bleecker and W. 4th St.) Admission: $8 (includes a free drink) 

Three Rooms Press presents a rockin' celebration of 5 kickass NYC-based Independent Presses at "That's Independents!" the July 5 installation of the beloved literary series "The Monthly at Cornelia Street Cafe." Doors open 5:45 pm, showtime is 6 pm. Admission is $8, which includes a free drink. 

Each press will talk about their publishing ethos—and what sets them apart—then present work by some of their current authors. Presses include: The Unbearables (featuring Steve Dalachinsky, Bonny Finberg and Ron Kolm); In Stereo Press (featuring Aimee Herman, Megan Dibello, Daniel Dissinger and Sam Jablon); Kicks Book (featuring Miriam Linna, playing an old suitcase while reciting the raunchy early work of Harlan Ellison), Great Weather For Media (featuring Rick Mullin and Frank Simone), and Three Rooms Press (featuring Hala Alyan and Peter Carlaftes). The event will be hosted by Kat Georges. 

It's gonna be a lit blast--like you've never seen before! 

About The Presses 

The Unbearables 

The UNBEARABLES are a free-floating, in-your-face Autonomous Zone of Dadaists, Noir Humorists and Beer Mystics. They base their actions of the book, TAZ, by Hakim Bey; they liberated the Brooklyn Bridge every September 13th for many years, picketed the New Yorker magazine, decrying the shitty poetry therein, and occupied the New School where they gave a series of anti-seminars. They continue onward with Be-Ins and readings, usually in New York City , but they have ventured as far abroad as Prague , where they did a series of events in 2011. (http://unbearables.com). 

In Stereo Press 

William Burroughs once said of Jack Kerouac, “Kerouac was a writer because he wrote.” We at In Stereo Press would like to add, “…and he was an artist because he made NOISE!” Founded March 2008, in Boulder, Colorado, In Stereo Press is an online zine specializing in undiscovered/new/contemporary writing, music, and visual art.  We encourage every artist to MAKE THEIR VOICE HEARD! http://www.instereopress.com 

Kicks Books 

KICKS BOOKS is an independent publisher based in Brooklyn NY, whose "hip pocket paperback" line reflects the pulp obsessions of founder, Miriam Linna (Norton Records founder and former drummer for The Cramps). A longtime collector of printed matter, and paperback books in particular, Linna fulfilled a promise to a friend by publishing his rehab writings in book form.  SWEETS by rhythm & blues music legend Andre Williams, appeared in 2009 and has been followed by singular offerings by writers Harlan Ellison, Nick Tosches, Sun Ra and Kim Fowley. This summer, Kicks Books will present landmark collections of poetry by British beat hero Royston Ellis and American road poet laureate Charles Plymell. http://nortonrecords.com/kicksbooks/ For this show, Miriam will beat on an old suitcase and recite raunchy early writing of Harlan Ellison. 

Great Weather For Media 

Founded in January 2012 by former Uphook Press editors Jane Ormerod, Thomas Fucaloro, and Brant Lyon—and later joined by George Wallace and Russ Green—great weather for MEDIA focuses on the unpredictable, the bright, the dark, and the innovative… We are based in New York City and showcase both national and international writers. As well as publishing the highest quality poetry and prose, we organize numerous readings, performances, and book releases in New York City and across the country. http://greatweatherformedia.com 

Three Rooms Press 

Three Rooms Press, founded in 1993, initially served as a leading independent publisher of poetry, drama and art sourced from the burgeoning spoken word, music and underground art scenes in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. Since 2012, it has expanded its mission to publish cutting edge work in fiction, creative historical nonfiction, memoir, photography and art. In 2014, it will expand its line to include children’s books. Books are now offered in print and digital formats, with an emphasis on excellence in content, design and formatting. In addition, TRP produces and promotes a variety of events; since 1992 it has staged hundreds of major cultural events in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London and more, including readings, plays, writing workshops, seminars, dance and musical events. http://threeroomspress.com. AND This will be a particularly celebratory event, since Hala Alyan's TRP book, Atrium, was awarded the 2012 Arab American Book Award for Poetry!!! She will be on fiyah!! 

More on The Show

It's general admission, so get there early! Doors open 5:45 pm. Show starts promptly at 6. Totally cheap at $8 which includes a drink. You can't get a better deal than this for NYC so scrape up your pennies and talk to some really fun people who publish the kind o' books you love! Info at info@threeroomspress.com

April 13: Rainbow Book Fair in NYC

Join Three Rooms Press and our NYC partners Great Weather for Media as we link up with books, books, books at the Fifth Annual Rainbow Book Fair, on Saturday, April 13 from noon to 6 pm. NEW LOCATION!! Holiday Inn Midtown, 440 W. 57th Street between 9th and 10th aves.

Special Table Signings at the Three Rooms Press table:

2:30-3:00 Peter Carlaftes, Author of I Fold With the Hand I Was Dealt

3:00-3:30 Robert Gibbons, Author of Close to the Tree

3:30-4:00 Jane Ormerod, Author of Welcome to the Museum of Cattle and Recreational Vehicles on Fire

4:00-4:30 Kat Georges, Author of Our Lady of the Hunger

The fair features plenty of great independent vendors, plus readings throughout the day, including featured appearances by Emanuel Xavier (If Jesus Were Gay and other poems), Lesléa Newman (October Mourning), Sarah Schulman (Israel/Palestine and the Queer International), Julian Earl Farris (The Sin Warriors) and David Leddick (The Beauty of Men Never Dies). Plus a Poetry Salon curated by Nathaniel Siegel and Regie Cabico with over 75 poets reading nonstop.

Admission is just $3 (yep, that's just three smackaroos). More info: http://rainbowbookfair.org

See you there!