Long Trial Lands Shirley Jackson Nomination

We’re out and out giddy to see the official announcement that Stephen Graham Jones‘ brilliant The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti has been nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. Here’s the full field from the Novella category:

Disquiet, Julia Leigh (Penguin/Hamish Hamilton)
“Dormitory,” Yoko Ogawa (The Diving Pool, Picador)
Living With the Dead, Darrell Schweitzer (PS Publishing)
The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti, Stephen Graham Jones (Chiasmus Press)
“N,”, Stephen King (Just After Sunset, Scribner)

Congratulations to Stephen, and also our designer Matt Warren and publicity goddess Virginia Paterson for pulling it all together. Cheers!

and the winner is US

chiasmus press would like to introduce you to the NEXT BIG THING–the winner of the chiasmus book contest:

please say hello and give it up for:

Kate Zambreno — O Fallen Angel

We’d also like to ring the bells of praise for:

Jane Downs — The Sleeping Wall

and

Boris Pintar — Family Parables

So season’s greetings to all — and BUY BOOKS PUBLISHED BY INDEPENDENT PRESSES.  BECAUSE IT MATTERS.

Finalists selected for the 2008 First Book Competition

Out of hundreds of entries to this year’s Chiasmus Press First Book Competition, we have selected eight finalists which represent the best of the best:

- “VTV” by Elena Knox

- “Glamorous Freak: How I Taught My Dress to Act” by Roxanne Carter

- “Caprichos” by Pedro Ponce

- “The Sleeping Wall” by Jane Downs

- “O Fallen Angel” by Kate Zambreno

- “Girl Love” by Sandi Sonnenfeld

- “With One Step Ahead” by Goro Takano

- “Family Parables” by by Boris Pintar

These manuscripts will now be sent to our secret final judge and his/her selection will be made by the end of November.

Thanks to all that participated in this years contest.  As you can see you were all in great company.

Writer’s Edge 2009

We’re proud as punch to announce that our High Priestess Lidia Yuknavitch will be joining fellow Chiasmanauts Lance Olsen and Stephen Graham Jones in their teaching duties at the fourth annual FC2 Writer’s Edge workshop next March.  Here’s the skinny:

The fourth annual Fiction Collective 2 (FC2) Writer’s Edge workshop will be held March 19-21, 2009, in Cuernavaca, Mexico, at the Universidad International. This year, the FC2 Writer’s Edge will be held in conjunction with the American Book Review (ABR) Writer’s Conference, held March 16-18. Sponsored by FC2 and ABR, the conference will feature workshops on innovative fiction, panels, a faculty reading, open mics for participants, and myriad conversations about experimental prose.

Also teaching workshops are two writers we adore, Alexandra Chasin and Jeffrey DeShell.  Full descriptions and application procedures are available here.

Interviews from the Edge Episode 6: R.M. Berry

In this episode, Shane interviews R.M. Berry, author of Frank. They talk about what it means to take on an “unwriting” project, struggling to create an identity, and the danger of violent literary experiences.

Visit www.ralphmberry.com to check out Ralph’s other works. Thanks for listening.

Chiasmus Press (and Lidia) in Poets and Writers

Since Chiasmus Press doesn’t live on profit we’ll take praise… or even honorable mention. Check out what Poets and Writers.com has to say about us this time.

Interviews from the Edge Episode 5: Davis Schneiderman and Carlos Hernandez

This episode is a dual interview with Davis Schneiderman and Carlos Hernandez, authors of the collaborative novel Abecedarium. They talk about the novel’s conception and creation, the importance of explicit collaboration, and scamming their way into a book competition.

Visit carlos-hernandez.net and www.davisschneiderman.com to keep up with the authors and their current projects. Thanks for listening.