Best Gay Poetry 2008

Best Gay Poetry 2008
Originally uploaded by desayunoencama.

So it looks like BEST GAY POETRY had what's called a "soft" release, but it's out and available for sale.

We don't yet have copies in stock at A Midsummer Night's Press, but it's available from TLA Video or from Amazon.

Here's the full ToC:

BEST GAY POETRY 2008
edited by Lawrence Schimel
A Midsummer Night's Press and Lethe Press
( Read more... )

Fairy Tales For Writers

Fairy Tales For Writers
Originally uploaded by desayunoencama.

Charles Tan at Bibliophile Stalker chose FAIRY TALES FOR WRITERS as among his top faves from 2008. Yay!

2008 in Publishing

2008 felt like a very slow year for me, but it looks like I published six new titles and two foreign edition of already published books. Last year I published 10 books, plus three books were reprinted, plus two foreign or translated editions, so I guess that set the bar pretty high. But the year before (2006) was even slower: only two books published, and three new editions of older titles.

I think part of the sensation is that most of the books I published this year are clustered right at the end of the year, and since one of them (DESAYUNO EN LA CAMA) is of particular personal importance, it sort of eclipsed the others. (Also, some of the kidzbooks appeared with a complete lack of fanfare or promotion, no reviews, etc. which also makes them feel less... "real" in a way, I have the physical copies, but I'm almost disengaged from them, because there wasn't much of a way for me to participate in shepherding them during those first baby steps into the world....)

Books published:

DESAYUNO EN LA CAMA (Desatada/Egales, Spain) Poetry Collection.

BEST GAY POETRY 2008 (A Midsummer Night's Press, USA) Poetry anthology.

MARÍA Y EL MUSEO (Ediciones La Librería, Spain) Picture book.
CUANDO MI HERMANA SE ENFADA (Panamericana, Colombia) Picture book.

IS THAT A BAT? (InnovativeKids, USA) Novelty picture book.
IS A SHARK A FISH? (InnovativeKids, USA) Novelty picture book.

Translations of older books:

SOÑÉ TU BOCA (Egales, Spain) Part 1 of the Spanish reprint of anthology THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF NEW GAY EROTICA.

SOSEDJE IN PRIJATELJI (Lambda Skuc, Slovenia) Slovene reprint of picture book AMIGOS Y VECINOS.

Awards and Other Honors

FIRST PERSON QUEER (with Richard Labonté, Arsenal Pulp Press) Winner Lambda Literary Award (Best Anthology)! Gold Medal Independent Publisher Book Awards (Gay/Lesbian Category)!

DESAYUNO EN LA CAMA (Desatada/Egales) Chosen Best Poetry Title of 2008 by Dosmanzanas.com!

I published very little in the way of individual stories or poems, although THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR did publish the second of my poems they'd bought a few years ago (and before they switched over to an all-online format).

A decent year, publishing-wise (despite my out-of-proportion expectations).

Appliances

Somewhat randomly, I was given a microwave today. I was helping someone load her car for a move, and she had a microwave in the trunk that someone else had given her (or it was her old microwave since someone had given her one). And of course, the move wouldn't fit if we didn't take the microwave out, so I wound up taking it home.

I'm not sure how I feel about having one. I was very content to live microwave-free all these years. I understand they have their uses, but...

Most importantly, it's taking up counter space and using the plug where I planned to put the rice cooker that I will buy in January (once Rebajas kick in).

I don't think I want an appliance that I won't actually be using, especially if it is not just taking up space but preventing or making difficult the use of an appliance I DO want and plan to use...

(I love rice, but it's a hassle for me to cook it; since I'm living gluten-free still, more rice in my diet would be a Very Good Thing (tm). So it's a bigger priority than a microwave. And after the rice cooker, I want a freezer, since I only have a half fridge and it has a little freezer drawer but that's it...)