Tagged: events

Lit Happens: May Events & Updates

Lit Happens: May Events & Updates

posted on April 25th, 2012 by Parke Cooper

A list of Central Florida Literary Events for May 2012:

5/3 ~ Sam Gennawey, author of the newly released Walt and the Promise of Progress City, will be doing a reading and signing at the Downtown branch of the Orlando Public Library in the Albertson Room at 6pm. His new book is a behind-the-scenes look at the process of conceptualizing, constructing and purposing Disney’s EPCOT project.

5/ 8 ~ The Best of There Will Be Words, year one! The Burrow Press prose reading series yearly capstone event is 6pm at Urban Rethink. The talented J. Bradley rides again as the fan favorites – James Fleming, Whitney Hamrick, Hannah Miller and Burrow Press’ own Ryan Rivas – read their latest. Limited edition chapbooks of the evening’s prose are $5.

5/13 ~ Parcels: MFAs in Progress. The UCF Creative Writing MFA’s reading series. 7pm @ Urban ReThink. It’s FREE. It’s CONSISTENTLY GREAT. Be there!

5/15 ~ Speakeasy open mic night is 9pm at Will’s Pub, hosted by Tod Caviness.

5/18 ~ Page 15 book release party for Wars are Dumb: Orlando High Schoolers Write the Wrongs of Adults. 6 – 9pm @ Urban ReThink. Free. Come support the young authors featured in the book, and support Page 15 by purchasing a copy.

 

Outside the Burrow

Vanessa Blakeslee has a great Florida essay at PANK about gators and yankees (er… Mets).

Nathan Holic chats about FL vs. Cali settings with Lavinia Ludlow at Curbside Splendor.

J. Bradley’s got a chapbook out, We Will Celebrate Our Failures, published by NAP.

 

Recent Stories, Articles & Books We Found to Be Exceptionally Good

As for what we’ve found fascinating from April, Nick Harkaway’s genre-bending and Colson Whitehead’s Zone One continue to impress. We’re a bit late for the unfortunate two-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf, but China Mieville’s hyper-imaginative, surrealist short on the subject never fails to give chills.

What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments.

 

Lit Happens: April Events & Updates

Lit Happens: April Events & Updates

posted on March 28th, 2012 by Ryan Rivas

A Probably Incomplete But Sizable List of Orlando Literary Events

3.30 ~ Not listed on last month’s post but coming up this Friday: Orlando Literati. A social, networking event for anyone with a passion for books. 7:00 – 10:00pm at Urban ReThink. Free.

4.5 ~ KIDNAPPINGS, DRAG QUEENS & EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIRS.
A 15 Views of Orlando Reading & Signing featuring Mark Pursell & Jay Haffner
FREE. 7:30pm @ Sip. 724 Virginia Drive.
Bask in the glow of the Parliament House. Listen for the ghost-town whistle of an abandoned Albertsons. Even if you attended the 15 Views book release party, come to this one (I mean, come on, it’s free). Hear Jay Haffner’s strangely nostalgic story about crushed hopes in Oviedo, and Mark Pursell’s glittery portrait of Orlando’s drag queen sub-culture (for the purpose of verisimilitude, Mark has promised to bring some actual drag queens). Come for the readings, stay for the drinks and the food trucks, and buy a book if you haven’t already.

4.8 ~ PARCELS: MFAs in Progress. Reading series featuring current UCF MFA students. 7:00pm at Urban ReThink. Free.

4.10 ~ There Will Be Words # 11 featuring Vanessa Blakselee, Hunter Choate, Jason Eaton & J. Christopher Silvia.
FREE. Show starts at 7:00pm @ Urban ReThink, 625 E. Central Blvd.
This month’s edition of Orlando’s favorite (according to us) prose reading series will answer questions such as whether or not seagulls explode if you feed them Alka Seltzer, what our world will look like when aliens use entertainment to make us their puppets, and other troubling queries that have plagued human existence since the dawn of time, and iPhones. This much is free. If you want to read along, you can buy a chapbook for $5 cash.

4.14 ~ OCLS 2nd Saturday – 15 Views of Orlando Reading / Signing / Discussion
featuring Nathan Holic, John King, Jay Haffner & Susan Hubbard
FREE. 2:00 – 5:00pm.@ The Downtown Library on Central Blvd.
Editor Nathan Holic will be on-hand to discuss his own views of Orlando, John King will read from his satirical I-Drive-skewering “Crocodile World,” and Jay Haffner will round out the 2011 contributors with his story “Lifting Veils.” Also, Susan Hubbard will be on-hand to read “Greenway,” the first installment of the 2012 edition of “15 Views.”

4.15 ~ Holly Tavel reading. 7:00pm at Urban ReThink. Free. Last time she read in Orlando she brought an accordion and played a song while reading a satirical piece about the Swiss.

4.17 ~ Speakeasy open mic @ Will’s Pub. 9:00pm-ish. Almost anything goes, whether you write on that month’s theme or not. It’s rowdy, it’s smoky, it’s fun, it’s hosted by Tod Caviness. This month’s theme is ZOMBIES!

4. 19 ~ We Will Celebrate Our Failures Release Party. Free. 7pm at Sip. Celebrate J. Bradley’s new chapbook + readings from Anna Claire Hodge, Ashley Inguanta, Whitney Hamrick, Elle Malcolm, J. Christopher Silvia, Jamie Jessup.

 

Outside the Burrow: BP Contributors Elsewhere

Nathan Holic & Lindsay Hunter released THIS amazing e-book (for free, by the way) through Artistically Declined Press. Originally a short story called “Kitty,” Nathan turned it into a demented graphic narrative. Well, Lindsay’s text-only version was pretty demented, too.

Vanessa Blakeslee’s “Clínica Tikal” appears in Ascent.

Jonathan Kosik’s “Pensacola” will appear in the June edition of Bartleby Snopes.

 

Recent Stories, Articles & Books We Found to Be Exceptionally Good

A non-lit-related but nonetheless excellent essay on the limits of free markets and a discussion of what should and shouldn’t be for sale… in the Atlantic Monthly.

Over at The Rumpus: A level-headed assessment of the non-level-headed assessments of / a review of The Lifespan of a Fact by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal.

Harper Perennial just released a fantastic book of short stories by Kevin Moffett called Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events. It is awesome. Read it.

 

Lit Happens: March Events & Updates

Lit Happens: March Events & Updates

posted on February 29th, 2012 by Ryan Rivas

A Probably Incomplete But Sizable List of Orlando Literary Events

3.1 ~ Jack Kerouac: Orlando’s Own Dharma Bum. Bob Kealing, author, journalist, and co-founder of the Jack Kerouac Writers in Residence Project of Orlando will discuss the avant-garde scene in the 1950′s and share a film clip from his Emmy award winning story. Kerouac’s original typescript of The Dharma Bums, now archived at Rollins, and Fred DeWitt’s signed photos of Kerouac producing the typescript will be on view. 6:30pm. Cornell Fine Arts Museum.

3.1 ~ Full Sail Reading Series. 6:30PM @ Urban ReThink. Featuring Elise McKenna, Joshua Begley, N.T. Brown, Arielle Goldfarb, Doeray Griffin and Vincent Crampton.

3.2 ~ There Will Be Quickies! @ AWP Chicago. The midwest meets the south-but-not-south when Quickies!–Chicago’s favorite flash fiction reading series–co-hosts a reading with There Will Be Words, Orlando’s favorite reading series. Readings/Chapbook features: Jocelyn Bartkevicius, Natalie Edwards, Andy Farkas, Kirsten Holt, Samantha Irby, Jonathan Kosik, David James Poissant, Joseph Riippi, Jess Stoner, Jill Summers, Chris Terry. Tandem-hosted by Lindsay Hunter & J. Bradley. 3pm at the SAIC Ballroom, 112 S. Michigan Ave. FREE.

3.2 ~ Uncouched: a handbook for a richer life, book signing by David Michael Dell’olio. 5:30pm – 8:30pm @ Urban ReThink.

3.13 ~ There Will Be Madness. Yes, there will be words, too, but the idea of placing 8 writers in a  competitive format is simply mad. Who else is gonna show those college boys that basketball ain’t the only game in town in March? Oh, and there will be brackets, instead of chapbooks. Brackets cost a buck and will benefit Page 15. Winning brackets will get a prize! 6pm @ Urban ReThink. FREE.

3. 20 ~ Speakeasy. Our favorite open mic that is grandfathered into this list. 9PM-ish @ Will’s Pub. Hosted by Tod Caviness.

3.31 ~ Applications due for the 2012/13 Kerouac House Writers in Residency Program.

 

Outside the Burrow: BP Contributors Elsewhere

Gene Albamonte got a short story, “Dancing with Bowie,” published in The Rattling Wall. How nice to have your name next to Yusef Kumunyakaa and Henry Rollins. Congrats, Gene!

Vanessa Blakselee appears again at The Paris Review Daily with “The Fetish.” We are in no way jealous. Okay, just a little.

Ed Bull’s “From Very High Up” was featured fiction on The Good Men Project & his “The Elizabeth Years” is all up in Yemassee.

50% of those stories were read at There Will Be Words. We are in no way bragging. Okay, just a little.


Recent Stories & Articles We Found to Be Exceptionally Good

Lesson’s I’ve Learned Starting a Micropress by Roxane Gay, posted at HTMLGiant. This is what you call real talk.

Smutty book covers posted at Caustic Cover Critic.

On Getting Paid: Literary Magazines and Remuneration by Nick Ripatrazone, posted at The Millions.

 

Local Publications

SPECS (lit mag out of Rollins College)
The Florida Review (lit mag out of UCF)
Cypress Dome (student lit mag out of UCF)

Did we leave your publication out? Email Ryan.

Book Clubs & Writing Groups

Are you a book club or writing group that wants to be listed on this monthly post? Email Ryan.

—

Do you have an upcoming literary event that is not an open mic? Send it to Ryan by the last Tuesday of the month that precedes your event and we’ll list it. If you send us something after that, we might still post it, but we will be quite annoyed.