We know–February is the ugly middle child of the year, a generally unpleasant waiting period for spring, hardly improved by the pseudo-holidays Valentine’s Day and Leap Day. Luckily, it’s been anything but boring at Atticus, where we’re celebrating the February 29th release of Matt Mullin’s knockout story collection Three Ways of the Saw, hobnobbing with the literati at AWP and watching more and more readers and reviewers fall in love with our titles, both old and new. Read on to see what’s been brewing this month–and keep that chin up: spring (and the April 17th release of Jürgen Fauth’s Kino) will be here before you know it.
MATT MULLINS
Matt Mullins takes the cake for big news in February. His collection Three Ways of the Saw has hit bookshelves and is demanding the attention of readers and reviewers across the continent and across the pond. At Munching on the Apple, UK blogger Natella Johnston recommends the book to “to anyone who wants a disturbing and evoking read.” “There’s music to the stories in Matt Mullins’s debut collection, Three Ways of the Saw. Nostalgia and longing that gets into the bloodstream and won’t let up until you see it through,” writes Lee Thomas at Fiction Writer’s Review. Curious readers can learn how Matt became a writer (sci-fi + a failed rock band + Plato’s theory of forms) and should check out this funny and in-depth interview at HTML Giant.
NATHAN LESLIE
Nathan Leslie, whose quirky coming-of-age novel Tommy Twice launches October 31, has been busy across the blogosphere. We’ve been laughing out loud at his column in Press 1 titled “Suburban Bored: On a Bag of Almonds.” “No offense to peanuts and walnuts–they just don’t inspire us in the same way. Nobody respects peanuts, even peanut manufacturers. You buy a can of mixed nuts and the can reads “no more than 50% peanuts,” as if they are sorry they have to include any crappy peanuts at all. Peanuts are the serfs of the nut hierarchy.” Nathan’s also published his story “Nuggets” in Loch Raven Review and has had an essay accepted for the May 2012 Issue of Hippocampus Magazine.
ERIC D. GOODMAN
Tracks author Eric D. Goodman spills the beans in an interview with Savvy Verse & Wit, sharing his love of trains and Baltimore and what the long road to publication really looks like. February 12, Eric teamed up with Eric Dezenhall, C.E.O. of Dezenhall Resources, for a reading at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda. And if you’re looking to get over your fear of change, don’t miss Eric’s piece “Let Them Change Your Ending,” originally published by San Francisco Book Review and reprinted by Sacramento Book Review (page 64).
ALEX KUDERA
Good news for East Coasters: Alex (author of Fight for Your Long Day) will be teaming up with Eric D. Goodman for readings in Baltimore, Philly and Clarksburg, MD:
- March 24, 2012 – Baltimore, MD: Atticus Authors in the Ivy, (Time TBA) a reading with Atticus authors Alex Kudera and Eric D. Goodman at The Ivy Bookshop, 6080 Falls Rd., Baltimore, MD
- March 21, 2012 – Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Literary Reading, 7 to 10 p.m., a reading with authors Kim Gek Lin Short, Alex Kudera, and Eric D. Goodman at Robin’s Books and Moonstone Arts Center, 110A S. 13th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
- March 17, 2012 – Clarksburg, MD: Novel Places, 1 p.m., a reading with Atticus authors Alex Kudera and Eric D. Goodman at Novel Places, 23341 Frederick Rd., Clarksburg, MD
TOMMY ZURHELLEN
Tommy Zurhellen’s debut novel Nazareth, North Dakota has found an admirer in reviewer Nettie Thomson at Words and Pictures who writes, ” It would be quite possible to read any of these chapters and be satisfied with the completeness of the story therein. But when you read them together, what Zurhellen has created is an accessible literary delight. His writing is rich in metaphor and imagery.” What about the forthcoming sequel, Apostle Islands (September 2012)? “I have one thing to say to him: hurry up!”
STEVE HIMMER
Author interviews may be a dime a dozen, but this thoughtful exchange between Steve Himmer and the narrator of the audiobook version of The Bee-Loud Glade explores questions about both the novel and the medium that we’ve never even thought to ask. This little novel about a decorative hermit continues to befriend bloggers and reviewers. Nettie Thomson’s review at Words and Picture, Brooks Williams’ at Forever Overhead, Laura’s at The Scarlet Letter all reveal the joys of the somewhat absurd premise and downright excellent writing.
Rainy Day Photo Source: Yoshindo