The Orange Prize & Ruth Fowler

Yikes. I read this article over a week ago and forgot to post it until now. Talk about harsh.

"I'd rather pluck my own pubic hairs than read this fawning idiocy written by fools..."

Ruth Fowler is not too keen on MFA Creative Writing programs, nor the "bland" writers who graduate from them.

"The Creative Writing MFA is the singularly most devastating occurrence to hit literature in the 20th century, churning out writers of utterly indistinguishable competence."

Just read it. It's short. Your jaw will drop.

Book Covers That Got Away

Designing book covers was my dream job coming out of college. Maybe it still is––if I only had to do it part time, of course. Here are a few samples of book covers that were never quite produced:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/15/books/review/15covers-gallery.html

Spotlight on D.O. Letz

Gerhardt's Eyes by Jay Paonessa
photography, ink, resin on wood

June's Spotlight is live on House Talk. Fiction writer, D.O. Letz, was a participant in Flying House 2010. Stop on by and hear what he has to say about comic books, Salmin Rushdie, and collaborating with artists. 

Lit Mag Pairs Art With Writing

Coming out of Brooklyn, The 22 Magazine is a new lit/art journal, online here. To quote,"The magazine’s mission is to publish art, music and writing as integrated 
structures that play off each other and enhance the whole."


There's a Bloomsday contest going on there today, so submit your work for a chance to win $50. 

Printer's Row Lit Fest––LOVE.

What a great weekend for the Printer's Row Lit Fest (ignoring the monsoon that swept through on Saturday afternoon).

It was our first time at the festival and it was a great feeling, walking down long rows of booths, stacked high with books––a dream. We listened to poetry, sat in on panels, and even waited, hearts racing, at Pitchapoolza in order to give a schpeel on a new book Megan's completed (sadly, she wasn't picked).

Best of all, it was great to put names with faces as we stopped by Dancing Girl Press, Featherproof Books, Rhino, and Another Chicago Magazine, and we even picked up a couple WWII postcards, and an incredibly detailed etching for our home.

Already looking forward to next year!

On Being and Artist & Keeping the Faith

Read this comic, then go here for an Interview with the creator, Paul Madonna.

Got a Logo? Submit it!

How Magazine wants to reward your design skills. So if you've created a logo in the past year––whether for work or fun––you have until June 15th to submit it to their competition. 10 winners will be featured on the HOW website, get $150 worth of HOW books, and receive a 1 year subscription to HOW magazine. You will also receive a graphic to post on your website announcing your winning status. 


Good Luck!

So You Know It's Me

Flying House contributor and friend, Brian Oliu, has been getting some great press on his new book, just out by Tiny Hardcore Press, entitled So You Know It's Me.


I read it––in one sitting––and agree, It Was Awesome. (It gave me some funky dreams too).


So go buy it here. Or read some reviews at Vouched or Codex, and then go buy it here. 


And, we can't help but mention, Betsy Seymour's beautiful photography skillz are featured as Oliu's bookcover. See more of her work at Photosomething. I don't know which I like better––Betsy's fiction, or her pictures. 

An Artist's Assembly Line?

I love that Emily Dickinson hand wrote her poems. I love how you can find fingerprints in Van Gogh's oil paintings. I love opening worn down, yellowed-page books and finding notes in the margins. I love the tangible. So I do not appreciate art house sweatshops like the one's described in this Wall Street Journal article.