May 14, 2014 by augurybooks

PICS: Halina Duraj Reads at D.G. Wills

Thanks to everyone who came out on Saturday night to see Halina Duraj—2014 O.Henry Prize recipient and author of THE FAMILY CANNON (Augury Books, 2014)—read at D.G. Wills Books in La Jolla, CA. Thanks to Dennis Wills for the amazing venue and the wonderful audience for their enthusiasm and support. See photos from the event below.

Courtesy Halina Duraj and D.G. Wills Books

Support New York City Poetry Festival’s Kickstarter

Photo by Dave Bledsoe by FreeVerse Photography

The Poetry Society of New York needs your help to make the 2014 New York City Poetry Festival happen. The festival, which just launched its beautiful new website, is running its annual Kickstarter campaign for the event. If the festival can meet its goal, the 2014 annual event will be held Saturday and Sunday, July 26th and 27th, on Governors Island. More than 60 poetry organizations, small presses, reading series and other collectives will present over 250 poets, including headliners (brought to you by the Poetry Society of New York), Paul Muldoon & the Wayside Shrines, Mark Doty, Joyelle McSweeney, and Matthea Harvey.

Augury Books, with readers Frances Justine Post (Beast, 2014), David Joel Friedman (Soldier Quick with Rain, 2013), and B.C. Edwards (To Mend Small Children, 2012), will be at the White Horse Stage on Saturday, July 26th at 4 p.m.

Go here for a complete lineup.

B.C. Edwards Reads for Augury Books, 2012—Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

According to organizers Stephanie Berger and Nicholas Adamski, “This year our Kickstarter goal is $10,000, which we will combine with an additional $10,000 in grants, private funding, and earned revenue from last year’s event to bring our operating budget for 2014 to $20,000. The New York City Poetry Festival is free and open to the public, and over the course of its three year tenure on Governors Island, it has served over 5000 attendees. Now, all we ask is for $2 from each of them …. What better season to remember pleasures of the poetic word and give something back?”

The New York City Poetry Festival is volunteer-run, and all funds raised from the Kickstarter will go towards the rental of stages, sound systems, generators and tents; paying for security fees, liability insurance, licensing fees, and other safety precautions; and the purchase and transportation of other equipment to and from the island. The Kickstarter concludes on Friday, May 16th.

Please support the festival with a donation today!

Augury Books’ reading period is open — Submit your manuscript!

May 10, 2014 by augurybooks

Yoga and Writing Retreat Led by Halina Duraj: Openings Still Available

This retreat will help you discover, nurture and support your own creative potential by providing you with yoga and writing tools that unravel the writer within. The retreat will take place in the world famous yoga retreat center Prana del Mar — located in the southern tip of Baja, Mexico — from Saturday, May 31st to Thursday June 5th, 2014.

Find out more here!

Fiction Writers Review on Halina Duraj’s ‘The Family Cannon’

Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

The Fiction Writers Review has posted a lovely piece by Matthew Batt on Halina Duraj’s THE FAMILY CANNON (available here). Read an excerpt:

The miracle of this book, calling to mind Anthony Doerr’s recent Memory Wall, is that Duraj manages to distill the historical, cultural, familial, and interpersonal experience of love, memory, and pain in ten crystalline short stories that form a family portrait covering nearly a century, resonating both before its beginning and well beyond its end. ….

What binds it is the fierce and loyal will of the one who knows she has to keep weaving these stray bits of stick and story and trash and grass back together to make us who we are—family.”

Read the whole review here.

But there’s more! Head out to La Jolla tomorrow to see Halina Duraj (recent recipient of a 2014 O.Henry Award) read at D.G. Wills Books: Saturday, May 10, 7 p.m.

VIDEO: Frances Justine Post and Kate Angus Visit ‘The Casserole’ Online Reading Series

BEAST author Frances Justine Post stopped by The Side Dish, part of the online reading series, The Casserole, to read from her new book (available here) and talk with series runner Chelsea Kurnick about the imagery of the book, its narrative arc, and writing “creepy poetry.”

Also check out Augury Books editor Kate Angus’ reading on The Casserole:

The Casserole is a weekly online reading series hosted by Chelsea Kurnick and featuring poetry and prose writers every Sunday. Writers hang out with Chelsea on Google Hangouts and the result is aired live on Youtube. The Casserole goes live at 6:30pm until 7:30pm PDT each week. If you miss an episode, you can come back any time to watch the recordings.

Submit your manuscript to Augury Books — Our reading period is open!

May 6, 2014 by augurybooks

Augury Author Halina Duraj Wins 2014 O. Henry Prize for Short Fiction

Halina Duraj, whose debut short fiction collection, The Family Cannon, was published by Augury Books this past January, will appear in this year’s O. Henry Prize anthology. Widely regarded as one of “the most prestigious awards for short fiction” (The Atlantic Monthly), the O. Henry prizes are awarded each year to twenty short stories selected from the pages of thousands of literary magazines. Duraj will appear alongside such luminaries as National Book Award winner Louise Erdrich and Whitbread Award winner William Trevor. Duraj’s short story “Fatherland” originally appeared in Harvard Review. The 2014 O. Henry Prize anthology was edited by Laura Furman and will be published by Anchor Books in early September.

Publishers’ Weekly has a full list of the O. Henry prize winners.

Order THE FAMILY CANNON new from Augury Books here.

Congratulations, Halina!

Submit your manuscript to Augury Books — Our reading period is open!

May 5, 2014 by augurybooks

Augury Books at PEN World Voices Festival Book Fair

On Friday we went to the PEN World Voices Festival Book Fair in Washington Mews, the secret little cobblestoned street just north of Washington Square Park. CLMP arranged a great group of publishers, and we were particularly happy to share a table and make new friends with Little Star Journal and n+1.

Little Star even had gummy star candy! Maybe next year we’ll make gummy foxes to bring.

And there was a food truck with pirogies. Poetry, prose, and pirogies: what more could you want?

It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon and let people know about our reading period, currently open. Please send us your manuscripts!

May 1, 2014 by augurybooks

It’s Time: Augury Books’ Reading Period OPEN for Poetry and Prose Full-Length Manuscripts

Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

Our reading period is now OPEN through July 31, 2014. We are accepting submissions of full-length manuscripts in the categories of Poetry and Prose. The new Prose category includes Short Fiction Collections and Creative Nonfiction Manuscripts.

See our Submissions Page for length requirements and other guidelines, or find out everything you need to know (including our discounted book specials for those submitting!) on our third-party submissions manager, Submittable, where you can also send us your manuscript.

We can’t wait to read your work and find out who the authors of our 2015 books will be. Thanks to all of you in advance for sharing your work with us.

Want to find out more about our aesthetic before submitting? Visit our Books and Orders page to order books or read synopses, reviews, and press material about the books in our catalogue.

Don’t forget to Like us on Facebook and Follow this Blog (link in bottom corner) for updates about the reading period and announcements about our next publications and finalists.