Poets & Writers Examines Augury Books’ Present and Future

This week, Poets & Writers wrote about Augury Books’ expansion into the world of prose with Halina Duraj’s THE FAMILY CANNON and the future goals of the press.

In what is surely a sign of more titles to come, Augury Books, an independent press previously devoted exclusively to poetry, expanded into fiction earlier this year….”

You can read the whole article here.

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

Halfway Through: Augury Books’ Reading Period Still Open for Poetry and Prose Full-Length Manuscripts

Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

We are a little over halfway through our reading period, which is still OPEN through July 31, 2014. We accept 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 submit 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, and thanks to those who have already submitted their work this summer!

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If you would like to know more about our aesthetic to see if your work might be a good fit for Augury, visit the  Books and Orders page to see what works are already in our catalogue.

Don’t forget to Like us on Facebook and Follow this Blog (link in bottom corner) for continued updates about the rest of the reading period and information about our next publication and finalists!

Audio Interview with Halina Duraj, Author of THE FAMILY CANNON

Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

Halina Duraj, recent 2014 O.Henry Prize recipient and author of the new THE FAMILY CANNON (Augury Books, 2014), sat down with Maureen Cavanaugh from San Diego’s local NPR affiliate KPBS to discuss many topics explored in Duraj’s book—among them the immigrant experience, the interplay between the tragic and the humorous, “the idea of questions,” and the origin of the cannon.

“I think that immigrant stories have so many similarities…. This sense of parents wanting something better for their kids, parents sacrificing for their kids. And also, that love sometimes looks like fear or discipline, but it always comes from this parents’ sense of wanting their kids to fit in in this world that [even] they don’t quite fit in. So I think there are similarities across cultures, and that in many ways the immigrant experience kind of transcends those particular places that the immigrants came from.” —Halina Duraj interview with Maureen Cavanaugh on KPBS

Listen to the whole interview here.

LAST CHANCE: Sign up for a writing and yoga retreat led by Halina Duraj

More on THE FAMILY CANNON

Find it new from seller Augury Books

 

 

 

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

PICS from Federal Dust and Cabin/Fire’s Joint Reading

Two Baltimore reading series, Federal Dust and Cabin/Fire, joined forces earlier this month to throw “Federal Fire,” their first joint reading and cook-out. Hosted by Justin Sirois and Matthew Zingg, the reading featured Michelle Dove, Mark Cugini, Eric Nelson and Adam Wilson.

There were well-crafted words. There were hot dogs. There were marshmallows, a fire pit and a giant Mother’s Day card. A good time was had by all—see the pics below!

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

Michelle Dove reads at Federal Fire

Mark Cugini reads at Federal Fire

Justin Sirois with giant Mother’s Day card at Federal Fire

Eric Nelson reads for Federal Fire

Adam Wilson reads for Federal Fire

 

Cleaver Magazine Reviews Maureen Alsop’s MANTIC

Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

Cleaver Magazine‘s Matthew Girolami reviews MANTIC (Augury Books, 2013) by Maureen Alsop, wherein, according to Girolami, “both the divine and the worldly share the same page.” Girolami continues:

“As the ‘-mancy’ titles suggest, Mantic is as a much a lexical read (or listen—read aloud) as it is an exploration of reaction; Mantic is beautiful for its teaching verse and for its honesty: with poem after poem inspired by divining, Alsop points to the many ways humanity has attempted to shape the world in its favor, whether that favor comes from desire or fear. As a result, the poems shift from their theses and speak less of divining and prediction than what innately drives these practices and, ultimately, humanity.” —Matthew Girolami, Cleaver Magazine — Read the full review here

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

May 21: Maureen Alsop Reads at Berl’s Poetry Shop in Brooklyn

Augury’s own Maureen Alsop (MANTIC, 2013) is in New York and will be reading Wednesday, May 21 at 7 p.m. at Berl’s Poetry Shop in Brooklyn.

She will be joined by Sasha Steensen (HOUSE OF DEER, Fence Books), Julie Carr (RAG, Omnidawn), and Coldfront Founding Editor Graeme Bezanson.

Find out all you need to know about the readers and the event details here on Berl’s site.

More on MANTIC

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

The Rumpus Reviews Frances Justine Post’s BEAST

Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

This week Tova Gannana from The Rumpus reviews Frances Justine Post’s BEAST (Augury, 2014), calling it a “post-world where the poet wanders alone in memory and shadow.”

Post is a poet who begins her first book with the line ‘I put on my face.’ I put on my face feels like the opening line of an honest monologue. A dark stage with one light from that light a voice. I put on my face is a pleading, an opening for a listener. Here in lies the complexity and sophistication of Beast. I put on my face means Post has a past. We have much to gain from Post because she has much to give. Beast is a book to fight off mediocrity and middle of the road culture. These are poems that stick to your bones.” —Tova Gannana, The Rumpus

Read the full review here.

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

PICS: Justine Post Talks at Houston MenilFest Indie Book Panel

Frances Justine Post Speaks at Houston MenilFest—Photo by Brenda Cook

This year the Houston MenilFest, an annual one-day festival of visual, literary and performing arts (“Art, Words, Noise”), featured Augury Books’ Frances Justine Post (author of BEAST, 2014) in its Indie Book Panel, Approaches to Publishing Your First Book, with fellow participants Martin Rock, David Tomas Martinez, Matthew Salesses and Jonathan Wells.

Frances Justine Post with former students Gabrielle Langley and Stacy Nigliazzo

If you’re in the Houston area, see Justine next read at Brazos Bookstore’s Monday night event (May 19th, 7 p.m.), “I Have to Go Back to 1994 and Hustle a Beast.” She will be reading with Elizabeth Lyons, Karyna McGlynn (I Have to Go Back to 1994 and Kill a Girl: Poems, Sarabande Books, 2009), and David Tomas Martinez (Hustle, Sarabande Books, 2014).

Read this great blog post about the upcoming Brazos reading from Inprint’s Open Book Blog.

More on BEAST

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

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

 

Courtesy Halina Duraj and D.G. Wills Books

Courtesy Halina Duraj and D.G. Wills Books

 

Courtesy Halina Duraj and D.G. Wills Books

Courtesy Halina Duraj and D.G. Wills Books

Courtesy Halina Duraj and D.G. Wills Books

Courtesy Halina Duraj and D.G. Wills Books

Courtesy Halina Duraj and D.G. Wills Books

 

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Order THE FAMILY CANNON on Amazon

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

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!