So many good publications to send to...

We’ve been putting together various submission packets for literary publications of pieces drawn from Lidia Yuknavitch’s upcoming spring 2011 title The Chronology of Water. In the process of doing so we thought it’d be fun to blog about a few of our favorite lit. rags, quarterlies, and magazines. Here’s what we’ve been liking lately…

Rhonda:
The New Yorker
The Daily Beast
The Huffington Post
Salon

Kate:
Harper’s Magazine
The Atlantic
YES! Magazine
The New Yorker

Adam:
Willow Springs
Alaska Quarterly Review
Black Warrior Review
Ploughshares
Burnside Review
Sleepingfish
Creative Nonfiction
Tin House
Harper’s Magazine

Liz:
The Grove Review
McSweeney’s
The Believer Magazine
Granta Magazine
The Paris Review
The New Yorker

We really liked this Oregon Art Beat program featuring Hawthorne Books author Monica Drake when it came out a few years ago. It’s such a good slice of Monica, her Hawthorne title Clown Girl, and the rich and wacky literary world of Portland that we decided to put it on the blog this week. We also love that one of our favorite local media folks — Kelly Clarke, arts and culture editor at Willamette Week — was interviewed for the show.

If you haven’t read Clown Girl yet you can buy a copy directly from us for $10 including shipping and handling. And although I don’t think we really have to sell you on it at this point you should know what Chuck Palahniuk said about the book: “Clown Girl is more than a great book. Clown Girl is its own reality.”

Go clown around!

Loretta Stinson's friend Anja Spence of Miss Zumstein's Cakes and Desserts made a beautiful Ganesh ganache cake for the celebration. Tasted as good as it looks!

So many great people showed up last night for Loretta Stinson’s Little Green book launch party. Even though it was a Sunday night and on the later side with a 9pm start — it was a packed house. Some people in attendance include Debra Gwartney, Eduardo Fernandez, Tony Wolk, Hawthorne Books authors Kassten Alonso and soon to be Hawthorne authors Lidia Yuknavitch and David Rocklin. Here are a few snapshots from the night…

Some songs were sung by Loretta Stinson...

Rhonda Hughes introduced Loretta...

Loretta chatting it up with the lovely Debra Gwartney.

Hawthorne Books author Kassten Alonso with senior editor Adam O'Connor Rodriguez and his wife Sarah Flynn.

Books, books and more books.

Thanks to everyone for coming out!

Time to shake a leg and celebrate Little Green!

We’re all getting pretty excited over here counting down the days until the book launch party for Loretta Stinson’s Little Green. It’s fantastic to have a book launch party precede all sorts of great coverage from the likes of Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, The Rumpus, ForeWord Reviews and then some. When it comes down to it though we don’t need these publications to tell us what we already know. Little Green’s got it going on. Come celebrate with Loretta Stinson and the entire Hawthorne Books crew this Sunday night at Mississippi Pizza Pub!

Little Green Book Launch Party
No cover. All ages. Live music. Pizza and beer on us!
Sunday, July 18th 9:15-11:30pm
Mississippi Pizza Pub
3552 North Mississippi Ave.
Portland, OR
503.288.3231
www.mississippipizza.com

Live music from The Barkers
www.thebandthebarkers.com

Tools of the intern trade...

Over the years Hawthorne has had some fantastic interns and we thought it was about time we featured them here. A lot of our interns have gone on to do great work and below you’ll find just out what just a few of them are up to. (If we’ve left you out please accept our apology. Drop us a line and let us know what you’re up to and we’ll include you in the next roundup of amazing interns.)

Hawthorne Books has had its 10 week unpaid seasonal internships for several years and a lot of our interns come to us directly from Portland State University’s Book Publishing Program — although not all. If you’re interested in applying for our internship please read more about it here.

Kyle Cassidy, editorial director of Wend Magazine
Shannon Carson, adjunct professor of writing at Portland State University
Kyla Buckingham, project editor Help Worldwide, Inc.
Scott F. Parker, editorial assistant at Rain Taxi Review of Books
Liz Crain, (yep, me) editor at Hawthorne Books, author of Sasquatch Books title Food Lover’s Guide to Portland
Spencer Newlin-Cushing, executive assistant Dark Horse Comics
Haili Jones Graff, copy editor and proofreader at Bitch Magazine
Robert Wicks, publicity assistant of Oxford University Press
Katie Shaw, proofreader and assistant to the content coordinator at Formations Inc.

Check out this lit. conference this weekend in Portland!

Publisher and poet, Geoffrey Faber, once stated “The publisher is a middleman, he calls the tune to which the whole rest of the trade dances; and he does so because he pays the piper.”

For years writers have struggled with the task of not only dancing with, but first discovering what the publisher’s tune is. If only there was a way, a place, or a conference that could demystify the publishing process for writers. Thanks to the folks at Ooligan Press indeed there is now such a conference.

This Saturday, May 22, 2010, marks the first of what will hopefully become many Write to Publish conferences at Portland State University. Write to Publish is hosted by Ooligan Press—Portland State University’s publishing press affiliated with the Writing and Book Publishing program. This two-day event offers classes from industry professionals and speeches from local greats such as Chuck Palahniuk, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Shannon Wheeler—creator of Too Much Coffee Man.

Saturday, day one, is Workshop Day. Available workshops include The State of Publishing, Agent/Writer Relationships, The Dos and Don’ts of Publishing, and How to Find a Publisher. Classes are $32 each or five for $130. For a complete-list of workshops visit go here. An Author and Editor Luncheon will be held from noon to 1 pm, in the Smith Memorial Student Union, room 328. Participants include Hawthorne Books publisher Kate Sage and author Loretta Stinson. Stinson authored Hawthorne’s newest title Little Green and holds an MFA and an MS in Book Publishing from PSU. The pair will discuss the author/publisher relationship in small presses during this free event.

Sunday, day two, is Open House Day. Tickets are $10 or $8 for students and are only available at the door. Palahniuk, Le Guin, Wheeler, and others will speak.

If you’re a writer, a wannabe writer or publisher or know any of the above send them or yourself on down to PSU this weekend to see the dance in action, and of course say “hi” to Kate and Loretta.

A manifesto on YouTube by Ooligan for Write to Publish:

Portland State University’s Ooligan Press
Write to Publish Conference
www.ooligan.pdx.edu
May 22-23, 2010 @ PSU

Title Wave Used Bookstore has 20,000 used books, audio books, CDs, DVDs and more at bargain prices.

“Searching is half the fun; life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.”

Jimmy Buffet may have been talking about the meaning of life here, but this quote could be applied just as easily to the plight of the common book shopper. While sometimes, a bestseller at a good price is the mission of the buyer, quite often half the fun of purchasing a book is the quest—the search through stack and shelf to find the perfect paper companion. The effort makes the discovery that much more rewarding.

Every quest needs a starting point, a place to pair the hunter with the hunted. While Portland may be home to the largest bookstore in the country, it also houses some lesser-known gems of the used and or specialized variety.

**********

One such place and a recent personal discovery of mine is Title Wave Used Bookstore on 216 NE Knott St. It’s housed in the original Albina Branch Library which was designed in 1912 in Spanish Revival style. Fifty volunteers run the store and the books are cast offs from Multnomah County Library’s collection.

Title Wave opened in March 1988 and carries 20,000 used books, audio books, CDs, DVDs, videos, magazines and cassettes. I purchased a Beirut CD for a mere .75 cents which is the going rate for most of the CDs. The average price for a magazine is $1, the majority of the books ring in at $2, and the inventory changes daily. It’s the perfect landscape for the hunter to score a random and or rare book.

Title Wave Used Bookstore
216 NE Knott St.
Hours: Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm
www.multcolib.org/titlewave
503.988.5021

Cameron's Books is a Portland institution. Photo courtesy of Thomas Hawk.

Cameron’s Books and Magazines located at 336 S.W. 3rd Ave. and established in 1938 carries a wide array of books, and the largest selection of used magazines I’ve ever seen. Whether you’re looking to get a good deal on a past issue of Art on Paper or a vintage Life Magazine, Cameron’s is your best bet. The store may be small, but it is brimming with books. With such a vast selection, shoppers are guaranteed to walk away with things they never knew they needed. Cameron’s is also a good bet for those looking to sell, especially for those whose books didn’t make the cut at Powell’s.

Cameron’s Books and Magazines
336 SW 3rd Ave.
Hours: Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 11am-4pm.
www.cameronsbooks.com
503.228.2391

Ampersand is a great spot for art book lovers.

Both gallery and bookshop, Ampersand Vintage at 2916 NE Alberta St., Suite B offers a selection of new and used books and art with a focus on photography and art books. Their website describes the shop as “a project of sorts, an investigation into the colliding point between vintage visual material & contemporary works of art.” True to this description, the store stocks cameras–Diana Mini, Holga, Diana F+–to capture memories, books on artists and photographers from the past and present, broadsides, and old snapshots of unknown folks. Ampersand’s gallery exhibits change monthly. The last show that closed on April 25th was 52 Selects–an exhibition of photographs by world-renowned photojournalists. Below is a photo from the exhibit…

Ampersand
2916 NE Alberta St.
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday Noon-6pm, Sundays Noon-5pm
www.ampersandvintage.com
503.805.5458

From Ampersand's show 52 Selects.

Last minute reminder for this fantastic event.

Nearly two months after the catastrophic 7.0M earthquake in Haiti, Mercy Corps is striving to rebuild the country. From securing clean water and sanitation for survivors, to creating jobs clearing debris for locals, Mercy Corps volunteers are doing their part in rebuilding Haiti. Now you can do your part by attending:

Read to Rebuild- A Haiti Benefit Reading

Reading Local: Portland, an online blog for all thing book-related in Portland (we are big fans), has initiated Read to Rebuild, their very first event. Writers’ Dojo has partnered up, opening up their space in St. Johns to host Portland’s literary community. The event will consist of author readings, updates of Haiti from Mercy Corps representatives, music from local musicians Sweeter Than Later, free wine from Cameron Hughes Wine, and a raffle.

Hawthorne Books has donated autographed copies of some of our titles to the raffle. Other raffle donors include Cameron Hughes Wine, Wordstock, Back Fence PDX, Dark Horse Comics, Title Wave Books, Green Bean Books, Second Glance Books, Floating World Comics, Broadway Books, Microcosm Publishing, Annie Bloom’s Books, Random Order Coffeehouse and Bakery, In Other Word’s Women’s Books and Resources, and many more!

Join us on March 16th @ 6:30pm at the Writers’ Dojo in St. Johns. The suggested donation of $10 also includes one free raffle ticket. All proceeds will be given to Mercy Corps, to assist in the relief efforts in Haiti. We look forward to seeing you there!

Congratulations Portland for rallying behind this local bookstore!

Buy local is a mantra in Portland and supporting independent local businesses preserves the individuality of this great city.  

St. Johns Booksellers is especially grateful to the community for listening to their pre-holiday plea: help us raise $6000 or we are out of business for good. Despite the minimal foot-traffic and dwindling national economy, local patrons listened to owner Nena Rawdah and rallied to keep this family-owned neighborhood bookstore located in the historic heart of North Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood, open for business.

During this financial struggle, St. Johns Booksellers created the Community Supported Bookstore (CSB) program to ensure a more stable future. This program benefits participants (free stuff, discounts, and exclusive events!), the bookseller/s (steady cash flow, means to expand), and the community at large. 

Another family-owned bookstore we all know, Powell’s Books, encourages readers to look beyond the bestsellers. Check out the small press corner bookshelves, located in the blue room of Powell’s City of Books on Burnside. This section highlights small press publishers — many local.

Kevin Sampsell, who runs the small press section at Powell’s, is an author himself, with a new release A Common Pornography, which has gained local notoriety through Powell’s, Portland State University and beyond. I’m currently reading his memoir for a writing class in the PSU Master of Arts in Writing program. 

Most Portlanders haven’t allowed themselves to become indoctrinated into the corporate model of buy cheap, disposable, inauthentic products. Instead, let’s keep following our instincts to support independent business owners, authors, and publishers.

These last two online publications are ones that our heart goes thump, thump for lately so we’re featuring them here for you.

Reading Local: Portland is a fantastic site run by founder/publisher Gabe Barber for all things Portland lit. based — readings, reviews, lit. news and events, and more from local writers, reviewers, librarians, and even lawyers. Hawthorne Books six degrees of separation with Reading Local is contributor Spencer Newlin-Cushing was an intern for a day at Hawthorne Books before he got an actual bill paying job in the field.

Mousing along...

Bookslut is all over the map in terms of content and contributors in a good way — this mega-book-web-magazine-blog is where we go for all sorts of book reviews, author interviews and industry news. Added bonus: bookslutman himself — managing editor Michael Schaub now calls Portland home. Little bird says Michael is going to be featured in a great local interview printed any day now.

Get loose with this lit...

Reading Local: Portland
www.portland.readinglocal.com

Bookslut
www.bookslut.com