when it rains books, it pours

Friends!

We are two days into September and 1) i cannot believe it’s already September but also good riddance to 2020? and 2) i cannot believe akinoga press has FOUR BOOKS coming out over the next four months!

That’s right, you read correctly, friends: four more books will be rounding off the press’s 2020 publishing roster.

First up is Jessica Hylton’s Gag Order, a collection of erasure poems cultivated from Trump speeches, will be launching Tuesday, September 29th.
And, if that date sounds familiar, it is the first presidential debate of the 2020 campaign. The following night (as part of the virtual launch), i will host an author’s talk with Jess to discuss, among other things, the process of her book and writing overtly political poetry during the Age of Trump.
A spotlight and preorder page for Gag Order will be up later this week!

Next is the second volume of Jack Slocomb’s stunning collection, Native Tongue. Vol. 2 covers the green, warm months of Spring and Summer, when the Earth flings itself into life, and will be released on October 19th. I know, i know: the 19th of October falls in neither Spring nor Summer, it marks the year anniversary of the release of Vol. 1, which gives the launch a nice symmetry.

A few weeks later, on November 11th, Plant Power Sisterhood, an anthology of Indigenous writing, edited by Jenny Fraser, launches. It will be akinoga’s first ever anthology and features Indigenous writers and artists from across Australia and the Pacific islands celebrating the power of Nature and calling for its renewal.

And capping off the 2020 publications another first for akinoga: the fabulous pleasure novella Nadia written by Mary Adele, which will launch on the night of November 30th, which also just so happens to be the night of the last lunar eclipse of 2020. And, once you read Nadia, you’ll understand why no other night would do justice for her launch.

That’s it, friends! Those are the 2020 books. I cannot wait to get them into your lives.

–mz

getting started

Friends,

If you have been wanting to get a book from akinoga press, please consider ordering one this month. The proceeds from any book sold during the month of June will be donated to an organization or fund fighting to end racism and discrimination and fundamentally changed the system of hate and violence that has governed the United States since its founding.

This is a step, friends. And there's a long way to go.

– mz

in solidarity with the bodies and voices resisting racism

Friends,

I have been silent. I have been complacent. I have been apathetic. I have been ignorant. I have been racist. I have not done the continuing and hard work of being anti-racist. I am guilty of accepting and willfully living under a system that seeks to destroy the hopes and dreams and lives of people of color.

I pledge to do better. I pledge to do the work and commit to being anti-racist. I pledge to use this press to create space for and elevate voices that need and deserve to be heard. I pledge to learn. I pledge to listen. I pledge to be a better ally.

akinoga press stands in solidarity of the persons and voices resisting racism, fighting to dismantle the system that seeks to destroy them and working to build on that is truly just and equal.

If you can, please donate to these organizations and funds (a huge shoutout to Persephone’s Daughters for this list of resources):

The George Floyd Memorial Fund supports George Floyd’s family with funeral and burial expenses, mental health counseling, lodging and travel for court proceedings, and basic necessities in the days, weeks, and months to come.

Minnesota Freedom Fund, a community-based nonprofit that pays criminal bail and immigration bonds for individuals arrested. Note: MFF has received a significant influx of donations and is requesting that donations be given to orgs such as Black Visions Collective and Reclaim the Block, detailed below.

Black Visions Collective, a Black, transgender, and queer-led organization committed to long-term success and transformation in Minnesota’s Black communities.

Reclaim the Block, a coalition that advocates for and invests in community-led safety initiatives in Minneapolis neighborhoods such as violence prevention, housing, and responses to opioid and mental health crises.

Campaign Zero, an organization that utilizes policy solutions to end police brutality through limiting police interventions, improving community interactions, and ensuring accountability.

Northstar Health Collective, a radical healthcare initiative providing health care services and other resources to marginalized communities; currently, they are on the frontlines, safeguarding the health of protestors.

National Bail Fund Network, a compiled list of bail funds across America. Donate to your local bail fund to support protestors in your area!

Baltimore Racial Justice Action, a Baltimore-based organization that works against racism & other forms of institutional oppression.

And for or those looking to learn more about the racist bedrock of policing, here are some educational resources to get started with:

Transform Harm, a resource hub about ending oppressive violence.

#BecauseWe’veRead, a reading list on policing and police/prison abolition.

A World Without Police, an organization that has compiled a study guide on the police.

@thegreatunlearn on Instagram & Patreon, a series of resources and critical discourse created by Rachel Cargle to aid in unlearning, including self-paced syllabi on racial justice.

And a big thanks to Himanshu Kashyap for passing along this link about the mental health issues facing the Black community. It lays out a thorough breakdown of systemic racism impacts both the mental (and physical) health of Black Americans and provides a list of free or low-cost sources for mental health treatment. Please check it out.

playing catch-up

Friends!

Holy jeeps it’s been a while. 2019 ended in a blur and 2020 kicked off in a similar manner. I’ve been neck deep in some very exciting, but very time-intensive layouts (see below) and feel like i have only recently returned to feeling like i am functioning in a reasonable manner. And, since it’s been so long since i posted anything on here, let’s catch up!


PROJECT SUBMISSIONS
I would like to express my deepest, most heart-felt gratitude to everyone who submitted a project for consideration. I really did not expect the quantity of submissions, and have been really blown away by them. I am very, very close to sending everyone who submitted a response (i am incredibly sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to everyone and i sincerely appreciate y’alls patience). To those that were not accepted: keep submitting your work! Your projects/pieces/manuscripts will find their respective homes! To those that were: welcome to the roster! We’ll talk soon.

2020 RELEASES
akinoga press has four amazing books on the docket for a 2020 release, y’all! Two familiar and two brand new!

the familiar
I am thrilled to announce that Dayana Stetco (of In Place of This fame) and Jack Slocomb (of Native Tongue fame) will both have two new collections coming out this spring:
—The Loneliness Pill and Other Plays, a tour de force in four autobiographical plays, each one exploring a different (but interconnected) life Dayana has lead (and is still leading). Check out the Spotlight page for more info and preorder your copy! It releases March 21st! (and if anyone is in Layafette, LA, i STRONGLY encourage you to go to the performance of The Loneliness Pill on March 21st. It’s going to be amazing.)
—Native Tongue, vol. 2: spring/summer, part two of Jack’s love song to the Alleghenies. Once again taking on the role of guide, Jack ushers us out of the earthtones and cold and sleep of the ending months and into the green and growth of a newly-minted world. Vol. 2 will be released in May/June, so stay tuned for more info!

the brand new
I am equally thrilled to announce the addition of Mary Adelle and Jessica Hylton to the akinoga family! Mary is a poet, sex educator, roller skater and all around rad person. Mary will be releasing her debut prose collection, a sensual novella (a sensualla, if you will) with the press. And Jessica is a poet (as well!), editor and founder of Fermata Publishing, and MFA director at University of Arkansas at Monticello. Jessica will be releasing a collection of redaction poems (erasures of Trump speeches). Both are incredible, and i will have more info in the site soon!

CITYLIT 2020
And last but not least, akinoga press will once again be at CityLit Fest! I’m excited to have some new books (and maybe even a new book display) for this year’s fest. I’ll make a proper post about it once the event gets closer, but i just wanted to spill those beans.

And that should be it! ONWARD 2020!!!

–mz

PROJECT PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

Thank you so much to everyone who submitted! This was so much more successful than i could have ever hoped!

Now that submissions are closed, i will start reviewing the proposals in earnest. To those who submitted, plan to hear from me in the next handful of months about your proposal. To those that didn’t, hopefully you will next time!

–mz

INCOMING/UPCOMING

Friends!

I have two exciting announcements to share!

First, i am beyond honored to be a part of Yellow Arrow Publishing’s Literary Night here in Baltimore on August 2nd! It’s part of the Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk and will feature a ton of amazing writers, readers, and presses.
Akinoga will be at Snake Hill, a hip, laid-back watering hole with a sausage-centric menu, a cool microbrew list, and craft cocktails, from 5 until 9, so i hope y’all come by and see me/get some good dang food and drinks.

Second, i am SUPER EXCITED to announce that akinoga press will be publishing the first volume of Jack Slocomb’s debut poetry collection, Native Tongue, this October, with volume two following next spring!
His poetry is wonderful and intimate, and i’m so happy i can make a home for it. Just like all of the books i’ve published so far with akinoga, working with Native Tongue has resulted in so many interesting firsts for the press. It’s thrilling to know that despite all the ground i’ve already covered, there’s still so much more out there to learn and discover.
Buuuuut i’ll save that for the Spotlight i’ll be making for the book soon!

Hope to see y’all August 2nd!

–mz

early 2019 updates!!!

Friends!

I have some things to share!!!

First up, i would like to send massive amounts of thanks to Marc di Saverio (author of Sanatorium Songs, Palimpsest Press 2015) for writing this wonderful blurb for Stanford Cheung’s STRUCTURES FROM THE STILL!

“The lyrical "clarity and sage-like terseness of Cheung's subtly explosive lines would make the Imagist Pound himself take full notice of this young, practiced, fully-arrived debut poet of the future.”

Find more blurbs and info about (and even an excerpt from) STRUCTURES FROM THE STILL here!


Second, i started a new sidecast of so…poetry? called so…poetry? reviews, in which i review books, podcast-style! They are envisioned to be companions to the interview/conversations of so…poetry?, and i am currently two episodes deep (Jane: a murder by Maggie Smith and After the Quake by Haruki Murakami).
I expect the review sidecast to continue for a good looooong while, so keep an eye out for them; they usually drop early in the month.


–mz

purchasing hiccup

Friends!

It was brought to my attention last night that there was a problem with purchasing from the new store i set up. To everyone who attempted to buy a book (or some) in the last couple of weeks or so and could not, i sincerely apologize. It was 100% my fault for not setting up the shipping options correctly.

BUT!, i have fixed the issue, so y'all can commence the purchasing!

 

–mz

THERE AND BACK AGAIN: A TORONTO BOOK-LAUNCH STORY

FRIENDS!

This past weekend was a whirlwind of an experience. As you know, Friday the 10th marked the release of Stanford Cheung's first full-length poetry collection, STRUCTURES FROM THE STILL. And, as you may have guessed, Stanford lives in Toronto. And, as you have no doubt intuited, i do not. So, early Friday morning, i packed up my car with books, snacks, and a friend (Maria, i will road-trip with you anytime!), and hoofed it up to the i think birthplace of my pops (it's either Toronto or Montreal, i can never remember).
On the drive up, i made note of a few interesting things:

  • rural Pennsylvania/New York feels like most of the other rural US i've visited, just with more hills
  • my car's defrost will default to AC-level cold air even when the AC is off
  • my cell plan covers international roaming
  • bear roadkill and cryptid roadkill look almost indistinguishable
  • Toronto itself felt like an unusual, albeit viable, pastiche of US cities (of note: Seattle, Miami, and a dash of 80s era New Orleans). Montreal also felt like this, which makes me wonder if all Canadian cities do.

Almost as soon as we got to the city, it was time for the launch. If you ever visit Toronto, i highly, HIGHLY recommend a visit to knife | fork | book. The store is situated in a corner of a sizable belly-dance studio and is resplendent with wood floors, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and heaps of large, inviting, and nestle-able chairs.
And Kirby, the founder/owner of knife | fork| book as well as a poet and publisher, is someone you ABSOLUTELY need to meet and forge a friendship with. He is a consummate curator of space and one of the major hubs of and beacons for the Toronto poetry scene.

As for the launch, what can be said? The intimate group that braved the incredibly pleasant summer evening to be a part of the evening were treated to a powerhouse reading: JC Bouchard primed us and Stanford caught us in a wholly new, collective dreamscape. It was hand's down one of the best readings i have ever been to.

I posted a few videos on my instagram, but they don't do the evening justice.
And, after the reading and talkback, the after-mingling and book sales, the launch was over. We all went our separate ways: to home, to the Night Market, to dinner, to an airbnb. . .
It's fitting, i think, that this launch happened in the middle of August. The best image i can muster for the event is a breathtaking summer sunset: the mountainous clouds dyed the soft yet magnetic tones of the vanishing sun, the sky itself stacked and striated with colors that have no right to exists so well together, to blend so seamlessly into each other, but somehow do, somehow gradient this miraculous way every evening, and then they're gone, then everything is gentle and blue and at peace.

It was a everything befitting of Stanford's book, and so much more than anything i could have hoped for.

STRUCTURES FROM THE STILL is out now and can be purchased here.
Kirby's beautiful photos from and write-up of the event can be found here.

 

–mz

BOOKS ON BOOKS

Friends!

I am so incredibly excited to announce the imminent launch of akinoga press' next book/first full-length collection of poetry: STRUCTURES FROM THE STILL by Stanford Cheung.

I have been working with Stanford off and on for years and i am so thrilled to finally be publishing his poetry. I've never read anything quite like it, and yet, on some deep dream-level, i have encountered his poetry everywhere.

Head on over to the spotlight page to read some advance praise of and an excerpt from the collection, and then head over to the akinoga press store and preorder yourself a copy!

STRUCTURES FROM THE STILL will be launching on August 10 at Knife Fork Book in Kensington Market in Toronto, so you're around/out that way, please join us for a night of poetry and book releasing!
More details/a facebook event link will follow!

 

–mz