We’ve heard from so many StoryStudio writers recently that it’s hard to keep track of everyone getting published. But I was ecstatic to hear from Dana Wood who has been published again in a way cool online journal called ”Inscribed." My love/hate relationship with technology has me loving their website and the delivery of the magazine, which includes HTML/PDF and a Flash version that makes it look like a book. Alas, there is no actual book. But I’m good at pretending.

I’ve been following Dana’s progress with her collection of short stories she’s written after researching accounts of the violence and political upheaval enveloping much of Africa. We’ve workshopped her stories in the Advanced Fiction Workshop and I’ve had the pleasure of hearing about her novels in the Novelists Roundtable. One of her stories, “The Moving Tree,” was the winner of the 2004 Stories on Stage contest. Not only did her story win first place, it was also performed by a Chicago actor at a performance in which I sat right in the center of the theatre ready to cry I was so proud of Dana.

The story that’s in Inscribed, ”The Crying Lips,” is a difficult, affecting tale of young man kidnapped into a rebel army. Dana’s stories are so personal, and this one is no different. We meet Walter at his greatest moment of change and in just a few short pages, we learn how he got there.

Definitely take a look at Dana’s story and at this intriguing online publication. Kudos to Dana!

We first met Una McGeough at the Spring Writers Retreat last March. She was so lovely to have at the studio all weekend and I remember some great discussions about literature and reading and writing stories that have an importance beyond just imagination.

Una just let us know that’s her essay, Eating Healthy for the Planet, has been included in a new anthology called, Thoreau’s Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming. The book’s goal is to bring to light the changes Global Warming has brought and what changes we have/need to make in our lives. Una is in great company as the book’s forward was written by Barbara Kingsolver, who writes: to find hope in our future “we must radically reconsider the power relationship between humans and our habitat.”

The publishers write, “Thoreau’s Legacy is one step toward understanding this vital relationship, the latest entry in a history of moving reflections on America’s natural beauty.”

It’s published by the Union of Concerned Scientists and Penguin Classics. What’s really cool, is it’s an online book with some great graphics.

Congratulations Una!

And to the rest of us: Pay attention. It’s our job to save our earth.

Seth first came to the studio a couple years ago. I remember he stopped by one afternoon to register for class wearing bicycle leg guards and carrying a big, big bag. We started talking and he mentioned he was currently a bike messenger. My first thought of course was, wow, he must expend so many calories a day that he could eat anything he wanted! My second thought, after talking with Seth a little bit more, was, wow, this guy has some interesting stories to share.

Turns out, Seth has had a lot of jobs in a lot of wonderful locations, but more than that, he has a great imagination.

What brought him to StoryStudio was his desire to work on a series of science fiction and fantasy pieces he had been writing. He took Science Fiction/Fantasy and Fiction classes here at the studio, came to many Write-a-thons and built a nice writers network with other StoryStudio writers.

The big news is his collection of short stories was recently published, entitled What Rough Beasts.

Here’s what Seth has to say:

“StoryStudio has helped me develop my craft and form contacts within the writing community and I thank you!  I am also promoting my latest book, entitled, What Rough Beasts.  It is available from Amazon, among other places.  Filled with strange visions and interesting characters.

In addition to being a really interesting guy, Seth has been an avid writer his entire life.  His work has appeared in Aberrations magazine, Alien Skin and Storyhouse.org.  He spent several years traveling the country, working in resorts, national parks and wilderness lodges.  The past four years he’s settled in Chicago working as a bicycle messenger.

Congratulations Seth!

I just enjoyed a great piece on the WBEZ show, The City Room, that feature our very own Danielle Chapman leading a discussion on publishing in Chicago. Danielle is with the City of Chicago’s Cultural Affairs department and is entrusted with working to broaden and strengthen Chicago publishing. She’s also a part of the new organization, the Chicago Literary Alliance, that StoryStudio has been helping to create.

On the show this morning, there were three or four publishers offering brief quotes and the overall point was pretty clear: Chicago is perfectly poised to become a premier publishing center because of our entrepreneurial spirit. The big houses are getting lost in the economy and their own organizational challenges. But here in Chicago, we’re smaller and more deft at moving with technology and economic changes.

I found it interesting that one editor from U of C press talked about just coming from New York and was surprised that the publishers in Chicago don’t get together often for impromptu, informal chats. But thanks to Danielle and her Publisher Meet and Greets, they’re now doing just that. And thanks to the Chicago Literary Alliance, all the folks in town running reading series, publishing books and magazines, MFA programs, residency programs, and of course, creative writing schools like StoryStudio, are doing a good job of staying connected and moving forward together.

Kudos Danielle for making this piece happen!

Here’s the transcript. 

Our very own Jason Hardy, who teaches our Science Fiction & Fantasy writing classes, will be a featured reader at the next Orange Alert Press reading series. He’ll be reading on June 28th, 6 PM, at the Whistler, 2421 N. Milwaukee, Chicago.

Jason’s been teaching at StoryStudio since we were at the old space. His SciFi classes are terrific and we’re working to keep him busy here at the studio. He’s also an incredibly prolific writer, including five published novels, including Drops of Corruption and Principles of Desolation, which were both released in 2006. Just over a dozen of his short stories have been published, and he is a regular contributor to the Battlecorps web site. His work has also been published by Nth Degree and in the compilation Ghost Breakers: Sinister Sleuths.

If you haven’t been, Orange Alert gets some great Chicago readers. As a press, they’re located right here in Illinois (St. Charles to be exact).

Kudos Jason! Happy Reading.

Previous Page   Next Page