Author Archives: Katerina Stoykova

About Katerina Stoykova

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer is the author of several poetry books, most recently The Porcupine of Mind (Broadstone Books, 2012, in English) and How God Punishes (ICU, 2014, in Bulgarian). Her first poetry book, the bilingual The Air around the Butterfly (Fakel Express, 2009), won the 2010 Pencho’s Oak award, given annually to recognize literary contribution to contemporary Bulgarian culture. She is the editor of The Season of Delicate Hunger: Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry (Accents Publishing, 2014), for which she also translated the works of 29 of the 32 included authors. She hosts Accents – a radio show for literature, art and culture on WRFL, 88.1 FM, Lexington. Katerina co-wrote the independent feature film Proud Citizen, directed by Thom Southerland, and acted in the lead role.

Literary Accents

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a literary magazine from Accents Publishing

Accents Publishing is thrilled to announce the creation of a new literary magazine called Literary Accents !

Inspired by the theme of our best-selling book Bigger Than They Appear: Anthology of Very Short Poems, we decided to dedicate the first four issues of our new journal to the art of the very short poem.

Issues one to four will contain 50 poems of up to 50 words!

Long live the short poem! We are eager to start working on this exciting magazine and to bring it to your mailbox as soon as possible!

How to Subscribe

You can click here to pay by PayPal and subscribe to the first four issues of Literary Accents.

If you would like to receive printed copies, the cost is $40.00 ($28.00 for the books, $12.00 for shipping). Please make sure to provide an email address for contact and a mailing address to send the physical books.

If you would like to receive the issues electronically only (no paper copy), the cost is $28.00.

If you don’t wish to use Paypal, you can also pay by check. Make checks payable to “Accents Publishing” and send them to:

Accents Publishing
c/o Katerina Stoykova
P.O. Box 910456
Lexington, KY 40591-0456

Lexington Poetry Month 2017

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Dear Friends and Fans of Accents Publishing,

I am thrilled to see the sustained growth of Lexington Poetry Month and the vibrant enthusiasm of its poets. I am excited to see LexPoMo develop into an important poetry community-building tradition. I am thankful to Bronson and Chris for giving this tradition its own permanent stage to shine from. Please go to LexPoMo.com to see what’s in store. I am thankful for Chris and Bronson and their work, dedication, love for the art of poetry and the magic it brings into our lives. Long live LexPoMo! I will participate as I can!
Yours,
Katerina Stoykova
Founder and Senior Editor of Accents Publishing

Kathleen Driskell on Next Door to the Dead

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next door to the dead by kathleen driskellPlease introduce the book to our readers.

Next Door to the Dead (University Press of Kentucky 2015) is a book of poems that takes its inspiration from the fact I’ve lived with my family in an old country church, built before the Civil War, and “next door” to a little graveyard for over twenty years. When we first moved into the church and began turning it into our home, we were told that the graveyard was full—that there would be no new burials. And for sure most of the tombstones were old and crumbling, but after we had lived there a few months I came home from the grocery store to find a hearse in my driveway. I write about that experience in the poem “Living Next to the Dead Acre.” In the years that have followed, I’ve been in my laundry room, pulling towels out of the dryer and have looked up to see gravediggers at work in the cemetery. I never know when they might show up—which is a sort of metaphor, isn’t it? After all, life is temporary and we never know how long we will be given. Continue reading →

I don’t make a distinction among memory, understanding, dream and prophecy.

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Katerina Stoykova-Klemer interviews Filitsa Sofianou-Mullen about Prophetikon

Filitsa Sofianou-MullenIf you had to describe this book in 30 to 50 words, what would you say?

This book is a book of seeing, of seeing anew events, people, myself. In this way, it is a way of understanding life and the importance of the other and of duality but also of oneness. It is a book of giving a modern twist to old, inescapable myths.

These poems place the reader in particular geographical places – both real and imagined. To what extent are these poems “poems of place” or informed by the place where they were written?

Let me begin by telling you that I have lived for long periods of time in three different countries:  Greece, the US and Bulgaria. And I have travelled a lot mostly around Europe.  Each place leaves a mark on me, one that has to be recorded somehow. Many times the places blend together in my memory or in my dreams. For example, in the poem “(Kolchis)”, I did have a dream of myself looking at a tree from a window in my university in the US, but it was the same tree that in reality I had seen in a field in a village in Greece. And thus the association with the Jason-like wonderment at where one’s shoes are, where things are, where one belongs. I suppose this blending is natural, at least I accept it as such. Continue reading →

Poet Barry George on Tanka, Haiku, and The One That Files Back

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Katerina Stoykova-Klemer interviews poet Barry George
Barry George

Congratulations on the publication of The One That Flies Back! What can you tell us about this book? 

Thank you, and thanks for the opportunity to talk about the book. It’s a chapbook of tanka, which are five-line poems in the tradition of a 1200-year old Japanese short-form. My hope is that they are fresh, original poems that honor the tradition.

How long has it been in the making? 

About seven years. All of the poems except one are from that time. The exception is a revision of a poem that I wrote quite a bit earlier, which I have since realized was my first attempt at a tanka-like poem. Continue reading →

Proud Citizen Lexington Premiere

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proudcitizenrevlaurels2Proud Citizen, a feature-length film shot almost entirely in Lexington with a local cast, will make its Lexington premiere on January 15th, 2015 at 7:30 at the Kentucky Theater. Tickets are $6.00.

After winning second place in a play writing contest, Bulgarian Krasimira Stanimirova travels to the rolling hills of Kentucky for the premiere of her autobiographical, Communist-era play Black Coat. Expecting southern hospitality, Krasi instead finds herself isolated and lonely as she explores America on foot. Proud Citizen is a funny, sometimes heartbreaking meditation on disappointment, traveling, the comfort of strangers and the joy of funnel cakes.

Directed by Thom Southerland and featuring Katerina Stoykova-Klemer in the lead role, the film has gathered awards such as “Best of the Fest” and “Best Narrative Feature” and “Audience Favorite” from New Orleans Film Festival, River’s Edge International Film Festival, Knoxville Film Festival, and others.

More information about the film, as well as a trailer can be found at ProudCitizenTheMovie.com

2014 Poetry Chapbook Contest Results

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Accents Publishing is proud to announce the results of its 2014 Poetry Chapbook Contest. The two winners are as follows:
 
Mother Loose, by Brandel France de Bravo, was selected by judge Patty Paine.
– and – 
Your Life as It Is, by A. Molotkov, was selected by Accents Publishing Senior Editor Katerina Stoykova-Klemer.
 
Both of these entries will be published as perfect-bound chapbooks, and each author will receive 30 copies of his or her chapbook, along with a $300 prize.
 
The contest brought a great number of outstanding submissions. In addition to the winning manuscripts, Accents Publishing has decided to accept five other entries for publication, listed below in alphabetical order:
 
Black Achilles, by Curtis Crisler
Deflection, by Roberta Beary
How I Became an Angry Woman, by Bianca Bargo
respites/revelations, by Jay McCoy
The Fourth Casket, by Barbara Goldberg

Additionally, Accents Publishing would like to recognize the following finalists with an honorable mention:

Character Acting, by Cathy Allman
Comfort Dogs, by Michael Santora
Crossing the Days, by James Scruton
Crossing the Knik, by Abby Murray
Escenas, by Leah Zazulyer
Hyena Dreams, by Gail Langstroth
Love in a Time of Cauliflower, by Sean Johnson
My Father’s Bargain, by Jessica Cuello
O, by Dennis Caswell
Pastiche, by Susan Gubernat
Shipwrecked, by Sarah Hall
The Bad Guys, by Paul Hostovsky
The Mayberry Chronicles, by Gustavo Pérez Firmat
the miscarriage, by Jeffrey Ethan Lee
Wellspring, by Karen George
 
Accents Publishing would like to thank everyone who submitted a manuscript to the contest. The release dates for the new books will be announced in the near future.
 
Please visit the Accents Publishing website at accents-publishing.com to find out more about the press and its available titles.
 
With Gratitude,
Katerina Stoykova-Klemer and the team of Accents Publishing

2014 Poetry Chapbook Contest

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Accents Publishing is happy to announce its 2014 Poetry Chapbook Contest.Two winners will be selected – one by an independent judge, Patty Paine, and one by the Senior Editor and founder of Accents Publishing, Katerina Stoykova-Klemer. Each winner will have his/her submission published and will receive a $300 cash prize and 30 perfect-bound copies.

All contest entries will be considered for regular publication with Accents Publishing, as well.

We will accept submissions that are entered through Submittable or postmarked on or before April 30th. Winners will be announced in June. The contest is open to any poet writing in English. Employees of Accents or family members of judges are ineligible to participate. Simultaneous submissions will be accepted, but please notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Manuscripts should conform to the following guidelines:

  • 16 to 36 pages of poetry
  • Table of contents
  • Single spaced
  • Numbered pages
  • 11 pt font minimum

Your name should not appear anywhere within the manuscript. Please do not send the only copy of your work, as manuscripts will be recycled.

The entry fee is $15.00. Multiple submissions are allowed, but each requires a separate entry fee.

To enter, you may either submit your manuscript electronically through Submittable or mail a printed manuscript to Accents Publishing.

If you are submitting electronically, please follow the instructions here. You will be prompted to upload your manuscript and pay the entry fee during the submission process.

If you are submitting a printed copy through the mail, be sure to include a cover page with your name, the title of your manuscript, and your contact information (address, phone, and email). Please send your complete submission, along with a check or money order for $15.00 (payable to Accents Publishing) to:

Accents Publishing
Attn: Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
P.O. Box 910456
Lexington, KY 40591-0456
U.S.A.

Thank You and Good Luck!

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer and the team at Accents Publishing

Accents Publishing 4th Anniversary

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the Morris book shopWhen: Saturday, January 4th, 2014 at 4:00PM
Where: The Morris Book Shop
.            882 E High St.
.            Lexington, KY 40502

Come and help us celebrate four years since the creation of Accents Publishing.

You will hear 32 poems, one from each of the 32 poets featured in The Season of Delicate Hunger: Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry. These 32 poems will be selected and read by Accents Publishing’s authors, staff, and special friends!

We’ll be filming the event for those who cannot join us in person.

Meanwhile, anyone who wants to order a copy of the book can go to The Morris Book Shop or order directly from us online.