Tag Archives: christopher mccurry

Updates and Announcements from Accents Publishing

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Dear Friends and Fans of Accents Publishing,

Happy Spring! In Kentucky we’re starting to see new leaves on trees. We spent a busy and productive winter and can’t wait to tell you about our latest accomplishments, opportunities and announcements. Please, read on.

 

New Book

Novella Contest Results

Literary Accents Update

Poetry Class and Manuscript Analysis Workshop

 

New Book

We’re very excited to present Christopher McCurry’s first full-length poetry collection, Open Burning.  It’s a gorgeous hardcover volume, and the poems detail the fallout of a young couple’s divorce. Click on the title to read a sample poem and to learn more about the book and the author. To browse our catalog, please click here.

 

Novella Contest Results

Accents Publishing is proud to announce the results of its Inaugural Novella Competition!

The winning novella is Homegoing, by Toni Ann Johnson!

Toni Ann Johnson will receive the $500.00 award and publication of her manuscript in a separate book volume. Those who have purchased in advance a copy of the winning novella will receive it as soon as the book is out.

We read many wonderful submissions and selected the following manuscripts as finalists:

Under the Seal, by Carol Mauriello

A Hollow, Muscular Organ, by Meg Files

Cheeseburgers, by Dean Crawford

City of Foam, by Ryan Slater

Moonlit Landing, by Ari McKenna

Things Are Not So Ill as They Might Have Been, by Scott Winokur

Accents Publishing is offering publication to the first three of these finalists.

Tremendous gratitude to everyone who sent manuscripts for consideration. We appreciate your trust and support. Please keep in touch. We hope to read your work again in the future.

 

Literary Accents Call for submissions

We’re still finishing up Issue #3 of Literary Accents. We hope to be able to send it to the printer within weeks.

We’re still reading submissions for Issue #4. The theme of Issue #4 is “breakup and heartbreak”. Send 3 – 5 poems to accents.publishing@gmail.com by April 30th. We look forward to reading your work.

 

Poetry Class

Katerina Stoykova (Owner and Senior Editor of Accents Publishing) is seeking eight to ten committed poets for a fast-paced six-week writing class in person or online. In each session, the poets will workshop a poem, then listen to a craft lecture and/or participate in a writing exercise. March 26th to April 23rd. Thursdays, 6 – 8 pm at The Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center. Price for the six-week class: $120. To reserve your space in the class, write to accents.publishing@gmail.com. Deadline to apply: March 16th

 

Manuscript Analysis Workshop and a Poetry Class

Looking for 4 – 5 poets with nearly-ready book-length manuscripts for a weekend-long manuscript analysis workshop lead by Katerina Stoykova (Owner and Senior Editor of Accents). You can participate in person or remotely via Skype. Price: $250. For more information or to reserve your spot, please write to accents.publishing@gmail.com. Exact dates TBD based on participant availability.  Deadline to apply: March 31st

 

Thank you, everyone, for reading to the very end of this email. We appreciate you! Best wishes from the team at Accents Publishing.

 

Accents’ Editor Christopher McCurry on NPR

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Boston’s NPR news station, WBUR 93.9FM, recently asked a few book experts about their choices for the Best Books of 2016, and included picks by Lexington’s own Ron Davis. Ron Davis, one of the owners of Wild Fig Books & Coffee, recommended Christopher McCurry‘s Nearly Perfect Photograph (Two of Cups Press, 2016) and even read a poem from the collection!

Ron describes Christopher’s book as “hilarious and profound”, calling Christopher a “very good writer”. You can find the recording by clicking here. Ron Davis begins at around 9m18s and he talks about Christopher McCurry at the 17m50s mark.

Ron Davis owns Wild Fig Books & Coffee with Crystal Wilkinson, author of the novel The Birds of Opulence (University Press of Kentucky, 2016). Ron Davis sometimes goes by the pseudonym “upfromsumdirt” and is the author of the poetry collection Caul & Response (Argus House Press, 2015).

The Gauntlet Poetry Reading

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Workhorse Writers CollectiveThis Thursday, November 3rd, at Wild Fig Coffee & Books in Lexington, Kentucky is The Gauntlet Poetry Reading, which will include Bianca Bargo, Sue Churchill, Jaria Gordon, Kristen Miller, and Robin Rahija.

The Gauntlet is a year-long intensive in which nine writers of prose and poetry collaborate in order to complete a “substantial amount of new work and read one contemporary book in their chosen genre and one essay on craft.” (source)

Workhorse Writers Collective is dedicated to promoting “the social art of writing.” (source) The organization was founded in 2016 by former Accents intern Robin Rahija and current Accents Editor Christopher McCurry.

Click here for the Facebook Event page

When: Thursday, November 3, 2016 @ 6-7pm
Where: Wild Fig Coffee & Books
726 N Limestone
Lexington, KY 40508
(859) 252-3052

Holler 94: Crystal Wilkinson, Christopher McCurry, Nicholas Penn

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Tonight’s Holler Poets Series will feature Affrilachian Poet Crystal Wilkinson, Accents Publishing’s own Christopher McCurry, and the musical stylings of Nicholas Penn.

Click here for the Facebook Event page.

Crystal Wilkinson’s The Birds of Opulence is currently available from University Press of Kentucky. It tells the story of the Goode-Brown family, particularly matriarch Minnie Mae, as they deal with mental illness and illegitimacy. Kate Weiss of Leo Weekly calls The Birds of Opulence “swift and beautiful”.

Christopher McCurry’s Nearly Perfect Photograph (Two of Cups Press) is a collection of marriage sonnets that will quickly resonate with any husband or wife. In an interview with Nettie Farris for New Southerner, Christopher says that he chose the sonnet because “Sonnets are supposed to put ideas, emotions, concepts, in conflict with one another” (source). The collection is all about the different kinds of conflict in a marriage-like relationship.

Nicholas Penn is a Lexington musician known for acoustic guitar and singing melancholy, but emotionally-charged, original songs. He has performed at various gatherings, recently performing at the Lexington Art League’s “Artist: Body” exhibit on March 25th. You can see one of his performances in the video below.

When: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 @ 8pm
Where: Al’s Bar
601 N Limestone
Lexington, KY 40508
(859) 309-2901

Christopher McCurry’s Nearly Perfect Photograph

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Nearly Perfect Photograph by Christopher McCurry from Two of Cups PressWe are pleased to announce that Accents Editor Christopher McCurry has his second chapbook, Nearly Perfect Photograph: Marriage Sonnets, available from Two of Cups Press.

In an interview with Nettie Farris, Christopher talks about his use of the sonnet and the autobiographical nature of his poetry. When asked what Christopher, as a high school teacher, wants his children to learn, he says, “Allow others their humanity and to claim their own.”

You can see the rest of that interview by clicking here.

Nearly Perfect Photograph is currently available from Two of Cups Press.

Kentucky Poetry Events on Friday, March 23, 2016

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In Lexington, the Spalding MFA Program will be having a reading at Wild Fig Books Coffee with students and alums. The event will be hosted by Savannah Sipple and the readers include:

When: Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 7pm
Where: Wild Fig Books & Coffee
726 N. Limestone
Lexington, KY 40508
(859) 252-3052

Dave Harrity Our Father in the Year of the Wolf

In Louisville, Dave Harrity will be celebrating the release of his book, Our Father in the Year of the Wolf (WordFarm, 2016), at Highland Morning. The celebration is titled “Breakfast-for-Dinner Book Release Celebration!”. There will also be appearances by several readers, two of which will be very familiar to the Accents audience. Readers include:

When: Thursday, March 25, 2016 @ 6:30pm
Where: Highland Morning
1416 Bardstown Rd
Lo9uisville, KY 40204
(502) 365-3900

Bigger Than They Appear Reading summary (Part 4)

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In 2012, the Lexington Public Library recorded and produced a reading held at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. This event featured readings from Bigger Than They Appear: Anthology of Very Short Poems.

For the full list of videos, click here.

The poets were asked to read one of their poems as well as someone else’s. Below are the poets, the time stamp where they appear in the video, and the poems they read. Katerina Stoykova-Klemer is the emcee between poets.