Portland Event of the Week: 4/24

Stumptown Comics Fest!!

I will be going to the Comics Fest this Saturday, and I wanted to let everyone else know about it: It’s Saturday and Sunday at the Lloyd Center Doubletree, and it’s only $6.

Here’s the “About”:

The Stumptown Comics Fest was started almost on a whim in 2004 by a small group of Portland-area cartoonists lamenting the lack of local convention-style outlets. While there were certainly other comic book shows in town, there weren’t any that gave much attention to the artists themselves. The dream was to design a festival with the creators as its focus, rather than dealers and work-for-hire publishers.

Using local resources, the first Fest was pulled together in just 4 months, thanks to the largely volunteer group at its nexus. It was hosted on a rainy June 6th afternoon by the Old Church, a non-profit organization whose goal is to preserve, well, an old church. The church was the beneficiary of the raffle held at the festival. All 22 exhibitor tables sold out for a full house (most of them being shared by several creators).

Cartoonists came from not only from here in Portland, but from all over the country as well – from as far out as San Francisco, Seattle, and even Detroit, Michigan, and all of the exhibitors in attendance reported it to be an excellent experience. Even with little time to promote the show, the Fest still saw a respectable attendance of 150 comics fans, and garnered favorable press from the local arts weeklies. We were also host to the second ever Comic Art Battle, put together by Portland expatriat Ezra Claytan Daniels.

The second Stumptown Comics Fest, in 2005, moved to a larger venue. The 5800+ square foot Smith Memorial Ballroom on PSU campus (also home to the 3-day Portland Zine Symposium) held over 80 tables, almost four times as many as were at the previous Fest. We also nearly quadrupled the number of exhibitors, and played host to over triple the number of attendees.

Attendance continues to increase substantially with each show. To accomodate, 2006 brought the Fest across the river to bigger and better spaces, first at the Oregon Convention Center, and subsquently settling at the Lloyd Center Doubletree, where the show remains through 2010.

Our goal is, as ever, to take over the world with comics. Help us, won’t you?

Site: http://www.stumptowncomics.com/

Writing Contest for PSU

Sixth Annual Ooligan Editors’

Choice Fiction Contest

Sponsored by Portland State University’s Publishing Program and Ooligan Press

The Advanced Book Editing class wants your stories!

Submit your original short story on the theme MAKING MONSTERS.

The Ooligan Press Editors will carefully select and professionally edit the five entries that best exemplify originality, reader appeal, and writer’s craft. The winning stories will receive the Ooligan Editors’ Choice Award and will be published in Ooligan’s Best Short Stories of 2010 (our annual electronic journal).

Details:

Stories must not have been previously published

Maximum of 4,000 words

One story per person

Authors will retain copyright to their writing

To Enter:

Send a Word document, double-spaced and formatted in 12-point type, as an e-mail attachment to nancycdinzillo@gmail.com. Include the title of your story. In the body of your e-mail, include your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address.

All submissions are due by May 1st, May Day.

Read past winners at www.ooliganpress.pdx.edu

Friday Font 4/23

This is a picture font …. how awesome is that?!?

Calling First Time Writers

Hey Writers who Read this Blog!

My book marketing teacher mentioned a publishing company called PUSH. I went on the site, and now I’m really intrigued.

When I called self-publishing vanity publishing, someone commented that big publishers NEVER publish first time authors. But PUSH only publishes first time authors! Perhaps that’s exactly what we need: more publishers solvent enough to take a chance actually TAKING a chance and publishing a new writer.

Right now, I feel like publishing houses are putting themselves into a rut by publishing the same authors over and over. And let’s face it – an author might have one great book in them, but sometimes their second and third books aren’t as good as someone else’s first novel.

I understand the authors’ frustrations with this, just as I understand the publishing houses’ point of view: they want to print books that they know will make them money!

But, again, it might be nice if one or two of the big publishing houses, who have the money to take a greater chance, created imprints to publish first time authors. Then, they can keep those authors in-house with another imprint but new authors would have some hope of publication beyond paying their own way.

Best Author Put Downs

My friend James has the best shirt – I’ve actually tried to steal it twice (I “borrowed” it once after my own shirt got a coffee stain, but he came to my house and stole it back!) and it lists a bunch of Shakespearean insults.

But when I ran across this article the other day, I was so excited – you don’t often hear about authors insulting each other!

Here’s the link to “The 50 Best Author vs. Author Put-Downs of All Time”

And here’s some of my favorites:

7. Edward Bulwer-Lytton, according to Nathaniel Hawthorne (1851)

Bulwer nauseates me; he is the very pimple of the age’s humbug. There is no hope of the public, so long as he retains an admirer, a reader, or a publisher.

9. J.K. Rowling, according to Harold Bloom (2000)

How to read ‘Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone’? Why, very quickly, to begin with, and perhaps also to make an end. Why read it? Presumably, if you cannot be persuaded to read anything better, Rowling will have to do.

12. John Milton’s Paradise Lost, according to Samuel Johnson

‘Paradise Lost’ is one of the books which the reader admires and lays down, and forgets to take up again. None ever wished it longer than it is.

And here’s the second part of the Put Downs.

Amazon Suing North Carolina – AWESOME

I worked in a library for two years, in college, and so I always find the discussions about secure information and privacy very interesting. Personally, the only reason I wouldn’t want someone to have my reading/book buying history is because I’d have to be embarrassed about how many romance and kids books I read. But I understand, and support, the principle – there is no way, without strong evidence of CRIMINAL activity, that anyone has a right to anyone else’s reading records.

That’s why I was glad to see that Amazon is not lightly handing over purchasing histories to North Carolina(in this article). I can understand wanting Amazon’s financial data for tax reasons, but knowing the individual books for each person? There’s no reason for that. And while the library’s policy about not giving out any patron information is a little more comprehensible, as they are a public institution, Amazon seems to understand their duty to their customers too.

Amazon is suing North Carolina to insure that North Carolina cannot get those purchasing histories of individuals. While Amazon is a large company, that does not mean that the same principles of privacy shouldn’t occur at some level. In fact, I would argue, it’s even more important – those histories show the books that people found important enough to buy, not just borrow. I borrow books from the library all the time that I only read a few pages of, but I BUY books I usually already know I like (books that mean something more to me than a causal read). I expect that a lot of other people do the same.

Usually, the scope and expanse of the Amazon realm scares me (they have so much power over book buying!), but in this case, I’m supporting Amazon. Go AMAZON!

Scary, Creepy Music + Book Cover = Good Trailer

Just watched this book trailer. I’ve been avoiding romance trailers, not because I don’t read romance (I do!), but because I don’t need to hear sappy music and see half naked men. This romance book trailer has neither – but it does have creepy music (especially when you’re home all alone, and it’s dark, and it surprises you) and shows the author and her book cover.

I think showing the cover of the book is the most effective aspect of book trailers – it’s what’s going to make readers connect the video to the physical item in the store.

Write to Publish – BE THERE

Hey All,

I assume most of the people reading this blog are interested in things literary. Why else would you be reading this? All I talk about is books! So let’s talk about books. And publishing. And graphic novels. And acquisitions. And agents. And young adult writing. And…..everything else? I can’t talk about everything and frankly you wouldn’t want me to! I’m not an expert, just a girl with a little obsession.

But there’s a conference next month where experts WILL be talking about these things. Write to Publish, or Oolicon, will be May 22-23. I will be there both days, to check out the local literary scene on Sunday, but mostly to learn from the experts on Saturday.

Here’s the workshops I find most interesting:

Young Adults Trends and Audience (Sara Ryan, two-time Oregon Book Award winner in the YA category): Young adult (YA) fiction is one of the most lively and profitable genres in publishing. Get an overview of current and upcoming trends and tips on writing for this diverse and voracious audience.

Graphic Novels: Publishing and Process (Brett Warnock, head publisher, Top Shelf Productions; Aaron Colter, marketing coordinator, Dark Horse Comics): Graphic novels are more popular now than ever before. The intricacies of the publishing process for this genre are varied and unique, and new technologies have created exciting possibilities for graphic novel writers and readers. This workshop will examine the opportunities and difficulties inherent in the creation of graphic novels. Learn the importance of design and marketing in this medium.

Writers, Conventions, and the Web: A Friendship (Bo Johnson, head publisher, Bowler Hat Comics): Learn about building your presence on the web and how conventions can help you get your foot in the door. This workshop will give you the tools you need to make your next convention visit more productive. Learn the many ways to network and promote yourself as an author.

So, everyone, buy your tickets for the workshops NOW!! Support Ooligan, of course, but really this is for writers –  to help authors learn about the industry from the experts. Be there or be square. Plus, Ursula K. LeGuin will be there – now there’s an author worth obsessing over.

Workshops: HERE.

Industry Mingle and Author Stage: HERE.