Yesterday, on the plane home from what might be the best vacation I’ve ever taken, I decided to buy the wifi, and just as it clicked on I received a text from Zito Madu, telling me to check out the NBCC longlist that had just been announced: his memoir, The Minotaur at Calle Lanza, got a nod! What a wonderful way to ease me back into America and worklife. I will admit that when I founded Belt a decade ago, having a book be recognized by the NBCC, on which I served as a board member for a term, and thus understand the process and deliberations, has been a goal. There have been many a list I eagerly awaited that passed us by. To have this year’s news catch me by surprise, while on a Japanese high, made it all the better. If you haven’t yet, check out The Minotaur at Calle Lanza (top right below), perhaps the first and definitely the best ‘surrealist memoir’ ever, which you can read in one sitting and finish with changed assumptions and shifted perspective. And kudos to the team at Belt: David Wilson, cover designer, Michael Jauchen, editor (along with me), and Phoebe Mogharei, publicist. And the author? Zito, who could not be more deserving, or lovelier to work with.
I am teaching my book proposal course again in January, timed to help distract you from the inauguration. It’s getting full, and there are several eager folks who will receive a free spot once the paid ones are claimed. Help them out! Learn more about what happens in this course and sign up here.
There is another round of “oh no Substack” going around, and I’m staying out of it for now, but I do want to offer this, should it help anyone: your finances are as if not more important, and if Substack allows you to pay for groceries and write things that would not otherwise be possible, my position is that you should continue to exploit this opportunity. We all live in contradiction. I am not a fan of censoriousness no matter which political direction it comes from, nor do I support judgmental positions that could be easily be shown to be hypocritical (“you refuse to be part of x, but are fine with being part of y?”). And I hate, hate, hate when people who are working so hard to find a way to support themselves as writers, without any other institutional backing, feel pressured to do something that undermines their financial viability (one could conclude that a voluntary banishment, and not who else is being supported, is now they ‘win’). This is not to say I don’t think leaving the platform could make sense, but to say I hope people don’t do it because they feel pressured to, and if having people saying “it’s fine!” alleviates pressure, then: it’s fine.
I read two books about Japan while in Japan (Bending Adversity by David Pilling and Brief History of Japan by David Clements). Both were published 10-20 years ago. I could not find more recently published general overview nonfiction of the sort I was looking for (though they may be there and I just missed them). And thus I say again: we seem not be publishing enough smart, researched, general interest nonfiction.
Did you know it’s only $30 for an annual subscription to this newsletter? Eggs may be more expensive but a year Notes from a Small Press remains pegged to the price of one hardback. You can also try it $5/month, an ebook on sale.
fall fucking foliage
A Christmas gift to myself, Rust Belt Arcana and accompanying Tarot deck. Both are beautiful. Writing and Art.
Substack--I could go broke subscribing. I also want to support those whose writing I enjoy.
Woah, congrats! Just added the Minotaur at Calle Lanza to my queue.