#nostrovia chapbook contest

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2017 Chapbook Contest: Week 1 Review

Weekly Reviews Resume

Hi everyone! Last year I tried to write a little blog post each week on the Nostrovia! Tavern, providing an inside look at the contest as we read, judge, edit, and design the chapbooks these next few months. People really seemed to like these, so I’m trying to have a new Tavern post each Wednesday--stay tuned for more updates!

Opening the Floodgates 

Friends! We’d like to extend a tremendous thank you to everyone who submitted their work to our third yearly chapbook contest!! Though we were blown away last year to see 102 submissions in our inbox, this year’s contest brought 127 MSS--we are very thankful for your support and participation! 

Jeremiah and I had wanted to play around with the timeline for the contest, as people were starting to get used to our March call ;) So we pushed everything back a month, here to April! Just as Friday evening reached midnight, we updated the website and posted the initial news. By the end of Saturday, we had 52 submissions. The following day we received the remaining 75! And as of Monday, every chapbook has been loaded into our managing page, ready for Jeremiah and me to start reading, rereading, and commenting.

Much love, and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

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2017 Chapbook Contest: Week 3 Review

This week’s report shares some observations regarding manuscripts!

Reading Manuscripts

Jeremiah and I have continued through your chapbook submissions, and are speeding up as we’re now both less busy. Like last year, I thought you’d enjoy some notes on the process:

Three years into this contest, and the first 3-5 pieces remain as important as ever--with few exceptions, I’ll know from these initial pieces whether I’m going to enjoy the MS. Though I said this last year, it’s worth repeating: writing is subjective—we all have our own individual aesthetic. Each year I come across a decent handful of manuscripts that are both well done and worthy of publication, but they just don't resonate enough with my personal tastes. 

Though about half of our published chapbooks are more eclectic in their feel, I really love finding chapbooks that feel like projects, with all their pieces working toward a specific, thoughtful focus. But I’ve also found that this can be a double-edged sword, as sometimes there isn’t enough variation, which leads to a loss of momentum as the chapbook carries on. Finding that right balance between focus and freshness is definitely tricky.

That said, if a chapbook holds my interest all the way through to the end, it’s likely a strong contender as a finalist. 

As of last night, Jeremiah loaded his notes for the first 50 MSS. Looking over what we both wrote, we were happy to see our comments lined up across the board, sharing almost all of the same names for our favorites :) While there are definitely certain manuscripts that resonate more so for one of us, it’s good to mostly be on the same page!

I’ve read ~75 of the chapbooks, and am hoping to read most of the remaining ~55 by the end of this weekend--I’m definitely going to be spending most of my spare time carefully reading your work!

Much love, and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1 Review    (Opening the Floodgates) Week 2 Review    (Reading + Ordering Supplies)

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2017 Chapbook Contest: Week 2 Review

This week’s report looks at reading submissions and ordering supplies!

Reading Submissions

Jeremiah has been busy with his Kansas City Tour (reading from Needle//Shards, our joint chap!) and I’ve been handling birthday busyness (turned 30, wowzers) + work, but we’ve kept an attentive eye on the chaps. I prefer to read the submissions in little bundles at a time, taking a break if I ever feel myself slowing down. I read all the way through, moving slowly from the first submitted chaps onward, while Jeremiah likes to explore all over at this point, checking chaps for initial impressions before returning to them later.

Jeremiah and I both independently take notes as we read, only sharing our thoughts once we’re both done. Most of the time we’re on the same page, but there are occasions when a MS resonates strongly with one editor more than another. At the end of this all, both of us have to love the manuscripts we pick!

As of now, I’ve read about 50 chapbooks in their entirety. A little more than a third done!

Ordering Supplies

I’ve been using the same envelopes I ordered back in the first year of the contest, and the supplies had lasted me until recently. This time around I did a little more research, as I’ve realized even small savings REALLY add up when you’re shipping in bulk--if you can save 50 cents per shipment and have +100 shipments, that’s +$50 right there. 

In this case, I found some really nice self-seal envelopes via Costco, which turned out to be nearly half the cost of the ones I’d gotten 2 years ago at Uline!! Also I made sure they stayed within the size limits as per USPS, meaning I won’t be marked up into their next category (like I have these last two years LOL). So shipping will be slightly cheaper across the board :)

Lastly, I’ve also been at work designing a quick Nostrovia! Press business card, which we’ll be including in all the shipments for the chaps. Has our logo, all of our social media links, and a note encouraging our readers to post a picture of themselves with their chapbooks for us to share, as is our yearly tradition! Always love sharing the collage of happy readers with the new titles <3

Much love, and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1 Review    (Opening the Floodgates)

[nostroviapress]

N! April Updates

Nostrovia! Press April Updates! 

First of all, a huge thank you to everyone who shared their passion for the 14th Issue of F.A.L.D, breaking our record for submissions (+80)! We're rereading and discussing your work, and hope to reach out to everyone within the next ~2 weeks. The quality of submissions was especially sharp, and we’re really excited to see how the community continues to take part <3

Secondly, we wanted to let you know that our yearly chapbook contest has been spotted on the horizon!! We’ve been hard at work updating our main submission page (see comments below), and recommend you give it a look. Having realized our last two contests took place on the same days, we wanted to keep people on their toes, pushing things back a month ;)

After several broken cars and alligator encounters in 2016, Nostrovia! Press is taking some time to recharge a little this year. So while we won’t be attending the NYC Poetry Festival, we still offer all of our usual perks: extensive design + editing, beautiful covers (provided by Chuck Young’s network of artists), professional printing via CA Mullins of Bottlecap Press, promotion and blurbs within our network of friends, an end-of-the-year online reading (as a member of the Nostrovia family), video poems, 25 contributor copies (plus a copy of the other two winning chaps!), distribution via both our online shop and traveling bookstore, and the chance to join Nostrovia! for any events we take part in (this year and next)! 

And best of all, our 2017 contest remains FREE TO SUBMIT, with THREE winners selected. The submission window will open for ONLY 48 HOURS, announced across our social media for a flash-submission period!

So get those manuscripts ready--we can’t wait to see your work later this month!!

Cheers, and much love <3

[nostroviapress]

2018 Chapbook Contest: Week 14 Review

Presales

We’ve been truly humbled by your support this last week--we’ve already accounted for most of our entire first print run! While we still have copies left, we’ll be moving to a smaller 2nd print run soon to make sure you have access to these chaps in time for the holidays <3

Get a chapbook for pay-what-you-can rates here: http://nostroviapress.bigcartel.com/

Video Poem: Stephen Furlong

a poem by Stephen Furlong from his chapbook, What Loss Taught Me, available from Nostrovia! Press here: http://nostroviapress.bigcartel.com/product/what-loss-taught-me-by-stephen-furlong

"Introduction to Creative Writing"

The first time I read James Wright’s “Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s…” the last line was cut off—a machine-made mistake. The chicken hawk looking for home instead of I have wasted my life. You requested amnesty, yet class called uproar. Sounded barbaric yawps.

Words change, worlds change, and         words change again. Still, two pines surrounded the poem’s frame, cornered by words tinged with nostalgia, carefree. A couple of years have passed and I’m thumbing through my notebook from that class. I’ve noticed my words reaching out, under influence of these same forces. Creating heaviness, bounded notebooks should have unbounded ideas. You taught me words could help me love —again, I had doubts. Like shadows, they crept, finding the corners of walls. Where two ends meet: Collisions. That’s what Ron Carlson calls ideas—collisions. Words combine, fuse, link—fences, not walls.

I’d rather see where I could go than trust where I might go. I’ll tell my secrets to the river,

reveal myself like a wound-up wrist, watch the colors of the bridge begin to blend into sky, and read these words to passersby. Explain to them before troubled lights and vanishing avenues, William Olsen wrote the past must have loved me though. I try to arrange those words to arrange my feelings. Though the past must have loved me. The past, though, must have loved me. The words ring, a refrain I refrain from hearing. I will let the call go to voicemail. I will hit save. I will hear those words over and over again. The past must have loved me though.

And one day when you and I go for a walk in this city along the river, next to the wall with the faces, we’ll be above the river at last.

Much love and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1: Submissions Week 2: Reading Chaps Week 3: Bob’s Done Reading Week 4: Determining Top ~20 Week 5: Featured Finalists! Week 6: The Winners! Weeks 7-8: Editing Weeks 9-10: Editing Progress Week 11: Blurbs, Part 1 Week 12: Blurbs, Part 2 Week 13: Covers!

[nostroviapress]

2018 Chapbook Contest: Weeks 7-8 Review

These last two weeks have been crazy with activity (hence us missing the last review!), but we’re back with another update!

After talking a little with the three winners, we dove into the timeline for the next few months, making sure to lay out the challenges we’ll be facing. Bob and I asked for any extra poems the writers had considered (but not included) for their MSS--in all three instances, we found ~2 poems that really struck us as important additions. 

Otherwise, Bob and I did ~6 back-and-forth edits for each MS before passing it back to each writer for review :) We’ve confirmed the size of the chaps with Craig at @bottlecappress, picked out a typeface for each book, and are working now on the formatting and layout of pieces (shifting from 8.5x11 to 5x8). And we’re investigating cover art options!!

Stephen, Lyd, and Laura are all a pleasure to work with <3

Much love and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1: Submissions Week 2: Reading Chaps Week 3: Bob’s Done Reading Week 4: Determining Top ~20 Week 5: Featured Finalists! Week 6: The Winners!

[nostroviapress]

2018 Chapbook Contest: Week 5 Review

We’ve got some huge news today!

Before I share the updates, let’s just dive in with the list of Finalists and Honorable Mentions!!!

Much love to all these tremendous writers <3 

This Last Week

So Bob and I got it down to ~20 chaps by Wednesday night. We reread again, and discussed a bit, and by Saturday afternoon we had our top 10.  

With that decided, we knew we had to reach out to everyone who'd submitted. Rejecting folks is always the worst part of the chapbook contest, so Bob and I spent several hours on Sunday, reviewing our comments, noting what we admired most from each chap. 

The writing was very good this year, and we wanted to send along as much love as we could. To this end, we made personal notes on 102 of the responses (81%). I spent most of Sunday and Monday sending along notes. 

Yesterday we reached out to the Finalists, letting them know! We'll be sharing a feature later this week, including an example of their work <3 

Next week we'll have the winners! Now Bob and I need to determine who those will be. Crazy stuff! 

Much love and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1: Submissions Week 2: Reading Chaps Week 3: Bob’s Done Reading Week 4: Determining Top ~20

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2018 Chapbook Contest: Week 6 Review

It's our tremendous joy to announce the 3 winners for our 2018 Chapbook Contest(!):

* Stephen Furlong - What Loss Taught Me * Lydia Havens - I Gave Birth to All the Ghosts Here * Laura Villareal - The Cartography of Sleep

Cheers and much love--we can't wait to share these powerful chaps with you all <3 Presales start in November! Set for December release!

Much love and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1: Submissions Week 2: Reading Chaps Week 3: Bob’s Done Reading Week 4: Determining Top ~20 Week 5: Featured Finalists!

[nostroviapress]

2018 Chapbook Contest: Week 4 Review

Hi Everyone!

Quick update: I’ve finished reading all the chaps Sunday evening :) 

Talking with Bob, our goal now is to review all the chapbooks we both loved, getting a list of ~20 MSS. Then we’ll reread everything, trying to get that list down to 10 finalists for the next review! 

Much love and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1: Submissions Week 2: Reading Chaps Week 3: Bob’s Done Reading

[nostroviapress]

2018 Chapbook Contest: Week 3 Review

Hi Everyone!

Bob and I have continued to read your work--as of now Bob has done the first read-through of all 135 chapbooks! I got a bit distracted (proposed to my lady this weekend), and have fallen a little behind. Please forgive me ;) But I’ve still completed a little over 100 chaps, and I’ll be reading the remaining 35 this week no problem!

Bob Thoughts!

Woohoo, it’s time for some new thoughts from Bob: 

It took 2 and a half weeks, but I’ve finished reading through all 135 chapbook submissions. The marathon of reading was both exhilarating and exhausting. And while it’s been a joy to see so many voices and styles, I’m really excited to spend time lingering with some of these chaps over the next week or so as we narrow down our finalists. Generally, I’ve been overwhelmed by the quality of work. These chaps cover such a range of topics, there are so many brave poems, so much formal innovation and play—I feel like we’ve read a little bit of everything that makes contemporary poetry so exciting to me. We’ve written notes about each chap to start the process of narrowing down our favorites, and there’s undoubtedly more than three deserving chapbooks here. Tough calls are ahead, but this first round of reading has been such a delight.

For this next week, I’m trying to finish reading all of the chaps. And then Bob and I can start work picking the finalists!! Crazy times!

Much love and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1: Submissions Week 2: Reading Chaps

[nostroviapress]

2018 Chapbook Contest: Week 2 Review

Hi Everyone!

It’s been a busy week, but Bob and I are making our way through your chapbooks. We’re trying to do 8-10 a day, as we don’t want to burn out while reading your work <3 

So far we’ve read ~80 chapbooks! Even though I feel like I say this each year, I’m very impressed by these entries--many of these chaps have a clear purpose in mind and have been revised with care. Lots of strong writing. Lots of risks being taken. To honor the folks who submit early (which is always scary), we’re reading in chronological order. As of now we’ve done all the Day One and Day Two submissions <3 

Our goal is to try to have the first read-through done by the end of next week! From there, we’ll see what’s stuck out to us, and begin rereading and re-rereading ;) Hoping to have the finalists decided by the end of the month. I like keeping things FAST!

Much love and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1: Submissions 

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2017 Chapbook Contest: Update

Hi friends! It's been a little while since our last update, and we wanted to check in <3

October was a busy month, first with Jeremiah + Christopher attending the fourth annual Death Rattle Writers Festival, setting up Books & Shovels, our traveling bookstore, to share unusual used books and our chapbooks. Very rewarding finding so many passionate folks in the West Coast, and we even got to meet up with N! writers Leah Mueller + Lydia Havens <3 Great to see you!!

Then Jeremiah wrapped up October with our Flowers & Bullets Benefit Show and Disco-Dance Party in Tucson. We had a lot of readers + musicians help raise money for Flowers & Bullets, an organization which creates outlets for underserved youth & communities <3 A great collaboration of folks coming together for an important cause.

Now, for the future(!): We're going to host our yearly N!P online reading in the middle of December! Chris will reach out to our 2017 writers soon, and we'll keep you posted as we pin down the date <3 Can't wait to see and hear our writers!!

Lastly, we're down to the last ~25 copies of our 2017 series! At the end of this month, we'll be releasing all three chapbooks as FREE, downloadable PDFs hosted on the N!P website. We love passing along our writers to as many people as possible, and don't want money to be a barrier for powerful writing. In the meantime, if you'd like a hand-numbered, limited-edition chapbook from our 1st print run, check out our store :)

Much love! Take care, and talk soon! <3

[nostroviapress]

2017 Chapbook Contest: Week 21 Review

Not much going on this week! Everyone who placed their presale orders should have received their copies by now--remember to share a picture with your chapbooks, tagging us, and we’ll add it to our 2017 Series album <3

Thank you to everyone who placed an order this last week. I will be handling your orders this Friday, so they’ll arrive soon after. 

We have about 1/4 of our first print run still available <3

http://nostroviapress.bigcartel.com/

Much love, and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1 Review    (Opening the Floodgates) Week 2 Review    (Reading + Ordering Supplies) Week 3 Review    (Reading + MSS Observations) Week 4 Review    (Reading + Starting Search for Finalists) Week 5 Review    (Picking Winners) Week 6 Review    (Featured Finalists + Announcing Winners) Week 7 Review    (Cover Art + Additional Pieces) Week 8 Review    (Blurbs + Excerpts + Review Copies) Week 9 Review    (Timeline Check + Interior Design) Week 10 Review  (Front Covers Revealed!) Week 11 Review  (Action Items) Week 12 Review  (Presales Began!) Week 13 Review  (Joseph’s Video Story) Week 14 Review  (Katie’s Video Poem) Week 15 Review  (Alain’s Recording + 1st Review) Week 16 Review  (Printing) Week 17 Review  (Printing, continued) Week 18 Review  (Printing) Week 19 Review  (Winners with their Chapbooks) Week 20 Review  (Shipping Presales!)

[nostroviapress]

2017 Chapbook Contest: Week 17 Review

Another quiet week with some news about printing!  

Printing, Continued

Talked with Craig over the week, and as of now, all three interiors are done, and the three cover spreads are almost done, too. We noticed an issue with margins for one of the chaps, and have corrected it, so everything is coming along nicely. 

The first print run should ship next week for my house, where I’ll be packaging and send along all of the presales :) If you’ve placed your order already, you should have your chapbooks before the end of the month!

Lastly, I collected all of the addresses from the writers, which I passed along to Craig--we’ll send the contributor copies to the writers directly so they can have them as soon as possible.

If you haven’t preordered yet, check our online store for pay-what-you-can rates <3

Much love, and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1 Review    (Opening the Floodgates) Week 2 Review    (Reading + Ordering Supplies) Week 3 Review    (Reading + MSS Observations) Week 4 Review    (Reading + Starting Search for Finalists) Week 5 Review    (Picking Winners) Week 6 Review    (Featured Finalists + Announcing Winners) Week 7 Review    (Cover Art + Additional Pieces) Week 8 Review    (Blurbs + Excerpts + Review Copies) Week 9 Review    (Timeline Check + Interior Design) Week 10 Review  (Front Covers Revealed!) Week 11 Review  (Action Items) Week 12 Review  (Presales Began!) Week 13 Review  (Joseph’s Video Story) Week 14 Review  (Katie’s Video Poem) Week 15 Review  (Alain’s Recording + 1st Review) Week 16 Review  (Printing)

[nostroviapress]

2017 Chapbook Contest: Week 12 Review

It’s a huge day for Nostrova! Press, as presales have finally begun! We also have beautiful blurbs to share, too! 

Presales!

After a good chunk of the weekend + 4th of July, our website has been updated to include blurbs and and covers, and our online store is built out with pages for each chapbook + the bundle deal! We’re ready for today!

http://nostroviapress.bigcartel.com/ http://nostroviapress.bigcartel.com/ http://nostroviapress.bigcartel.com/

We’re starting with a limited edition print run of only 125 hand-numbered copies, so be sure to get yours! We’ll be shipping next month.

As always, our chapbooks are sold at a "pay-what-you-can + $5 shipping" rate, though we’ve included other payment options in case you’re tight on cash–we want everyone who wants a copy to be able to get one! <3

Blurbs

As of now, all blurbs have been received! I really like getting two for the back of every chapbook we release--besides the cover, I’m personally drawn to the back cover notes for all books I come across, seeing whether these mini-reviews invite me to read further. 

Here are the blurbs in full(!):

EVERYTIME I PARK MY CAR I FEEL LIKE I'M DOING SOMETHING WRONG BY JOSEPH PARKER OKAY

This chapbook has a story where an armadillo is the most revered animal in the world. I found that relatable because I revere armadillos very much. It also has a story that is very pro-snake, which I support. You will probably have fun reading this thing. And one of my favorite parts is the story titles, so if you're busy you can just read the titles and have fun that way, too.  –Steve Roggenbuck

This book is the response to the reality we are all trying to end. Imagine you didn't sleep for 8 days and then you told someone you love them. This is that moment.  –Audrey Honeydrone

LOATHE/LOVE/LATHE BY ALAIN GINSBERG

As a poet, Alain Ginsberg is resourceful with language and imagery, finding metaphor and anecdote where the reader had previously thought language had already dredged all it could out of that instance; as a vocally transgender poet, Alain Ginsberg is a poignantly necessary voice. There is often a lot of talk in literary communities about what makes a "trans poem" a "trans poem," and while the majority of Alain's poems mention they are trans somewhere within the text, there is never a sense of force or plea; rather, while Alain's gender is influential in all aspects of their work, it does not define their work. Alain's work is instead profoundly influenced by the daunting task of humanizing and unraveling trauma, from abusive relationships to harassment by customers at their food-service job, and throughout their narrative, Alain never lies to their audience or sugarcoats the circumstance. Instead, Alain presents their truth unflinchingly, letting the audience know they've got some heavy shit to talk about, but it's our choice if we want to listen. And goddamn, I am positive y'all will want to listen. –Linette Reeman, writer, performer, Aries

Loathe/Love/Lathe is a phenomenal book written by an even more magnificent poet. Alain Ginsberg brings to every poem a rawness that only they are capable of bringing. Exploring topics such as bodies, gender, safety, and the self (whatever the "self" is), Ginsberg provides not only understanding but an honest gentleness that is so necessary. No other book of poetry that I have had the privilege of reading does justice to the lived realities of young queer Americans in the same way Loathe/Love/Lathe does. Having read this book a few times over now, each time being left without words yet with an intense desire to hold every person I've ever loved, I truly recommend this work.  –Erin Taylor, writer, Interviews for Maudlin House, Sagittarius

OUR OWN SOFT BY KATIE CLARK

Katie Clark's collection is a fierce journey into gender and sexual identity. They say, "I wake up with your body my body" and "I was a boy until I wasn't a boy." These lines are absolutely what we need right now. The collection is self-conscious about its own body and explores what it means to fall deeply into the abyss of others' bodies when you are barely living in your own. 

–Joanna Valente, Marys of the Sea (The Operating System)

the poems of our own soft refuse to protect us from sharp edges as we unravel their secrets in the low light of unsleep. to move forward we rely on remembered litanies, associating to make ripples. imperfect perfect summer / orange at the edges / water / water / what clothes / which trees to bother climbing / what do you see when you try to see yourself / what do you see when looking back over your shoulder? is this nostalgia or something else invented to stand in its place? either way, it feels sun-warm: a snake coiled on a rock that may strike or may stay still as death. Clark writes, “it doesn’t always happen in the order that it happened,” then throws the past in the air like confetti / like releasing a hive of bees to hunt for what is sweet, stinging as they seek the honey out.  –Emily O'Neill, Pelican (YesYes Books)

A big thanks to these thoughtful folks for their love and support as we enter another year of releases <3 

Print Proofs

I’ve started sending along files to @bottlecappress​ and am excited to begin print proofs soon! In the next week or so I hope to have the rest of the files ready for this important stage :)

Stay tuned, as our 2017 video poem series begins soon!

Much love, and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1 Review    (Opening the Floodgates) Week 2 Review    (Reading + Ordering Supplies) Week 3 Review    (Reading + MSS Observations)  Week 4 Review    (Reading + Starting Search for Finalists) Week 5 Review    (Picking Winners)  Week 6 Review    (Featured Finalists + Announcing Winners) Week 7 Review    (Cover Art + Additional Pieces) Week 8 Review    (Blurbs + Excerpts + Review Copies) Week 9 Review    (Timeline Check + Interior Design) Week 10 Review  (Front Covers Revealed!) Week 11 Review  (Action Items)

[nostroviapress]

2017 Chapbook Contest: Week 14 Review

It’s another big day at Nostrova! Press, as our video excerpts from our 2017 Series continue! We also have news about Goodreads listings, updates to the main website, and some notes about FB ad campaigns!

Katie’s Video Poem

Be sure to get your limited edition copy from Nostrovia!’s 2017 Series at our online store. As always, prices are pay-what-you-can + $5 shipping! 

Goodreads Listings

I saw a post a few weeks ago on FaceBook noting all the different ways a press can better promote their writers, and it inspired me to create some Goodreads listings. Here they are for our 2017 Series(!), so be sure to use these listings if you’ve already preordered:

Katie’s Goodreads Listing Joseph’s Goodreads Listing Alain’s Goodreads Listing

I’ve also gone and updated the main page for our 2017 Chapbook Contest winners, so everyone has their Goodreads link + Featured Finalist excerpt shared alongside their listing at our online store:

FB Campaigns 

I’ve started spending some decent chunks of time on FB, learning more about their ad system + analytics. Along those lines, I’ve used FB’s Power Editor (lol) to setup a split campaign this week, testing two different ad groups to see what works better for ad engagement. Somewhat a pain in the ass, and I do dislike a lot of FB’s algorithms, but it’s silly not to consider what works best for promoting your writers.

The print proofs should be arriving very soon, so I hope to have some pictures in the next weekly review!

Much love, and see you next week! <3 -Christopher

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We’ll have a new Tavern post each Wednesday, giving an inside look at the N! process, so stay tuned for more updates!

Week 1 Review    (Opening the Floodgates) Week 2 Review    (Reading + Ordering Supplies) Week 3 Review    (Reading + MSS Observations) Week 4 Review    (Reading + Starting Search for Finalists) Week 5 Review    (Picking Winners) Week 6 Review    (Featured Finalists + Announcing Winners) Week 7 Review    (Cover Art + Additional Pieces) Week 8 Review    (Blurbs + Excerpts + Review Copies) Week 9 Review    (Timeline Check + Interior Design) Week 10 Review  (Front Covers Revealed!) Week 11 Review  (Action Items) Week 12 Review  (Presales Began!) Week 13 Review  (Joseph’s Video Story)