By Rebecca Wadlinger

For the past few years, one of Austin’s premier literary journals, Bat City Review, has bravely traveled to Houston to exhibit at the Indie Book Festival. We are excited to welcome them back this year.

Bat City Review is an annual literary journal run entirely by the creative writing graduate students at The University of Texas Austin. The journal publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and seeks out the best emerging voices as well as internationally-recognized writers.

BCR‘s Managing Editor Patrick Ryan Frank sat down with HIBF’s Rebecca Wadlinger to discuss BCR‘s recent success and their plans for this April.

RW: Hi Patrick. How’s Austin treating you?

PRF: It’s treating me well! Austin is an endless summer camp; after arts & crafts, but before swimming, I get to work on a literary journal. It’s pretty much my dream life.

RW: Houston is excited to see you Bat City folks at this year’s Indie Book Fest. Could you give us a sneak peak inside your latest issue? And is there anything else will you be bringing with you this year?

PRF: Issue 8 of Bat City Review is pretty exciting. We got to read—and publish—some great poetry and fiction this year, including poems in translation by Tomaz Salamun and Monika Rinck, Matt Williamson’s near-future novella about video games, and a gorgeously idiosyncratic essay about poetic process by Mary Ruefle. We’re showcasing more art than ever before, as well. We have photographs by the poet Mattea Harvey, previously unpublished photographs of the poet Anne Sexton (accompanied by a fascinating essay by Susannah Hollister), and a beautiful portfolio of paintings and poems by Nicky Arscott, the winner of BCR’s first Art & Writing Collaboration Prize. We might—no guarantees yet—be turning some of these pieces into broadsides to be given away at the Indie Book Fest.

RW: Your journal takes its name from the city where you’re located. Has Austin (or Texas in general) shaped your editorial vision?

PRF: I like to think that being in Texas has encouraged us to be expansive in our reading, while Austin has made us eclectic. Like this town, our journal includes a mixture of the stately and the off-beat. We never forget the literary traditions that form the bedrock of contemporary writing, but, like Austin, we try to be inviting and exciting to a diverse and international audience.

RW: Bat City has come to several Indie Book Fests since we started five years ago. For readers who haven’t been to the event, what do you think are past festivals’ highlights?

PRF: I am somewhat ashamed to admit it, but this will be my first visit to the festival. The previous managing editors have all come back grinning and somewhat flushed, like kids returning from an amusement park. Obviously, I’m looking forward to it myself.

RW: Because the festival has grown so rapidly over the past few years, we’re convinced that independent literature, literary nonprofits, and our community of readers and writers are going strong. What are your thoughts about the “indie” writing and publishing scene?

PRF: Judging by the writers that submit to BCR, and judging by their bios, a contemporary author is less concerned with getting his or her book onto the shelves of Barnes & Noble than they are concerned with getting that book read and appreciated. Writers seem to have become more proactive and proficient about finding the right journal, publisher, or reading venue to get their work to an audience that will best appreciate it. While Bat City Review is funded by the University of Texas at Austin and we would not qualify as “independent” by many definitions, we are singly committed to showcasing a variety of high-caliber work to a discerning audience. Profit is not our primary concern and this allows us, like many other non-profits and independents, to take chances and open doors to exciting new writers and styles.

RW: We’re still signing up exhibitors for the 2012 festival, but we’ve got a great lineup already. Any secret HIBF crushes there?

PRF: Too many! I’m afraid I’m going to get a reputation! BCR has a lot in common (including some former staff and contributors) with OH NO Magazine; we’ll probably spend a lot of time giggling at their table. American Short Fiction is like that pretty cousin that we want to bring along to all of our parties. Many of those parties would probably be at Domy Books, which is the kind of place that makes us feel cooler than we really are.

Thanks, Patrick! For more information about Bat City Review, be sure to check out their website (batcityreview.com) and visit their table at the 2012 Houston Indie Book Festival on April 14^th!

Zine Fest Houston is a local festival whose goal is to promote microcomics, DIY zines, alternative media, and the small presses. Indie book fest veterans may remember them for their visually eye-catching table display last year.

I interviewed ZFH’s Lindsey Simard to learn more about the organization, their goals for future fests, and what first-timers to the Houston Indie Book Fest should check out.

AS: In reading about Zine Fest Houston there’s clearly a lot of investment in the alternative and DIY media scene. What makes Zine Fest Houston keep coming back to this community?

LS: Zines offer people a chance to express themselves without censorship or restrictions or advertisements of any kind. Zine Fest Houston believes in freedom of expression and encourages people to value their own ideas and creativity. The alternative and DIY media scene values these same things, which is why Zine Fest will keep coming back to this community.

AS: Your website says that in preparation for the 2012 Zine Fest you are working on a “zine featuring samples of zines from Houston.” What inspired this project? Do you have any news you can give us about it?

LS: One of our goals for Zine Fest Houston is to build the local zine scene and form networks with zine creators in other areas. I was inspired to start the compilation project because I wanted a zine that could represent the Houston zine community here and outside of Houston.  Right now, we are still in the planning stages for the Houston zine sampler. I can say that I expect many artists/zine creators in Houston to participate in the project. My goal is to include samples from 50 zines.

AS: Something that people who went to last year’s indie book festival remember from your table is the large paper bug you had on display. How did that idea for the display come around? Do you have any unique ideas for this year’s fest?

LS: Last year, our theme was the cockroach (cockroaches remind me of the resilience of print media, the scrappiness of zines, and Houston in general), so it seemed appropriate to have a giant one at our table as a visual summary of what we’re about: creative, offbeat, and underground DIY publications. Also, sometimes people are a bit shy about approaching tables when they attend things like the indie book festival, and I wanted to create a visual ice breaker that would interest people and give them something to talk to us about. This year, I’ll be sure to create something similarly eye-catching for our table.  

AS: So this will be my first time going to Indie Book Fest myself. What three things does Zine Fest Houston suggest a first-timer check out at the fest?

LS: It’s hard to pinpoint any three things. I would suggest browsing and then browsing some more. A diverse group of people and organizations have tables at indie book fest, so there are plenty of interesting things for all tastes. Of course, everyone should visit us at the Zine Fest Houston table, check out all of the zines, and say hello!

More information for Zine Fest Houston can be found at http://zinefesthouston.org/

Our brand new children’s area will be jam packed with free activities to keep your children physically and mentally active, as well as a bevy of local publishers and authors exhibiting children’s books.

The day will begin with a children’s book-binding workshop directed by The Houston Book Arts Guild, and will continue with readings by acclaimed children’s book authors Ana Maria Rodriguez and Andrea White, face painting, and a children’s poetry workshop lead by Gulf Coast’s poetry editors.

All of the events are free and open to the public. So bring the family down to Menil Park on April 14th and spend the day enjoying what indie literature has to offer the family!

For more information about our children’s programming, click here.

Aletheia (ἀλήθεια): Unconcealedness, truth.

And that it is.

The newest literary and arts journal based out of the University of Houston, The Aletheia, strives not just to provide a voice through the arts for its student body, but also to create a sense of community within the interdisciplinary arts world.

The publication is comparable to others in that it features fiction, poetry, and visual art, but what differentiates it from traditional journals is its acceptance of the unconventional, such as lyrics, scripts, film, and music. In addition to the printed format that is released as chapbooks biannually, The Aletheia also has an active website that publishes monthly exclusive online content, including student, faculty, and alumni features. The chapbook itself is also available for viewing online.

To get a better idea of the journal’s origins and its general goals, I asked Megan Harrington, an editor and the business and marketing director at The Aletheia, a few questions.

SO: Starting up a journal is a big task, and keeping it going is an even bigger one. Did you and your team have any experience working on journals or did you learn as you go? And how is managing The Aletheia going thus far?

MH: We had a little experience when we first started out in various ways. Reyes Ramirez, our chapbook designer, was the editor-in-chief of a literary magazine in high school; Kristen Flack, our web designer, works as an intern for Inprint, so we were able to gain insight from the people there; and I’m our business and marketing director and the coordinator for the Center for Creative Work at the Honors College, so I had a little knowledge on how to run an organization that is arts based. We have, however, also learned what to do and what not to do as we’ve gone along.

In terms of how managing has gone so far, I’d say that it has been pretty easy because we are all so invested [in the journal]. We are also lucky enough to have good relationships with our readers and artists. We like to try to maintain contact and create a community of artists with our journal. This is helpful in terms of marketing and events because they all are willing to lend a hand and get the word out. They are confident in what we put out, which makes it easier for others to do the same.

SO: At what point did you decide that the “normal” format for journals was not cutting it and that other forms of art, such as music and video, deserve a presence?

MH: Well, for one thing, the idea of including all forms of art is one of the reasons we started The Aletheia in the first place. We wanted the journal to be a venue for all types of expression and we did not want to limit the definition of that. In addition, we understand that the popularity of print-only journals is dwindling and that the Web is the new frontier in terms of publications. We thought that doing both would be the best of both worlds–we could still hold the tradition and prestige of a print journal, but also have to ability to fray boundaries by using the Web. Using both is the best way, in our opinion, to utilize creativity.

SO: What do you think The Aletheia is providing for students and Houstonians that other local journals are not?

MH: Well, like you mentioned in the last question, we are giving students a vehicle to publish things like music and film in addition to literature and art. What is also really important to us that is unique to The Aletheia is the one-on-one relationships that we try to pursue with the artists that we publish. We want our journal to be a community.

We also don’t ever want to adhere to a particular theme for our journal. The Aletheia means “unconcealing.” We want to show what is there and allow the artists to create our vision, as opposed to the journal calling for a certain type of artist. I think this is also why we have been able to create such a diverse community with our writers and readers. 

SO: Do you have any submission advice for those wanting to get published? 

MH: Submit and submit often. We have monthly features so we want submissions year round. We are also open to conversing with the artists, so if we have a piece that we feel strongly about but isn’t quite ready to be published, we often contact the artist and see if they will work through the editing process with us. Also, don’t be afraid to submit work that you feel is unconventional or experimental. We are open to all sorts of new things and we want to learn from the artists and learn what they are trying to do through their art.

The Aletheia is now accepting student submissions for their Spring 2012 issue. Submissions to be the monthly student feature are accepted anytime.

Visit their website at www.thealetheiajournal.com

Jennifer McFarland interviews Chuck Taylor from Slough Press.

Slough Press’s Facebook page says its focus is on “arti” writing.  Can you elaborate a little on that? 

Slough Press is not interested in genre writing—fantasy, mystery, romance, westerns. We view these as formula writing and feel that such writing does no exploration, nor do they take many risks. It’s a known commodity. The reader knows what they’re getting when they pick up a thriller, so obviously that’s where the money has long been in publishing.

What are some of the most exciting and unusual forms you’ve published in the past?

One recent book, Heathcliff on Powell Street, contained a play performed in an abandoned house in Austin. Most of the actors were street people. The text also contains photos from the production, and a series of letters written by the lead actress to her daughter. Slough also published a book of short stories by a Dobie-Paisano fellow and a comic novel set in New Orleans. 

What brought you back to the HIBF this year?

I’ll be returning because every year I meet new and interesting people, see others I have not seen in a year, and sell some books.

Can you share a bit about the literary scene in your neck of the woods? 

I live in College Station, where Texas A&M University is located, and I teach creative writing in the English Department. Texas A&M has about 50,000 students. We recently held a Beat Art and Poetry Festival in our sister city, Bryan, downtown. People came from all over for this festivavl. One person even came from England.

What will you be selling this year at the Houston Indie Book Fest?

Recent titles that were not sold last year include Beat, At the Heart, and Saving Sebastian. 

What are you reading right now?

I am reading Evelyn Underhill’s Mysticism. I just finished the National Book Award Winner for this year, Head Off and Split.

Jennifer McFarland interviews Adam Peterson, co-editor (with Dave Madden) of The Cupboard.

What does your journal do?

We publish four chapbook-length pamphlets of prose each year. One every three months. Or at least that’s the idea.

What’s the most exciting or unusual submission you’ve ever received and published?

Our fourth volume, Acts of Kindness and Excellence in Times Tables, is easily the oddest, coolest thing we’ve ever gotten out of the blue and just had to publish. We know nothing about the author, Caia Hagel, other than that she’s great and that we’re happy she sent us her work. It’s surreal without being self-conscious, it’s touching without being saccharine. It’s just an odd, beautiful piece of work.

What will you be selling this year at the HIBF?

We’ll be selling all of our volumes (hopefully 12 or 13 at that point) and, I don’t know, maybe some surprises. We’ve had t-shirts before. The kids love t-shirts.

Is there anything in particular you’re looking forward to seeing at this year’s festival?

I had such a great time at last year’s festival that really I’m just looking forward to it all. Everything I hear makes it sound bigger and better. Should be fun. And since it’s just me representing The Cupboard, that means more people to come sit at the table while I run to grab tacos from a food truck.

If you had to survive in a post-apocalyptic world with only one backpack full of books, what books would you want with you?

This is what got that guy from The Twilight Zone in trouble. Still, for classics I’ll say Midnight’s Children, The Good Soldier, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and If on a winter’s night a traveler… would make for a pretty good start. Would then grab Kelly Link’s Stranger Things Happen and Zach Schomburg’s The Man Suit for more contemporary apocalypse-appropriate reading. 

Come to the Houston Indie Book Fest on April 14^th to meet Adam and other independent literary publishers!

The exhibit is Fee is $40 per table and space is limited to 2 tables per exhibitor. For a full list of rules and guidelines to exhibit or to register please download our Information Sheet and Registration Form.

Registration Deadline is February 1, 2012.

We prefer to conduct exhibitor correspondence through e-mail. Please contact Kirby Johnson at kirbyjohnson3@gmail.com with any questions.

Houston Indie Book Festival
Attn: Kirby Johnson
PO Box 667445 Houston, Texas 77266-7445

HIBF-Info and Mission 2012

HIBF – Registration Form 2012

As part of Spacetaker’s Cultured Cocktails program (voted “Best Happy Hour of 2010” by Houston Press), a portion of the bar tab on November 10^th will be donated to Houston’s largest and only community event that celebrates small presses, nonprofit literary groups, magazines, journals, readers, and writers alike.

Boheme is located at 307 Fairview (on the corner of Taft) in the Montrose neighborhood.

The fifth annual Houston Indie Book Festival will showcase dozens of nationally-distributed literary journals, local booksellers, publishers, small presses, literary organizations, and writers at the Menil Park on Saturday, April 14th from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Co-sponsored by NANO Fiction and Gulf Coast, the festival showcases the efforts of writers, artists, teachers, community members, and cultural groups working to make the arts and humanities a vibrant part of the Houston community.

The festival will offer readings by local authors throughout the day, informational panels, and a new children’s area with events and readings for the entire family. This year’s festival is set to correspond with the Menil Collection’s Open House event. Alongside the book fair, visitors can enjoy outdoor art exhibits, tours of the Menil campus, art demonstrations, live music, food trucks, and much more!

This event is free, and everyone in the community is invited to participate in what has become Houston’s largest and only event of its kind. More information about the Houston Indie Book Festival is available online at www.indiebookfest.org.

Since 2008, the Houston Indie Book Festival has steadily expanded from a small gathering of local bookstores and artists to a full-scale regional event. To date, more than fifty exhibitors from all over Texas and the U.S. are scheduled to participate.

The Houston Indie Book Festival is supported by the Houston Arts Alliance, The Houston Endowment, Inc., Inprint, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Texas Commission on the Arts, and the University of Houston’s Department of English.