i.e. Invisible Publishing. At least the kind folks at Open Book think so. Open Book has recently written a wonderful article about our success as an independent publishing company in today’s eWorld day and age. Awesomeness in authors, books, readers and reviewers is what Invisible is all about. This article does not fall short of being incredibly awesome to us. Thank you Open Book – and check it out everyone: “You Can’t See Me: Catching Up with the Visionaries Behind Invisible Publishing”

Jeff Miller’s ‘Ghost Pine All Stories True’ will not stop. Neither will the press that is covering this literary phenomenon. Check out yet another review by the Chronicle Herald here.

Seems like Jeff Miller and Ian Orti are making review headlines left right and centre. Being reviewed by The Globe and Mail, The National Post and Broken Pencil all in one day is what makes these authors Kind of like a big deal. Check them out here:

The National Post – Pine & dandy: Jeff Miller’s zine anthology has been a local hit, thanks in part to the personality of its creator

The Globe and Mail – Review: L (and things come apart), by Ian Orti

The Girl Who Played With Fire, had a Dragon Tattoo or Kicked the Hornet’s Nest has got nothing on Jeff Miller. Well that’s not entirely true, but it kind of is. Ghost Pine: All Stories True by Jeff Miller has made the bestseller’s list at one of Ottawa best-loved independent bookstores Collected Works. Coming in at #2 bestseller, sandwiched in between Stieg Larsson’s monster success series The Girl who ‘fill in the blank’ this also ran in the Vancouver sun and a bunch of other CanWest papers. http://fb.me/BU4ROBu1

Way to go Jeff!

Ian Orti’s ‘L (And Things Come Apart)’ published only this past April has been reviewed by Montreal Review of Books. A flattering review likening characters in Orti’s book to those in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is reason enough to brag. Not to mention that the book is a great read, a literary experiment on a totally different plane and a true indication that it  has  indeed NOT all been done before. Okay enough of my own personal review of the book, take a look at the well voiced review by Montreal Review of Books below instead.

Another Joey Comeau to add to your collection folks. His newest ‘One Bloody Thing After Another’ hot(ish) off the press, published in May 2010 just got posted by The National Post’s Afterward. They have posted an excerpt from Joey’s recent great today, not to mention they’ll be posting excerpts from this book for the next 2 weeks.

Congratulations Joey on your great insta – success with your newest book. If you haven’t already become a groupie of Joey’s candid humour and unapologetic wit – you should. Check out an excerpt presented by the Afterward.

Said the Huffington Post – or Arielle Ford to be more accurate. Engaging headline – but not a ton of substance. Not in a bad way though, it seemed more like it was a post soliciting substance, or you can say starting a dialogue. And that is a good thing. So if you scroll down to the comments, that’s where the conversation starts. Here it is!

It’s a varied mélange of comments from different people projecting life or death for the publishing industry in the face of the rise of the lower case ‘e’. In ‘eBook’ that is. Or in ‘electronic’ if you want to keep it general. Interestingly enough I also found a writing contest online today. And not just any ‘old’ writing contest – a chance to have your manuscript e-published in Spring 2011. Contest is open to you whether you’re Canadian or American, there is only a $10.00 (US) submission fee and you get a $500 advance to have your eBook available on Amazon, Kobo and others. Check it out!

So I’m not sure if the sky is falling on the publishing industry but I do think if you can keep up with the times and changes – you’ll always have a bigger audience, with further reach. Balance and flexibility are always sexy. Not to mention taking chances. So Joyland – the self proclaimed ‘Hub’ of short fiction, you are doing a sexy job saying with the times. Keep it up!

Side bar: I like the last comment in the article from the Huffington Post the best. It’s from ‘Torrentlover’, also the one with the most reader fans. Rock on Torrentlover! (And no – it’s not me!)

Unlike the classic horror film Scream, (and I use classic loosely here)  the Scream Literary Festival 2010 – sounds good and is happening in Toronto right now! I know day old news can sometimes be as stale as day old donuts – but not this day old news folks. The festival runs from yesterday (July 6th) to July 12th. So not all hope is lost. You still have 5 days to enjoy the festival. The event site – riddled with words like: ‘redeem literature’, ‘avant-garde giants’ and ‘radicals of the literary world’ is worth checking out. http://thescream.ca/

Artsy, hip, revolutionary and all those things that are quasi hard to be in 2010 with the Renaissance so far behind us – here’s your chance to at least watch others be those things. Here’s a PDF event handguide: http://thescream.ca/files/Scream2010calendar.pdf

Or at least this one was. Monday night’s reading at This Aint the Rosedale Library really was nothing short of eff’n amazing! In brutal heat with no megaphone and outside of the bookstore that was once alive and well, the small but quaint gathering was a testament to this store’s undying spirit and this community’s growing power.

Starting off with a brief but welcoming intro by Book Madam Julie Wilson, Liz Worth was the first reader up reading poetry from her book Eleven:Eleven. Great reading, great book, great writer overall! Next up was Jeff Miller, who read an excerpt from his recently raved about book, ‘Ghost Pine: All Stories True’ (and Wonderful). Joey Comeau read from his book ‘Overqualified’ a compilation of published letters to different companies he had applied to work for in the past. Sarcastic, witty and hysterically crude, the letters weren’t anything shy of honest. Last up was Dave Roche who continued the pattern of comedic readings with funny anecdotes from his book (and teaching days) ‘On Subbing’.  In closing Charlie Huisken (owner of This Aint) thanked everyone for the support in fulfilling his own passion, to share and develop the passion of others. As for what’s next for This Ain’t, only time will tell, but judging by Monday’s reading – doesn’t seem like they’ll be forgotten anytime soon!

What are you doing tonight? Whatever it is – Eff It!

4 Awesome writers:  Jeff Miller, Joey Comeau, Liz Worth and Dave Roche, one such great  Book Madam – Julie Wilson, a patio reading outside of This Ain’t the Rosedale Library making for a wonderfully bitter sweet Monday evening in Kensington. Initially a fund-raiser and now just an awesome outdoor reading in the Market, join us as we say goodbye to This Ain’t at the Kensington Location, now closing down for business.

Sad but true, supporters will be there to enjoy the warm weather, good company and a great reading this evening. If this hasn’t convinced you to check out today’s session at This Ain’t, check out the unquestionably sad blog post by the folks at this literary Toronto gem. http://thisaintblog.wordpress.com/

Here are the deets: July 5th (today!) from 7 – 9 pm at This Ain’t the Rosedale Library. Come support young readers, great authors, and one heck of a literary pillar, a heartfelt goodbye to This Ain’t.

Even if they are out of biz – Eff It! We’re Reading Anyway! For more event info visit:  Eff It! We’re Reading Anyway!