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(This post is cross-posted from the Outsider Writers site) From CCLaP The Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, or CCLaP, is proud to announce their latest local live event, a large-scale party to celebrate the release of their first four paper books this summer. An electronic publisher since 2007, CCLaP has been quietly releasing new special-edition, handmade "Hypermodern" paper editions of its four titles throughout the summer; and on August 10th the group will be gathering at the popular Beauty Bar in the Bucktown neighborhood for drinks, free food, and a half-hour reading from all four featured authors, as well as a few surprise guests. Beauty Bar is located at 1444 West Chicago Avenue, and the free event will take place from 7 to 9 p.m., the reading itself from 8:00 to 8:30. All four books will be for sale individually for $20 apiece; or for one night only, attendees can purchase all four in a bundle for only $50. Books and…

Literature lover and good natured promoter of all things indy, Jason Behrends offers up his newest episode of the Orange Alert Podcast with lovely side dish of yours truly. He has included my reading of the first chapter of As a Machine and Parts (from a March reading at Method in Kansas City) in this newest episode. Jason was one of the earliest supporters of As a Machine and Parts, so it means a lot to have him include me. Listen to the full episode here.

Fresh from our own live readings, me, Ben Tanzer (You Can Make Him Like You), Ryan W. Bradley (publisher, Artistically Declined Press), Nik Korpon (Stay God), and Brandon Tietz (Out of Touch) have a sit down at Bourbon in Washington DC to discuss the hows and whys of author performance. Performance is part of the author’s life. Many of us may prefer the romance of the hermit writer to the reality of the performing writing, but as the culture shifts to a system of ever-spilling minutia (Twitter) and increasingly fragmented media distribution channels (hundreds of TV channels, YouTube, Hulu, and on and on), the author is expected to play an active role in selling both his book and himself. Performance—live author readings—offers a unique opportunity to do both. Listen to the full discussion over at The Velvet Podcast. Or you can subscribe to The Velvet Podcast via Feedburner, Podcast Alley, or…

Recently, I was kindly invited to participate in a panel on social media during the 2011 AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) conference in Washington DC. Joined by Tanya Egan Gibson, Dan Blank, Bethanne Patrick, Christina Katz, and moderator Jane Friedman, the panel succeeded in opening up and emphasizing both the possibilities and importance of social media in developing an author’s platform. Having never before participated in an AWP panel (though I have attended many), I was initiated only from the perspective of an audience member. Knowing that an uninteresting topic coupled with boring presenters may drive the audience to mutiny, I came prepared to be as concise and witty (hopefully) as possible. Overall, I consider my effort a success. Of course, having the aforementioned panelists at the dais made failure near-impossible. I’ve argued before that and author should openly embrace social media; the goal of both online social…

Only one day back from Washington DC and already I miss it. The city was wonderful, of course, but what really impressed me was how nice the citizens were. Everyone from CVS counter workers to street repair people went out of their way to smile and offer a hello. And I definitely don't project a aura of respectability, so these people couldn't have feared I was in a position to fire them. One of the high points for me was definitely the Thursday night reading at The Velvet Lounge. So many friends, old and new, came out to read. The gathering and venue was small and intimate in the best way. Brandon Tietz, Nik Korpon, Michael Sonbert, Caleb J Ross (me), Jillian Weise, and Jesus Angel Garcia showed up, each with entourages and accumulated curiosities in tow, ready to make this event a memorable one. And that they did. Click…

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