Prick of the Spindle fiction editor Erin McKnight is a Scottish-born writer now living in Texas. Her writing has been nominated for Best of the Web, the Pushcart Prize, and W.W. Norton’s The Best Creative Nonfiction. Her collection of short short stories, To the Quick, was published by Recycled Karma Press, and her reviews of fiction and poetry titles can be found at Bookslut.com. Erin holds an MFA in creative writing and currently teaches fiction writing online and in the Dallas community college system.

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Cynthia Reeser is the Editor-in-Chief and founder of Prick of the Spindle and Aqueous Books. Her poetry, fiction, reviews, visual art, and articles can be found in a variety of print and online sources. Her poetry chapbook, Light and Trials of Light, was published with Finishing Line Press in January 2010, as was a nonfiction book on publishing for children from Atlantic Publishing. Her book on publishing for the Kindle is anticipated Spring 2010 from Atlantic, and her visual art can be seen at www.cynthiareeser.com.

The Small Presses and Why We Love Them:

Prick of the Spindle Editors Survey the Small Press Chapbook Scene

 

"The terms small press, indie publisher, and independent press are often used interchangeably, with "independent press" defined as publishers that are not part of large conglomerates or multinational corporations. Defined this way, these presses make up approximately half of the market share of the book publishing industry. Many small presses rely on specialization in genre fiction, poetry, or limited-edition books or magazines, but there are also thousands that focus on niche non-fiction markets."

—thanks, Wikipedia...


Prick of the Spindle's latest survey of offerings from the little presses includes:

* Undetectable by Brent Armendinger
* Stars of the Night Commute by Ana Bozicevic
* Dodging Traffic by J. Bradley
* What to Tell the Sleeping Babies by M.R.B. Chelko
* The Plot Genie by Gillian Conoley
* We Call This Thing Between Us Love by Jason Mott
* Omnivore by Allan Peterson
* Theory of Mind: New & Selected Poems by Bin Ramke
* Hannah's Paradise by Ligia Ravé
* Truth or Something Like It by Curtis Smith


See below for sneak peeks and links to full reviews:


New from New Michigan Press. . .
Undetectable by Brent Armendinger
New Michigan Press, 2009
Reviewed by Eric Weinstein

Brent Armendinger’s Undetectable is consumed by the interstitial. This fascinating body of work plays out entirely between the body as an aspect of the self and the body qua system; Armendinger’s poetry, at once accessible and subversive, traffics in the language of maps and schematics... [read more]


New from Tarpaulin Sky Press. . .
Stars of the Night Commute by Ana Bozicevic
Tarpaulin Sky Press, 2009
Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser

Stars of the Night Commute is Croatian-born poet Ana Bozicevic's first full-length collection of poetry. The cover art, Ícono, a 1945 painting by Remedios Varo, invokes a story of a dark and magical journey. And Bozicevic herself is largely concerned with travel—not so much the actual journey as with the framework of the arrival. [read more]


New from Ampersand Books. . .
Dodging Traffic by J. Bradley
Ampersand Books, 2009
Reviewed by Teresa Houle

This book proves to me that poetry and flash are closer than ever. With his images of stretch marks in all their sexiness, bruised knees, inner thighs, broken windshields, light bulbs and bridges exploding, I’ve tried several times over to master what seem like well-placed bricks that make up the structure of J. Bradley’s work. [read more]


New from sunnyoutside. . .
What to Tell the Sleeping Babies by M.R.B. Chelko
sunnyoutside press, 2010
Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser

2009 Lumina Poetry Contest winner M.R.B. Chelko's chapbook, What to Tell the Sleeping Babies, is a playful, enjoyable read. The poet's enthusiasm for language buds in every line, and her wordplay and imagery is not self-serving but rather, constitutes fun with a purpose... [read more]


New from Omnidawn Publishing. . .
The Plot Genie by Gillian Conoley
Omnidawn Publishing, 2009
Reviewed by Kadzi Mutizwa

It’s official: the predestination vs. free will debate is far from dead. In her timeless, time-traveling medley of interwoven poems, Conoley gets right to one of the questions at the essence of our being: Who’s the boss of us? [read more]


Theory of Mind: New & Selected Poems by Bin Ramke
Omnidawn Publishing, 2009
Reviewed by Eric Weinstein

Bin Ramke’s Theory of Mind: New & Selected Poems more than delivers on the promise of its title: it is one of those rare collections that comprise equal parts poetry and philosophy. His poems challenge the work that language performs and explore the relationship between words and their meanings, simultaneously illuminating and interrogating... [read more]


New from Main Street Rag. . .
We Call This Thing Between Us Love by Jason Mott
Main Street Rag, 2009
Reviewed by Eric Weinstein

Poems about love—particularly books of said poems—are inevitably dangerous. This is not only because love poetry is perhaps the most ubiquitous variety in the history of English letters, but because (likely as a result) it is notoriously difficult to execute in a refreshing and novel way. Jason Mott’s We Call This Thing Between Us Love is an able collection but... [read more]


New from Bateau Press. . .
Omnivore by Allan Peterson
Bateau Press, 2009
Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser

Omnivore is not about consumption, but about consumers. It is concerned with some of the most notorious omnivores—humans—and how we define ourselves by our surroundings. The body of work takes into account not only plant and animal life, but the entirety of our scope of existence... [read more]


New from New Door Books. . .
Hannah's Paradise by Ligia Ravé
New Door Books, 2009
Reviewed by Kadzi Mutizwa

They became caravan-route traders in Morocco and Catholics in Portugal, musicians in India and landscape designers in Austria, Communists in Romania and British intelligence officers in Egypt. Their family name went through different permutations, as did their individual morales. Facing or fleeing inquisitions... [read more]


New from Casperian Books. . .
Truth or Something Like It by Curtis Smith
Casperian Books, 2010
Reviewed by Andrew Bowen

...This attention to detail, however comes at a price. Too often scenes and chapters open to a stage whose curtain takes longer than it should to unfurl. In such a rich landscape one becomes so involved in the environment that dramatic action is required to jar the reader from the siren’s song of Smith’s word craft... [read more]

 

 

 

 

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Prick of the Spindle poetry editor Eric Weinstein’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Best New Poets 2009, Third Coast, and Colorado Review. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.