bird ku now available

bird ku is a limited edition broadside printed by Spec House of Poetry, containing three of my haiku and individually hand-painted covers. The print run is only 16 copies, so if you want to get one, get it now. They are available from the Spec House of Poetry page for only $3.00 each.

bird ku and a new contest

The fine folks over at Spec House of Poetry continue coming up with new poetry projects as fast as the poems can be written. On the heels of Charles Gramlich's Wanting the Mouth of a Lover, Spec House is producing and selling a limited-edition broadside with three of my haiku on it, titled bird ku. The broadside is in the works now -- visit the Spec House blog for more details.

Here's another contest, this one with a hefty entry fee (but also a hefty prize) -- the 2008 Midnight Hour Halloween Fiction Contest. The fee for entering one story is $15 (which will deter a lot of writers) but first place wins a heavy $500 and second place gets $100. The deadline is August 31st, and the guidelines promise notification by October 15th.

And in case you missed it on the sidebar, Abyss & Apex has reopened to fiction submissions. Poetry subs are still closed, but should reopen next month.

New vampire haiku chapbook

Charles Gramlich's long-awaited chapbook, Wanting the Mouth of a Lover, is now available in deluxe and regular editions from Spec House of Poetry. The book is a collection of vampire haiku, written in the vertical Japanese style.

The deluxe edition is signed and numbered, and both editions are $5.00, so get your copy before it sells out.

Spec House Distro shut down

Yep, it's true... the online genre store Spec House Distro was raided by federal agents last week and shut down. Well, I'm actually not sure about the raided part, but I know it was definitely shut down. Just for now, hopefully. But you can still buy all the Spec House products here, on the blog page.

Also on the same page, check out the call for submissions on the right hand side. Spec House editor J. Bruce Fuller is looking for some special poems, and yours could be one of them.

In more Spec House of Poetry news, the deluxe edition of Kendall Evans' chapbook, "Poetry Red-Shifted in the Eyes of a Dragon," is SOLD OUT. It's a great collection of some of Evans' best poems, and if you haven't gotten a copy yet, you can still buy the "regular" chapbook (until that one sells out, too).

Here's a haiku contest you may or may not have heard of... the Haiku Calendar ompetition put on by Snapshot Press. Entries are $5 per haiku, or 3 for $10, and they're due in by April 30th.

Just found out Twisted Tongue Magazine is gonna publish a collection of four of my scifaiku in the upcoming issue, which is pretty cool. It's a great magazine if you've never read it, and it's a great magazine if you have read it, too.

Two Poetry Contests

Okay, so neither of these contests are specifically for speculative poetry, but I'm sure you've got some "mainstream" stuff tucked away in a drawer somewhere, right? Might as well enter it in a contest and try to make some dough. Stamp prices are going up again, you know.

The first contest is actually two contests in one. The Key West Robert Frost Poetry Festival, which takes place in April in (you guessed it) Key West, Florida, is sponsoring a general poetry contest and a haiku contest. Both contests offer 1st through 3rd place cash prizes, plus 2 honorable mentions. The general poetry contest has a somewhat steep entry fee of $10/poem, and the haiku contest is a little more affordable at $10 for up to 3 haiku. Information for both contests (which have a postmark deadline of March 24th) can be found here.

The second contest isn't exactly open yet, but I gave you two contests already, so technically I didn't lie. Right?

AsininePoetry.com sponsors occasional poetry contests, usually for parodies or humorous poems. They offer cash prizes, cheap entry fees (if I remember correctly), and feedback from the judges on the top-placing poems. Their 11th contest closed recently, and they haven't announced the next one yet, but it should be starting any day now.

And, if in between entering these contests you find yourself with a free moment, hop on over to Spec House of Poetry and see whose chapbook is currently #1 on the best-seller list. (I'm sure it won't last long!)

It's Been a While

So I haven't been posting much lately. Not a whole lot going on, but here are some things to check out:

The new issue of Black Petals (#41) is on sale now. Rumor has it this may be the last print issue of the magazine, so get a copy while you can.

A few new stories up at Whispers of Wickedness.

Spec House Distro has really expanded recently. You can order subscriptions to a bunch of magazines now, including Scifaikuest, The Shantytown Anomaly, and Dreams & Nightmares. Plus there's a whole slew of new books available from many of the speculative genre's top names.

Talebones #35

If you're trying to decide which small-press horror/sci-fi/dark fantasy magazine you want to try out this month (other than Black Petals, which by the way did I mention will be spotlighting my chapbook Bits and Pieces in their next issue?), you should check out Talebones.

The summer issue promises to be a strong one. Editor Patrick Swenson has made Talebones into a high-quality magazine, and the line-up for #35 looks like this issue will be no exception -- fiction by big names like William F. Nolan, Darrell Schweitzer, and Mary Robinette Kowal, and poetry by Spec House of Poetry's own Kendall Evans.

Kendall's chapbook, Poetry Red-Shifted in the Eyes of a Dragon, is currently the #1 bestseller over at Spec House Distro. It's some fine poetry from one of the genre's finest poets, and a great chapbook to add to any collection.

Aurore Australe

Aurore Australe is a brochure of poetry by three of Louisiana's (and also America's) finest speculative poets -- J. Bruce Fuller, Charles Gramlich, and Robin Mayhall. Pick up a copy over at Spec House Distro. (At just a penny, I think you can afford it.) While you're there, check out the other great books, magazines, and broadsides available. More titles are being added all the time. Be on the lookout for upcoming projects from Charles Gramlich and Greg Beatty.

Bits and Pieces Review Contest

My new chapbook of horror poems, Bits and Pieces, was just released by Spec House of Poetry. It needs some reviews, and my wife is trying to get me to get rid of some of my books, so combining these two facts gives us the first ever “Bits and Pieces Review Contest.”

Here’s how it works. Buy (or borrow) a copy of Bits & Pieces (available from Spec House of Poetry and The Genre Mall). Read it. Write a review of it and post it at the Spec House of Poetry store. The first five people to write a review that follows the guidelines below will receive a free book, and the books will be given away first come, first served.

Review contest guidelines:

- The review must be at least 100 words long.
- It must be coherent.
- It must mention something you’d only know or see from reading the book (so I know you actually read it).
- You must email me the first sentence of your review the day before you post it, so I know it’s actually your review.
- The review can be good, bad, or neutral, but it must state your opinion of the book and why you felt that way. (That’s right -- if you hated the book, say so, and as long as you follow these guidelines and are one of the first five to post your review, you win!)
- There are five prizes, and they will be given away to the first five people to post reviews. The first person to post gets their choice of book, then the second person, and so on.

Prizes:
- paperback copy of Aegri Somnia, signed by both editors & all contributors
- hardcover copy of Horrors Beyond , signed by a few of the contributors, including Tony Campbell and William Jones
- paperback copy of the 1978 edition of Stephen King's The Shining
- paperback copy of 4 Fear of…, signed by all 4 authors
- Northwest Horrors chapbook, signed by both editors and about half of the contributors

When you have written your review, send an email with the subject "Review" to freginold@yahoo.com. Be sure to include the first line of your review, your mailing address, and choice of book. All reviews must be posted by September 1, 2007. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

New books may be added to the prize list, so be sure to check back here for any updates.

Bits and Pieces on sale now!

Bits and Pieces is now on sale at Spec House of Poetry ($6.00, postage paid) and The Genre Mall ($4.85 + $1.00 shipping).

Bits & Pieces Release Date Set

Bits & Pieces will be released by Spec House of Poetry on July 1st! You'll be able to order copies of the book direct from the publisher here:

http://spechouseofpoetry.blogspot.com

It's my first chapbook, so I'm pretty excited about it. The book is a collection of 18 short horror poems, with amazing cover art by Cathy Buburuz. Most of the poems have appeared in various genre mags over the past few years, but there's some new stuff in there as well.

Review copies will be sent out soon, and I'll post links to any online reviews.

"Bits & Pieces" out soon

My chapbook of horror poems, "Bits & Pieces," will be available April 30th from Spec House of Poetry. Check out their store -- there are a lot of other good titles there as well.

April 30th is also the deadline for submitting humorous horror and science fiction haiku and senryu for Sam's Dot Publishing's Hahaku anthology, so be sure and get your poems in.

New Chapbook Coming Soon

The great folks at Spec House of Poetry agreed to publish my first chapbook, "Bits & Pieces." It's a collection of short horror poems, most of which have appeared in magazines or online. As of right now it is scheduled to be released at the end of April, but check back for updates.