Rebel Bookseller in Pittsburgh

I've invited Andrew Laties, longtime bookseller and author of Rebel Bookseller, to Pittsburgh (from Massachusetts) for an event next Monday, October 3rd. Copacetic Comics (Polish Hill) is graciously sponsoring this event, and one phase of the event will be held downstairs at Lili Coffee Shop. Laties thinks that 2011 is a great time to open a bookstore, and he'll tell you why. Event schedule will be as follows:

Rebel Bookseller in Pittsburgh
6:00pm: Meet & greet with author Andrew Laties upstairs at Copacetic Comics
7:00pm: Reading & panel discussion downstairs at Lili Coffee Shop
8:00pm: Book signing upstairs at Copacetic

The subtitle of the book, "Why Indie Bookstores Represent Everything You Want to Fight for from Free Speech to Buying Local to Building Communities" makes me think of the resilience of, and communities that surround, so many mom and pop stores in Pittsburgh, as well as the creativity that drives so many Pittsburgh small business ventures. I should note that Rebel Bookseller, although a chronicle of Laties' years of starting and running indie bookstores, has been embraced as a helpful manual by indie businesses of various kinds. The book is now out in its second edition on Seven Stories Press but was originally published by Vox Pop (a Brooklyn bookstore/cafe and publisher opened by Laties and Sander Hicks) in 2005.

As part of Laties' visit, I've organized a panel discussion with local store owners in some kind of transition. Bill Boichel at Copacetic has been selling comics in the Pittsburgh area for over 30 years; he just moved his bookstore from Squirrel Hill to Polish Hill a little over a year ago and added a branch at the Toonseum about 6 months before that. Frank Oreto has been co-running Eljay's Used Books since the mid-90s and recently relocated the store to Dormont from the South Side. And Jovon Higgins recently opened 720 Music, Clothing, & Cafe on Butler Street with her partner; the store also sells select music books and lifestyle magazines, and the space hosts readings, book talks, and music events. Pittsburgh mom and pop businesses seem to be doing well overall (whenever I go back to New York, I see more and more small businesses shuttering and chains moving in), and community seems to be a big part of that success: I want to hear more from these indie entrepreneurs about how their businesses build sustaining communities. The event was also definitely inspired by the event site: 3138 Dobson opened last May as a triple-threat of indie businesses: bookstore, record store, and groovy cafe. The building has become a favorite hangout and the gem of the neighborhood.

I invite other small business owners as well as anyone interested in bookstores, the future of Pittsburgh storefronts, the semiotics of indie businesses, or grassroots urban planing to come to the event and join in the conversation.

Panel Discussion: "Indie Bookstores and Small Businesses Creating Communities"
Andrew Laties, Rebel Bookseller author
Bill Boichel, Copacetic Comics
Jovon Higgins, 720 Music, Clothing, & Cafe
Frank Oreto, Eljay's Used Books
Karen Lillis--moderator

Rebel Bookseller in Pittsburgh
Monday, October 3rd
6:00-9:00pm
3138 Dobson Street
Polish Hill

Facebook event page is here.

Images From East Liberty Pop Up Bookstore, Fleeting Pages

Checked out Fleeting Pages yesterday and got some shots of their unique inventory of Books, comics, zines and all kinds of things book and print related.

Right now the selection of several hundred books and magazines trends towards poetry, short stories, off beat fiction,Horror, political non fiction, travel and wonderfully strange and beautiful comics and zines. Also, there's a growing selection of books written by local authors exploring many aspects of local lore, you may not know about.

The inventory is still growing and being put out--You can still bring your stuff over--till May 13! Also, Fleetingpages is still open to ideas for lectures, readings, workshops, film screenings and performance events. Where's Tom Sarver?

Got a screed, a rant, a new set of lovely recipes or tips on growing arugula-bring it over. Also, they are open to a bigger selection of art.

Quick Fleeting Pages Pop Up Bookstore Update: Opening May 7, Still Accepting Submissions

OK this is a very half assed update--mostly telling you to look at the website and follow things if are not. The opening was pushed back by a week and as you can see lots of small presses and independent authors, comic artists and zine makers are on board.Look, spread the word and get your stuff together ASAP if you want to be involved. 24 Thousand Square Feet of space in one of Pittsburgh's most central shopping districts--open to almost any kind of book related product or event you can dream up!

Fleeting Pages can finally announce the location: The former Borders in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Both floors of the space. All 24,000 sqft of it. And lucky for us, Borders left behind a considerable number of bookshelves and other useful materials.

The process to submit work is a relatively simple one:

•Contact us with who you are & what you would like to add to our inventory.
•Add answers / details to the items listed below in your email.
•After that, you will hear back from us with answers to your questions and possibly asking some of our own.
•Then we will coordinate getting your work here.
Unfortunately, we will only be able to accept items on consignment. We know that this is not ideal and we wish the situation were otherwise. But Fleeting Pages is going to cost a fortune (for us, anyway) in rent and utilities. Not to mention everything else needed to fill the space and make it function. Our current budget just doesn’t have any room to pre-order. Hopefully that will change as we progress. Even if it doesn’t, we have plans for things like raffles, mixed bag books for sale, and an online store aspect in the works to make sure that as few books as possible will be returned. Another option is to send a couple copies and be open to re-ordering if needed.

Payment- Our intention is to send payments for books sold at the end of the first two weeks, and again at the beginning of June. All will be paid by June 15th. (well, if we exercise our two week extension, it will be June 30th) Should we need to order more copies, we will send a payment for those they are replacing.

Display- Fleeting Pages is not like a traditional fair – tables of presses with representatives manning them. We will be using bookshelves and tables as a bookstore would. Hopefully with some new ideas of what that could mean mixed in. If a representative is able to come out (which would be so great!), we’d rather have them running a workshop (or taking one), hosting an event, or helping out in the space than behind a table.

A partial list of sellers, artists and publishers already on board.

5th Street Press

40-Watt Spotlight

Abayomi Animashaun – author

Abbey Bricker – book arts

The Alchemist – zine

Annalemma Magazine

Annie Passanisi – author

Anteism Publishing

Artnoose

Autumn House Press

Avantacular Press

Balliwick

Barbara Browning- author

Barbary Shore Publishing

Barge Press

Bill Volk- comics

Black Coffee Press

Black Dog Press

BOMB Magazine

Brandt Street Press

Brian Fanelli

Brown Tie Publishing

Burning Books

Caketrain Journal & Press

Calypso Editions

Canarium Books

Cardamom Press

Connie Cantor – artist

Creative Nonfiction

Cyberpunk Apocalypse

Dan Greenwald- comics

Darlene Cypser

David Henderson – author

Deborah Fielding – author

The Derailleur – zine

Ed Steck- author

Emily Gorda – artist

Famous Hairdos of Popular Music – zine

Featherproof

Five Rivers Chapmanry

Fugue State Press

George Hayward – author

Goldmine Anthology of American Comics & Drawings

The Green Lantern Press

Heather Stanco – artist

Jaded Ibis Press

Jean McClung – artist

Jessica Heberle – zine

Jessica Knauss – author

Jessica Simms – author

Joe Kaldon

Julia Christensen – artist

Kathryn Carr -book arts

Kim Creasap – zine

Low Ghost Press

Lydia Lin – author

Make Your Own Books

Marcel Walker- comics

Mea Culpa Comics

Mindy Tucker – artist

Monty S. Kane - comics

Nick Marino – comics

P&Q Press

The Paris Review

Pear Noir!

Peter Stringham- graphic novel

PigeonBike Press

Public Illumination Magazine

Raw Dog Screaming Press

Robert Isenberg- author

Rose Metal Press

Ryan Flaherty – author

Sam Thorp – author

Sherrie Flick – author

Six Gallery Press

Small Fires Press

Sonnenzimmer

Spuyten Duyvil

Stephens Press

Stephanie Silberstein – author

Sunnyoutside

Teresa Brown – author

Ugly Duckling Presse

Undie Press

The Wapshott Press

Weave Magazine

We’ll Never Have Paris – zine

Whereabouts Press

Willow Naeco – zine

Wire Rim Books – Henry Melton

Words Like Kudzu Press

The Workshop 13

But wait, There's more (everything but a Ginsu Knife!) Fleeting Pages is also open to all kinds of readings, workshops, film screenings and perhaps music events!

Basically just check out the site and make contact if you have ideas or ways to help.

Fleeting Pages Website

Fleeting Pages Facebook

Fleeting Pages Twitter

More Small Press Tourism in Pittsburgh

As seen on the Short List in City Paper:
LITERARY READING:
Mike Faloon (stories) and James Jay (poetry)
with ArtNoose (zinester)
Monday, July 12th
7:00pm
Cyberpunk Apocalypse House
5431 Carnegie St
Upper Lawrenceville
Pittsburgh
Free/Donations Appreciated

I'm very excited to welcome writer and editor, Mike Faloon to Pittsburgh tomorrow, Monday, July 12 at the wonderful Cyberpunk Apocalypse Writer's House. Mike will be reading from his new book of stories out on Gorsky Press, THE HANGING GARDENS OF SPLIT ROCK. He is touring with the poet James Jay, whose new book THE JOURNEYMEN, is also on Gorsky, a small press based in LA.

I have had the privilege of working with Mike through his truly great punk zine, GO METRIC, and I can attest to the fact that he's a hilarious storyteller. He also contributed to the Richard Leck Memorial Reading, and although he was not able to attend, you can see Tom Hendrickson reading Mike's very funny tribute to Richard on Youtube.


Do come out to the reading on Monday and support Small Press Tourism in Pittsburgh (Mike and James are on a reading tour from New York and Arizona respectively), the great venue Cyberpunk Apocalypse in Upper Lawrenceville, and three great readers: Cyberpunk resident Artnoose will represent as the local writer. And I can't promise, but there are often vegan treats at Cyberpunk events.

Read more about the books here.

Is This How We Treat Our Poets? Is This How We Treat Our Vets?

Richard Leck (1933-2008)

Words Like Kudzu Press poet, Richard Leck died in New York on December 19, and the Pittsburgh-based small press has been working non-stop to try to get him buried. He was a vet, a poet, a storyteller, an artist, an actor, a Greenwich Village cafe habitue, and a sanguine soul, but he died with no next of kin; his body is still in the New York morgue; WLK has been appalled at the amount of red tape involved and at the callousness of Veterans Affairs.

The Village Voice ran a great story yesterday and it got some attention from the NYC Mayor's Office of Veterans Affairs. If all goes well, the city may pay for a proper military burial after all. But they are waiting to hear whether the VA cares to approve this burial, which may put the process back to square one.

Richard was drafted and served in the US Army during peacetime between Korea and Vietnam. He saw young men die in combat training at Fort Dix, and served at the first Nike anti-aircraft missile base in New York. He wanted and deserves a dignified military burial in a national cemetery. The VA has been a stone wall: "This person is out of luck," is what one VA official told Richard's friend, Ms. Winn, when asking for the VA's help.

Digging Pitt implores our Pennsylvania readers to write a short note to Senator Arlen Specter, who sits on the Veterans Affairs Committee in the senate. We implore our New York readers to write to the Mayor's Office for Veterans Affairs. The politicians need to know that the bad press is indeed getting out: The Veterans Administration lets its vets fall through the cracks in life and in death.

Links for both Pennsylvania and NYC and suggested message are as below:

Pennsylvanians: For Arlen Specter's contact form click here.

New York City voters: For the Mayor's Office for Veterans Affairs contact form, click here.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
A suggested message you can cut and paste is here:
[Issue: Veterans; or Subject: US Vet languishes in city morgue]


I read an article in this week's Village Voice online about recently
deceased US Army Veteran, Richard Leck. It's shameful to hear about
any of our vets enduring homelessness, and I hated to hear that Mr.
Leck may go to Potter's Field, or that his burial may be delayed any
further. Is this how we treat our vets? I hope you will see to it that
the VA gives him a proper burial.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Words Like Kudzu Press thanks you.

"Pittsburgh Small Presses" opens Friday, May 2nd

The May exhibition at the "Most Wanted Fine Art Gallery" is "Pittsburgh Small Presses". About a dozen of Pittsburgh's small presses will be represented, with plenty of interesting work available for purchase. The show opens this Friday, May 2nd, with a reading from 6 - 8 pm, and the reception continuing to 10 pm with live music. It should be a lot of fun.

The Most Wanted Fine Art Gallery is located at 5015 Penn Avenue in Garfield.

Fiji Island Mermaid Press

I guess this is a follow on to the post on Pittsburgh's emergence for small press and self publishing. Marc Snyder, who is a very recent transplant to Pittsburgh puts out these almost always amazing little books. A few border on just didactic propaganda and yet almost always get beyond that with the pure humor and economy of means. Some of them border on genius. Of the sample set he sent me-- so far my favorites are- How To Draw Jean- Paul Sartre; Understanding Quantum Mechanics and Threat Gestures.

Marc was just buzzed about on the Size Matters blog and will have a show at Kent State that will open on October 26th ( any one wana give me a ride? ) Oooops, that was last year. Marc sent me the show card with his books and I kind of assumed it was coming up.