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PTL Pub Quiz Schedule (First Wednesday, 8pm, 5004 Dodge Street, Omaha, Neb.)
Sept 7: Prairie Schooner, grandame of lit journals, with managing editor Ashley Strosnider
Oct 5: 1877 Society Contest Reception and Winners Announcement
Nov 2: Steve Langan of the 7 Doctors Project
Dec 7: Jonis Agee, author of The Bones of Paradise and The River Wife
Thanks so much to everyone who came out and bought a book at the pre-release party for Bad Faith. I had a blast! Here are some photos, with credit to Nicole Wheeler, Lindsay Jonas, and Felicity White.
The big night is finally here, as the pre-release party for Bad Faith, my debut collection of short fiction, is tonight at Pageturners Lounge at 7pm.
I’ve had a lot of help putting together what will hopefully be a pretty fun night, in particular from my wife and co-conspirator Nicole, writing-group-friend Felicity White (who is hosting the evening) and Sam Slaughter, who took the time to create a signature cocktail based on Bad Faith that he calls “Rust Belt Regrets.” Even my daughters pitched in by putting on a practice book signing last night before bath time, the little sweeties, having me inscribe dozens of ARCs from an old shelf in the basement where I keep all the review copies I received back when I reviewed books regularly. I’m humbled by all the support and enthusiasm.
Find more information about the event here.
Some of the highlights include the Bookworm handling sales of the book, which you can pick up a full two weeks before it’s available to the general public; a reading and Q&A, followed by a book-signing; a themed trivia contest with prizes; donuts from Dugger’s Cafe; and you can order a “Rust Belt Regrets” from the bar. It will be a blast! I hope to see you there.
If you can’t make it, just a reminder that Bad Faith can currently be ordered from Queen’s Ferry Press at the discount rate of $14.95.
If you’re in the area of Omaha, Nebraska on the evening of June 30 your presence is requested at Pageturners Lounge to help celebrate the release of Bad Faith, my debut collection of short fiction!
Here’s the Facebook event page. If you’re planning on coming and can RSVP that would help immensely with planning.
There will be a short reading, donuts, and ample celebration. Have a drink or two, buy a book, and get a personalized inscription. Omaha poet and writing-group-buddy Felicity White will emcee. Copies of Bad Faith will be available for purchase courtesy of The Bookworm, weeks before it is available for purchase in stores, by the way.
I hope to see you there!
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Some pub quiz news to share, as last week we finalized the schedule of guest hosts for the Pageturners Lounge Literary Pub Quiz through July. As a refresher, this is more or less a traditional trivia night–21 questions, teams competing for prizes, we meet at 8pm on the first Wednesday of every month–with the twist that we feature a literary guest to introduce to the community via a short interview and a special category of questions that the guest presents. Fellow Omaha writers Drew Justice and Ryan Borchers co-host the event with me. It’s been a lot of fun so far and the reception has been great.
Some of the categories so far include more usual topics like US Cities, Christmas Stories, and 20th Century Literature, and range to saucier topics like Buryin’ the Librarian, Hollywood Hunks, and Hotboxing with Baudelaire. See how much fun this is?
Having authors and editors come in to share a little about their work has been an interesting aspect to manage, particularly with the eclectic group of novelists, poets, editors, and librarians we’ve had in during the first five months. A lot of the time the whole idea of an author event can be kind of awkward in the sense that it’s typically an opportunity to sell the persona of the writer, and not necessarily their actual written work. That’s the cynical view anyway–and the pub quiz kind of cuts to the chase as far as this goes, hopefully generating some exposure for our authors and their projects. All the guests have seemed to enjoy themselves at least. And I’m really excited about who we will be welcoming the next few months. (JCC!)
Here’s a link to the Facebook page for our March 2 event, if you’re looking for more specific information. Otherwise, check out the extended schedule below.
PTL Pub Quiz Schedule (First Wednesday, 8pm, 5004 Dodge Street, Omaha, Neb.)
March 2: Britny Cordera, author of Wingmakers.
April 6: Blue River, literary journal run by the MFA students at Creighton University.
May 4: Jennine Capó Crucet, author of Make Your Home Among Strangers and How to Leave Hialeah.
June 1: David Philip Mullins, author of Greetings from Below.
July 6: Monsters of Short Fiction Tour, feat. Tyrone Jaeger (So Many True Believers), Dave Madden (If You Need Me I’ll Be Over There) and Theodore Wheeler (Bad Faith).
Since it’s been a while since I offered a general state of the blog type post, here’s the latest in the world of the uninitiated.
-A pub date has been set for Bad Faith! My short story collection will drop on July 12, 2016. And while you’re hurriedly marking your calendars, I’ve also set up a pre-release party at Pageturners Lounge for Thursday, June 30, which will the first opportunity to purchase the book, have it signed, and toast with the author.
Between working through final edits on the book, the first blurbs coming in, and setting up events for later this year, it’s been an exciting, sometimes nerve-wracking experience. There will even be a cover before long. It’s happening!
-A few of my short stories will be coming out in the next couple months. “Violate the Leaves” in the spring issue of Boulevard, in March; “The Hyphenates of Jackson County” in Artful Dodge, by the end of February; and “On a Train from the Place Called Valentine” in New Stories form the Midwest.
-You may have noticed a few updates around the site. The last year I’ve slowly been transitioning this space from its blog roots to more of a proper web site befitting a published author with multiple books to his name. Or something. The process should be finished shortly, with a static front page and all that. I’ll still be blogging here every once in a while, maybe even a little more frequently. The whole “travel” part of the blog kind of took a backseat the last couple years, as I wasn’t traveling much, saving up money for potential book tours and bigger trips. Posting the same photos of me at Royals games over and over didn’t quite have the same panache as the posts from my summer touring Europe.
-One last thing, I want to include a note about the success we’ve seen with the literary pub quiz I’ve been putting on at Pageturners with buddies Ryan Borchers and Drew Justice. The turnout has been great, and it seems like the enthusiasm grows each month. The next edition is in a week, on February 3 with guest host Wendy Townley of the 1877 Society. We’re getting some great guest stars lined up for the spring/summer season, and I can’t wait to share the lineup. But I will wait, and hope to have that posted here soon. The series has been a lot of fun and I’m psyched to keep this going through the rest of the year. If you’re around Omaha the first Wednesday of the month, stop on in and talk some literature with a copacetic group of bookish folks.
Another quick announcement this week. I’m pretty stoked to share that, along with MFA buddies Ryan Borchers and Drew Justice, I’m starting a literary-themed pub quiz at Pageturners Lounge in Omaha. This is a pretty traditional trivia night–21 questions, teams competing for prizes–with the twist that we’ll also feature a celebrity guest to introduce to the community via a short interview and a special category wherein the guest will be asking the questions. This should be fun, I think, and hopefully widen the literary community in Omaha a bit. While at Creighton the past couple years, I thought a lot about how to present authors and their work in a different way than what can sometimes seem like the sterile environment of a reading. This format should allow for a little more interactivity and playfulness. In addition to asking their five questions, the authors will play along in the game (with a five point handicap, of course) and will be around to sign copies of their books or chat or talk trash about who knows more than who. We’ll see how it goes.
Our first night is Wednesday, October 7 at 9pm. Pageturners is at 5004 Dodge Street–where the release party for my chapbook was held earlier this year–with Timothy Schaffert as our esteemed guest. If you can’t make it to the first go, we’ll be back the first Wednesday of every month. (See below for the schedule through February.)
Here’s a link to the Facebook event page if you require more information. Otherwise I’ll just see you there!
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PTL Pub Quiz Schedule
Some pictures from last night’s book release party for On the River and a second performance of Omaha Uninitiated at Pageturners Lounge. Thank you very much to everyone who came out. It meant a lot to see so many friendly faces, and a few old friends, make it out. Reading to a filled room always feels great too. Also, thanks are in order for Pageturners for hosting the proceedings and for all the work Darren Keen put in to make the performance a success.
(Photo credits to Nicole Wheeler and Felicity White.)
Just a reminder that the launch party for my chapbook On the River, Down Where They Found Willy Brown is tonight at 7pm at Pageturner’s Lounge (5004 Dodge Street, parking in rear). This is the last time that the whole mutli-media performance with Darren Keen is scheduled to be put on, what was previously performed at Akademie Schloss Solitude in Germany. The show mixes readings from the chapbook with photographs of World War I-era Omaha, popular films from the era (Charlie Chaplin, Krazy Kat, Katzenjammer Kids, Sinking of the Lusitania) and a cross-fertilization of some pretty interesting music. The songs include ragtime, Louis Armstrong, Enrique Caruso, Woody Guthrie, and propaganda music from the war, mixed in with Ideal Cleaners, Bright Calm Blue, Spring Gun, Rent Money Big, Her Flyaway Manner, and other important music from Nebraska in the last decade. It’s really cool. A great melange of elements that inspired the chapbook.
In other news, I’ve been working on getting On the River into a few bookstores around the area. So far I’ve worked out an arrangement with Jackson Street Booksellers (Old Market, 1119 Jackson St.) and their satellite Solid Jackson Books (Benson, 6571 Maple St), both in Omaha. More news to come on this as it develops. Oh, and if you know of any bookstores that specialize in chapbooks or any store that might be a good fit, drop me a line about it, I’d appreciate the lead.
Theodore Wheeler 