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The latest from Empty Bowl Press
October 31, 2024
Dear Empty Bowl friends,
Fall arrived in full color this year in the Northwest, and with the changing season, life continues to be busy here at Empty Bowl. To start, we have some exciting news to share:
I Sing the Salmon Home, edited by Rena Priest, received the Washington State Book Award in Poetry for 2024! We look forward to celebrating with Rena and several local contributors at a reading honoring salmon on November 14 at 7 p.m. on Vashon Island. Thanks to Empty Bowl author Ann Spiers and to Joseph Bogaard, executive director of Save our Wild Salmon, for putting this event together—you can find more details on the SOWS website. Please note: the event is FREE but you need to register in advance.
Readings in November
Nov. 2, 2 – 4 p.m.: Reading by contributors to the latest Madrona Project, This Machine Is Made for Earth at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner. Editor Michael Daley will MC; readers include Morgan Randall, Susan Rich, Randy Dills, Stephen Roxborough, Robert McNamara, Georgia Johnson, Steven Dolmatz, Holly Hughes, Heidi Seaborn, Janée J. Baugher, and Leslie Wharton. Event is free; you can register here.
Nov. 2, 7 – 9 p.m.: Tess Gallagher and Gary Lilley read at Pelican Bay Books & Coffeehouse in Anacortes as part of the Madrona Reading Series.
Nov. 3, 2 p.m.: Michael Daley & Holly Hughes are reading with poet Gary Thompson at Griffin Bay Bookstore in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.
Nov. 30, 7 – 9 p.m. Anna Odessa Linzer reads with Will Hornyak at Pelican Bay Books & Coffeehouse in Anacortes as part of the Madrona Reading Series.
Need some books for the holidays?
On November 10, from 12 – 5 p.m., join us for the Fall Bookfair at Finnriver Farm & Cidery in Chimacum, featuring local small presses. Empty Bowl authors will be reading and signing books, and we’ll have special holiday bundles and discount prices for the readers in your life. Check back for more details on the reading/signing schedule on our website.
Forests, Temples, Glacial Rivers
In December, we will celebrate the release of Andrew Schelling’s Forests, Temples, Glacial Rivers with two events. Andrew will be joined by other Empty Bowl poets in Seattle and Port Townsend.
Thursday December 5, 7 p.m., at Seattle University with Sibyl James, author of Plum Blossom Wine. Check our events page soon for details about the location.
Saturday December 7, 4 p.m., at The Friends Meetinghouse, 1841 Sheridan Avenue, in Port Townsend with Tim McNulty, author of Cloud Studies and other books.
In case you miss these readings . . .
Two of our recent readings are now available online:
On September 23, Anna Odessa Linzer read at the Bainbridge Museum of Art and was interviewed by Holly Hughes as part of the museum’s Curated Conversations series. Watch the reading and conversation here.
We were glad to have attended a tribute to Tom Crawford in Santa Fe at the Collected Works Bookstore on October 20. You can see photos here and watch a recording of the reading here.
We’re always grateful for the support of you, our readers, and our writers, too, for their inspiring words—like these from Tom Crawford’s poem “Last Salmon”:
Isn’t the world almost perfect
that we don’t have to choose
between the verb and its object
St. Paul or sister fish, who’s doing what
to whom, in principle, always comes back
to water and ordinary light
It’s enough to stand still
if we mean it, the way a tree says, here
then grows
If we don’t cross paths with you, we wish you quiet days with good books in the seasons of reading ahead.
Holly & John
Fall News from Empty Bowl Press
September 11, 2024
Dear Empty Bowl friends,
We hope you’re enjoying the last golden light of late summer days, wherever you are. Fall is in the wings here in the Northwest, bringing with its tumbling leaves the season of readings, as we come indoors and return to our chairs by the fire. We have a full slate of fall events to share so we’re checking in early—these readings will take place over the coming months.
We have several readings lined up for our latest release, Plum Blossom Wine, a bilingual collection of poems by Li Qingzhao, a female Chinese poet of the Song dynasty, translated by Sibyl James and Kang Xuepei.
September 14, 7 p.m. at the Friends Meetinghouse in Port Townsend.
September 22, 2-4 p.m. at the Seattle Chinese Garden in Seattle.
October 19, 2-4 p.m., reading & tea tasting at Seattle Fair Trade store in Seattle.
Sibyl James will provide background on Li Qingzhao, share her poems, and talk about the translation process. You can find more details on the Empty Bowl website.
Also in September, Anna Linzer, author of the powerful poetry collection Season Unleashed, will read and be in conversation with copublisher Holly J. Hughes as part of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art’s Curated Conversations series. Join us Monday, September 23, at 6 p.m. for a reception with the author, followed by the reading and conversation at 7 p.m. NOTE: You need to purchase tickets in advance. Click here for details.
You can read a review of Season Unleashed by Nina Burokas in Raven Chronicles.
Be Broken to Be Whole, a posthumous collection of work by Oregon poet Tom Crawford, was launched in August in Portland. Readings in two other communities where Crawford lived and wrote are scheduled this fall, thanks to his partner, Mary Judge, and good friend and poet, Gary Thompson. Please help spread the word if you have friends in these communities.
September 28, 6 p.m, Sacramento Poetry Center, 1719 25th St., Sacramento, CA. Hosted by Gary Thompson with readings by Tom’s friends and local poets.
October 20, 6 p.m., Collected Works Bookstore, 202 Gallisteo St., Santa Fe, NM. Hosted by Mary Judge with readings by local Santa Fe writers and actors.
As we announced in our last newsletter, we’re looking forward to releasing Andrew Schelling’s Forests, Temples, Glacial Rivers in November and are happy to report that he’ll be joining us in the Northwest in December for readings with other Empty Bowl authors:
Thursday, December 5, 7 p.m., at Seattle University with Sibyl James
Saturday December 7, 4 p.m., at The Friends Meetinghouse in Port Townsend with Tim McNulty
Meanwhile, the seventh and final issue of The Madrona Project--This Machine Is Made for Earth, edited by Michael Daley--is now out. A reading is planned for November 2, 2-4 p.m. at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner.
Michael & Holly are teaming up for a reading on Sunday, November 3, at 2 p.m., at Griffin Bay Bookstore in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. If you’re on the island that night, please join us!
MORE good news:
The Washington Center for the Book announced the finalists for the Washington State Book Award last week, and we’re thrilled that I Sing the Salmon Home is on the list! Congratulations to editor Rena Priest and to all the contributors. Empty Bowl author Tim McNulty’s book Salmon, Cedar, Rock, Rain, published by Braided River, was also nominated in the general nonfiction category. Winners will be announced on Sept. 24.
In other news:
The Skagit River Poetry Festival is coming up Oct. 3–5 in LaConner, and Empty Bowl will be there, as will several Empty Bowl authors: Tim McNulty, Michael Daley, and Holly J. Hughes. All will be giving readings and participating on panels. View the schedule here.
Empty Bowl will be part of the Finnriver Book Fair at Finnriver Farm & Cidery in Chimacum on Sunday, November 10, from 12-5 p.m., along with several other small local presses. We’ll be offering special discounts in anticipation of the holiday season in addition to short readings by local authors throughout the afternoon. Look for more information on our website as November draws closer.
Sending warm wishes as we turn the page on summer, settle into a comfortable chair, and return to the fire and the rich reading season ahead. May a few Empty Bowl books be in the stack that awaits you.
Holly & John
Summer News from Empty Bowl
July 31, 2024
Dear Empty Bowl friends,
Since we last wrote, we’ve been busy with new titles that we’re eager to share, plus we have exciting news about several of our authors. We invite you to read on…
Be Broken to Be Whole, a posthumous collection of work by Oregon poet Tom Crawford, is launching this Saturday, August 3, with a reading in Portland at Passages Bookshop—see the Empty Bowl website for details. Our thanks to Tom’s partner Mary A. Judge and fellow poet and friend Gary Thompson for bringing this book to us—and to writer David James Duncan for his moving foreword. We’re grateful to play a role in keeping Tom’s wry, wise words in the world.
Next up: Plum Blossom Wine . . . this noteworthy collection of poems by Li Qingzhao, a female poet of the Song dynasty, is translated by two women: Seattle writer Sibyl James and Kang Xuepei, a Chinese writer. We’ll be launching the book the evening of September 14 at the Friends Meeting House in Port Townsend—see our website for details. Gratitude to Sibyl, who contributed to an edition of one of the first Empty Bowl publications, Dalmo’ma, in the late 1970s, for bringing this book to us.
Also slated for release in August/September is the seventh (and likely last) issue of The Madrona Project. This Machine Is Made for Earth presents Diego Rivera’s mural “Detroit Industry” on the cover, and the thought-provoking art, poems, and essays inside focus on the ubiquitous, complex, and often controversial role of machines and other technology in our lives. Stay tuned for news on readings this fall.
September reading on Bainbridge Island
Here's an event to put on your September calendar: Anna Linzer, author of the poetry collection Season Unleashed, will give a reading, followed by a conversation with copublisher Holly J. Hughes, on Monday, September 23, at 7 p.m. at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, as part of their Curated Conversation series.
Forthcoming this fall
We’re honored to announce that forthcoming this fall is a collection of poetry by acclaimed poet, translator, essay writer, and anthology editor Andrew Schelling, author of more than twenty collections of poetry and translations, among them Old Tale Road, published by Empty Bowl in 2008. We’ll be releasing Forests, Temples, Glacial Rivers in November and hope to arrange a visit by the author to the Northwest for the book launch!
Author news
Tele Aadsen’s moving essay collection about her decades trolling for salmon in Southeast Alaska, What Water Holds, recently received a Nautilus Silver award for essays. Not only does this collection offer a vivid depiction of life on a salmon troller, it includes reflections on gender, community, social justice, and deeper philosophical questions.
In July, poet, essayist, and artist John Brandi was honored with a Lifetime Poetry Award from the New Mexico Literary Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the state where he’s made his home for many decades. His most recent collection of haiku from Empty Bowl is The Rain Sweeps Through, which came out last fall.
More recently, we received the thrilling news that Shin Yu Pai, author of No Neutral and Virga from Empty Bowl, as well as other titles, was awarded the prestigious 2024 Shelley Award from the Poetry Society of America. Shin Yu is just finishing her tenure as Seattle’s Civic Poet and is also the producer of the award-winning podcast Ten Thousand Things.
Last weekend, Red Pine traveled to Olympia for the dedication of the new, traditionally built Japanese teahouse at Open Gate Zendo, named in his honor: Red Pine Hut. You can see more photos here.
Big congratulations to all! We’re proud to be publishing the good work of all our authors—and you can help by telling your friends, posting a short review on Amazon or Goodreads, or gifting copies to friends or family.
Thanks, as always, for being part of the Empty Bowl community—we couldn’t do this without you.
Holly & John
June Events and Book News from Empty Bowl
May 28, 2024
Dear Empty Bowl friends,
We’d like to let you know about some upcoming events in Port Townsend and also share some book news.
Saturday, June 15, you have a chance to see the movie Dancing with the Dead: Red Pine and the Art of Translation. Filmmaker Ward Serrill and producer Rocky Friedman tell the entertaining adventures of Bill Porter (Red Pine), the world-renowned translator of ancient Chinese poetry, who ignited a movement in China to seek inner peace through poetry and mountain solitude. Bill is a living bridge between two cultures, a bridge that is supported by ancient poetry and understanding. Empty Bowl is proud to be the publisher of several of Red Pine’s translations, including Zen Roots: The First Thousand Years. The screenings will be followed by a conversation with Red Pine, moderated by former Washington State poet laureate Claudia Castro Luna. Showings are at the Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park, at 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
On Sunday June 30, join us when Anna Odessa Linzer reads from her recently published collection Season Unleashed. Together with Tanya Holtland and Cedar Sigo, Anna will be reading as part of the Poetry on the Salish Sea series at Wilderbee Farm from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30. The farm is a wonderful place to enjoy poetry on a summer afternoon.
On Saturday, June 29 from 3-5 pm, Empty Bowl is hosting a memorial gathering for Clem Starck at The Friends Meetinghouse, 1841 Sheridan St., in Port Townsend. We’ll share stories and read our favorite poems by Clem. If you can’t attend, feel free to send a written tribute by email to editor@emptybowl.org that we’ll share at the gathering and give to Clem’s family. All are welcome for this tribute to a great Northwest poet.
Coming in June: Be Broken to Be Whole
In late June, we’ll be releasing Be Broken to Be Whole: New and Selected Poems by Tom Crawford. Tom was the author of nine books of award-winning poetry, including Lauds, The Temple on Monday, and The Names of Birds. He was also a birder, a contemplative, an activist, and an enthusiast whose writing, infused with Eastern thought and a sense of mysticism, explores the natural world and our complex connection to it. Tess Gallagher has written: “Tom Crawford is a poet who has labored long in the vineyard, yet remained somehow a well-kept secret within American poetry. Thankfully, his gifts of audacity, of acute detail, natural astonishment and of enacted wonder save his place for a ‘now’ in our current attentions.” Available for preorder in June, this collection includes a foreword by novelist David James Duncan.
Memory’s Vault: The Poetic Heart of Port Townsend Launch Events
We’re happy that Memory’s Vault: The Poetic Heart of Fort Worden is successfully launched and grateful to artist Richard Turner (sitting, facing away from the camera in the picture to the right) for traveling from his home in California to join us for two events: an artist talk and contributors’ reading on May 18 and a walk up to Memory’s Vault and a reading of Sam Hamill’s poems on May 19. Even the weather complied with our plans! Our gratitude to editor Bob Francis (pictured at left above) for his persistence in realizing his vision and to Centrum and the Friends of Fort Worden for their support.
As always, we love to hear from you and appreciate the support and good wishes expressed for the work we do at Empty Bowl. And remember, you can also find news on the Empty Bowl Facebook page, where we try to keep up with our authors and their events.
Holly and John
Upcoming Events and Other News
April 10, 2024
Dear Empty Bowl friends,
We’ll be celebrating the release of Anna Odessa Linzer’s collection of poems Season Unleashed with a launch party and reading April 19 at 7 p.m. at the Pope Marine Building on the waterfront in Port Townsend. Delicious refreshments will be served and books will be available for signing. Join us if you can! Anna will also be reading on June 30 at Wilderbee Farm with Poetry on the Salish Sea— keep checking the Empty Bowl website for other readings as they’re scheduled.
In May, we’ll be releasing Memory’s Vault: The Poetic Heart of Port Townsend, with a presentation by artist Richard Turner and readings by local writers on Saturday May 18 at 7 p.m. at the Friends Meeting House in Port Townsend. On Sunday, May 19, join us for a walk to Memory’s Vault with the artist, where the editor and local poets will read from Sam Hamill’s poems. We’ll gather at Fort Worden State Park at 2:30 p.m. at the South Gallery of the Centrum Building (#305), with the walk beginning at 3 p.m., followed by a reception and book signing with the artist and contributors.
Last month, we had a lively night at Town Hall in Seattle with the Bushwick Book Club performing music inspired by I Sing the Salmon Home, edited by Rena Priest. We’re grateful that several contributors were able to join us that night, some driving down from Bellingham, and that the evening was recorded. You can listen to it here.
Finally, a reminder that you just have a few more weeks to submit a poem to the next issue of The Madrona Project being edited by Michael Daley, with a theme of “machines.” Check the Empty Bowl website for more details; deadline is April 30.
Thanks again for supporting Empty Bowl Press—and remember, you can also find news on the Empty Bowl Facebook page, where we try to keep up with our authors and their events.
We hope to see you soon.
Warm wishes,
Holly and John
The Empty Bowl Spring Newsletter
March 7, 2024
Dear Empty Bowl friends,
Yes, we may be unduly optimistic in calling this our spring newsletter; so far, it still feels like winter, but the crocuses are up and clearly believe warmer days are ahead!
We’re eager to share the exciting news that our first title for 2024 is at the printer! Anna Odessa Linzer’s collection of poems, Season Unleashed will be released on April 9, with a launch celebration planned for April 19 at 7 p.m. at the Pope Building on the waterfront in Port Townsend. If you’re on the peninsula, we hope you’ll join us that night. Other readings are in the works, with one this summer at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art and also on June 30 as part of Poetry on the Salish Sea series. We’ll be announcing them all on the Empty Bowl website.
Next to head to the printer is Memory’s Vault: The Poetic Heart of Port Townsend, featuring the public art installation by Richard Turner with poems by Sam Hamill that was installed at Fort Worden in 1988. Bob Francis conceived of this project and served as editor, gathering writing from local folks as well as writers who served in residence or as faculty at Centrum. His goal is that the book witness one community’s response to public art and its value by offering a variety of perspectives. We will be launching this book in early May, and we’ll keep you posted as we firm up the date and location of our launch reading.
More forthcoming titles
Our other titles forthcoming this year: a translation of the work of Chinese poet Li Qingzhao by Sybil James; a posthumous collection of Tom Crawford’s poems edited by his widow, Mary Judge; and this fall, a new collection of poems by Empty Bowl poet and translator Andrew Schelling. Stay tuned for more details.
Events and other news
Coming up in Port Townsend next week: Two Poet Laureates in Conversation! Seattle Civic Poet Shin Yu Pai and Port Townsend Poet Laureate Conner Bouchard-Roberts will discuss Shin Yu Pai's latest books and their respective roles as poet laureates. Join us Wednesday March 13 from 6-7:30 pm at the Jefferson County Library in Port Hadlock.
In other exciting news, the Bushwick Book Club will be performing music inspired by the anthology edited by Rena Priest, I Sing the Salmon Home, on March 16 at 7:30 pm at Town Hall in Seattle. Many of the contributors will be in the audience that night—and we’ll be there selling copies of the anthology. If you’re in Seattle, we hope you’ll come join us!
Pelican Bay Books continues to feature lively readings, thanks to the Madrona Series, curated by Georgia Johnson and Michael Daley. Just a reminder that March 16 is the re-scheduled date for Skagit Valley contributors to read from the last Madrona Project: The Empty Bowl Cookbook. And thanks to Olympic Peninsula Authors (OPA) in Sequim for hosting a reading last month featuring contributors to the cookbook who live on the peninsula. If you’re a contributor to The Madrona Project, we welcome your help in suggesting venues for readings and organizing them.
In author news, kudos to Rebekah Anderson, who placed a chapter from her novel The Grand Promise in the January issue of the Rainshadow Journal. We also have a new review to share: Kate Reavey’s Curve was reviewed in the current Rain Taxi by Jessica Gigot, who paired Kate’s book with Claire Wahmanholm’s collection Meltwater from Milkweed; together the two books offer complementary views of motherhood.
Finally, a reminder that you just have six weeks to submit a poem to the next issue of The Madrona Project being edited by Michael Daley, with a theme of “machines.” Check the Empty Bowl website for more details; deadline is April 30.
Thanks again for supporting Empty Bowl Press—and remember, you can also find news on the Empty Bowl Facebook page, where we try to keep up with our authors and their events.
Sending warm wishes on a chilly March day,
Holly & John
The Empty Bowl Gratitude Edition
December 1, 2023
We want to begin by thanking all who’ve supported Empty Bowl this past year, our first full year at the helm. We’re grateful to our authors for their fine words, our book designers Lauren Grosskopf and Caroline Servid for designing beautiful books, and you, our readers, especially those who helped get the word out by ordering copies for friends or from your local indie bookstores. It’s been a challenging but satisfying first year, and we’re proud of the titles we’ve brought into the world. But before we put a wrap on it, we’re eager to share two titles released since we last wrote:
A Watershed Runs Through You by Freeman House, author of Totem Salmon: Life Lessons from Another Species, was released in October. A posthumous collection, it was edited by Jerry Martien and includes a foreword by bioregionalist visionary Stephanie Mills. We traveled to Northern California to launch the book in Freeman’s community of Petrolia, with another reading at Northtown Books in Arcata. Both readings were packed houses. (See photos here.)
The Rain Sweeps Through is a collection of haiku by Santa Fe-based poet, artist, and translator John Brandi. It was launched in early November at the Historic Santa Fe Foundation’s El Zaguan with a reading and an exhibition of John’s paintings. (See photos here.) We’re thrilled to announce that John is joining us next week for two readings with Bill Porter (Red Pine):
Tuesday, December 5: 7 – 9 pm
Oberto Commons at Seattle University
901 12th Avenue
Seattle
Friday, December 8: 4:30 – 6 pm
Port Townsend Friends Meetinghouse
1841 Sheridan Street
Port Townsend
See Empty Bowl website for more details
Coeditors Michael Daley and Georgia Johnson have wrapped up The Empty Bowl Cookbook, the latest in The Madrona Project series. As the editors write, “A banquet of writers and artists address the ways our species sustains itself with ancestral foods and recipes, adheres to earth’s cycles, and protects the habitat of our food sources. Poems, prose, and art exemplify human successes and failures and offer up some darn good recipes.”
The book is at the printer and will be available soon! It’ll make a great holiday gift—we’ll keep you posted on the website and the Empty Bowl Facebook page.
In other news
I Sing the Salmon Home was the top seller on Small Press Distribution’s (SPD) Top Ten list for the months of July and September! Thanks goes to editor Rena Priest. Thanks also to contributors Georgia Johnson, for organizing a reading in Anacortes at Pelican Bay Books, and Ann Hursey, for organizing a reading in Shelton, which included the opportunity to view salmon returning to local streams in a downpour! (See photos here.)
What Water Holds holds steady in SPD’s Top Ten the last several months as Tele Aadsen markets her book along with delicious Nerka salmon this fall. If you’re looking for a gift for kids, you might consider Tele’s collaboration with Tom Crestodina—The Working Boats Coloring Book—published by Little Bigfoot (Sasquatch Press).
Shin Yu Pai, author of No Neutral, also released another book in November: Less Desolate: Haiku Comics, a collaboration with artist Justin Rueff published by Blue Cactus Press.
Speaking of gifts, Empty Bowl author Tim McNulty published a beautiful collection through Mountaineers Braided River imprint: Salmon Cedar Rock Rain. And several Empty Bowl authors’ work is included in two Cascadia-based collections that came out earlier this year: Cascadia Field Guide and Cascadian Zen.
As for us, it’s our open submission period, and we’re enjoying reading the manuscripts we’ve received. We’re putting together our list for 2024, planning ahead to 2025, and look forward to sharing our upcoming titles in the new year.
Just a reminder that you can keep up with us on the Empty Bowl Facebook page, where we post info on upcoming readings, photos, and other announcements related to our authors. One of the best ways to support Empty Bowl authors is to post a few sentences on Amazon or Good Reads if you enjoyed a book. Or easier yet, gift a copy to a friend!
Wishing you peaceful holidays and time for reading by the fire in the months ahead.
Holly & John
Fall News from Empty Bowl Press
September 18, 2023
Dear friends,
We hope this finds you well as we slide into cooler fall days in the Northwest. Life continues to be full here at Empty Bowl.
Last week we celebrated the release of Shin Yu Pai’s No Neutral, her second collection from Empty Bowl. Her Seattle book launch takes place the evening of September 28 at Elliot Bay Book Company. Be sure to check out Shin Yu’s podcast series on NPR, Ten Thousand Things. Her interview with Shawn Wong recently received a Golden Crane award. She also received a grant from the Academy of American Poets for her project as Seattle’s Civic Poet. Upcoming events are posted on her website.
We’re happy to announce that the anthology I Sing the Salmon Home, edited by Rena Priest, was the top-selling book of poetry for August at our distributor, Small Press Distribution, surging into first from second place in July. And Tele Aadsen’s What Water Holds held steady in third place for nonfiction for June–July. In other exciting news, Rebekah Anderson’s novel The Grand Promise was selected as a finalist for the Nancy Pearl award! Rebekah will be reading on Oct. 2 at Third Place Books in Ravenna to celebrate being a finalist and maybe the winner!
Tele Aadsen will be reading from What Water Holds at Pelican Bay Books in Anacortes on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. with poet Tess Gallagher. On Oct. 1 at 4 p.m., Tele will be in conversation with Holly at Village Books in Bellingham. If you’d like a preview, you can read the title essay on Terrain.org. For the past week, Tele has returned to Southeast Alaska, giving readings to full houses in Sitka, Juneau, and Ketchikan. Check her website for other upcoming readings.
We continue to organize readings from I Sing the Salmon Home and just welcomed the salmon home with a reading on Sept. 14 at Finnriver Farm & Cidery in Chimacum. Another reading for I Sing the Salmon Home is being planned for later this fall in Shelton—we’ll keep you posted.
We’ll be at the Cascadia Poetry Festival Oct. 6-8 at the Spring Street Center in Seattle. Holly is giving a reading, participating on a panel, and hosting a workshop by Tess Gallagher. John will be at the Empty Bowl book table. Please come by and say hello.
Several Empty Bowl books and a recent issue of The Madrona Project have garnered attention:
Curve by Kate Reavey: a review by MaryEllen Talley appeared in MER: Mom Egg Review.
I Sing the Salmon Home: a review by contributor Rob Lewis in his blog, The Climate According to Life.
Madrona Project #5, The Universe Is a Forest: a review by Nina Burokas appeared in Raven Chronicles.
No Neutral: a review of No Neutral and Less Desolate, also by Shin Yu Pai, appeared in the Tupelo Quarterly. An interview with Shin Yu was featured in the Port Townsend Leader.
Old Growth: New and Selected Poems by Mike O’Connor: an interview with coeditor Tim McNulty is available on the KPTZ website.
What Water Holds: a review by Nancy Lord appeared in the Anchorage Daily News.
We’ll be releasing two new books in October. A Watershed Runs through You is a posthumous collection of essays by Freeman House, author of Totem Salmon: Life Lessons from Another Species. On October 28, we’ll be celebrating Petrolia, California, where Freeman led the effort to restore salmon runs on the Mattole River.
Rounding out our list is The Rain Sweeps Through, a collection of haiku and drawings by John Brandi, author of numerous books, including The Way to Thorong La, published by Empty Bowl in 2020. We’ll be scheduling readings with John Brandi and will post details on our website.
We’ve selected our titles for 2024 and look forward to sharing them with you in our next newsletter. This fall, we’re implementing a new plan for submissions: Rather than read submissions throughout the year, we’ll have an open submission period from Oct. 15 – Nov. 30. In keeping with our mission, we ask that submissions “explore human communities in wild places,” especially in the Cascadia bioregion. This new submission model will allow us to pursue our mission and offer a balance of genres and voices. Look for more information on this on our website.
Once again, thank you for supporting Empty Bowl, whether that’s by ordering our books, asking your local indie bookstore to order copies, attending readings, posting reviews on Amazon or Good Reads, liking us on Facebook, or simply telling your friends, “Hey, I read a good book and think you’d like it, too…”
Wishing you cozy evenings by the fire with a good book in hand,
Holly & John
PS: If you’re on Facebook, please do check the Empty Bowl FB page—all the news that goes into this newsletter is posted there first! Be the first to know!
Have a question or concern? Email us at editor@emptybowl.org