Jess Bowers

I’ll be reading with fellow prose-slinger C.S. Malerich in Washington, D.C. (well, Arlington) at One More Page Books on Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 7 p.m.  to celebrate Ashland Creek Press’s new anthology, Among Animals 2: The Lives of Animals and Humans in Contemporary Short Fiction, where you can read her luminous short story “Phoenix Cross.”

From Ashland Creek Press:

“C.S. Malerich lives and works near the District of Columbia. Her speculative fiction has appeared previously in Ares Magazine, The Again, and the first volume of Among Animals. She is a founding member of the collective DC Stampede, supporting grassroots organizing on behalf of animals, people, and the planet.

Thanks to Charlotte for organizing this reading, which helpfully coincides with AWP ’17. I’m looking forward to both events!

I’m pleased that my story about P.T. Barnum’s failed attempts to display beluga whales in captivity, “The Northern Whales,” is out now as part of Driftfish: A Zoomorphic Anthology, the first-ever print anthology from Zoomorphic, a U.K.-based online journal “dedicated to writing that deepens our connection with wildlife and the more-than-human world.”

This thing is so attractive. A beautiful, substantial book. It comes with two lovely art cards by James Roberts, as shown. Do you love it? I love it.

From the anthology’s website:

“A Zoomorphic anthology of poetry, prose and images dedicated to marine wildlife. With an international list of contributors. Featuring stories and poems about a host of marine species.

Our decision to focus on marine species in this, our first print anthology, was motivated by the urge to celebrate the exhilarating variety of ocean wildlife – from iconic mammals like the sperm whale to circumnavigating seabirds like the albatross to the smallest benthic organisms – while also bearing witness to the shattering reality of their plunging numbers.

From the hundreds of submissions that we were privileged to read from poets and prose writers from all over the world, we have curated an anthology that we hope reflects Zoomorphic’s core principle: to defend non-human species, we must reconnect our imaginations to them.

Through story and poetry you can witness Alaskan orcas or the traditional whale hunt of the Faroe Islands; dive into the underwater realms of octopuses, turtles and manta rays; visit the seal colonies of St Cuthbert’s Isle and Pembrokeshire; discover ancient stromatolites . . . and much more.”

I love being part of this project. It’s also my first international publication.

Huzzah!

Driftfish: A Zoomorphic Anthology is available for purchase here.

Ashland Creek Press‘s Midge Raymond, one of the editorial minds behind the new book Among Animals 2, interviewed me a while back about the genesis and meaning of “Shooting A Mule,” my contribution to the anthology.

This interview is now published, and can be read here: http://www.ashlandcreekpress.com/blog/2016/10/17/an-interview-with-among-animals-contributor-j-bowers/

And if you’d like to pick up a copy of Among Animals 2, or download a free excerpt as a .pdf, it can be purchased right here, as well as through many fine booksellers both online and off.

Zoomorphic, a U.K.-based online literary magazine “dedicated to writing that deepens our connection with wildlife and the more-than-human world,” has accepted “The Northern Whales” for inclusion in their debut print anthology, which will be published this winter.

From Zoomorphic: “The book will be launched on 2nd December at a Zoomorphic event hosted by ONCA as part of their “Do You Speak Seagull” season. The printed anthology will be themed around marine wildlife and will accompany our digital issue.”

“A Horse Draws Near,” my lyric essay about video game horses, was released today as part of Cartridge Lit‘s Unforseen Consequences Temple Issue.

You can read the piece by clicking right here.

or here.

or here.

Among Animals 2: The Lives of Animals and Humans in Contemporary Short Fiction, the Ashland Creek Press anthology that includes “Shooting A Mule,” is now available!

From the press: “This carefully curated collection of stories explores the ways in which we live among—and often in conflict with—our non-human counterparts. These stories feature animals from the familiar (pets and strays) to the wild (deer and birds) to the less beloved but no less important (cockroaches and fish).”

Fellow contributors include Sascha Morrell, Laura Maylene Walter, Ramola D, Anne Elliott, and more.

Click here to download a .pdf excerpt, request a review copy, or buy the anthology.

I’m going to be on a panel at the 2017 Associated Writing Programs’ Annual Conference and Bookfair. The conference, which commemorates the organization’s 50th anniversary, will be held at the Washington Convention Center & Washington Marriott Marquis from February 8-11, 2017.

Pointing out where to get free books, AWP ’09, Chicago.

Organized by Luke Rolfes of Northwest Missouri State University, the panel I’m on is titled “Singular Opportunity: Teaching Creative Writing to One-Time Learners.” It will focus on panelists’ experiences with and best practices for working with undergraduate creative writing students who are not pursuing English or creative writing degrees.

From AWP’s website: “The AWP Conference & Bookfair is an essential annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers. Each year more than 12,000 attendees join our community for four days of insightful dialogue, networking, and unrivaled access to the organizations and opinion-makers that matter most in contemporary literature. The 2016 conference featured over 2,000 presenters and 550 readings, panels, and craft lectures. The bookfair hosted over 800 presses, journals, and literary organizations from around the world. AWP’s is now the largest literary conference in North America.”

Looking forward to seeing lots of old friends.

I just learned that “A Horse Draws Near!” my lyric essay about how horses in video games behave, will appear in the fall 2016 issue of Cartridge Lit.

Agro, kicking it in Shadow of the Colossus (2005)

“An online literature mag dedicated to showcasing the best lit – fiction, nonfiction, poetry – inspired by video games,” Cartridge Lit has published “games-inspired lit that takes risks and tempts edges, that sparks and burns” since 2014.

I’m looking forward to having a link to post here! Watch this space.

“The Happy Family,” my short-short about the Barnum-ian weirdness below, has been accepted to Sundress Publications‘ forthcoming e-anthology, Curious Specimens, edited by Jennifer Hanks and Beth Couture.

From the editors: “We want your Wonder Room’s creepiest inhabitants—think the Mütter Museum, reanimated Fiji Mermaids, and all creatures caught between life and death. While we’d love to see your poetry and flash fiction, we also welcome ephemera. Send us excerpts from taxidermy pamphlets, specimen lists, and medical notes. May your most unsettling work find a home with us: bottled, hand-labeled, and doused in formaldehyde.”

My kind of book! Release details to come.

My short story, “Shooting A Mule,” is being anthologized in Ashland Creek Press’s forthcoming Among Animals 2, which comes out later in 2016.

Among Animals 2 “continues the tradition of gathering stories from the world’s most gifted contemporary authors—those who pay close attention to the creatures with whom we share our planet, and who inspire us to pay closer attention as well.”

The promotional website for Among Animals 2, complete with table of contents, just went live: http://www.ashlandcreekpress.com/books/amonganimals2.html

The cover.

Stay tuned either here or there for release dates, reading dates, et cetera.