July Press Updates: Chapbooks, Workshops, & So Much More
Check out what we've been up to this summer!
Welcome to our first newsletter after our inaugural Virtual Retreat! We are so grateful to have spent the month of June workshopping, learning, reading, and celebrating pride with our workshop participants and faculty. The Retreat was an incredible experience for us at Abode, and we hope to continue building a literary community for many summers to come!
We have a ton of updates for all things Abode, so let’s get into it!
Coral in the Diaspora by Jerrice J. Baptiste - out 8/1/24
Jerrice J. Baptiste’s fiction chapbook is almost here— and we’re already almost sold out of our first run!
Coral in The Diaspora celebrates the wisdom of the elders as leaders who are cherished for their commitment to help the island thrive. Each member of the island's community is welcomed and valued for their special gifts and the joy they each create by being unique souls. Coral in The Diaspora creates a visceral experience for its readers through its colorful imagery and beautiful language by giving voice to the island of Haiti. Grab your copy here before they’re gone.
Check out what early readers are saying:
“Jerrice Baptiste's lush and tender poems will take you on a compelling sensory journey that celebrates life in Haiti. I found myself relaxing into the soothing order in this world, where the harsh heat is balanced with cool breezes and nourishing fruit, family rituals are passed down to guide younger generations through life's mysteries and milestones, and nature’s wisdom prevails. Magical!”
–– Sarah Urech, holistic educator, coach, improvisational storytelling performerYou can find our other 2024 releases in our store here.
Sunday Reading Series with My Sisters Look Like God author Desiree McCray - Chicago, IL on 7/21/24
Desiree McCray, author of our latest poetry collection My Sisters Look Like God, will be reading with Brittany Rogers and Jason Koo at the Chicago Sunday Reading Series next week! Learn more and RSVP here.
Work with Abode - applications close 8/1/24
After wrapping up our June programming, we jumped right into our Reading Internship applications. We started sending out decisions over the weekend, so keep an eye out for an email from us!
We are also looking for an Administrative Assistant and Graphic Designer (big thank you to nat raum for helping us with designs during our first year!).
Both positions are currently volunteer roles, 1-3 hours a week, while we work towards securing more grants. All Abode team members can attend any workshops for free.
Our Administrative Assistant will help with author management, website management, email correspondence, and other press needs.
Our Graphic Designer will create graphics for our social media channels, website, and events.
You can learn more about applying on our website here.
Chapbook Submissions - open 8/15/24
It’s almost time for our second annual chapbook reading period, and we have exciting news! Our author advance is increasing from $75 to $200. Thank you for all of the support we have gotten in our first year as a press. It’s because of this that we can pay our authors and bring intersectional literature into the world.
Chapbook submissions will open again in exactly one month! We want to read about the ghosts in your closet, the heritage that guides your cooking, the cultural emblems that decorate your walls. Because when someone invites you into their abode, they’re letting you see a piece of themselves. At Abode Press, we believe it’s important to prioritize these narratives to create a world with better empathy, understanding, and compassion for others.
Starting next month, send us your prose, poetry, and everything in between. Submission fees will be on a sliding scale, with fee waivers available for writers of color who are queer or trans.
More details about submissions and our author package can be found here. We can’t wait to read your words!
Workshops
The Retreat may be over, but we still have workshops coming up! At Abode, we believe offering affordable workshops is important so all writers can have access to writing tools and community engagement. All of our workshops are virtual and are offered on a sliding scale, starting at $10.
Join us for Dismantling and Building the Page: Visual Poetry with Monica Kim, Sunday July 28th, 1-3:00pm CST. *A portion of the proceeds will go to Operation Olive Branch mutual aid efforts in Gaza*
In this workshop, we will examine the ways in which visual poetry can subvert the Western poetic page and norm of the English language. By reading and discussing works from visual poets of color such as Douglas Kearney, George Abraham, Tarik Dobbs, and Diana Khoi Nguyen, workshop participants will learn ways in which visual aspects of poetry such as text modification and creation of shapes with text can further convey themes within a poem or stand in contradiction with the text. Recognizing poetry’s long oral tradition, workshop participants will also listen to the above poets’ audio recordings (where available) of their poetry and learn how visual poetry and the vocal performance of poetry work together to create added layers of meaning.
Learn more about our other upcoming 2024 workshops here!
Thank you for being part of the Abode community. Until next time!