Tag Archives: editing

Creative Writing, Editing, Readings

More Michigan Fracture Events

IMG_0495Here are a couple photos from our April event at Lansing’s Everybody Reads. Sorry about the quality; we did have a professional photographer attend our Creston Wellness Center event, and I hope to share the photos from that soon.

Here also are a few more dates for upcoming Fracture readings in Michigan. As always, they are free and open to the public!

Saturday, August 6 – Traverse City, Michigan

Join us at the Horizon Books for a reading and book signing with contributors Stephanie Mills and Maryann Lesert as well as yours truly.

Details on the Horizon’s event page.IMG_0498

Tuesday, August 9 – Pellston, Michigan

The University of Michigan Biological Station will host a reading and discussion with me as well as contributors Maryann Lesert and Stephanie Mills.

Details on the UMBS event page.

Tuesday, September 20 – Lansing, Michigan

In partnership with Lansing Community College’s Science Department, Schuler Books (Eastwood) hosts the monthly discussion group Cafe Scientifique, an outreach program to promote public interest in science. This September, the group will discuss fracking and Fracture with contributor Maryann Lesert as their honored guest.

Find a list of Cafe Scientifique’s past events here.

There are still more events in the works, and on Thursday, I’m going into the studio with Maryann Lesert to talk to Lester Graham, host of Michigan Radio’s Stateside program. I’ll post those dates and a link to the interview when I have them!

A frequently updated list of past and upcoming readings can be found at the bottom of  our page on the publisher’s (newly redesigned!) website. Be sure to follow both the book and the press on Facebook to keep up with the latest news, and tweet at us @icecubepress, @fractureanth, and @brooktrouting.

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Creative Writing, Editing, Readings

The Fracture Tour Continues

UWy

Photo by Taylor Brorby at our U Wyoming event

Here’s an update on our Michigan Fracture events, all of which are free and open to the public.

There are a couple more in the works—I’ll let you know when we have the details for you!

 

Tuesday, May 10 – Grand Haven, Michigan

Join us at the Bookman for a reading and book signing with contributors Stephanie Mills and Maryann Lesert as well as yours truly.

Details on the Bookman’s event page.

Tuesday, May 24 – Grand Rapids, Michigan

The Creston Wellness Center will host an evening of music by Sarah Barker and Max Lockwood as well as readings by contributor Maryann Lesert and myself. With just one week left to gather enough signatures to put fracking on Michigan’s 2016 ballot, the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan will be on site with petitions.

Find details about this event here.

Tuesday, August 9 – Pellston, Michigan

The University of Michigan Biological Station will host a reading and discussion with me as well as contributors Maryann Lesert and Stephanie Mills.

Details on the UMBS event page.

A frequently updated list of past and upcoming readings can be found at the bottom of  our page on the publisher’s website.

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Creative Writing, Editing, Readings

Fracture on Tour

Since early February, my co-editor, Taylor Brorby, and many of our contributors have been sharing Fracture with audiences across America–from Pennsylvania to Colorado, from Wisconsin and Minnesota to Texas, and all across Ice Cube Press’s home state of Iowa and Taylor’s home state of North Dakota. Though Ice Cube Press is a “Midwest Book Publisher,” fracking and its impacts know no such geographical distinctions.

I’m looking forward to joining the tour in April, traveling throughout my own home state of Michigan and even all the way to Laramie, Wyoming. All events are free and open to the public.

Stay tuned for additional Michigan events (including Harmony Brewing and Creston Wellness Center in Grand Rapids, The Bookman in Grand Haven, and Schuler Books in Lansing) as we finalize dates, but for now, you can plan on the following opportunities:

Tuesday, April 12 – Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids Community College‘s School of Arts and Sciences and English Department will host an evening of music by Sarah Barker and readings by contributors Maryann Lesert and Stephanie Mills as well as me. Details on our Facebook event page.

Saturday, April 16 – Laramie, Wyoming

The University of Wyoming Creative Writing Program will present an all-day event devoted to Fracture, including readings, presentations, and book signings with contributors Kathleen Dean Moore, Rick Bass, and Antonia Felix as well as both editors. Find details about this event here.

Saturday, April 23 – Lansing, Michigan

Everybody Reads will host a reading with contributors Maryann Lesert and Stephanie Mills as well as me. I’ll update this post with a link to the event page soon.

Tuesday, August 9 – Pellston, Michigan

The University of Michigan Biological Station will host a reading and discussion with contributors Maryann Lesert and Stephanie Mills as well as me. Details forthcoming on their event page.

A frequently updated list of past and upcoming readings can be found at the bottom of  our page on the publisher’s website.

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Book Reviews, Creative Writing, Editing, In the Media, Interviews

Fracture in the News

Fracture officially released February 14, and there has been a lot of great media coverage of the book since then, including a review in Flyway: Journal of Writing and Environment, an interview in Orion Magazine, and conversations with public radio.

One recent article we’re excited about is an online review by Thomas Fate for the Chicago Tribune. Here’s an excerpt:

Fracture includes a wide variety of voices and thinking, which is what keeps the book from slipping into what anthologies of social critique can become — cycles of guilt-laden lament, where the language of the activist overwhelms the language of the artist. In Fracture these two viewpoints somehow converge rather than compete, resulting in an innovative and compelling weave of writers who both educate and inspire.

Fracture will also be featured in their Sunday edition.

Another recent article worth calling out is by Adam Burke for Little Village magazine. In addition to promoting tomorrow’s reading at Prairie Lights, Burke sought to understand the significance of the book through the experiences of the editors and contributors. He interviewed both Taylor and me, plus three of our contributors, beautifully illustrating the range of perspectives and motivations you’ll find in Fracture.

“Bringing a book like Fracture into the world is important because our society needs to cultivate healthy, productive ways to talk about big contentious issues like hydraulic fracturing,” Trout said, adding, “We have not attempted to represent every side of the issue, but we have aimed to provide context for conversations about fracking and to illustrate just how complicated the issue is.”

Ice Cube Press frequently updates this page with links to reviews and local and national media reporting on the book.

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Creative Writing, Editing, In the Media

Fracture Trailer

Video

 

We are less than two weeks from our official release date, and those of us who have had the privilege of working on the book are thrilled to share Fracture with the rest of the world.

Enjoy this trailer by videographer extraordinaire Ana Hurtado and my co-editor, Taylor Brorby:

 

And now get yourself over to Ice Cube Press to order yourself a copy!

Editing, Random

Gratitude

Fracture opened for submissions a little over one year ago, and this Thanksgiving, I wanted to take the opportunity to express my gratitude toward those who have helped support the project.

I have to start with Taylor Brorby, my co-editor, since this book simply would not exist without him. The concept was his idea, and I am so grateful that he invited me to join him in taking this book from concept to reality.

Of course, Steve Semken of Ice Cube Press was the one who said yes when we pitched the idea, and Taylor and I are both so thankful to Steve for believing in us and in Fracture. The publishing world needs more people like Steve, and I’m honored to continue working with him.

Without all of our contributors, Taylor and I would have a pretty slim volume, and I am grateful for each of them as well as everyone else who submitted their work to Fracture. Thanks also to Samantha Futhey, a brilliant poet, wonderful person, and Ice Cube Press intern for her help with final copyedits.

Many thanks to Pam Houston for agreeing to write an introduction to the book and to everyone who gave us their endorsements (which can be found here on the Ice Cube Press website).

We are indebted to Bruce J. Miller of Miller Book Trade Marketing, who is the Ice Cube Press sales rep, for his support of the project. And thanks also to our distributors, all the book sellers, and the professors who are teaching Fracture in their college classes. Without them, Fracture would be a tree falling in the forest without anyone around to hear it.

Thanks to our partners at 350.org and Orion, to everyone who has pre-ordered a copy of Fracture, and to everyone else who eagerly awaits its release. Thanks to all of my friends, family, and colleagues that have supported me thought this project.

To the environmental writers and activists who came before us, to those who will come after us, to all who have the courage to speak: thank you.

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Editing, Random

Updates Forthcoming

Thank you to those of you who follow this crazy little thing called my author website, and a big welcome to those of you who are visiting for the first time. I’ve been curating online resources for readers and writers, so you may experience some minor changes to the website as I make room for these new pages over the next few months.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but that isn’t because things are quiet over here in my pond. Defending my thesis, finishing my MFA, moving back to Michigan, and the Great Job Search of 2015 have kept me busy. At the same time, I have had plenty of writerly developments, and you can expect me to backdate some posts about those here soon.

web-page-fracture-coverAnd you’ll definitely get plenty of updates (as both new and backdated posts) about Fracture soon too. If you don’t know yet, Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America is a new Ice Cube Press anthology that I am editing with Taylor Brorby, a colleague of mine from Iowa State University who was recently named the Reviews Editor for Orion Magazine. With an introduction by Pam Houston, Fracture features work from dozens of contributors and will be the first literary collection to focus on hydraulic fracturing. I’ll put that contributor list up here with a link to their websites before December end.

What are people saying about Fracture? Let’s have a little preview, shall we?

Symphonic in form, euphoric in heart, this volume brings together a great, sometimes-desperate chorus that ought to be heard world-over, wherever there is oil and gas-rich shale below, and living things above. The politics and economics of fossil fuels has never been a pretty thing, but the ingenious barbarity of fracking against a vulnerable and increasingly debauched planet may be the ugliest of all extractive methods. From memory to musings, in facts and fictions, in reason and rhyme, these assembled pieces offer acutely aware and knowledgeable perspectives on a disastrously flawed practice. Listen before it’s too late.

–Lynn Stegner, Because a Fire Was in My Head

Fracture officially releases February 14, 2016, but you can read more advance reviews and preorder copies now on the Ice Cube Press website.

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Creative Writing, Editing

Fracture Galleys

Galley BoxThe Fracture galleys are in!

My co-editor Taylor Brorby, our publisher Steve Semken, and I are hard at work proofing these advanced copies, and we can’t wait to share this powerful book with you. But we’ll have to wait because we want it to be perfect for you. Ice Cube Press will release Fracture on February 14, 2016.

In the meantime, follow us on Facebook and Twitter @fractureanth.

And while you’re at it, here are some more great pages to follow for Fracture updates:

And, of course, you can find me Tweeting (or sometimes not Tweeting) @brooktrouting.

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Creative Writing, Editing, Nonfiction

Fracture Contributor List

Taylor Brorby and I received so many wonderful submissions to Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America and are very thankful to everyone who sent us their work! We are pleased to release our list of talented contributors:

Plus, the anthology will include work by the editors, Taylor Brorby and yours truly, and an introduction by Pam Houston.

Learn more on the Ice Cube Press website.

Follow us on Facebook for the latest news.

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Creative Writing, Editing, Musings

So You Wanna Be Anthologized?

My Fracture co-editor Taylor Brorby and I have a few tips for writers who would like to see their work anthologized some day soon.

Read “So You Wanna Be Anthologized” in The Review Review or on the Ice Cube Press blog.

Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America is open for submissions until June 1, 2015. Find our guidelines on the Ice Cube Press website.

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Creative Writing, Editing, Presentations, Public Appearances

NAR Bicentennial Conference

Are you attending ‪the North American Review’s Bicentennial Conference in Cedar Falls?

If so, check out the Ice Cube Press table at the book fair. Also, come see a publishing panel featuring me, fellow Prairie Gold editor Lance Sacknoff, and Ice Cube Press founder/CEO Steve Semken.

Saturday, June 13

J-3 Breaking into Publishing:
How to Transform a Manuscript into a First Publication
4:15-5:30, Bartlett Hall 0034

Schedule of sessions

Conference details

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Editing, Presentations, Public Appearances

Local Wonders Event

AMES

Sunday, May 3, 2015, at 5:00 pm
Design on Main, 203 Main Street

This weekend is the 2015 Local Wonders Community Potluck sponsored by AgArts. Last year, the attendees voted for two winners of the 2014 Local Wonders Grant, one of which was Prairie Gold: An Anthology of the American Heartland. On Sunday, PG editor Lance Sacknoff will present on all the awesome things the AgArts grant helped us do. Find more details here.

Local Wonders

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