A Few Words About the Pushcart Prize FOR THE THIRD YEAR, Fictional Café’s baristas have chosen and submitted what we agreed were the best six works—three of fiction and three of poetry—we’ve published in the past year for consideration in the Pushcart Prize competition. As usual, a work from each of our Writer-in-Residence and Poet-in-Residence has been selected for the Prize. Congratulations to our six nominees! Here are their links on FC. Please check them out. Vera West, FC’s Poet-in-Residence: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/poet-in-residence-vera-west-shares-her-work-for-national-poetry-month/ Rachel Gonzalez, FC’s Writer-in-Residence: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/the-secret-society-by-rachel-gonzalez/ PS Conway, Poetry: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/coddled-by-mountains-poetry-by-ps-conway/ Levi Dodd, Fiction: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/cherry-black-a-story-by-levi-dodd/ Cori Sims, Poetry: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/poem-and-personal-essay-for-19-june-2023/ Bill Suter, Fiction: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/you-just-never-know-what-will-happen-at-the-cafe-chimera/ Just as you submit your own work for consideration on FC, Bill Henderson’s Pushcart Press asked literary publications, both print and online, for submissions to its Pushcart Prize Best of the Small Presses…
The Hurricane Book: A Lyric History
New Creative Nonfiction by Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones How do we mark the passage of time? How do we reconcile what we remember of our life and those we love – and have loved – against the mutability of memory? Like author Marcel Proust (À la recherche du temps perdu), Ms. Acevedo-Quiñones grapples with her life growing up in Puerto Rico and her identity as a writer in Brooklyn, marking the journey with the island’s six great hurricanes of the 20th century. With our deep gratitude to Rose Metal Press for publishing this book, we herewith present excerpts from Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones’ remarkable work. These excerpts do not do full justice to her innovative narrative, so please read the book. Meet the author live tomorrow (Wednesday, November 8, 2023) evening, in conversation with poet Paolo Javier at the…
“Out of the Far North” – A New Novel of International Intrigue
The Third Nir Tavor – Nicole le Roux Mossad Thriller, Just Published With over 100,000 copies of Operation Joktan and By Way of Deception in print, authors Amir Tsarfati and Steve Yohn deliver again with another pulse-pounding novel of international intrigue. Enriched by its being based on true events – as well as Tsarfati’s having been a major in the Israeli Defense Forces – your editors at The Fictional Café loved Out of the Far North and think you will, too. When the story begins we find Israeli Mossad secret agent Nir Tavor outside Damascus, Syria, bribing a road guard with a carton of Alhamraa cigarettes, and we’re off and running. The very contemporary backstory concerns Russia and Putin, who is furious and plotting revenge on Western energy markets. Europe, once reliant on Russian gas, have…
Mexico’s Legend of “La Llorona” in Story and Song
Debuting an Extraordinary Realization from Auteur Philip Gabbard and Fat Unicorn Society Studios The Fictional Café is thrilled to join in the worldwide release today of Philip Gabbard’s stunning work, “La Llorona.” He wrote the story, wrote and orchestrated the music, and produced this video, which features a heartbreakingly beautiful duet. This truly incredible visual portrayal of the legendary La Llorona stars Angela Muniz in her debut performance, accompanied by Mexican recording artist Federico Valdez. In just three minutes, “La Llorona” will take you on a journey through centuries of folklore and cultural heritage, revealed with a new artistic perspective on this age-old story. Take a listen, enjoy, peruse the lyrics and read the interview with Phil below. We would love for you to share your thoughts in the Comments section, and please share this post with…
The FC Publisher Interview: Stephen Games
The Publisher of EnvelopeBooks Proves You Can Judge A Book by Its Cover The art of creating a distinctive publishing brand among a miasma of publishers Ever wonder why there is no authoritative, independent resource for seeking out books like there is with IMDB for movies? (Well, like IMDB used to be, anyway.) It surely isn’t Amazon, nor is it Goodreads, which Amazon took over in 2013. A year earlier, a publishing entrepreneur filled that void in the UK . . . we interviewed him to learn about his experiences and views of the publishing business. In 2012, Stephen Games started a magazine connecting publishers’ books with readers and named it Booklaunch , which he says is, “now the highest circulation books magazine in the UK . . … Tabloid-size pages allow publishers to place…