THE CHAD - SMOKELONG INTERVIEW on flash fiction

Check out CHAD SIMPSON's interview at SMOKELONG. He discusses writing and teaching flash fiction, selecting the WIGLEAF 50, and the future of the genre.

Here is a line from his interview that makes a lot of sense to me:

"...pay attention to why each detail matters. What is it evoking? Is this consistent with other details? Is it inconsistent in a good way--because it makes a character or a situation more complex? Is it necessary or is it merely suggesting something that another detail might have already suggested?"

Obviously he's talking about the use of description and adding details to flash pieces. He talks about it in the same way I do to my writing classes, something FRANCINE PROSE calls "putting every word on trial for its life."

Also, check out MATTHEW SAVOCA's story Natural Seismic Phenomenon up now at WIGLEAF.

MONKEYBICYCLE

Check out the latest offerings in Monkeybicycle by a few DOGZPLOT folks.

CRISPIN BEST
Excerpts from "A User's Guide to Ghosts"
http://www.monkeybicycle.net/archive/Best/ghost.html

SHAYN NICELY
Signature Plays of the Literary Field
http://www.monkeybicycle.net/archive/Nicely/plays.html
my favorite: "Pulling a Bukowski: rambling at a bar, not giving a shit who likes your work (loudly)."

SEAN RUANE
Clouds and Paraguay
http://www.monkeybicycle.net/archive/Ruane/clouds.html

WHERE ARE YOU - aaron burch

AARON BURCH

YOU ARE HERE

NIGHT TRAIN

http://www.nighttrainmagazine.com/contents/burch_fb.php

MICHAEL PHELPS IN MCSWEENEY'S

MCSWEENEY'S

RAVI MANGLA

A GUY FROM MICHAEL PHELPS'S GUPPY SWIM CLASS MAKES A DRUNK DIAL

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2008/8/25mangla.html

A LITTLE SOMETHING TO SMOKE ON / WIGLEAF - AUTUMN PLAYLIST

OPIUM

PETER SCHWARTZ

FIVE COURSE EMPTINESS

http://www.opiummagazine.com/


Check out the AUTUMN PLAYLIST up at WIGLEAF.

Music selections from:

Matt Bell
Myfanwy Collins
Thomas Cooper
Barry Graham ( I went with Hank Jr - All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down. There's something about rednecks picking guitars and drinking whiskey and eating cornbread that will always remind me of Fall)
Tai Dong Huai
Ravi Mangla
Mary Miller
Amanda Nazario
Ellen Parker
Matthew Savoca
J.W. Wang

DZANC BEST OF THE WEB 2009 - nominees

I know. I know. I'm still going through the 2008 anthology, but nonetheless, I got the email last week asking for my 09 nominations, so after careful consideration... here they are:

RAVI MANGLA
popemobile
http://www.dogzplot.com/mangla1.html

AARON BURCH
overcast
http://dogzplot.blogspot.com/2008/02/overcast-aaron-burch.html

ELIZABETH ELLEN
fistful
http://www.dogzplot.com/ellen1.html


CONGRATS to these fine folks.

STORYGLOSSIA 29

Storyglossia is probably the only lit journal I read cover to cover on the first day it comes out. You can always be sure that everything is gonna be amazing. This time around is no exception. Great things from:

(Including, as always, links to DOGZPLOT contributors, and to TJ Forrester, who was kind enough to feature DOGZPLOT on his 5 Star Literary Stories)

Benjamin Buchholz
Peggy Newland
TJ Forrester
Rose Hunter
Sam Pink
Jimmy Chen
Douglas Bruton
Sean Ruane
Kelly Spitzer
Sara Flannery Murphy
Donna George Story

KIM CHINQUEE / WIGLEAF

I have no idea why reviewing these Olympic games has me thinking about KIM CHINQUEE's new story up at WIGLEAF, but it does. Read it now.

Yeah I do. I know why. But it's a secret.

POSH DOLLS
Wigleaf
kim chinquee
http://wigleaf.com/200808poshdolls.htm

OLYMPICS 08 - BEACH VOLLEYBALL REVIEW

OLYMPICS 08 - RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS REVIEW

REMEMBER WHEN...

30 SEEMED SO FUCKING OLD

YA SOU! / PINDELDYBOZ

Check out the summer issue of YA SOU! which includes a few DOGZPLOT contributors and friends:

COREY MESLER
http://yasouezine.tripod.com/id33.html

LUIS C. BERRIOZABAL
http://yasouezine.tripod.com/id36.html


Also, new stories at PINDELDYBOZ.

SHANE JONES
http://www.pindeldyboz.com/sjsheriff.htm

MATT RYAN
http://www.pindeldyboz.com/mrxylophone.htm

BEST OF THE WEB 2008 INVADES THE INTERNET

Best of the Web 2008 Invades the Internet

As the Best of the Web series celebrates online publishing, we thought an online invasion of information was necessary and found many literary bloggers that felt the same way we did. The following links are mainly to guest posts from authors whose work is included in Best of the Web 2008.

You can now hear five of the authors reading the works that they have included in Best of the Web 2008 at the new Dzanc multimedia page!

Large Hearted Boy has a Book Notes up dedicated to the anthology!

The Elegant Variation has a series of posts up from Zachary Amendt.

Okey Ndibe writes about his essay over at the Visiting Hours blog.

Matt Bell has a post up from Ron Tanner.

New Hampshire's The Mumpsimus has a series of posts (combined into one) from Myfanwy Collins.

The Written Nerd was kind enough to come out of an August blogging hiatus to post writing from Sarah Sweeney!

Writing from Benjamin Buchholz can be found both at LitKicks and the Emerging Writers Network.

Maine's own Condalmo has an essay from Maine's own Jacques Rancourt.

Robin Behn's essay about her BotW essay can be found at Syntax of Things.

Fernham has the first of a trio of posts from Michael Bahler up already - keep checking throughout the afternoon for the other two!

Some other sites to look to later in the day include Seth Harwood's blog,

Powells.com's blog, Critical Mass, and No One Does That as they all also have posts at the ready.

TITULAR

Check out new stories at TITULAR from DOGZPLOT contributors:

Ravi Mangla
Weird Science

Robert Swartwood
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Savannah-Louise
Naked Lunch

Maria Anderson
Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Barry Graham
The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven

BORE PARADE / KENDRA GRANT MALONE

Check this out. Just read it today on Bore Parade. It is a diaryish thing by Kendra Grant Malone, LOVE YOUR FRIENDS AND NOT YOUR LOVERS.

Small excerpt:

"Last night I was irritable. I had wanted to see Jakub earlier in the day and he wasn’t free until 11pm. I need to be more frank with him about my dislike for staying up all night. So, I had a couple of drinks with Nicole on the couch and bitched about feeling impatient. When I left I felt riddled with second thoughts about Jakub and an unanswerable irritation towards the idea of being in love. Coupled with those feelings I felt a very tiny despair growing and when the train came I felt like running off and finding a small dark damp place to sit and listen to music and be alone.

By the time I was at Jaukub’s door and I heard his voice I was completely washed of those strange feelings I had on my way over. When he opened the door I felt happy and calm. The evening was a quiet one. We just watched movies and giggled, ate ice cream, kissed a lot, fooled around and went to bed in each other’s arms. I’m not sure what I was a mess about on the train. It was the same vague abstractions I have used in the past to talk myself out of being happy with someone.

Jakub cums a lot. It shoots very far and hard as well. This is very sexy. There is nothing worse than when you want someone to cum on you and you get this runny little drip. It makes me feel really beautiful the way he explodes all over me. After he came on my face he was immediately very worried and concerned and apologetic. He says he doesn’t just want to push my boundaries. I tried to calmly and patiently explain to him that my boundaries are far and that I will be vocal about crossing them."

ELIMAE / KEYHOLE

New stories and poems and all that good stuff up from a few DOGZPLOT folks in the latest issues of Elimae and Keyhole:

ROBERT A. DOLLESIN
Elimae
http://www.elimae.com/2008/August/Fried.html

KIM CHINQUEE
Elimae
http://www.elimae.com/2008/August/Kill.html

JIMMY CHEN
Elimae
http://www.elimae.com/2008/August/Michel.html

MEG POKRASS
Elimae
http://www.elimae.com/2008/August/Viking.html

No disrespect to Elimae or its current contributors, but everything is starting to sound the same for me. Month after month, the names change, but the writing all just sounds like Elimae. And maybe that's the point, but fuck, its starting to bore me.

On the other hand, looky looky what's going down at Keyhole, they're out there mixing shit up, snatching up words that demand to be published. Amen.

I'm not comparing the two respective journals, I'm just thinking about their approaches.

HEATHER FOWLER
Keyhole
http://keyholemagazine.com/heather-fowler/catholic-girl-smile

KIM CHINQUEE
Keyhole
http://keyholemagazine.com/kim-chinquee/globe

DUOTROPE SWIFT LIST

I was just told that DOGZPLOT is listed as #4 on DUOTROPE'S SWIFT LIST. Our reported response time is 2.6 days. Fuck. Who's been lying. I've never taken longer than 12 hours. Well, maybe once or twice.

Thanks to everyone who appreciates our swiftiness and reports it to DUOTROPE. I want to get down to minutes. 2.6 minutes.

I want to be the world's foremost Dr. Seuss scholar. I've discovered things. Private, mysterious, unbelievable things.

THIEVES JARGON / sam pink - meg pokrass

Check out latest offerings in Thieves Jargon from a few DOGZPLOT folks:

MEG POKRASS
http://www.thievesjargon.com/workview.php?work=1192

SAM PINK
http://www.thievesjargon.com/workview.php?work=1190

GHOTI 15 / WIGLEAF

Check out the latest issue of Ghoti. Excellent pieces from DOGZPLOT contributors and friends:

J.R. Pearson
http://ghotimag.com/pearson.htm

Meg Pokrass
http://ghotimag.com/pokrass.htm

Sean Ruane
http://ghotimag.com/ruane.htm

Jamie Lin
http://ghotimag.com/lin.htm

Ravi Mangla
http://ghotimag.com/mangla.htm

Corey Mesler
http://ghotimag.com/reviewmesler.htm


Also, check out WIGLEAF. New stories are being posted every few days it seems. "What is the new effort?" - Joe Wenderoth. I'm using as many Wenderoth quotes as I can until the HOBART 9 - Games issue is released.

Meg Pokrass
http://wigleaf.com/200808baking.htm

DOGZPLOT FLASH ANTHOLOGY - update

i know its taking longer than planned and its my fault. i got a call from the printer yesterday telling me that the dimensions of the cover design were wrong for the size of the book. i know i know. im a rookie at cover design. bare with me. it will be here very very soon. thank you for your continued patience.

its a wrap around cover. i like it a lot. the art itself was done by jordan c. brun.

5.5 by 8.5. 3/16 inch spine. 1/4 inch bleed. should have been simple right. i know. i know. i'm a fuck up.

DREW KALBACH - thieves jargon

Please check out Drew Kalbach's three poems up now at Thieves Jargon.

THE PROBLEM WITH ANY SORT OF CHANGE

CAR JACK

IT'S DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND IRONY WITH A BONESAW HALFWAY THROUGH YORU FEMUR

Also, please check out Drew's chapbook, available now for pre-order through the Achilles' Chapbook Series

THE ZEN OF CHAINSAWS AND ENORMOUS CLIPPERS

THE WOMAN DOWN THE HALL - lily hoang

Please check out Lily Hoang's ebook. THE WOMAN DOWN THE HALL, published on Lamination Colony. Well worth the read.

SHAINDEL BEERS - SALT PUBLISHING

Congratulations to DOGZPLOT BFF SHAINDEL BEERS.

from the publisher:

"Shaindel Beers to join Salt with a two book deal"

Fri, 1 Aug 2008 14:20:37 GMT

"Multi-award-winning poet Shaindel Beers is to join Salt with a two book deal. Beers’ poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She is currently a professor of English at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, Oregon, in Eastern Oregon’s high desert and also serves as Poetry Editor of Contrary, and as a Poetry Reviewer for Bookslut."


Additionally, she took her Jeopardy test online and was chosen for an audition (I'm so jealous) and Alex told her how much smarter she was then everybody else and she promised me (no she didn't) if she don't know the answer to the final jeopardy question (she will) she will not guess, she will simply write "What is DOGZPLOT"

PEQUIN

Good stuff at PEQUIN this month:

JESSICA WEDGE
its just what good friends do

LEAH BROWNING
the head in the freezer

MATTHEW SAVOCA
drips are everything

JIMMY CHEN
maker's mark