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Thursday, August 23, 2018

Waiting for the Wind to Rise by M. J. Arcangelini!


NightBallet Press is excited to announce the publication of
Waiting for the Wind to Rise by Michael Joseph Arcangelini!


Season Eight is beginning early here at NightBallet Press--we usually publish our first book of the season in late September or early October--but this year we have so many great books to put out, we can't wait!

Waiting for the Wind to Rise is released today in conjunction with tonight's Belle, Missouri, reading featuring the cross-country-traveling Arcangelini, and Jason Ryberg. You can read about the reading's details HERE. It promises to be a fantastic reading, and NightBallet Press urges you to catch the reading if you can (we certainly wish we could be there)!

Waiting for the Wind to Rise is a phenomenal collection of poems by an accomplished poet. It contains twenty-six poems on forty pages, and includes a special arrangement of one of the poems, "Zombie Politics," by Cleveland-area poet Christopher Franke. The cover is printed on white linen card stock, and features stunningly beautiful art by Becky Hernandez (who will also be at the reading in Belle tonight).

The poems have tantalizing titles, such as "My Aging Prostate," "Future, Like a Gift," "Deer Berries," and "Marcus Has Sold His Pick-Up Truck." In them, Arcangelini exposes his body's responses to aging, explores cherished memories, and expresses his outrage at today's political happenings.


 
 (photo by Marcus Borgman, used with permission)

M. J. Arcangelini was born in 1952 in western Pennsylvania, and grew up there and in Cleveland, Ohio. He currently lives in west Sonoma County, California. He began writing poetry at age eleven, stories in his teens, and memoirs in his forties. His work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, and he has two previous books, With Fingers at the Tips of My Words (Beautiful Dreamers Press, 2002), and Room Enough(NightBallet Press, 2016). You can find his poetry, memoirs, and more at Joe's blog: https://joearky.wordpress.com/.

The best way to obtain a copy of Waiting for the Wind to Rise is by attending tonight's reading in Belle, Missouri, where you can meet Arcangelini in person, hear him read, and have him sign your book! But if you can't do that, you can order a copy right here at NBP, through PayPal (all you need is a credit or debit card--you don't have to be a member of PayPal to use it). This book is only ten dollars, with four dollars for shipping/handling. Get your copy now, and get a jump on a brand-new season at NBP!*

*(Our seasons, or subscription/publishing years, usually run from September to September.)



Wednesday, August 1, 2018

BIG, NEW, EXCITING! SEASON 8 AT NIGHTBALLET PRESS!

 
It's midsummer, and things are going swimmingly here at the press. Season Seven finished out with an appropriately "hot" book (Arson by John Reinhart), and we've bought a brand new printer (HP OfficeJet Pro 8710) to replace the one that gave out while printing sixty copies of The Studs Turkel Blues and The Ugly Side of the Lake for Jason Baldinger. With the next season we have planned, it's a relief to know the new printer is up and running and ready to go!

Our Season Eight, which is our eighth year in business, will officially begin in September, 2018. And what a season we have in store for you! We'll begin by jumping the gun and producing a book early in August.

Joe Arcangelini, a poet originally from Cleveland who now lives in California, is traveling cross-country with a stop in Belle, MO, for a reading. NightBallet Press will have his new book, Waiting for the Wind to Rise, ready for him as he sets out! We're working on proofreading it and designing the cover today.
 
 
 

After Joe's book, which is the second title we've published for him, we will be publishing Columbus-area poet Sandra Feen's Fragile Capacities, poems written after 32 years of teaching in an urban high school. They highlight "an array of students and all their delicious complexities" and why the profession is "cherished by each individual teacher." Pre-orders for this book are already available, in the left column right below the "donate" button.

As Falls Trees by Mark Danowsky

This tightly compact collection with the irregular title (the poet prefers you make up your own interpretation concerning its construction) is from a Philadelphia poet I met at the Frostburg Indie Fest last year, and will be released at this year's Frostburg Indie Fest.
                                  
Dear Youngstown by Karen Schubert

Karen Schubert, who is a longtime resident of Youngstown, OH, and a fabulous poet, is a dynamo as one of the directors of Lit Youngstown and the Fall Literary Festival taking place September 21 and 22, 2018.
                                        
The Curve of Her Arm by Robin Mullet and Holli Rainwater
    
This is a "collaboration of two poets, combining haiku and free verse in a theme-based collection of poems on the art and practice of qigong. The poetry goes beyond the movements ekphrastically to the emotions and memories brought to the forefront by the ancient form." The cover art, which was commissioned by NBP, is by Becky Hernandez, and is simply stunning!

We are very pleased to have the manuscripts to two collections from excellent and exceptional poets for whom we've published numerous titles in the past:

Capicola Slang by Joey Nicoletti
Leaning Toward Greenland by Andy Roberts


 
and an as-yet-untitled collection of poems by Buffalo poet Julio Montalvo Valentin. He writes of rice and Puerto Rico, and we're leaving the Spanish words in. 


This is only the beginning!  We plan on accepting at least two, and depending on how things go over the course of the coming months, maybe four, more manuscripts for the season. We already have several in hand and under consideration. Our goal is at least a dozen titles per season. Last season, we had fourteen!

The printer, ink, paper, cardstock, postage, business cards, envelopes, packing tape, staples, and pens are only a part of what makes NightBallet Press run smoothly. We have our covers professionally printed by a local family-owned print shop. We make regular runs out to Brunswick (about a forty minute drive) to obtain our paper and cardstock from another family-owned business. Wherever possible, we support other small presses and family-owned small businesses, and we travel to literary festivals to publicize and promote our poets and their books.

We have produced over one hundred titles for poets across the United States and Canada. We have used the art of over a dozen artists and photographers for our covers, and we actively seek out exciting new art for future covers.

To any-and-everyone who has ever bought a NightBallet Press book, promoted the press, given us a table at an indie/literary festival, invited us to particpate in workshops, ordered additional copies, subscribed, or donated money, THANK YOU. You make it possible for NBP to give voice to some of the best contemporary poets alive today. I appreciate you, from the bottom of my heart.

This midsummer, NBP offers you an opportunity to participate in this grand endeavor and to be directly responsible for the next season's publications, by joining the Wingman Club. What is the Wingman Club? It's a one-year subscription to the press, which will start August, 2018 and go through to September, 2019. For fifty dollars, you receive every book that we publish during Season Eight, including the ones listed above! We guarantee you'll get your money's worth!

Last year's books, 2017-2018 Season Seven, totaled 14 books at $126.00, before shipping. The total worth of next season's books is estimated to exceed one hundred dollars. This subscription offers an additional bonus: no charge for postage! That's a huge savings, in addition to the incredibly low cost of a subscription.

A wingman is someone who supports a friend or associate. Feel the wind beneath your wings and take advantage of this offer while you can!  (Due to the high cost of postage, this offer is only for residents inside the United States, but we are more than happy to make alternate arrangements for anyone outside the U.S. who wishes to subscribe! Just contact us and we'll discuss it.)

Support this small press and you'll know that your subscription donation is going directly into books we publish. We do not receive grants or funding from any outside source but YOU. Join NightBallet Press' Wingman Club and begin your one year subscription today! You'll receive your first book before the month is out!