Best of the Small Press 2012: Nate McDonough

It's that time again, when I ask small press authors and editors to contribute lists of their favorite small press books of the year. Without further ado:

1. Extravagant Traveler by Jeremy Baum (Self Published, 2012)

2. White Clay by Thomas Herpich (Adhouse Books, 2012)

3. Wizzywig by Ed Piskor (Top Shelf, 2012)

4. Afterschool Special by Dave Kiersh (Self Published, 2012)

5. Wild Child by M Young (Smoke Persian Press, 2012)

~~Small Press Picks by Nate McDonough, editor of GRIXLY comics anthology and author of graphic novel DON’T COME BACK (self published, 2012)

Please DO come back. There will be many more Best of Small Press 2012 lists now through Dec 31.

POSTPONED: Indie Publishing Panel in Brooklyn

Don't miss this panel discussion on indie publishing to be held Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 7.30 PM at Spoonbill & Sugartown in Brooklyn.

From the Facebook event page:

To initiate an ongoing debate on the state of independent publishing, Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers is bringing together local indie authors who have chosen to forgoe traditional publishing and forge their own paths to authorship. Through consistantly selling out at indie bookstores around the nation and garnering accliam for their work, these wordsmiths are proving to be the vanguard of a new model for publishing. The night features m. craig (The Narrows), Susan Kirschbaum (Who Town), Nathaniel Kressen (Concrete Fever), and Rami Shamir (Train to Pokipse) -- who will talk about the struggles and joys of independent publishing. Specific issues of finance, book-production, editing, and promotion will also be addressed. The authors will share the various approaches they've taken in dealing with these issues, while being questioned by the evening's moderator and Spoonbill's book buyer, Jamie Johnston. The event will take place on Nov 01, 2012 at 7.30 PM at Spoonbill & Sugartown in Williamsburg. 

Post script: There is a chance that Anonymous. author of The Oxygen Thief, will also participate in the panel.

UPDATE:
This event has been POSTPONED due to Hurricane Sandy. As of now, there is no new date. Stay tuned to Spoonbill & Sugartown's events page to find out about the new date.

Best of the Small Press 2011: Last Day

Our last indie publishing recommendations for 2011 come from Marc Bell, who came to Pittsburgh in September when his Pure Pajamas (Drawn & Quarterly) tour joined up with the Big Questions tour of illustrator Anders Nilsen. Based in Ontario, Marc is both a cartoonist and a fine artist whose drawings have been compared to R. Crumb, Kaz, and Philip Guston. In the '90s he rose to underground fame with his self-published mini-comics (aka comic zines). Other readers might know him from the anthology Kramers Ergot or his own retrospective book, Hot Potatoe (Drawn & Quarterly, 2009).

Copacetic Comics hosted Marc & Anders' Pittsburgh event, as I mentioned on Day 8 of the Best of Small Press 2011. I've already crowed about (more-than-comics) indie bookstore Copacetic a few times on this blog, but I don't think I've mentioned PIX, the new Pittsburgh Indy Comics Expo that Copacetic owner, Bill Boichel launched in 2010. From the start, PIX drew an impressive array of small publishers and self-publishers from Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, DC, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Columbus, Vermont, and numerous other spots in the Northeast and Midwest. In 2011, PIX coincided with SPF, Pittsburgh's literary small press fair.

Thanks again to Marc Bell for offering the final recommendations for Best of the Small Press 2011. Don't miss this long interview with him in The Comics Journal.

*****

1. Rapture, Scott McIntyre & Peter Thompson (self published)
2. Uncle Pork Chop Scrapes Away The Summer, Billy Bert Young, Jason McLean and Peter Thompson (self published)
3. Melatonin Carp Bomb, Mark Connery (self published)
4. One Dollar, Jonathan Petersen (self published)

Recommended by Marc Bell
Author of Pure Pajamas and Hot Potatoe
http://marcbelldept.blogspot.com/