Torch Lake & Other Poems By Brian Johnson ISBN: 978-1-934832-07-3 Purchase at Amazon.com Purchase at Barnes&Noble.com "The most lyrical poems (mostly in prose) that I have read in years. A silver-tongued 'I' with little concern for itself, so wakeful and watchful is it embodied, and so attuned to its bounty of fabulous perceptions. A first collection brought to a nearly translucent state of shine. —C.D. Wright "Torch Lake & Other Poems is the most original and exciting collection given American poetry since Larry Levis’ Elegy. There’s more juice, scope, imagination and sheer vitality in this work than in twenty run-of-the-mill collections." —Gray Jacobik

The 2008 Robert Olen Butler Prize Stories ISBN: 978-1-934832-06-6 Purchase at Amazon.com The nine short stories collected here, selected by our judge and panel of readers from a pool of over five hundred stories, admirably showcase the range, vitality, and distinction of the contemporary literary short story. Kimberly Willardson's winning story, "Winter Memories of the Summer Bear," was chosen from the 2008 contest's nine finalists by our judge, Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler. Finalists include Jacob M. Appel, Miriam Gershow, Nick Healy, Brodie Smith, Erin Soros, Naomi Williams, Mark Wisniewski, and Christina Yu.

Ascension Days Poems by David Blair Winner of the 2006 Del Sol Press Poetry Prize ISBN: 978-0-979150-15-9 Purchase at Amazon.com "What a strange and intense book this is! David Blair has a wild, restless imagination and he uses language like saw, a hammer, a velvet whip. He can write incredibly tender (and original) love poems and enfilading satirical poems, as well as many of the many other 'kinds' of poems between those poles, and they all seem entirely at home, indeed, need to be in this book together. His music, his diction, his refusal to use (ever!) cliches, his syntax all drive his poems and their hearts forward. That is where his poems go: forward. He will be in the company of the best poets of his generation." —Thomas Lux

The 2007 Robert Olen Butler Prize Stories ISBN: 978-0-979150-16-6 Purchase at Amazon.com These ten short stories—Valerie Hurley's winning story, "Jasmine, Washing the Hair of Pearsa," and nine finalists—show the range possible in the contemporary literary short story. From a pool of over five hundred stories, some published in very well-known journals and magazines, and many unpublished, our panel of readers selected these finalists. Valerie Hurley's winning story was chosen by our judge, Pulitzer winner Robert Olen Butler. Here you'll find stories by: Jacob M. Appel, Stephenie Brown, Lauren Cobb, LaTanya McQueen, Benjamin Pearlberg, Matthew Pitt, Scott Winokur, and Mark Wisniewski.

A Pure Bead Poems by Allegra Wong ISBN: 978-0-979150-17-3 Purchase at Amazon.com In language at once candid and layered, calm and devastating, terrifying and gorgeous, the poems in Allegra Wong's first collection, A Pure Bead, cut deep to the heart, reveal small and piercing dramas of human joy and suffering as if through a diorama's eye-hole. These vivid poem-worlds expand emotionally and intellectually; give off shocks; attract, disturb, unsettle, and finally allow a tender and profound beauty to emerge. Here is nothing less than the complex, psychologically accurate world of humankind. Put your eye to these dioramas: you won't be able to stop looking.

Your Life Is a Movie Edited by Don Thompson and Nicholas Rombes ISBN: 978-0-974822-99-0 Purchase at Amazon.com Your Life Is a Movie contains some of the most provocative thinking about media, film and culture you're likely to encounter. Drawn from scholars, political pundits, filmmakers and film critics--ranging from the famous to the relatively obscure--this anthology of interviews and essays is a must-read for anyone concerned about the direction of film and media in modern culture. Contributors include Eric Alterman, Ray Carney, Patricia Ducey, Timothy Dugdale, Todd Gitlin, T. B. Meek, Michael Neff, Rob Nilsson, Nicholas Rombes, and Don Thompson.