Indie Literary Market inspires Toronto on November 22

We've got a helluva small-press extravaganza lined up for next Saturday (November 22) in Toronto. We being the Meet the Presses collective.

We're gathering togeher a wonderful, hand-picked selection of literary publishers and mags from Toronto, Ottawa, St. John's, Cobourg, Buffalo, Windsor, Erin, London, Hamilton, Victoria, Mt. Pleasant, Kingston and Hamilton. Not bad, huh?

Meet the Presses will also be handing out the 2014 bpNichol Chapbook Award, with a purse now doubled to $4,000, thanks to our anonymous donor. This award goes to the best poetry chapbook by a Canadian, published in Canada, as chosen by our judges Sandra Ridley and Kevin McPherson Eckhoff. The shortlist is:

Government: Jason Christie (above/ground)
Life Savings: Mat Laporte (Odourless)
pleasantries and other misdemeanours: Christine McNair (Apt. 9)
a fist made and then unmade: matt robinson (Gaspereau)
Oilywood: Christine Leclerc (Nomados)
X: Phil Hall (Thee Hellbox)

I'll be there for Proper Tales Press, with new chapbooks by Michael Dennis, Jason Heroux, and Oded Carmeli (the latter two if I get them done on time). It's Tales' 35th year in existence. I was hoping to have a big 35th birthday party, but I'm so goddamn busy this year I can barely breathe. Maybe I'll do a 36th birthday party next year. I've got forthcoming chapbooks lined up by Michelle Winters and Christine Miscione, but I think they'll be coming out in 2015.

Over and out.