Brian Fanelli: All That Remains

Alum Brian Fanelli has just released a new poetry book, All That Remains (Unbound Content). Here, in this Q&A, we catch up with Brian about the new collection, as well as some of his current events.

Tell us about your new book, All That Remains.
The process of All That Remains started while I was completing my M.F.A. at Wilkes. I had poems that ended up becoming my chapbook Front Man, but then I had poems that didn’t fit that manuscript and its very specific theme. So, after I graduated from Wilkes, I continued writing and revising poems and, eventually, I had enough commonality between the poems to build a full-length collection. It was a process that took five or so years. When the book was done, I researched different publishers and presses and discovered Unbound Content through Poets & Writers. Not only do I like what they publish, but also the way they interact with writers. It’s been a great process leading up to this point.

Were some of the poems in the book previously published in journals? Where might readers find a few samples of your work?
About 3/4 of the poems first appeared in other publications. Some of the poems appeared in Boston Literary Magazine, Portland Review, Third Wednesday, Harpur Palate, vox poetica, and a lot of other print and online journals. Some of the links can be found on my blog, All the Right Notes, or through a simple Google search.

Will there be a launch event anywhere? Any other events and readings planned?
[I had] a launch party on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Vintage Theater in downtown Scranton. I am reading at the Seeley Memorial Library at Lackawanna College on Friday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. and at the Hoyt Library in Kingston, PA Nov. 18 at 6:30 with Amye Archer and Rick Priebe. Then I have several readings out of the area, including in New Jersey, New York City, and other parts of PA. I’m reading at the KGB Bar on January 8 as part of the At the Inkwell reading series, which was launched by Monique Lewis, a Wilkes alum. On Dec. 8, I’m reading with Dr. Lennon and Ross Klavan, two Wilkes faculty members, at the Belmar Arts Council in New Jersey. This reading series was started by Pat Florio, another Wilkes alum. I’m grateful to have made these connections while at Wilkes and thrilled that so many of the program’s current students and alumni are hosting reading series in their communities. All of my other reading dates and events can be found under the events section of my website, www.brianfanelli.com.

Congrats, too, on the NEPA BlogCon nomination for your blog. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog? Where else can readers find you online?
My blog started as a way to have a conversation about poetry and post various tidbits and news about what’s going on in the poetry world. I also use it as a space to post information about my own writing process and events happening in the local poetry community. There is a link to the blog on my website, or through the direct website: http://brianfanelli.wordpress.com/.

Online shoppers will find All That Remains available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Michael Mailer film: HBO in Oct

Faculty member Michael Mailer, producer of more than twenty feature films, recently returned from the Cannes Film Festival where his film Seduced and Abandoned premiered. “It was an exciting time walking the red carpet,” Mailer said. The film stars Alec Baldwin and James Toback.

“Seduced and Abandoned is a nonfiction film, part mediation on film and the filmmaking process consisting of interviews of film legends such as Polanski, Bertolucci, Scorcese, Copola, and part adventure tale following the ups and downs of Alec Baldwin and James Toback as they attempt to set up a remake of Last Tango in Paris (but this one is set in Iraq called Last Tango in Tikrit) at the Cannes Film Festival,” Mailer said.

HBO bought the film for US distribution and will be airing it this fall, on Oct 25. Mailer is currently working on a new picture in Louisiana.

faculty member Nancy McKinley: laughs in print

Nancy McKinley promises ‘Halloween Party laughs’ in her short story, “Love, Masque & Folly.” The story is included in the short fiction anthology VOICES FROM THE PORCH, available for advance sale from Main Street Rag.

poetry manuscript evaluation

Accents Publishing is currently offering manuscript evaluation services.

For a limited amount of time, for a limited number of manuscripts, they are providing interested poets with feedback on their work-in-progress.

After the author submits a manuscript for evaluation, the senior editor of Accents Publishing (Katerina Stoykova-Klemer) and another reader affiliated with the press will read the manuscript and provide an evaluation, covering the following points:

• How well does the manuscript work as a whole?
• Are the poems ordered in the best possible way?
• Does it have a good title? How does the title work/interact with the manuscript?
• Does it read well as a book? If not, what is missing?
• Are there any poems that do not serve the manuscript or are not as effective as the rest?
• What else should the poet do before he/she starts sending the manuscript out for publication?
• Comments on competitiveness of the manuscript in the current market.
• Anything else that may helpful to the author.

Cost is $100 for a chapbook-length manuscript and $150 for a full-length manuscript. A limited number of manuscripts will be evaluated on a first-come first-served basis.

If interested, write to accents.publishing@gmail.com. Please note that you are not submitting a manuscript for consideration for publication by Accents. Rather, this service is an opportunity to receive a professional opinion on the quality and marketability of the manuscript.

The Wilkes writing community will recognize Accents Publishing, as they recently published advisory board member Thom Ward’s full-length collection, Etcetera’s Mistress.

playful news from alum Lori M. Myers

 

MA alum Lori M. Myers has good news to share! 

Her one-act play, “A 21st Century Christmas Carol,” has been published by Contemporary Drama Service. The play is a modern twist on Dickens’ classic with a female lead role, greedy old spinster Eleanor Scrooge. 

As a playwright, Lori’s work has been performed on six regional stages and has included drama, children’s musicals/plays, and comedic sketches. Her short fiction has appeared in various print and online literary journals both in the United States and abroad. She teaches writing workshops, is a part-time professor of writing at York College of Pennsylvania, and is interviews editor for Hippocampus Magazine where she has interviewed many noted authors. Lori holds a MA in creative writing from Wilkes University. 

For more info, visit Lori’s website: www.lorimmyers.com.