Hello Dear Readers-
Here we are: Issue 26, in our 20th year! My how time shimmies.
We’ve been busy over here since we last engaged, attending and co-sponsoring the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans, picking several amazing titles for our latest GERTIE shipment, officially on-boarding Kate Carroll de Gutes as our new CNF editor, and planning an amazing event for next year’s AWP.
For those who don’t know what AWP is—it’s the biggest writing professionals’ conference going, averaging around 15,000 attendees. And next year it will be hosted in our beloved Portland, OR, where we are based (even though our Poetry Editor, Stephanie Glazier, lives in Detroit now and our fiction Editor, Cooper Lee Bombardier, lives in Nova Scotia). Next year will also be Gertrude's 21st birthday—so if you are coming for AWP, get ready to slam rainbow jell-o shots with us (uh, er, uhum maybe)! The event will be at our favorite local gay bar and feature readings by Jericho Brown, Arisa White, performance artist Wayne Bund, and the winners of this year’s chapbook contests. JUICY. JELLO!!! Uh.
For now, though, we're ready to enjoy the summer (as evidenced perhaps by our very summery cover from the amazing artist Vakseen). For me, this means stealing blackberry with the kids from the alien-monster bush taking over the alley, planning my book tour, and packing (aka giving shit away) for my upcoming move to Switzerland—just to keep things at Gertrude interesting, soon in four different time zones. For Cooper, this means writing and swimming at as many lakes and ocean beaches as possible. For Stephanie, it means teaching poetry to kids in Detroit. For Kate, it means trying to write two books at once, working her day job, riding her bike every day if it isn't raining, and juggling. Yes, Kate will also be learning how to juggle.
Our Managing Editor, Allison, will be attending the Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference to kick off the summer of "Allison Will Write Every Damn Day." And Karena, our Book Reviews Editor, will be reading through her large pile of books, learning German, stalking free plants on NextDoor, and planning my European book launch (really, she will be).
Hope you are doing the things you love to do this summer, including—of course—reading great queer lit and eating ample Cherry Bomb popsicles.
xo - tammy lynne stoner
Here we are: Issue 26, in our 20th year! My how time shimmies.
We’ve been busy over here since we last engaged, attending and co-sponsoring the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans, picking several amazing titles for our latest GERTIE shipment, officially on-boarding Kate Carroll de Gutes as our new CNF editor, and planning an amazing event for next year’s AWP.
For those who don’t know what AWP is—it’s the biggest writing professionals’ conference going, averaging around 15,000 attendees. And next year it will be hosted in our beloved Portland, OR, where we are based (even though our Poetry Editor, Stephanie Glazier, lives in Detroit now and our fiction Editor, Cooper Lee Bombardier, lives in Nova Scotia). Next year will also be Gertrude's 21st birthday—so if you are coming for AWP, get ready to slam rainbow jell-o shots with us (uh, er, uhum maybe)! The event will be at our favorite local gay bar and feature readings by Jericho Brown, Arisa White, performance artist Wayne Bund, and the winners of this year’s chapbook contests. JUICY. JELLO!!! Uh.
For now, though, we're ready to enjoy the summer (as evidenced perhaps by our very summery cover from the amazing artist Vakseen). For me, this means stealing blackberry with the kids from the alien-monster bush taking over the alley, planning my book tour, and packing (aka giving shit away) for my upcoming move to Switzerland—just to keep things at Gertrude interesting, soon in four different time zones. For Cooper, this means writing and swimming at as many lakes and ocean beaches as possible. For Stephanie, it means teaching poetry to kids in Detroit. For Kate, it means trying to write two books at once, working her day job, riding her bike every day if it isn't raining, and juggling. Yes, Kate will also be learning how to juggle.
Our Managing Editor, Allison, will be attending the Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference to kick off the summer of "Allison Will Write Every Damn Day." And Karena, our Book Reviews Editor, will be reading through her large pile of books, learning German, stalking free plants on NextDoor, and planning my European book launch (really, she will be).
Hope you are doing the things you love to do this summer, including—of course—reading great queer lit and eating ample Cherry Bomb popsicles.
xo - tammy lynne stoner