Other Books in the Works

We offer you a preview of the cover art for the forthcoming publications...

[BLOGROLL]

The Flamer by Ben Rogers Opens for Pre-Orders

Ben Rogers, recipient of a Nevada Arts Council Fellowship and two Sierra Arts Foundation Literary Artist Endowment Grants for fiction, presents his debut novel, The Flamer. Pre-order here. Book publishes Feb. 15, 2012.
[12/15/2011]

Omicron Ceti III by Thomas P. Balázs Opens for Pre-Orders

Don't miss this witty, inventive, and irreverent debut collection of short stories from Thomas P. Balázs. Pre-order here. Book publishes Jan. 28, 2012.
[12/15/2011]

As a Machine & Parts by Caleb J. Ross Releases

The much-anticipated experimental text/image novella in which man becomes machine--yes, of course we're talking about As a Machine & Parts by Caleb J. Ross--makes it way into the world. Order here.
[12/15/2011]

As a Machine & Parts by Caleb J. Ross Opens for Pre-Orders

Don't miss this experimental text/image novella from indie publishing darling Caleb J. Ross. Pre-order here. Book publishes Dec. 15, 2011.
[11/24/2011]

The Portable Son by Barrett Hathcock Opens for Pre-Orders

Dubbed "haunting" and "unforgettable" by Publishers Weekly, Barrett Hathcock's collection of interwoven short stories promises to leave you enthralled. Pre-order here. Book publishes Nov. 30, 2011.
[10/27/2011]

Publishers Weekly Dubs Forthcoming Collection, The Portable Son by Barrett Hathcock, "Unforgettable"

"Peter Traxler is missing something. Ever since he left his family, his friends, and his adolescence behind in Jackson, Miss., he’s feeling lost. Despite the outward appearance of success—job, acquaintances, girlfriends—Peter is melancholy, his thoughts returning often to the past: “cotton diving” with his best friend Jeremy; sexual encounters with the local girls; the loss of his father and its impact on his mother; teenage angst bubbling over into semiviolent outbursts. His connection to his old friends is growing weak and distant; “when you’ve been on party manners with so many people for so long, it’s hard not to growl,” he says. Hathcock’s captivating debut collection of nine closely linked stories reads much like a novel. While many take place in the 1990s, the powerful Mississippi setting often feels akin to the American farm culture of the 1950s (at least until Jeremy dresses up like Ricky Martin for Halloween, or Peter’s Dad watches Nash Bridges on TV). The ghosts of the Old South are present throughout, even while the main character’s struggles are distinctively contemporary. It’s all here, the awkwardness of reconnecting with childhood friends, the impossibility of integrating your youth with your adulthood, the longing for home when home is a time and not a place: Hathcock writes haunting, unforgettable stories." Permalink here.
―Publishers Weekly
[10/17//2011]

Notes Toward the Story & Other Stories by Corey Mesler Praised in The Commercial Appeal

Aqueous Books sends its congratulations to Corey Mesler. His 2011 Aqueous release Notes Toward the Story & Other Stories is praised in Memphis newspaper The Commercial Appeal. Check it out here.
[10/9/2011]

Publishers Weekly Gives Rave Reviews to the Forthcoming novel Float by Nate House

In this gorgeous debut, everything--physical and metaphysical--is a metaphor: the sea, the desert, thirst, motion, and stillness. A man wakes up in an island hospital after surviving a trans-Atlantic sailing accident and 18 days alone on a life raft. He tells the authorities that a whale bumped into his 36-foot sailboat and that his wife went down with the ship, hands gripping the wheel. A reporter who grew up in a family of modest means and immodest acts, his father a drunk who abused his mother, the protagonist is haunted by the ghost of his wife, who appears in flashbacks as a beautiful, monstrous, snobbish nag. The stress of everyday life seems like it would kill them both, since they were only happy together when they were on the boat. When the man is released from the hospital, he flees, possibly away from the truth, but mostly from himself. As much prose poem as novel, this is a melodious, eerie wisp of a book. Permalink here.
―Publishers Weekly
[10/7//2011]

Forthcoming Release Opens for Pre-Order, Girl with Oars & Man Dying by J. A. Tyler

Check out the press kit for J. A. Tyler's forthcoming Aqueous Books release, the novella Girl with Oars & Man Dying, for more information. Title is set to release Sept. 30, 2011. Reserve your copy here.
[9/16//2011]

Short Story Excerpt from HiStory of Santa Monica now Available on Kindle

Now available on the Kindle, the short story "The Shebeen" from Michael J. Atwood's collection HiStory of Santa Monica is only 99 cents! Don't miss it! Purchase your copy here.
[8/06//2011]

Notes Toward the Story and Other Stories Now Available for Pre-Order

[[Update - This title is available for order as of 7/15/11]] Corey Mesler's long-awaited short story collection, Notes Toward the Story and Other Stories, is now available for pre-order. This collection has everything...a monster story, a ghost story, an angel story, a mystical religious story, and a mystical secular story. Some of the work is experimental, some of it is outlandish, and some of it is as simple and comforting as a home-baked pie. Notes Toward the Story and Other Stories is now available for pre-order here. Check out the press kit here.
[6/13/2011]

The Other Shore Now Available for Pre-Order

Fred Skolnik's epic novel, The Other Shore, is one you won't want to miss. This 706-page saga takes place in Israel in the 1980s, between the Lebanese War and the outbreak of the first Intifada (1984-1989), a pivotal time which saw the final transition of Israel from a Zionist-socialist society to a Western-style consumer society. The Other Shore is now available for pre-order here. Check out the press kit here.
[5/30/2011]

The Saints Are Dead Now Available for Pre-Order

Check out the gorgeous new cover design for Aaron Polson's latest dark short story collection and Aqueous Books' first release on the Danse Macabre imprint. The Saints Are Dead is now available for pre-order here. Check out the press kit here and the author's website here.
[4/7/2011]

Order Shipping & Suspended Heart Charitable Option

We have received our books from the printer (at long last!) and are busy shipping, shipping, shipping. In other news, you can now purchase a signed copy of Heather Fowler's Suspended Heart for $15 (instead of the usual $14) and have your extra dollar donated to the San Diego Family Justice Center. Visit the Store to order.
[1/18/2011]

Pre-Orders Now Available for Michael J. Atwood's revised 2nd edition of HiStory of Santa Monica

Pre-orders are now available for the revised second edition of HiStory of Santa Monica. Changes include revised interior with larger font and improved spacing, a reader's guide, and an illustrated map. Secure your copy by purchasing here.
[12/21/2010]

Pre-Orders Now Available for Heather Fowler's forthcoming Aqueous Books title, Suspended Heart

Pre-orders are now available for Heather Fowler's magical realism-influenced short story collection, Suspended Heart. Secure your copy by purchasing here.
[12/10/2010]

Pre-Orders Now Available for Alec Bryan's forthcoming Aqueous Books title, Night on the Invisible Sun

Pre-orders are now available for Alec Bryan's allegorical masterpiece, Night on the Invisible Sun. Secure your copy by purchasing here.
[11/4/2010]

Advance Review Copies Distributed for Fred Skolnik's Epic Novel, The Other Shore

Advance review copies (ARCs) are being mailed for Israeli author Fred Skolnik's epic masterpiece, The Other Shore. While this is Skolnik's first published novel, he is best known as the editor in chief of the 22-volume second edition of the Encyclopaedia Judaica, winner of the 2007 Dartmouth Medal and hailed as a landmark achievement by the Library Journal. Other award-winning projects that he has been associated with include The New Encyclopedia of Judaism (co-editor, 2002) and the 3-volume Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust (senior editor, 2001). Now writing full time, Skolnik has published dozens of stories in the past few years (in TriQuarterly, Gargoyle, The MacGuffin, Minnetonka Review, Los Angeles Review, Prism Review, Underground Voices, and others).
[9/28/2010]

Interview with Duotrope's Digest: An Excerpt

Aqueous Books publishes well-written literature--novels and short story collections--that are unique, unusual, or magical in some way, whether by way of theme, language, or some other trope. We are open to various genres: literary, magical realism, speculative fiction, slipstream, and memoirs.

Who are your favorite fiction writers?
AB: Margaret Atwood, Herman Melville, Peter Ackroyd, Flann O'Brien, Thomas Wolfe, and Annie Dillard.

What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?
AB: Proofread your work first and make sure it is the best it can be. A lot of publishers say "read what we publish," but for us, what we've published in the past is not a clear indicator of what we may publish in the future. The bottom line is to make sure your work is the best it can be before submitting it, and that will increase your chances of acceptance.

What is a day in the life of an editor like for you? Please give us a glimpse into your behind-the-scenes submission reading process.
AB: Normally, I print out the first 10-20 pages of every manuscript and sit down with a large-ish stack that's good for the better part of a day. I carefully consider each one. As I read, I go through and make editing marks on each document as though I were going to accept it, because at that stage, I don't really know what I will and will not be publishing. Once I get to the stage where I determine it's not right for Aqueous Books, I place it gently in the (you guessed it) rejection pile. The pieces that do not make it into that pile are generally those that I have read through stage one and still remain interested in. If I'm still wanting to read more after the initial printing of 10-20 pages, I'll print the next 20 or so pages, or if a short story collection, the next couple of stories. And it goes from there. If a manuscript is accepted, I contact the author and offer him or her a contract. There is often a lot of back and forth Q&A regarding the sample publishing contract I send out, and its terms, marketing and distribution, POD, and so forth. Once we get to a stage where the author understands our processes and the contract, I'll send the contract, both parties sign, and then we go through the editing and graphics stages before printing. My editor Erin McKnight is the co-editor for Aqueous Books. Generally, I'll send her a document with my edits, she adds hers, and then it's off to the author for revision.

How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?
AB: I feel that it's vital. I'm the editor of a journal, Prick of the Spindle, and I made sure we were the first literary journal available as a Kindle magazine. I carry that same philosophy over to Aqueous Books: every book we publish has been and will be offered in electronic format. Right now, that includes a Kindle edition for every book published. We are also a Print-on-Demand (POD) publisher, so really, our entire printing and publishing process very much hinges on modern technology. Prick of the Spindle is, as of now, an online-only journal, accepting submissions (primarily) electronically, and which has a Kindle component; Aqueous Books is a POD publisher with a Kindle component, so it follows that social media outlets are important to us. Both the journal and the publishing company have a strong social media presence.

As a writer, editor, and publisher, I am heavily invested in utilizing modern technology for publishing. I have good reasons for this. Due to opportunity, or socioeconomic standing, or myriad other considerations, there are some publications and publishers that simply would not exist without technology like the Internet, POD, and desktop publishing. We're one of those. Technology levels the playing field in so many ways--you aren't required to have had wealthy parents or be a graduate of Emerson's publishing program, or have connections to one of the major New York publishers in order to become a successful publisher. The same technology is also leveling the playing field for writers. With so much opportunity just waiting to be seized, what makes those writers and publishers stand out is the quality of their work. That is what I love about technology: it provides an opportunity to put your talents to use and provide high quality work with a minimum of financial investment. My goal for Aqueous Books is to stand out based on the quality of the work we publish, and on a longer-term basis, to play a part in unseating some of the current notions about POD publishing.

Read full interview here.
[7/18/2010]

Announcing, Our Debut Collection!

We are pleased to announce Michael J. Atwood's (and our) debut collection, HiStory of Santa Monica. It is available direct from us, from Barnes & Noble, from Ingram Distribution, on Amazon.com, and as a Kindle edition. If you are a library or bookseller interested in stocking this book, please contact Cynthia Reeser at pubs@aqueousbooks.com

HiStory of Santa Monica is available from the following booksellers:
Shakespeare & Co. - Paris, France
Books on the Square - Providence, RI
Brown University - Providence, RI
Baker Books - Dartmouth, MA
Brookline Booksmith - Boston, MA
Village Books - Pacific Palisades, CA
Boston College Bookstore - Boston, MA

In Which the Publishers Navigate the Waters of the Print Publishing Ocean, and it is Vast

We the publishers at Aqueous Books realize that the online versus print debate is stale. Yes, we are well-read and up-to-date. We read HTML Giant. And such. However. We have been primarily, over at Prick of the Spindle, online-oriented. That is to say online-only, with a few mad forays into the likes of Office World* [*Note: Change World to depot and capitalize that D and you get what I mean].

What we're really saying here is that we're excited, and have been prepping the files to send to the printer, and now they are with the printer, and the proof copy is on its way, and those of you who have ordered will soon receive a work of art, sans such run-on sentences as this one: it will have been crafted by the author over many years, and edited, then edited again, then edited still again, then proofed, then re-proofed, then prepared for print publication...we realize we may be preaching to the choir, but we take such pride in our work that we are ecstatic to finally have arrived, that is, at the pre-publication stage.

This may be the pride of the noob; so be it. We are print noobs, and proud. We would jump up and down, and gently press ad copy before you, and then we would shake your hand and hope to see you again. Perhaps at our home for tea.
[ 5/7/2010 ]