Robert James Russell

A bit behind—I’ve been out of the country for the past two weeks—but I’m back and happy to announce that Midwestern Gothic Issue 12 (Winter 2014) is now available.

I look at the Midwestern Gothic catalog and it’s crazy to see how many we’ve done, how far we’ve come. Crazier to think we’re now in 2014—and that this year’s Spring issue will officially mark our three year anniversary. But one thing that consistently stands out is the quality of each issue published: I so often sing the praises of the newest issue, saying it is the best, usually because we continually gain the notice of amazing writers and poets who want to be published within our pages. Our goal is to do the Midwest region a service by showcasing the very best, and it’s pretty fantastic to think that we’re doing just that—no back-peddling here, none at all. I’m fortunate for the submissions we get, and if this first issue is any indication, I think 2014 is going to be another fantastic year for Midwestern Gothic.

Pick up a copy of Issue 12: $12 (Print), $2.99 (eBook).

My short story “Born to Ramble” was accepted for publication in Buffalo Almanack No. 2, which is now live (and online):

He had been searching since dawn for the origin of the small dark plume of smoke and by breakfast Eldon Painter found it: an abandoned campsite at the back of his property, a dell thick with basswood and hackberry and bur oak. All that was left were the smoldering charcoals of browned fallen brush stuffed in an old Folgers’ can—an Army trick — and a couple fast food wrappers half-buried nearby. The site had been pitched under a cluster of knotty honey locust whose branches roped together about fifteen feet up creating a natural covering from any inclement weather. He could just about make out indentations in the ground where two bodies—boys, possibly—had been arranged.

Buffalo Almanack is quickly becoming one of my favorite new journals, and I’m honored to be included in this issue alongside the wildly talented Jared Yates Saxton and many, many others. You can read the thing in its entirety here, which I highly recommend.

Also, they do illustrations for every piece they publish—which are always great—and the image for my story is below. I love it.

After a couple months of behind the scenes work and planning, I’m excited to finally announce my new venture: the online lit journal CHEAP POP.

This is completely independent of Midwestern Gothic (which is still very much my baby)—CHEAP POP just scratches a different sort of itch I’ve had for a while.

So, what’s our deal? Micro-fiction, 500 words or less. Bite-size nuggets of awesome writing. There are no regional or theme restrictions—we just want good writing, writing that pops.

I’m thrilled and honored to be working with the talented Elizabeth Schmuhl on this project. We’re going to start posting stories in January, a new one every Tuesday and Thursday. Submissions are open now, so if you have any flash fiction, or know anyone who does, check us out and spread the word.

Check out the CHEAP POP Submissions page for more information.

There is no denying the sparseness of Michigan, the relative quiet of its landscapes. History details that immigrants freshly-arrived from their home countries saw this specific region as one where the American Dream was alive and kicking—where they could have the land they desired to tend animals and raise crops. Where they could spread out, enjoy the natural bounties and raise families and, in general, be happy. And sure, cities sprang up here and there…eventually. But when you travel through Michigan, even today, that hushed, pastoral calm is what greets you: all that open space, perhaps a lone cow in the field, some undisturbed growth of beech or maple in the distance…and it is such a wonderful thing, being able to stretch out without fear of encroaching on someone else. Soaking it all in without all that noise pollution. Here’s to hoping that never changes.

Some cool promo news: You can now pick up either a Kindle or Nook version of my novel Sea of Trees for only $2.99 for the month of December. It’s a pretty solid deal if you haven’t read it yet, so now’s your chance.

Sea of Trees on Kindle

Sea of Trees on Nook

After taking a detour into Creative Nonfiction last fall (which was an absolute blast), we got back on track reading fiction and poetry submissions for upcoming Issue 12 and wow—I was  amazed at not only the sheer number of submissions we received, but also the quality. I am absolutely grateful that so many talented writers and poets trust us with their work and think so highly of us. (And believe me: there are worst things in the world than reading hundreds of fantastic submissions.)

But of course it is always difficult to whittle submissions down to the final list—we had to turn away some pieces we loved but that just weren’t right for us at this time. It’s never fun, and I hope that folks are able to appreciate the final line-up of contributors (featuring established and new writers and everyone in-between), as well as the quality of pieces overall. Because, truly, this is one of the strongest issues we’ve ever put together.

Check out the cover for Issue 12 below—a monument to the Midwest, I think, and one of my all-time faves.

Issue 12 is slated to release January 1, 2014.

I’m thrilled to announce that Pithead Chapel has nominated my short story “Special Needs” for the 2013 Pushcart Prize.

I’m grateful to Keith and Molly—so glad they enjoyed it, felt it worthy. Really means a lot.

Check out their full list of nominees (some utterly fantastic writers there).

Read “Special Needs” from Pithead Chapel, Volume 2, Issue 10.

Stockholm-based artist Simon Stalenhag has created a series of retro-futuristic landscapes that look as if they could be stills from some long-lost ’80s Ridley Scott film. The science fiction elements aren’t necessarily the focus, giving a sense of  plausibility to this familiar world populated with giant ships and mechs and dinosaurs and looming power stations in the distance.

Fantastic stuff that hits me right in the nostalgia button. Here’s my fave:

There are loads more on his website.

He has prints for sale, too.

Paul Pope is the greatest comic artist working today. There, I said it.

Battling Boy is, to my knowledge, the first entirely Pope-centric venture. He does everything here except the coloring and, if you are, like me, a fan of his, this is the book you’ve been waiting for. The first volume in a proposed series, Battling Boy follows the titular adolescent hero as he’s sent to the monster-wrecked mega-city Acropolis to act as their champion. He eventually joins forces with a fabled (and recently-vanquished) hero’s only daughter to take on the monsters and villains who are slowly sucking the life out of everything and anything, running amok with nothing to keep them in check.

And that’s the premise—simple, maybe, but it works brilliantly. And the art and the writing…my goodness they are top notch. The book is advertised as all-ages(-ish), and it is something I’d love to share with my non-existent child again and again. An instant classic? Perhaps. Not for me to decide, but even without the words it’s beautiful enough just to flip through—the detail, the painstaking creation of the worlds in the pages, is a thing of beauty. And while I wanted the book to be longer, to keep going and going, it did have to come to an end, and that, really, is the only complaint I have—that it should be longer, but only because I so enjoyed being in this universe.

So wait I shall until Volume 2 releases…whenever.

Bottom-line: Paul Pope has no equal working today.

I’ll make this quick: Gravity is a lesson in taut, no-frills storytelling—we’re dumped in media res and the story never once lets up and by the time you leave the theater you too feel as if you’re floating. Flying. That you’re not longer tethered to Earth until, ultimately, you too come crashing back down and start to question everything and anything and how we’re all connected. Etc.

Ultimately, this was a movie-going experience the likes of which I’ve never had before, and while I’ve been arguing with some friends about the script and the dialog and the hiring of Clooney for a very Clooney-esque role, personally, this is as near-perfect a film as I’ve ever laid witness too and I can’t, for the life of me, recommend it enough.

So there you go. And here’s a big picture of space to help get you in the mood.