A few years ago, I found myself a little disenchanted with some of the writing groups on social media. It wasn’t that they weren’t fun–they were, but so distracting–or they weren’t filled with interesting people–they were, but again, so distracting… I found myself spending way too much time on social media wondering why I was getting in arguments about how to punctuate dialogue (punctuation goes INSIDE the quote marks, you use a comma instead of a period, and try to change up dialogue tags with actions every once in a while.) Just as I was leaving one of the bigger, NaNoWriMo-influenced groups, a friend brought me to Writerpunk. Here, I found my people.
As we talked about steampunk and dieselpunk and cyberpunk, and debated whether these up-and-coming punk genres were a “thing,” we also talked about some of the special challenges of being a punk. How do you set the world for a short story? How do you write in a new, undefined genre? Is solarpunk a thing?
And then … someone said, “Let’s do an anthology.”
Okay, folks, I have been in MANY writing groups over the years, and without exception, they have all at one time or another tossed around the idea of doing an anthology. So I hit the “like” button and thought nothing more of it.
Three anthologies and more than a hundred bucks donated to a local animal shelter later… I stand corrected. Yesterday, Merely This and Nothing More: Poe Goes Punk debuted as the third collection of short stories from Writerpunk Press. The first Writerpunk Press publication to include a story by yours truly (The Case of the Lonesome Cigar Girl in the Sixpenny Temple), it joins two volumes of punk’d Shakespeare on a publishing schedule that will have us bringing classic stories to new audiences through new interpretations for a few years.
What makes this group successful in doing this anthology? First, almost everyone in the group is either a professional donating their time to charity, or else they act like a professional. While we’ve published some first-time authors, others (like me) have been published in a variety of markets. Thus, you get a collective effort to put out the best product possible. Yes, it’s anarchic at times–of course it is. We’re punks!
I encourage you to take a look at Poe Goes Punk, check out some of the reviews, and pick up a copy. All proceeds going to PAWS Lynnwood, an animal shelter and wildlife rescue located in the Pacific Northwest. If you like what you see, come follow us on Twitter, join us on Facebook, or start drafting your notes for our next anthology: English Class Goes Punk. If you are a teacher, and think this project could bring a fun angle on literature to your classroom, get in touch–one of our author collective may live near you.
And, if you’ve already read it, please consider leaving us a review on Amazon or Goodreads.
Happy reading, punks!
BLURB
A clockwork raven. Two sets of irresistible teeth. A house brought to life by nanobots. A heart that won’t stop beating. All this and much more in the Writerpunk Press version of the beloved suspense stories by Edgar Allan Poe. We’ve pulled out all the stops this time around to bring you the very best punked versions of classic Poe tales, complete with shiny gears and tiny bots! In addition to the more familiar Cyberpunk and Steampunk, we’ve added Bio, Deco, and Dieselpunk genres to the mix. The resulting volume is a dynamic take on horror of which the Master of Macabre himself would be proud. Profits are to be donated to PAWS Lynnwood, an animal shelter and wildlife rescue located in the Pacific Northwest.
ABOUT WRITERPUNK PRESS
We are a small, somewhat anarchic writers’ collective–a community of authors, illustrators, bloggers, poets, artists, graphic designers, and readers from all walks of life who are fans of cyberpunk, steampunk, dieselpunk, and associated genres.
Sound and Fury: Shakespeare Goes Punk, our first anthology of stories based on the Bard’s work, was published in March 2015. The second anthology, Once More Unto The Breach: Shakespeare Goes Punk 2, was released in December 2015. We have taken the plays that audiences have enjoyed for hundreds of years and reinvented them as cyberpunk, dieselpunk, Teslapunk, and steampunk tales. Featuring comedies and tragedies as well as a wide variety of punk genres, these collections have something for everyone. The anthologies have even been added to high school and college curriculums.
Our third collection, Merely This and Nothing More: Poe Goes Punk, will be published on May 31st. In this anthology, we have punked classic tales penned by the Master of the Macabre. In addition to the more familiar cyberpunk and steampunk, we’ve added bio, deco, and dieselpunk genres to the mix. As with all Writerpunk Press publications, a spirit of subversive fun is strongly encouraged.
