Call for Submissions – Lowriting: Shots, Rides & Stories from the Chicano Soul

Featured

Posted on by
3
Lowriting - demo by Emilio Medina of Muy Creative

Lowriting design by Emilio Medina of Muy Creative

During my recent book tour in Los Angeles I announced a new book, Lowriting: Shots, Rides & Stories from the Chicano Soul. This book will feature the photography of Los Angeles based photographer/poet Art Meza. Meza, who started off as a hobby photographer taking shots with his phone, has graduated into a full-fledged artist who dazzles anyone that sees his work.

The theme of this book will be stories revolving around old school cars, bombs, lowriders and oldies that Meza frames with his lens. BSP is looking for short stories, poems, prose etc. – having to do with these kinds of cars and their culture.

There is an open call for submissions for this book!

If you need inspiration, please visit Meza’s Etsy shop where you can purchase his signed prints – they are amazing. These are just some of the photos that will be included the book.

Lowriting - prints at Cypress Park Library, L.A.

The competition is already elite, so you have to really bring it when you submit something for this title. No hard feelings, no love lost – this is not amateur hour! The theme is wide open – you just have to make it about these cars and/or their culture. Have a horror story inside of you, involving a ’64 Impala? An epic poem about a car chase involving a ’52 Bel Aire? A prose piece about your family tradition of lowriding..? The sky’s the limit. Think outside the box!

The deadline for submissions is July 4, 2013. All submissions must be sent to me no later than the deadline. Space is limited and competition high! So the sooner you get your work in the better! Be professional with your submissions!

If you are familiar with BSP books then you know last our last call for submissions ended up in a successful book (¡Ban This! The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature). Don’t miss your chance to be included in this amazing collection.

Feel free to share this post with others and in your literary circles, especially if you know someone who might be interested in submitting.

*Important Note: Submissions are unpaid! 

Thank you and good luck!

- S|J|R

 

C-SPAN: Panel Discussion on ¡Ban This!The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

BSP Publisher Santino J. Rivera, best-selling author and moderator of the panel, Luis Alberto Urrea, and contributors Andrea J. Serrano, Lizz Huerta, and OC Weekly Editor and author of Taco USA, Gustavo Arellano, talked about their book, ¡Ban This! The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature, an anthology of stories and poems from an Chicano/a perspective in AmeriKKKa.

The all-star group brought the desmadre to the the 2013 Tucson Festival of Books, which took place on the campus of the University of Arizona on March 9-10, 2013.

Book Festival Day One Slide C2-L

Luis Alberto Urrea and Santino J. Rivera

You can read more about it here on C-SPAN’s website.  Continue reading →

The Broken Podcast – Episode No. 8

Posted on by
Reply

Podcast No. 8

 

The Broken Podcast – Episode No. 8 marks my return to podcasting (it’s been a while). My last podcast was six months ago – how’s that for consistency?

I use this format to break news about Broken Sword Publications and also to share spoken word pieces and other things too. I like doing podcats once in a while because it allows me to mix things up, plus it’s fun – tedious but fun.

This time around I have new new format (Mixcloud) and a brand new microphone, so I got a bit carried away with the time, hopefully you enjoy (and don’t fall asleep).

In the first segment of the show I break down some recent news, wax poetic about the film ‘Peggy Sue Got Married’ and ‘Carrie’, talk ‘Beyond Scared Straight’, John Stamos, Mark Maron and the Hollywood shuffle.

In the second segment I discuss my two upcoming releases ‘Ducktown’ by Josh Divine and ‘Lowriting: Shots, Rides & Stories from the Chicano Soul’ by Art Meza. I detail, exactly, what I’m looking for (and not looking for) in submissions and ask you, the listener, why you have not submitted yet.

In the third segment I read “That’s Not Who I Am Anymore” which is recent piece I penned and shared on Tumblr and then I wrap things up with a bang.

As always, feedback is appreciated – I’m still figuring out what I’m doing and like to know what people thing.

- S|J|R

Less than a month left to submit your writing for ‘Lowriting: Shots, Rides & Stories from the Chicano Soul’!

Posted on by
1
1961 Super 88 Photo by @Chicano_Soul

1961 Super 88 Photo by @Chicano_Soul

There is less than a month left to submit your writing for ‘Lowriting: Shots, Rides & Stories from the Chicano Soul’, the new Broken Sword Publications book that will feature the photography of Art Meza and your stories! Judging from the response on-line, this book is shaping up to be another amazing and unique BSP title that is sure to titillate people from coast to coast.

Lowriting aims to do two things: showcase Meza’s stunning photography as well as bring together amazing stories about the culture surrounding lowriders and lowriding. What does that mean exactly? Well, that’s up to interpretation and that’s where you come in.

The art of lowriding is worldwide now. I know there are stories about these cars, their owners, the families, the friends, the hardship, the highs, the lows, the sparks, the fires and the smoke…the possibilities are endless.

As a publisher, I am looking for great stories, first and foremost, the only ‘hard’ guideline is that you make them involve these cars and or the culture surrounding them.

Bob's Big Boy by @Chicano_Soul

Bob’s Big Boy by @Chicano_Soul

“Lowriding is worldwide. If you’re planning on submitting writing for ‘Lowriting’ make sure to rep your city. You know I will (Los Angeles).” – Art Meza

That does not mean to send me a story that has the mention of a “lowrider” one time in 10,000 words or a poem that’s about anything but. The guidelines are clear.

Stephen King once wrote a short story called ‘Sometimes They Come Back’. It’s about a guy who is haunted by ghosts from his childhood. The rub is that they are greaser punks from the 50′s who murdered his brother and they just happen to drive a 1955 Chevy hot rod that shoots flames out of the exhaust pipes. The car is actually a pretty big part of the story.

OK, now substitute that 1955 hot rod for a lowrider and the greaser ghouls for pachucos…and now you see where I’m going with this. The Devil is in the details…

The possibilities are many but it’s up to you tell your story. I want to hear the stories from the women car clubs and the girls that love to drive these cars or cruise in them. Maybe you have a poem in your heart about what it was like getting hassled by the cops for cruising? Tell me a story about your uncle, the lowrider, who ended up [insert story here]. Murder at Sleepy Lagoon, bar brawl at Bob’s Big Boy, love story involving a cherry Bomb?

I’m sensing that people are intimidated by subject matter…don’t be! Think outside the box! Is that cliche? Yes, but go for it! You’re a writer, right? Well, write!

Wow me. It’s somewhat difficult to explain this genre unless you ‘get it’ and from the submissions I have received already, many of you do. It’s the difference between watching Denzel Washington stepping into his “office” in Training Day with Dr. Dre blaring in the background Vs. Herbie the Love Bug…Use your imagination!

Cruisin' Cypress Ave (color edit) by @Chicano_Soul

Cruisin’ Cypress Ave (color edit) by @Chicano_Soul

I want stories from coast to coast, from the Bay to L.A., from NYC to Denver, El Paso to Mami and everywhere in between.

Send your submissions to sjr.bsp@gmail.com and make sure to bring your best material.

BSP is a publishing house like any other – be professional with your submissions. I am open to material that has been previously published as long as you own the the full rights (in writing!) to republish it. Also, you can follow @Lowriting updates on Twitter.

Good luck!

- S|J|R

Lowriting - demo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ducktown by Josh Divine, coming soon from BSP!

Posted on by
Reply

Ducktown by Josh Divine

So, if you have been paying attention at all on Twitter, FB or Tumblr, then you know that BSP’s next release is Ducktown by Josh Divine. Josh has been working hard to get all of his strips scanned and looking ‘just right’ so that this book does his art justice.

If you’re not aware, Josh did the covert art for ¡Ban This! and also designed the book. He also did the cover design for Amerikkkan Stories and the much sought after ¡Ban This! poster, which there are only 3 copies of in existence! 

Ducktown, which used to run in The Colorado Daily, is going to be an amazing book and I cannot say enough good things about it. For one, it’s not just a collection of comics, and I realize that sounds cliche, but it’s true. This book digs beneath the surface of the strips and for that alone, you’re going to want to see what’s revealed here. I won’t say too much but you will have to read the book to find out why this project has so much heart and soul in it.

Ducktown sample 3

I just got my first peek at the ‘production’ version of the book the other day and I almost spit my coffee out because I was laughing so hard. It takes a lot to make me do that, especially when it comes to comics. I have long had a dark sense of humor and this book is going to speak to that on many levels.

There are going to be some great surprises in this book and I can’t wait for you all to see them but I can reveal that the world’s hardest working Chicano artist, Lalo Alcaraz, will have a foreword in Ducktown! That alone is worth the price of admission, in my opinion, because Lalo is a legend in the comic strip business and art world.

Ducktown sample 4

 

So hang in there and bear with us for just a little while longer because it’s going to be worth the wait. I am so proud to help bring Josh Divine’s Ducktown back to life – literally!

- S|J|R

Revolutionary Grounds & BSP make donation possible to U.N.I.D.O.S. students in Arizona – ¡Ban This!

Posted on by
Reply
U.N.I.D.O.S. at Revolutionary Grounds Bookstore in Tucson

U.N.I.D.O.S. at Revolutionary Grounds Bookstore in Tucson

 

Originally, when I decided to publish ¡Ban This! The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature, one of the many things I wanted to do was help. Many of us from across the country wanted to do anything that we could to help fight back against the insanity in Arizona…but what?

I promised the contributors to the book that a portion of the proceeds would be donated to the kids that were enduring this Fahrenheit 451 saga come to life. The only problem was the classes were dismantled, the teachers fired and the legal battles dragged on. There was nowhere viable to write a check to!

Fast forward to now – the battle still rages on and in some ways it’s worse  - the legal teams (MALDEF) dropped the ball and falsely celebrated a victory. But books are still banned, classes are still not allowed, teachers are still fired and the students are left to fend for themselves. And the anti-Chicano/a wildfire is spreading to other states.

Fortunately the students in AZ have some great community leaders and many of them have taken matters into their own hands by holding studies outside of school, some of it counting for college credit. I have been happy to donate books to this effort in the hopes that these kids go on to higher education and push for real change in Arizona and elsewhere.

U.N.I.D.O.S. at Revolutionary Grounds Bookstore in Tucson

U.N.I.D.O.S. at Revolutionary Grounds Bookstore in Tucson

When I visited Tucson for the 2013 Festival of Books I held a fundraiser with some of the contributors to the book for the students at Revolutionary Grounds Books and Coffee on 4th St.

Paula Maez, Gustavo Arellano, Andrea J. Serrano, Santino J. Rivera, Lizz Huerta

Paula Maez, Gustavo Arellano, Andrea J. Serrano, Santino J. Rivera, Lizz Huerta

 

The owner of the store, Joy Soler, agreed to donate the sales from the book to U.N.I.D.O.S., a youth coalition of students from local Tucson high schools created in response to H.B. 2281, the ban on Ethnic Studies throughout the state of Arizona.

We have written a nice big check to the youth group U.N.I.D.O.S. from the copies of the book !Ban This! donated by Santino J. Rivera and his publishing company, Broken Sword Publications. Community – it’s who we are!

 - Joy Soler, owner, Revolutionary Grounds Books & Coffee, Tucson, AZ. 

I couldn’t be happier with this outcome and I know the contributors feel the same way. What’s happened over the life of the book thus far is what ¡Ban This! was all about to begin with – community – coast to coast. Unity! U.N.I.D.O.S.!

It was never about myself nor my company. I published ¡Ban This! to do one thing: help fight back. There is still a ton of work left to do and the battle is far from over but we created positive change from negative oppression. To me, that’s a start. Seeing kids benefit from this book and helping to plant seeds for future generations is all I could ask for.

U.N.I.D.O.S. at Revolutionary Grounds Bookstore in Tucson

U.N.I.D.O.S. at Revolutionary Grounds Bookstore in Tucson

I want to thank Joy and Revolutionary Grounds for making this donation possible to the students! I want to thank the contributors who made this book possible! And I would like to thank you, dear reader, for continuing to support indie publishing.

This is what it’s all about.

Revolutionary Grounds owner, Joy Solero and myself and the ¡Ban This! fundraiser.

Revolutionary Grounds owner, Joy Soler and myself and the ¡Ban This! fundraiser.

- S|J|R