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March 09

Comedian, activist, and author Barry Crimmins died last month at the age of 64. One of the legends of the Boston comedy scene, as well as a childhood abuse survivor and a vigilante anti-pedophilia watchdog who helped expose the prevalance of child pornography on early AOL chatrooms, Crimmins was as influential as he was inimitable. In 2004, he published his personal and political memoir Never Shake Hands with a War CriminalBelow are two representatively eclectic chapters from a very funny and yet very serious book: the first is about starting Boston's first true comedy club, the Ding Ho, while living homeless on the outskirts of town, and the second is about snubbing the "satanic" architect of the United States government's atrocities in Vietnam. 

March 28

September 22

While reading through Kurt Vonnegut’s papers in the Lilly Library, at Indiana University, as they worked on the first comprehensive edition of his short fiction, Vonnegut’s friend Dan Wakefield and Jerome Klinkowitz, a scholar of Vonnegut’s work, came across five previously unpublished stories. 

In anticipation of publishing Kurt Vonnegut’s Complete Stories (available for order today!), we’ve been rolling out some of those tales that never found their way into print. The Atlantic got “The Drone King,” which they published along with an incredible animated version of the story. Another, “Requiem for Zeitgeist” will be published tomorrow on the website of The Nation.

And here’s "And on Your Left," a never before published Vonnegut story exclusively for the Seven Stories blog. It tells the tale of hard scientists forced into a life of show biz, and how they conspire to get back to their work. We hope you enjoy!

January 11

October 02

You may have heard of the Epic of Gilgamesh, but have heard of the graphic novel of the Epic of Gilgamesh? And did you know that it's actually the most up-to-date English version of the ancient text, based on new translations from a recently discovered tablet? If you didn't, now you do! And here in "The Making of the Dixon Gilgamesh" you can learn even more. Kent H. Dixon, one half of the father-son team behind this ingenious work, talks about taking courses in Akkadian by mail, becoming a "monster of memory," and the prudery of an esteemed old translator who couldn't bear to render sex scenes in anything but Latin. Enjoy! 

April 23

The JT LeRoy scandal is a story of our times. In January 2006, the New York Times unmasked Savannah Knoop as the face of the mysterious author JT LeRoy. A media frenzy ensued as JT’s fans, mentors, and readers came to terms with the fact that the gay-male-ex-truck-stop-prostitute-turned literary-wunderkind was really an invention of Knoop, who played the character of LeRoy, and Knoop's sister-in-law Laura Albert, who wrote the books.

Now Knoop's memoir of the experience, Girl Boy Girl, has been turned into a movie, JT LeRoy, starring Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern. To link up with the film, we're publishing a new edition of the book, with a brand new preface by Knoop, exclusively online here at the Seven Stories Blog. Click through to see!

October 16

Excerpted from Paul Auster's A Life in Words: Conversations with I. B. Siegumfeldt, available for purchase from our site at 25% off list price.

In the conversation below, acclaimed novelist Paul Auster and scholar I. B. Siegumfeldt discuss Auster's "Portrait of an Invisible Man," which comprises one half of The Invention of Solitude and served as the pivotal piece of writing for Auster's movement into a style wholly his own. Auster discusses the hazards of literary education ("I’d come to such a point of self-consciousness that I somehow believed that every novel had to be completely worked out in advance"); the death of his father ("My father came from the generation of men who wore neckties, and apparently he kept every tie he ever owned. When he died, there must have been a hundred of them in his closet. You are confronted by these ties, which are, in a sense, a miniature history of his life."); and the vitality of the unconscious ("I understood that everything comes from within and moves out. It’s never the reverse. Form doesn’t precede content. The material itself will find its own form as you’re working through it."). We hope you enjoy!

December 08

Harriet Hyman Alonso, author of Martha and the Slave Catchers, a book for middle school readers, speaks with Catherine A. Franklin an education professor who created the Martha and the Slave Catchers curriculum guide. They discuss some of the aspects of Martha and the Slave Catchers that relate to history and teaching, William Llyod Garrison's unruly but ethical children, and some questions for today, including: "Who are the modern abolitionists?" and "How do we resist unfair laws?"

June 17

As the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots approaches, it is important to honor the stories of those in pursuit of justice and acceptance for the LGBT+ community. Originally translated and published in 2009, Seba al-Herz's pseudonymously written The Others is one such story, detailing a nameless woman's discovery of her own sexual orientation within a repressive community in Saudi Arabia. The following excerpt from the 2010 Stonewall Book Award nominee illustrates the powerful, yet tortuous intersection between love, faith, and identity.

May 01

Lucy and Albert Parsons are among history's exceptional couples, brave enough to marry across racial lines shortly after the Civil War, totally committed to social reform. Haymarket is their story, from their peniless arrival in Chicago to their growing involvement with a colorful group of "co-conspirators"—immigrants, radical intellectuals, unionist, journalists, and revolutionaries.

The following excerpt is comprised of a letter sent from Lucy to Albert, and his response, after the infamous Haymarket Trial has taken place. You can grab a copy of Haymarket  from our site for 50% off hardcover or ebook editions through May 3, 5PM EST.

August 02

A week-long sale and a note from our publisher on a new bookseller initiative. Check out seven award-winning titles from our Women in Translation series, all at 35% off through August 8th. Free shipping within the U.S.!

December 14

A newsletter from our publisher.

June 21

What supposedly thorny journalistic questions could be simply settled by honest, unbiased inquiry? Noam Chomsky asked that very question in 2002, in his speech "The Journalist from Mars," included in the second edition of Media Control: The Spectacular Achievments of PropagandaLet's say an idealistic journalist came down from Mars, with none of the prejudices used by intellectual elites to buttress up power. What would that Martian make of global affairs and the way they're reported? How would our Martian friend report on terrorist acts in Nicaragua, Lebanon, the U.S., and elsewhere? Chomsky does his best Martian impression and informs us below.

June 22

Today we celebrate what would be the 71st birthday of the late Octavia Butler, a pioneer in the world of science fiction, with "The Book of Martha," a short story from Bloodchild.

In this story, Butler works through her lack of belief in the possibility of a universally appealing utopia with humor and careful consideration. God summons Martha Bes to effectively ameliorate the conditions of humanity. As a result of the exchange, Martha settles on an original plan to satisfy God's seemingly impossible challenge.

PS: Enter to win a free copy of Bloodchild here, and take 50% off Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents through Saturday June 23, 11:59 PM.

January 16

Introducing a new feature on the Seven Stories blog: an indie bookstore round-up, in which staff and other members of our community write a few words on their other favorite independent bookstores. This week, Ben Hillin writes about Topos, in Ridgewood, Queens.

January 22

July 22

Paul Krassner, co-founder with Abbie Hoffman of the Yippies, author, editor, and all around merry prankster, died yesterday at 87. Seven Stories publisher Dan Simon shares a few words on why Paul was, as Kurt Vonnegut once put it, "one of our most important national treasures." You can donate in Paul's memory here.

September 27

A newsletter from our publisher.

May 03

November 12

A note from our publisher remembering Juris Jurjevics, novelist and co-founder of Soho Press, who died this past Wednesday.

October24
A masterpiece of mood and setting, character and remembrance, The Cuban Club is Barry Gifford's ultimate coming-of-age story told as sixty-four linked tales, a creation myth of the Fall as seen through the eyes of an innocent child on the cusp of
San Francisco, CA
7.00pm
City Lights Bookstore
November04
A masterpiece of mood and setting, character and remembrance, The Cuban Club is Barry Gifford's ultimate coming-of-age story told as sixty-four linked tales, a creation myth of the Fall as seen through the eyes of an innocent child on the cusp of
Chicago, IL
Constellation
December08
A masterpiece of mood and setting, character and remembrance, The Cuban Club is Barry Gifford's ultimate coming-of-age story told as sixty-four linked tales, a creation myth of the Fall as seen through the eyes of an innocent child on the cusp of
Denver, CO
7.00pm
Tattered Cover Bookstore
October11

A masterpiece of mood and setting, character and remembrance, The Cuban Club is Barry...

West Hollywood, CA
7.00pm
Book Soup
November02
Please join Lola Lafon, Lise Esdaile, and others for an afternoon reading of the recently translated English version of Lafon’s novel, along with a discussion and Q&A on her creative process.
NY
2.00pm
TBA
May02

Making this Seattle visit as part of a national, in-person tour around the U.S. are Egyptian...

Seattle, Washington
6.00pm
Elliot Bay Book Company
October09
Join us at Barnes & Noble on Monday, October 9 at 7pm for a discussion and signing of Passage.
New York, NY
7.00pm
Barnes & Noble Upper West Side
October19
Join author Khary Lazarre-White at the Northwest African American Museum for a discussion and signing of his debut novel, "Passage."
Seattle, WA
7.00pm
Northwest African American Museum
October22
Join author Khary Lazarre-White in a discussion and signing of his debut novel, "Passage."
Oakland, CA
2.00pm
Marcus Books
October17
Join Khary Lazarre-White at Eso Won Books in a discussion about his debut novel, "Passage."
Los Angeles, CA
7.00pm
Eso Won Books
October14
Join Source Booksellers and Khary Lazarre-White in a discussion of his debut novel Passage
Detroit, MI
6.00pm
Source Booksellers
November01
Lola Lafon, bestselling author of La Petite Communiste qui ne suriait jamais (The Little Communist Who Never Smiled), will be at l'Alliance Française de Westchester in White Plains for a book signing event.
White Plains, NY
7.00pm
l'Alliance Française de Westchester
March04
Julia Alvarez reads from and signs copies of her latest children's book, Where Do They Go?
New York, NY
2.00pm
Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art and Storytelling
November02
Barry Gifford, author of more than 40 works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, will be reading from his new collection The Cuban Club on 11/2, followed by a Q&A and signing.
Lawrence, KS
7.00pm
The University of Kansas Creative Writing Program
November03

“The Truth Has Changed” is a solo monologue that traces the arc of American...

Chico, CA
2.00pm
El Rey Theater
April27
Ariel visits The Regulator Bookshop to read and sign his latest book, Darwin's Ghost.
Durham, NC
7.00pm
The Regulator Bookshop
November16

An Evening of Poetry Celebrating the Power of Voice

November 16, 2023 at 7:00pm CST

Two...

Columbus, OH
7.00pm
Two Dollar Radio
May11
Darwin's Ghost author, Ariel Dorfman, visits Scuppernong Books to talk about his latest novel.
Greensboro, North Carolina
7.00pm
Scuppernong Books
September14

Taking us from 9/11 through Donald Trump’s election, this solo show by accomplished...

Columbus, Ohio
8.00pm
Mershon Auditorium Stage
January15

Gary Indiana joins Hard to Read host Fiona Alison Duncan at the Standard, Hollywood for...

West Hollywood, CA
6.30pm
The Standard Hotel, Hollywood