 PORTLAND, OR; May 17, 2022— Hunting Geese by Sarah Rau Peterson is a short story collection that features characters as multi-layered as Montana herself. The unnamed protagonist in Hunting Geese grapples with life choices and his just out-of-reach family while positioned on the banks of the frigid Yellowstone River awaiting the descent of geese. She Would Have and The Needing Place addresses the dynamics of a complicated father-daughter relationship told from each perspective while skirting the issues of generational gaps and aging. Wednesday’s Child’s narrator wonders what she, as a mother, did to push her daughter away, and Chickens is about, well, it’s about chickens.
From the Book HE’S PARKED ON THE RIVERBANK to get away from the wife, holding his thermos mug and staring out at the decoys. The sky has gone pink, and he’s waiting for the geese to drop for their nightly visit. The shotgun’s loaded but the safety’s on and he can keep it on the seat next to him since Dog died. He sips his coffee-with-brandy, but it’s lukewarm despite the thermos and the bitter taste gives him heartburn. The radio won’t stop blaring talking head commentary about the upcoming presidential election—Jesus, it’s still over a year away—and he wishes he could get a sports show, maybe some rock and roll out here instead. His hands ache from the cold, his old hands that have set hundreds, thousands of decoys into frozen riverbanks, lakeshores crusted with ice, waiting, waiting. He thinks of Freezeout Lake, so cold that winter—what, damn near forty years now—he remembers it was too cold to wait for the birds outside even though the first few were already scoping out his decoys. Scattered cars and pickups around the shorelines puffing clouds from the mufflers. He knew, too, that every one of those vehicles were tuned into the same AM station out of Calgary as he was, and nobody stopped listening even when the geese came down, and all at once the horns and flashing headlights, noise that all but drowned out the sound of the startled birds lifting off and out of range, but they all whooped and hollered, all the hunters like young boys, because they believed in miracles, yes they did, when the Ruskies lost that hockey game. The wife, a few years back he had told her about that cold night in ’80, after they made that movie and everyone was talking about it again, and he teared up and then downright cried over how nobody pulled in any geese that night, but they were all brothers who emerged from warm vehicles to chant USA! USA! together into the frigid air. She wasn’t really listening, he could tell, but he got downright pissed off when she told him she didn’t remember it. Didn’t remember it! Didn’t remember the call? Al Michaels? Beating the freaking USSR, the Red Army guys? Her face was blank, and she’d said—she actually said—that she didn’t follow football. He chuckles to himself, now. That had been a hell of a conversation. He warms his hands against the heater vent, rubs them together, arthritic knuckle against arthritic knuckle. About Sarah Rau Peterson Sarah Rau Peterson is a first-generation Montanan. She lives with her husband and two children near Miles City, where she divides her time between the family’s cattle ranch, her middle school history classroom, and her children’s activities. She publishes occasionally in The Montana Quarterly. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Unsolicited Press based out of Portland, Oregon and focuses on the works of the unsung and underrepresented. As a womxn-owned, all-volunteer small publisher that doesn’t worry about profits as much as championing exceptional literature, we have the privilege of partnering with authors skirting the fringes of the lit world. We’ve worked with emerging and award-winning authors such as Shann Ray, Amy Shimshon-Santo, Brook Bhagat, Kris Amos, and John W. Bateman. Learn more at unsolicitedpress.com. Find us on twitter and Instagram, @unsolicitedp. HUNTING GEESE is available on May 17, 2022 as a paperback (66 p.; 978-1-956692-19-8) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Sarah Rau Peterson  PORTLAND, OR; May 10, 2022--Against a backdrop of newsfeeds and hints of eco-doom, #TheNewCrusades centers on a series of letters to an uncertain deity hovering above and within a particular American madness. These poems are fractured little diaries seeking a wholeness; they track the ways we move back and forth between larger social-political selves and inner-personal selves.
The news here is professed through protests, graffiti, broken mirrors, ambient radio, synchronized fires, and all-night newsfeeds--all of it projecting a cryptic and indefinable set of rules that churn about as permutations of some lost algorithm. They address a tamed violence held barely in check, examining masculinity and fatherhood and the undercurrents of suburban domesticity. In the end, they are a barrage of cries at breaking the boundary between you and I, questions rising into prayers that ask, are we closed or open systems? Can we really know each other at all? Praise for Bill Neumire "As Bill Neumire shows, to tell the truths about America requires a lyricism that is as wily as it is direct, as elegiac as it is exuberant. #TheNewCrusades is a reckoning about the coal-mouthed glow of the American heart and the darkness & us that characterizes the messy promise of our body politic. Well past Whitman’s earnest appraisal of who we were, Neumire instead sees the alarming contradictions of who we really are, made fruitful & rueful by our metastatic news and hungers. Brash and also tender, Neumire’s poems are the honest lullabies we need now to keep from sleep, to open our eyes, to wake up." --Rick Barot "#TheNewCrusades begins “Here I take the box of world…” and the book does just that. It’s a box, and a book, that foretells violence, questions masculinity, mourns the falling away of cities and nations and nature and people. Bill Neumire has an ear for the memorable phrase, an eye for the image that hurts. “Dear hashtagged american morning, / if you promise / everything’s fine I can stand in a pall of crabapple leaves / like an elephant feeling seismic signals,” he writes, not believing it for a second. But these poems believe: in the leaves and the elephant and the hashtagged morning, then undergo them all like a trial. The box of world is recognizably ours: we have all undergone it, but never so eloquently nor with such patient clarity as this book does." --Kathy Ossip About Bill Neumire Author of two chapbooks--Resonance of Kin (PuddingHouse 2013) and Between Worlds (Foothills 2013)—Bill Neumire’s first full-length book, Estrus, was a semi-finalist for the 42 Miles Press Award. He regularly reviews books of contemporary poetry for Vallum, and for Verdad where he works as poetry editor. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. The publisher can be followed on Instagram and Twitter: @unsolicitedp #TheNewCrusades is available on May 10, 2022 as a paperback (132 p.; 978-1-956692-14-3) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com  PORTLAND, OR; April 26, 2022 -- Less Than What You Once Were begins in a pivotal moment for the speaker—during the 2008 “Battle of N’Djamena” in Chad’s capital. This destabilizing experience—in which the speaker’s home is broken into—results in the family embarking on a months-long departure from the place, and the narrative begins to cycle through childhood memories, from the first night when Brown lands at N’Djamena’s airport as an eight-year-old boy to the failed attempt at bird hunting with a slingshot. These centering memories soon give way to stories of displacement as a young adult and, much later, a return to the country of his youth. This fragmented memoir, told in a similar, episodic style to Claudia Rankine’s Citizen, is both a coming-of-age story and also a story of exile, ending in a state of dislocated adulthood, the speaker longing for a return to a childhood home that can’t be accessed.
About Aaron Brown Born in Texas and raised in Chad, Aaron Brown is the author of the poetry collection, Acacia Road, winner of the 2016 Gerald Cable Book Award (Silverfish Review Press). He has been published in World Literature Today, Tupelo Quarterly, Waxwing, Cimarron Review, and Transition, among others, and he is a contributing editor for Windhover. Brown now lives in Texas, where he is an assistant professor of English and directs the writing center at LeTourneau University. He holds an MFA from the University of Maryland. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. The publisher can be followed on Instagram and Twitter: @unsolicitedp Less Than What You Once Were is available on April 26, 2022 as a paperback (130 p.; 978-1-956692-11-2) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities.  PORTLAND, OR; March 1, 2022--First Drafts from the Brewery explores the ends, and beginnings, of relationships, the value of true-blue friends, and the delights of the seasons. Less a how-to guide to divorce, and more a long and lingering porch-chat complete with good beer or a strong whiskey, this collection embraces simplicity while staring down pain without flinching. But not to worry, there’s plenty of cats, puppies, and cozy blankets.
Praise for Rowe Carenen First Drafts from the Brewery is a book about repair, about what we do when the waters haven’t quite claimed us yet—that furtive in-the-meantime. “Grief,” our speaker says, “lives in my body.” But also in that body lies the psychic excavation of so many riches: confetti and PetSmart, Lemon Pledge and Elvis, resin. And in our grieving bodies we are kept such great company: land surveyors, Paul Simon, bad dates, grandparents, even famous writers. There lives inside these thoughtful and honest, observant poems invoking familiarity. I used to love a song that asked: “Where do you go when you’re lonely?” These poems answer that. You go everywhere, and with all your people, and with all your things. And you clink the festive glasses of curiosity and gratitude while you’re at it. --Mamie Morgan, author of EVERYONE I’VE DANCED WITH IS DEAD (Jackleg Press) About Rowe Carenen Rowe Carenen is a graduate of Salem College and the University of Southern Mississippi. When asked, she'd say that poetry has been her passion ever since she realized that words could convey more than just the facts. Her poems have appeared in various literary journals and magazines, including The Revenant Culture, GERM, Terrible Orange Review, the Running with Water anthology, and her first collection, In the Meantime, was published by Neverland Publishing in 2014. She lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with her cat Minerva Jane and dog Neville Jameson. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. The publisher can be followed on Instagram and Twitter: @unsolicitedp First Drafts from the Brewery is available on April 19, 2022 as a paperback (88p.; 978-1-956692-12-9) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities. North Carolina Poet Maureen Sherbondy Releases 11th Poetry Collection: LINES IN OPPOSITION4/12/2022
 PORTLAND, OR; April 12, 2022--Poet Maureen Sherbondy has had enough. Her eleventh collection, Lines in Opposition, explores our need to set limits in times of conflict and confusion. These poems of defiance range from the artistic to the political to the familial, from Basho to Godot, Gretel to Ashbery, the Rockettes to Bubble Yum. At times wry and whimsical, at other times acutely serious, Sherbondy's poems testify to the importance of knowing when and how to draw the line.
About Maureen Sherbondy Maureen Sherbondy’s poems have appeared in Prelude, Calyx, European Judaism, The Oakland Review, and other journals. She has won the Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Contest, the North Carolina Poet Laureate prize, and many other awards. Her most recent poetry books are Dancing with Dali, The Art of Departure, and Eulogy for an Imperfect Man. Sherbondy teaches English at Alamance Community College in Graham, North Carolina. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. The publisher can be followed on Instagram and Twitter: @unsolicitedp LINES IN OPPOSITION is available on April 12, 2022 as a paperback (106 p.; 978-1-956692-10-5) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities. If you could cook dinner for any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you make?
Penny Niven. She was my mentor and I’d make truffle mac & cheese with ground bison, roasted brussels sprouts, and Guinness Chocolate Cake. What scares you the most about the writing process? How do you combat your fears? That I’ve already written my best stuff. So I just breathe, accept that that may be true, and write anyway. Who is your biggest literary crush, author or character? Oh Ross Gay! I’m utterly in love. What books are on your nightstand? Bible, Jim Butcher’s White Night, Flannery O’Connor’s Prayer Journal Favorite punctuation mark? Why? I LOVE a semicolon! I think it is entirely underused. What book were you supposed to read in high school, but never did? Sorry, I read them all. What inanimate object would you thank in your acknowledgements? My “Joy” tea mug If you could write an inspirational quote on the mirrors of aspiring writers, what would you write? The world is better with your voice in it. Does writing energize or exhaust you? Yes, both. Sometimes I’ve had several poems in the back of my head and finally getting them out is energizing. But other times I’m writing some of the harder darker stuff and I just want a nap. What are common traps for aspiring writers? Editing while writing. Just get the words out there and THEN go back. What is your writing Kryptonite? Crippling self-doubt Have you ever gotten reader’s block? Sure! Hate it. Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly? No, I don’t. I think so much of writing is from an emotional place. Now, my father (award winning novelist John Carenen) says he doesn’t have emotions, but I beg to differ. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer? I have an incredible writers’ group full of friends. They are forever encouraging me to to write more and tell the truth. In my head I’m bffs with Leesa Cross-Smith. Her books make me a better writer because she is so honest and beautiful and rich in writing. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book? I think it is a body of work, but more tracking my own growth and progress as a human. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing? I don’t think it has. I hope not. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? My faux fireplace in my living room. It creates exactly the right cozy vibe. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power? When I was maybe 9 I tried writing a Doogie Howser esq journal and shared it with my mother. She teared up and I realized that I could share what I was feeling without having to say a word out loud. What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel? I’m going to have to go with Leesa Cross-Smith’s Whiskey and Ribbons. I think it is nothing short of brilliant. Her prose is often poetic and I get swept up in her language. Also the Alice Hoffman Practical Magic series. I love her work and I just want to wear warm sweaters, leggings, and fuzzy socks and curl up on the couch with my cat and some tea and get lost in her world. As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal? I’d like it to be an owl, but in reality my cat Minerva. What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters? I don’t think I owe them anything. Maybe a heads-up that they’re in the book? How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? Two What does literary success look like to you? Just that strangers found hope or some aspect of themselves in my words. What did you edit out of this book?” Poems that didn’t ring true any more. If you didn’t write, what would you do for work? Yoga teacher. I’m certified, but my creativity goes into my writing and my editing.  PORTLAND, OR; March 29, 2022--Who says a coming-of-age saga can’t extend well into your thirties? In these 12 humor-laced personal essays, Kadzi Mutizwa (a midwestern New Yorker) reflects on her trajectory as a high(ish)-functioning outlier. Themes taken up include mounting self-awareness, facing your foibles and failures, not giving up while becoming more measured about giving in, sucking at yoga, and gradually rising into your full authenticity. All this from a woman who, among other things, refuses to wear makeup. Living of Natural Causes is about recognizing how complex each of us are and should be.
Praise for Kadzi Mutizwa "Quietly smart and sneakily insightful, Living of Natural Causes perfectly captures the unglamorous reality of coming into adulthood. Kadzi Mutizwa is a fierce and honest observer of people and places, and her wise words will stay with you. Reading this book is like a conversation with a true friend." —Kirsa Rein, TV writer/producer, Orange Is the New Black and Dexter: New Blood About Kadzi Mutizwa Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Kadzi Mutizwa now lives in New York City. Living of Natural Causes is her first book. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. The publisher can be followed on Instagram and Twitter: @unsolicitedp Living of Natural Causes is available on March 29, 2022 as a paperback (178 p.; 978-1-956692-08-2) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Kadzi Mutizwa  PORTLAND, OR; March 22, 2022— When a family secret comes to light, lives are changed forever in this honest, beautiful, and sometimes painful memoir. When Mark, adopted at birth, set out to FIND his genetic family as an adult, he found something he never expected—three full-blood siblings, including a persistent sister who would alter the course of his life. He finds himself faced with the emotional task of coming to know his entire birth family, along with the unintended impact it has on his parents and his marriage. This raises age-old questions around the understanding of his own identity and his place in the world—now framed in extraordinarily real and explicit terms: What defines family? Nature or nurture? Life rarely affords such an opportunity for self-examination.
The story focuses on the relationship that develops between Mark and his sister, Rachel, as they discover each other through constant letters and eventual face-to-face meetings. When Rachel learns that Mark and his wife are struggling with having children, a radical idea takes over—could she, a sister he never knew and still barely knows, one who lives on the other side of the country, possibly carry their child? Would they trust her to? Including original correspondence between Rachel, Mark, and their biological mother, Marilyn, Love & Genetics follows the events of a tumultuous year in an astonishing story of love, loss, and the meaning of family. ABOUT MARK MACDONALD AND RACHEL ELLIOTT Rachel Elliott is a native Canadian who migrated south (like the geese) to escape the cold. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Brent, and dog, Swagger, and is a proud mom to two grown daughters. She would rather be at the beach than anywhere else and loves to find an adventure. An avid reader, and recreational writer, this is her first published work. Mark MacDonald lives in Beaverton, Oregon with his wife of twenty-one years, Tina, their two children, Zoe and Alaska, and seemingly countless pets. His day jobs are engineering technology development and education. He is an unabashed science nerd and an avid supporter of women in STEM fields. An author of numerous academic publications and patents, this is his first popular non-fiction work. ABOUT UNSOLICITED PRESS Unsolicited Press is a small publisher in Portland, Oregon with a strong focus on poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that seeks to push the limits of literature. Some authors the team has worked with include John W. Bateman, Amy Shimshon-Santo, Taylor Garcia, and Kadzi Mutizwa. Learn more at unsolicitedpress.com. Find the press on twitter and instagram: @unsolicitedp. Love and Genetics is available on March 22, 2022 as a paperback (206 p.; 978-1-950730-90-2) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram Book Group. Publicity is being handled by Mindbuck Media. The authors are open to speaking opportunities, interviews with the media, and readings. Electronic review copies are available upon request. ###  PORTLAND, OR; March 17, 2022--The Land of Ale and Gloom: Discovering the Pacific Northwest spans the summer of 2016, a summer which saw Donald Trump rise to national political prominence, and—perhaps not without coincidence—saw the author awake to the rather gloomy realization that there remained just one thing in this life which still brought him true happiness: craft beer.
So he decides to make the best of it and explore the home of craft beer—the Pacific Northwest. As with any long and uncertain journey, a guide was required. Hence, the works of influential Northwest-inspired writers like Ken Kesey, Jack Kerouac, and Lucia Perillo, but most importantly, Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621), an encyclopedia of the human condition which just so happens to suggest that a cold beer might not be the worst medicine. Highlights include a kitschy Bavarian town curiously bereft of German beer, and a Viking fishing village awash with H. P. Lovecraft-inspired ales and Pokémon-obsessed teens. Also, a seaside dive serving Bud Light to the likes of Ted Bundy and the D.C. Sniper, a journey into the depressed coastal regions that gave birth to Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, Portland’s famed “Beermuda Triangle,” and the Salem mental hospital from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Finally, the Columbia River Gorge, where the beer and the waterfalls flow alongside a forgotten collection of Rodins and American Stonehenge, and lastly, the sun-drenched mountain town of Bend—a mecca known as “Beer Town, USA.” About the Author Phillip Hurst is the author of a novel, Regent's of Paris, as well as a book of nonfiction, Whiskey Boys: And Other Meditations from the Abyss at the End of Youth, winner of the 2021 Monadnock Essay Collection Prize. His writing has appeared in literary journals such as The Missouri Review, The Gettysburg Review, River Teeth, Cimarron Review, and Post Road Magazine. He currently lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. The publisher can be followed on Instagram and Twitter: @unsolicitedp The Land of Ale and Gloom: Discovering the Pacific Northwest by Phillip Hurst is available on March 17, 2022 as a paperback (354 p.;978-1-956692-03-7). The book will be distributed to the trade by Ingram. An e-book version is also available and an audiobook is in the works. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other opportunities.  PORTLAND, OR; March 15, 2022— In Jennifer Clark’s newest collection Kissing the World Goodbye, Clark leads us into the world of memoir, braiding family tales with recipes.
“Jennifer Clark’s memoir takes us right to the heart of the American family dramedy: the table, where the Zucchini Helper waits alongside Chicken Cordon Bleu—en casserole, of course, because this is Michigan. Clark braids family tales with recipes that you will want to try, if you grew up in the vast imaginary land sometimes called the Midwest. With an ironic edge and mordant wit that never compromises a deep and open heart, Clark invites us into a family that is nothing like yours and also a lot like yours, especially if you’ve ever felt like its only sane member, or the alien in the tribe, or the clan’s designated chronicler. Clark offers up her beloveds in all their exasperating, brilliant, incomparable uniqueness. When you close KISSING THE WORLD GOODBYE, you will already be missing her scientist father, in his gentle, wise intimacy with tiny invertebrate creatures; her mother, who always has something up her sleeve and who vanquishes incompetent bankers; her brother, epidemiologist and inspirational chef; and above all her sister, the exasperating and relentlessly loving Holly, queen of Costco and maker of killer strawberry-jalapeño margaritas. Jennifer Clark, who has worked mostly in poetry, here mines the secret of memoir: that in the ragged particulars of our lives lies the vast human story, full of yearning, grief, loyalty, intimacy, laughter, and appetite.” --Gail Griffin, author of Grief’s Country: A Memoir in Pieces, a 2021 Michigan Notable Book About Jennifer Clark Jennifer Clark is the author of three full-length poetry collections: A Beginner’s Guide to Heaven (Unsolicited Press), Necessary Clearings, and Johnny Appleseed: The Slice & Times of John Chapman (both published by Shabda Press). She is also the author of the children’s book What Do You See In Room 21 C? and the co-editor of the anthology, Immigration & Justice For Our Neighbors (both Celery City Books). Her newest collection Kissing the World Goodbye (slated for a March 2022 release by Unsolicited Press) ventures into the world of memoir, braiding family tales with recipes. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. KISSING THE WORLD GOODBYE is available on March 15, 2022 as a paperback (198 p.; 978-1-956692-07-5) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Jennifer Clark  PORTLAND, OR; March 8, 2022— In What Have I Done?, Carrie Close writes, “all these little birds keep picking at me/hard, determined beaks peck through skin, scrape/against bone—they dance and chirp ominous tones…” The connection Close builds between themes of love, motherhood, and relationships hits you in the face like a taut rubber band forcing you to hone in on every last detail. Close pens a charged, feminist collection that avoids polishing for the sake of looking good.
From the Book Paper cut-out “I just want paper cut-outs to love me,” he says, as I moan into the phone and he jerks off in a Subway restroom, and I tell him about the sex I had the day before with the engineer who held my hands above my head when I told him to stop and Wedding Crashers played intermittently between commercials. About Carrie Close Carrie Close was born and raised in Maine, where she lives with her boyfriend Josh, and their two sons, Emerand and Zephyr, and their daughter Zayra. You can read more of her work at carrieclose.com. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. WHAT HAVE I DONE? is available on March 8, 2022 as a paperback (120 p.; 978-1-950730-91-9) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram.  PORTLAND, OR; March 1, 2022 -- Let Widows be Widows is a collection of poetry in five sections. This collection is about the dead and the living. It illuminates various states of loss, hope, love and mourning from diverse points of view.
It begins with denial. A door closing. Happenstance. We are unaware or under-aware of terminal illness or the shock of an unexpected sudden death. Words that we have left unsaid. Widows examines how we bargain with ourselves. What we tell the dying, what we tell the living. It looks at how we modify our behaviors, experiences, to try to overcome the unsolvable dilemma of death. We are witnesses, passing along the stories of our ancestors, friends, pets. It’s about those who have gone to war or faced the great unknowing, how we are each a memorial and a monument to the other. This book is about duality. When we are faced with peril, we roll a d20 die to see if it is going to affect us, and then we roll another die to determine how much damage is dealt. Every day we walk with the different sides of death, all the pieces converging windblown into our life. Finally, it is about the actions we take, our letting go, in order to overcome our grief. About Laura LeHew Former girl scout Laura LeHew is obsessed with the creepy, creaky underbelly of life and whatever lies beyond. Widely published her collections include: Dear John--(The Poetry Box) is a collection of poems that explore the multi-facets of love by using diverse points of view to reveal romantic love, loving friendships, and love that is complicated, Buyer’s Remorse (Tiger’s Eye Press—Infinities) poems on abuse, Becoming (Another New Calligraphy) a non-linear discourse on alcoholism and dementia, Willingly Would I Burn, (MoonPath Press) themed around math and science, It’s Always Night, It Always Rains, (Winterhawk Press) murder/noir and Beauty (Tiger’s Eye Press) fairy tales. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. The publisher can be followed on Instagram and Twitter: @unsolicitedp Let Widows be Widows is available on March 1, 2022 as a paperback (160 p.; 978-1-956692-06-8) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities.  PORTLAND, OR; February 28, 2022-- 21st Century Autoimmune Blues is multi-genre author Brent Terry’s fourth collection. Terry brazenly confronts subjects that are simultaneously political and personal. The undertones range from comedic to emotional, stimulating the head, heart, and gut. Every poem in this collection hums with an underlying anxiety caused by living in these fraught and sometimes dismaying times, but Terry never fails to paint a rhythmically sound image.
About Brent Terry Brent Terry has been an elementary school teacher, coach, running store manager and semi-elite runner. His poetry has won several awards and his poems, stories, reviews and journalism have appeared in many periodicals. He is the author of three collections of poetry and hundreds of unused band names. He has more pairs of running shoes than small beaches have grains of sand, and his love of Dr. Pepper is legendary. Terry lives in Connecticut, where he teaches creative writing and literature at Eastern Connecticut State University. Praise for Brent Terry “Brent Terry’s delightful messing around in his new book, with sound, with ideas, with language, with images, it’s always for a serious purpose. His poems record the things of the natural and man-made world while looking into the self, politically and with feeling. “Was there a time before beauty was ironic?“ he asks. He means that, inflicting his intricate wonders with plenty of irony and wit, but also with much real, sincere beauty. These are poems of panache, energy, and just a touch of the right kind of aggression and in all the right directions. “It was the year of weird food and devastation,“ Terry writes. 21st Century Autoimmune Blues is about who we are, who we’ve been recently, and who we Americans have always been.” --Daisy Fried About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. 21st Century Autoimmune Blues is available on February 28, 2022 as a paperback (110 p.; 978-1-950730-96-4) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Brent Terry  PORTLAND, OR; February 15, 2022— In this new collection of prose poems, Claudia Serea uses surrealism, irony, and humor to express her experiences, from growing up behind the Iron Curtain to immigrating to New York City. The first section of the book, “There Were No Magic Beans,” recalls her childhood in Romania under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s rule, a world in which terror mixes with fairy tales, nightmares, and dreams. The second section, “The Keepers of Moon Keys,” introduces a cast of peculiar characters, including folk tale protagonists, witches, ghosts, a collector of clouds, a bone music maker, a man who paints the time, and the Lord of Meanwhile. In “Dark Calligraphy,” the poet conjures history, remembering war and oppression through the eyes of a child. The reader is guided by a little girl and a museum custodian through the great traumas of recent history. In the last section of the book, “The Russian Hat,” Serea transports the reader into a metropolis as strange as the past she carries with her, to the “museum of our lives,” where “we are the curators, the visitors, and the paintings that paint themselves.” This astonishing place vaguely resembles New York City distorted by memories and dreams, but it might as well be Las Vegas where “what happens in the poem stays in the poem.” In this collection, Serea’s readers win “pound after pound of shiny poems,” the magical beans they will use to escape again and again, discovering hidden meanings with surprise and delight in each new reading.
About Claudia Serea Claudia Serea’s poems and translations have been published in Field, New Letters, Prairie Schooner, Notre Dame Review, The Malahat Review, The Puritan, Oxford Poetry, Asymptote, and elsewhere. She is the author of five other poetry collections and four chapbooks, most recently Twoxism, a collaboration with visual artist Maria Haro (8th House Publishing, 2018). Serea’s poem My Father’s Quiet Friends in Prison, 1958-1962 received the New Letters Readers Award. She won the Levure Littéraire Award for Poetry Performance, and she was featured in the documentary Poetry of Witness (2015). Serea’s poems have been translated in French, Italian, Russian, Arabic, and Farsi, and have been featured in The Writer’s Almanac. Her collection of selected poems translated into Arabic, Tonight I’ll Become a Lake into which You’ll Sink, was published in Cairo, Egypt, in 2021. Serea is a founding editor of National Translation Month, and she co-hosts The Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Readings in Rutherford, NJ. Praise for WRITING ON THE WALLS AT NIGHT "Claudia Serea’s world is as available to the senses as words can make it. Wheat, cement, earth, cities, and poppies pass through these poems steadily and true: you can trust them. This memoir is built on the unsparing consistency of Serea’s gaze. A loving gaze. Stop anywhere in this book, it will be a real place." —Andrei Codrescu, author of No Time Like Now (Pitt Series, 2016) "Writing on the Walls at Night deserves to be marveled at. Whether describing the personal or the political, the magical or the real, the bitter or the sweet, Claudia Serea evinces a poetic sensibility that is achingly empathetic and thoroughly authentic. There is not a false note in the entire collection. Indeed, these prose poems are among the most sincere, inventive, and moving being written today." —Howie Good, author of Famous Long Ago "When I say Claudia Serea’s collection is fabulous, I’m using “fabulous” in the Latinate sense of fabula—“known through fable.” These fabulous prose poems conjure the best of fairy and folk tales: This is the night when the girls wash their faces with dew, and watch how the gates of the world open, and the spirits let them see their future. We used to tie our rowboats to the lamp posts, and they floated all night next to our windows, waiting for us to jump in. These are the stories that saucer-eyed audiences gather to hear a poet-witch tell—in deep blue-green forests, under rainbows. These are the yarns our ancestresses spun on cold winter nights when the harvest was done. When I read these fabulae, I’m transported to that place where light weaves the goddesses' dresses of gold. This is a magic book." —Sharon Mesmer, author of Greetings From My Girlie Leisure Place (Bloof Books), professor of creative writing at NYU and the New School "Claudia Serea faces war with a poet’s heart. The explosions are green and they happen in spring /. . .trees shoot up bullet-shaped buds . . . / The magnolia amasses fat grenades . . . Yet in spite all of the violence of Revolution and genocide, there is beauty and power on every page. Like the statues of Lenin that were turned into something useful: wheelbarrows, / shovels, and spades for digging up the past, Serea transforms history into dark fairy tale, into survival, into pages that all of us should read and treasure." —Shaindel Beers, author of Secure Your Own Mask, Finalist for the Oregon Book Award About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. WRITING ON THE WALLS AT NIGHT is available on February 15, 2022 as a paperback (178 p.; 978-1-956692-01-3) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Claudia Serea  PORTLAND, OR; February 9, 2022— A CLOSET FEMINIST follows the misadventures of 20-something Bella Hirsch as she navigates the world of work and the mystery of sudden romance. Bella hops from New York’s whirlwind to a tony grad school in Philadelphia, and discovers not just love, but a surprising ambition. Fast-paced and witty, this is a romantic comedy with a morality tale wrapped inside.
About Carla Sarett Carla Sarett is a poet, essayist and fiction writer based in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in Thimble, Blue Unicorn, San Pedro River Review, Naugatuck River Review, ONE Art, Hobart Pulp, Across the Margins, Prole and elsewhere; her essays have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best American Essays. THE LOOKING GLASS, a novella, (Propertius Press) was published in October, 2021. Carla has a Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania. A CLOSET FEMINIST is her debut novel. Praise for A CLOSET FEMINIST "Sarett’s penetrating observation couples with her sparkling prose to bring new life and vigour to the popular theme of reinvention of the self. Warm, funny and a wonderful read from both the entertainment and the literary point of view, A Closet Feminist crackles with life on every rapidly-turning page."--Tabitha Ormiston-Smith, author of Barefoot Tango "I'm in love with Bella. She's satrical. She's self-deprecating. She's in love and she's in trouble. And somehow, despite her sense of being moderately ordinary except for her taste in vintage dresses, a trio of gorgeous, creative and successful men share my reaction to Bella, the heroine of Carla Sarett's brilliantly funny and romantic novel A Closet Feminist. They're all in love with Bella." --Dan Essman, author An Apostle at the Kit Kat About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. A CLOSET FEMINIST is available on February 9, 2022 as a paperback (232 p.; 978-1-956692-02-0) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Carla Sarett  PORTLAND, OR; February 2, 2022-- Our topnotch team of data-driven barflies has been puzzling-out, nay, teasing-out the concentric layers inherent to Metacarpalism, by examining the thing’s, ehh, annual rings. Or maybe Metacarpalism functions as a series of intersecting circles -- kind of like the rings left by our shot glasses on the bar. Because, yes! You’ve got a self-referential (“Meta”) exploration of applause (“carpal”) aligning itself with (“ism”) a tender, tender moment [c.f., “love making”] that nevertheless flips us off. And there you are, atmospherically speaking: popsicle flubbers.
Okay, let’s try this again. We’ve been meaning to discuss with you the whereabouts of the potato masher. Look: please: please: tell us, tell us immediately where you placed it, because by now, we are worried for its safety. We would like to restore the device to its rightful place on the granite countertop beside the lone ripening pluot. Does this ring a bell bottom? In short, Metacarpalism offers you cotton tube socks (with the ridiculous green stripes) when you require a change of t-shirt. It’s three a.m. You can see your breath. Above you, a preposterous ruckus of blue jays caucuses amid the alloys of their copious disagreements. You could receive one parcel of nibbled government stimulus fromage or one parcel of nibbled government stimulus crayons. When along comes Metacarpalism via Media Mail. Nibbled! The days are growing longer and just maybe, this book has anticipated your request. Just maybe, all will be forgiven. About Dan Gutstein Dan Gutstein is the author of non/fiction (stories, 2010), Bloodcoal & Honey (poems, 2011), and Buildings Without Murders (novel, 2020). His writing has appeared in more than 100 journals and anthologies, including Ploughshares, American Scholar, Best American Poetry, The Penguin Book of the Sonnet, TriQuarterly, The Iowa Review, and Prairie Schooner. He has been the recipient of grants and awards from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Maryland State Arts Council, UnitedStatesArtists, Women in Film & Video, and Emory University. In addition to writing activities, he is vocalist for punk band Joy on Fire, who will be performing a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR, and co-director of a forthcoming documentary film, Li’l Liza Jane: The Story of America Through the History of a Song. At present, he is a nomad, dividing his time between the crashable couches of Trenton, N.J. and other scenic overlooks. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. The publisher can be followed on Instagram and Twitter: @unsolicitedp METACARPALISM is available on February 2, 2022 as a paperback (98 p.; 978-1-956692-05-1) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com  PORTLAND, OR; January 31, 2022-- The Souls of Others is a powerful essay collection by American Book Award winner Shann Ray. Ray depicts the American west as both magnificent and destitute. The mountains are alive. The people are gritty and resilient. Nature offers its bounty but never gives it with ease. Ray, having spent part of his childhood on the Northern Cheyenne reservation, expertly paints a place of family, sorrow, and a connection to Mother Nature that so many Americans have lost.
About Shann Ray Poet, short story writer, and novelist Shann Ray grew up in Montana and Alaska and spent part of his childhood on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. His work has been featured in Poetry, Esquire, McSweeney's, Prairie Schooner, Big Sky Journal, Narrative, and Salon. A National Endowment for the Arts Fellow and winner of the American Book Award and the High Plains Book Award, he is the author of American Masculine, American Copper, Atomic Theory 432, Balefire, Sweetclover, and Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity. A clinical psychologist specializing in the psychology of men, he teaches leadership and forgiveness studies at Gonzaga University. Because of his wife and three daughters, he believes in love. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. The publisher can be followed on Instagram and Twitter: @unsolicitedp The Souls of Others is available on January 31, 2022 as a paperback (266 p.; 978-1-956692-00-6) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities.  PORTLAND, OR; January 25, 2022— An ancient proverb claims that “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes.” Such is reflected in the various ways people tell themselves their own stories and the meaning within their experiences, but actual revelation of characters’ tales defy the traditional methods of the telling.
Cynthia C. Sample's Forms of Defiance presents a broad variety of people caught in the complexities of their humanity, revealing their narratives, even to themselves according to their peculiarities – Bible concordance entries, playlists, poems, diaries and others – while dissecting the human complexities they are experiencing, and making choices about them. About Cynthia C. Sample Stories from Dallas native, Cynthia C. Sample, have appeared in NumeroCinq, Summerset Review, Sleet, Blue Lake Review, Starlight Literary Journal and others. She holds an M.F.A. in Fiction from Vermont College and a Ph.D. in finance from University of Texas at Dallas. Praise for FORMS OF DEFIANCE Cynthia Sample’s quirky and outrageously insightful stories sing with a voice so particular and peculiar that the reader can’t help but be seduced. I was. One after another, story after story, Sample entertains us, all the while sneakily investigating and laying bare all the secrets of humanity. I’ve never read anything like these – and I only want more. --Robin Oliviera In one of the stories in this stunning debut collection, Cynthia C. Sample invokes the astronomical concept of parallax when describing a documentary her protagonist watches at an observatory: “The camera pulls back over and over again,” she writes, “each time showing what the universe looks like from that imagined vantage point.” Forms of Defiance gives us fifty-three parallactic views on another kind of universe, the universe of fears, desires, hopes, and secrets inside us all. Her book is brilliantly original, fiercely honest, and laced with a wise and heartbreaking wit. In short, it’s the real thing: a book that truly matters. I urge you to read it and share it with those you love. --David Jauss Some writers work with hammers, some with shovels, still others with pitchforks or chainsaws. Cynthia Sample's tool of choice is the scalpel, an instrument she wields to thrilling, deliciously wicked effect in Forms of Defiance. Each story in this stellar collection aims true and cuts deep, laying open the essential inner workings of our all too human selves. Unnerving at times, and delightful all of the time, Forms of Defiance is a work of masterful literary dissection. --Ben Fountain Forms of Defiance is a restless, eccentric, witty book of stories that defy definition. Some stories are shorter than their titles. One is a list of Bible verses. One is a prayer diary. One is an essay about coffins. One consists of a recorded tornado warning alert. Cynthia Sample defies form by borrowing forms. The results are astonishing—astringently ironic, yet intimate. She is a mistress of the killer one-liner. And at the heart of every character is a special kind of bravado in the face of what life throws at us. --Douglas Glover About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. FORMS OF DEFIANCE is available on January 25, 2022 as a paperback (178 p.; 978-1-950730-91-9) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Cynthia C. Sample  PORTLAND, OR; January 11, 2022--Protectress is a hybrid poetry-prose novella offering a risky take on the legend of Medusa. With stunning economy of words and a delicate hand, Protectress provokes us to think about the feminist identity and the power of compassion. Readers who fell deeply for Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey, Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, Madeleine Miller’s Circe, Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven, Maria Dahvana Headley’s translation of Beowulf, and Toby Barlow's Sharp Teeth will find themselves enamoured with Protectress.
About Kendra Preston Leonard Kendra Preston Leonard is a poet, lyricist, and librettist whose work is inspired by the local, historical, and mythopoeic. She is especially interested in addressing issues of social justice, the environment, and disability through poetry. Her first chapbook, Making Mythology, was published in 2020 by Louisiana Literature Press, and her work appears in numerous publications including vox poetica, lunch, These Fragile Lilacs, and Upstart: Out of Sequence: The Sonnets Remixed. Leonard collaborates regularly with composers on works for voice including new operas and song cycles. Her lyrics and libretti have been set by composers including Jessica Rudman, Rosśa Crean, and Allyssa Jones. The author of numerous scholarly books and articles, Leonard is also a musicologist and music theorist, and her academic work focuses on women and music in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; music and the early modern; and music and screen history. Follow her on Twitter at @K_Leonard_PhD or visit her site at https://kendraprestonleonard.hcommons.org/. ABOUT UNSOLICITED PRESS Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. PROTECTRESS is available on January 11, 2022 as a paperback (208 p.; 978-1-950730-63-6) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is actively seeking to book readings and speaking opportunities with the media.  “Lucky Ride is a bang-zoom road trip novel with the queasy high-flying pace of Easy Rider and the breakneck prose of On the Road.” – Douglas Cole, author of The White Field “With Lucky Ride, Terry Tierney has written a classic road novel that captures the spirit of the late sixties the way Kerouac did with the fifties . . . an epic story of loss and redemption.” – Henry Hitz, author of Squirrels in the Wall: A Novel in Stories Terry Tierney’s 2020 debut poetry collection, The Poet’s Garage, was a nominee for the Pushcart Prize, and according to the Midwest Poetry Review, “At once both lyrical and metaphysical, the poems . . . are woven together with a lithe descriptive magic peculiar to Tierney’s work, leaving us wanting more of the poet’s proactive and provocative memories as we turn the last page.” Now, Tierney brings that same lyrical touch to his Vietnam-era debut novel, LUCKY RIDE (Unsolicited Press; on-sale December 28, 2021; ISBN: 978-1-950730-93-3).
This is the story of Patrick “Flash” McCarthy, a young man recently back from the Navy, having been stationed on a remote Aleutian Island called Adak. Though the memories of his time in the service are most notable for the marijuana and LSD he and his fellow Seabees took, Flash remembers them fondly as he struggles to settle back into post-war life in Binghamton, New York with his wife Ronnie. When he learns Ronnie has been having an affair with her boss, the revelation, combined with a general sense of restlessness and malaise he can’t shake, propels him to plan a cross country trip to see an old Navy buddy in California. When another Navy comrade, Rick, shows up in Binghamton with an interstate weed delivery and offers him a ride as far as Fort Worth, the die is cast, and the two men set off, each hoping to quiet their own demons on the speed-fueled road trip of a lifetime. As might be expected of a trip between two old friends sharing a not-insignificant quantity of drugs, things quickly go off the rails, and Flash and Rick find themselves dodging a highway stalker. Relieved by the close call, Flash leaves Rick behind in Fort Worth, and begins to hitchhike to California before narrowly escaping being arrested by a Texas Ranger for any number of offenses he has committed on the trip, He catches rides with an array of colorful characters, including two men fleeing an assault charge in Tennessee and a construction foreman having problems with his son, which leads Flash to reflect on his relationship with his own father. A self-styled guru named Joshua and his band of followers take Flash into their marijuana-filled van, but he declines the invitation to join their group, knowing that his destiny lies elsewhere. As the trip progresses cross-country, with nothing but miles of open road and whatever drugs he’s ingested, Flash has plenty of time to reflect. He remembers the early days with Ronnie, when they were two young, free spirits in love, before the realities of the war and real life intruded. In Phoenix, he hooks up with an old friend named Donna, and recalls the wild night he spent with her, her husband Walter, and Ronnie, before realizing that night is best left a memory. Finally arriving in Ventura, California, Flash meets with his friend, Jack Ferro, and begins to contemplate a life away from the failure of his marriage in Binghamton, filled with the carefree vibes of the Cali sunshine. But reality soon intrudes on his California dreaming, and, out of money and unable to find a job, Flash makes the decision to head back to New York. Ronnie offers reconciliation, and Flash must decide if he still trusts the seductive pull of the irresistible campus radical he married or if he prefers the open road, the chance of a new beginning, and another lucky ride. Terry Tierney was born in South Dakota and raised in Minneapolis and Cleveland. After serving in the Seabees, he received a BA and MA in English from SUNY Binghamton, and a PhD in Victorian Literature from Emory University. He taught college composition and creative writing and later survived a series of Silicon Valley startups as a software engineering manager. His stories have appeared in Fiction Pool, Jersey Devil Press, Blue Lake Review, Eunoia Review, Fictive Dreams, Literally Stories, SPANK the CARP, Big Bridge, and other publications. He is the author of the Pushcart Prize-nominated poetry collection, The Poet’s Garage, Lucky Ride, and a forthcoming second novel, The Bridge on Beer River, which will be published in 2023. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. LUCKY RIDE is now available for purchase wherever books are sold. Paperbacks can be purchased directly from the publisher; ebooks are available through all major ebook retail outlets.  PORTLAND, OR; December 14, 2021— The stories in DONA NOBIS PACEM are longing for peace. All are told from a female point of view. The stories are divided into three sections: hostility out in the world, domestic difficulties, and a few new takes on fairy tales. Stories out in the world include reflections of a goddess observing a young man dying, Mary Magdalen mourning Jesus, an older German woman wanting to hide away from the world after World War II, and a young girl liking an outsider peace demonstrator while she is part of a right to life demonstration, among others. The domestic stories deal with neglect, child abuse, fear of being pregnant, and similar complications. The fairy tales all mourn a certain loss of magic in our world.
About the Author Beate Sigriddaughter, www.sigriddaughter.net, was poet laureate of Silver City, New Mexico (Land of Enchantment) from 2017 to 2019. Her work has received several poetry awards. Červená Barva Press published her poetry chapbook Dancing in Santa Fe and other poems in 2019 and Unsolicited Press published her poetry chapbook Emily (February 2020). About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com.  PORTLAND, OR; November 23, 2022— What scares you more? The monster under your bed or the one staring back at you in the mirror? Authors C.M. Chapman and Larry Thacker blur the lines between the kinds of monsters that roam the earth in their latest short story collection, EVERYDAY, MONSTERS.
In twenty-one stories, readers encounter monsters ranging from mythological, psychological, maliciously human, and darkly comical. Monsters creep from the deepest parts of humanity, the kind that we are born with, proving that even those with the best senses can overlook shadowy lurking beasts. Chapman and Thacker execute with skill everyday storytelling that leaves readers in a sense of wonder and wondering if what they know is truth or make believe. About the Authors C.M. Chapman’s work has appeared in numerous literary journals, including Cheat River Review, Limestone, Still: The Journal, Dark Mountain Project in the U.K., and the anthology, So It Goes: A Tribute to Kurt Vonnegut. He is the author of the chapbook, Music & Blood, from Latham House Press, and his novel-in-stories, Suicidal Gods, was published by Unsolicited Press in 2019. He is a graduate of the low-residency MFA program at West Virginia Wesleyan College, where he served as The McKinney Teaching Fellow for three years and as an adjunct professor. Larry D. Thacker’s stories can be found in past issues of The Still Journal, Fried Chicken and Coffee, Dime Show Review, Vandalia Journal, and Grotesque Quarterly. His stories have been twice nominated for the Pushcart and once for a Best of the Net recognition. His poetry can be found in over 170 publications, including Still: The Journal, The American Journal of Poetry, Poetry South, Tower Poetry Society, Spillway, The Southern Poetry Anthology, Town Creek Poetry, and Appalachian Heritage. His books are Mountain Mysteries: The Mystic Traditions of Appalachia, the short story collection, Working it Off in Labor County, and the poetry books, Feasts of Evasion, Grave Robber Confessional, Voice Hunting, Memory Train, and Drifting in Awe. His MFA in poetry and fiction is from West Virginia Wesleyan College. He serves as adjunct instructor at Northeast State Community College. Visit: www.larrydthacker.com About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. EVERYDAY, MONSTERS is available on November 23, 2022 as a paperback (284 p.; 978-1-950730-88-9) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram.  PORTLAND, OR; November 23, 2021-- Would you be willing to kidnap your child to save his life and set sail in search of a doctor that may hold the key to his survival when everyone else has given up? When it means you may lose everything regardless of the outcome? Pacific by Trevor J. Houser discovers what a desperate father is willing to do to save his son’s life...even if it means braving deadly storms at home and on the run.
On a remote Puget Sound island, police chief Bell navigates his job and marriage in the wake of his son’s near-death brain surgery. When his wife no longer wants to tempt the fates of experimental medicine he takes matters into his own hands. With the help of his spaced-out fisherman friend, Bell kidnaps his boy and sets sail for Guatemala in search of the mysterious Dr. Haas. On the way, they’ll brave the seventh biggest storm, befriend two behemoth fly-fishing Nords, and try to outrun the ex-Navy captain hired by his wife to find them. Advance Praise for PACIFIC “Very heartfelt and amazing story, loved it.” – Gus Van Sant “If you are a father, or know one, Trevor Houser’s Pacific, is a wild, quixotic ride that will challenge your understanding of what it is to be a parent.” -Larry Colton, author of Southern League and Counting Coup “Poetic. Suspenseful. And at times darkly comic. Get ready for an adventure in heartbreak.” —Michael Mazza, author of That Crazy Perfect Someday About Trevor J. Houser Trevor J. Houser lives with his family in Seattle. He has published stories in Zyzzyva, Story Quarterly and The Doctor TJ Eckleburg Review, among others. Three of his stories were nominated for the Pushcart Prize. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. PACIFIC is available on November 23, 2021 as a paperback (258 p.; 978-1-950730-84-1) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Trevor J. Houser trevorhouser11@gmail.com Poet Brook Bhagat's ONLY FLYING Celebrates Transformation and Rebellion with Striking Determination11/16/2021
 PORTLAND, OR; November 16, 2021— Unsolicited Press announces the release of Only Flying by Brook Bhagat. Only Flying is a collection of surreal free verse and prose poetry that celebrates transformation and paradox, exploring both the silence of the seeker and the outrageous wilderness of the imagination. Thematic threads like rebellion, enlightenment, risk, courage, love, loss, and triumph dance to life with pictures that swing from dark to light, surreal to whimsical, and strange to familiar. There are intimate goddesses here, black widows, buddhas, alley cats, a kangaroo, and magic pants—blacklight-blue Hendrix flares that hang from a fire escape, just waiting for the right person to jump up and steal them. That person is you.
From the Collection ECLIPSE Night after night I climb out the same window, light a cigarette in the snow and look for home. About Brook Bhagat Brook Bhagat’s poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and humor have appeared in Monkeybicycle, Empty Mirror Magazine, Soundings East, Little India, Prometheus Dreaming, Anthem: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen, and other journals and anthologies. She is the 2020 winner of A Story in 100 Words’ nature writing contest and the 2021 winner of Loud Coffee Press’s summer microfiction contest. She and her husband Gaurav created Blue Planet Journal, which she edits and writes for. She holds an MFA from Lindenwood University, is an assistant professor of English at a community college, and is writing a novel. See more at brook-bhagat.com or reach her on Twitter at @BrookBhagat. Praise for ONLY FLYING In this intimate collection of interwoven poetry and prose, the magical and the mundane coexist in an exploration of personal transformation. Whether stealing magic pants off a stranger’s fire escape or unearthing new hands from the soil of a spring garden, Brook Bhagat creates a sensory experience threaded with longing and loss. At the same time, she effortlessly emphasizes the beauty of small things, echoes of ephemeral moments made up of salt and stars, feathers and eggshells. The poet turns inwards in her exploration, folds up like a paper tiger, only to then reemerge transcendent and renewed, unshackled from the gravity of false expectations and desires. In a dizzying dance of imagery and light, Bhagat’s lyricism creates a sense of remembering, a reckoning released on the wings of a wish. --Carina Bissett, award-winning writer and co-editor of Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. ONLY FLYING is available on November 16, 2022 as a paperback (96 p.; 978-1-950730-83-4) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Brook Bhagat https://brook-bhagat.com/contact/  PORTLAND, OR; November 9, 2021— Within the fifteen short stories of STUMBLING TOWARD GRACE, Rosalia Scalia explores how people who love each other struggle to reconnect their fractured relationships in the face of traumas, personal flaws, and unspoken hurts. Many of her stories explore loss and grief with humor and grace as characters navigate their unwise decisions, unexpected deaths, or their resentments polished into gems. Overall this collection offers readers poignant moments about ordinary people striving to survive and thrive in situations reflective of today’s challenges.
From the Book THERE WAS A fourteen-year-old Black boy. There was a twenty-one-year-old White woman. There was a whistle. There were two White men. There was a Crow named Jim. There was a kidnapping. There was a seventy-five-pound cotton gin fan. There was a lesson in colors, meaning that there were two White men who thought they’d teach the Black boy about a lesson in Money, Mississippi. There was a shed. There were cries in the shed over a lesson in colors, meaning the Black boy who whistles—who probably never ever kissed a girl, who called for his mama—learned a hard lesson in color. You just learned how to whistle to call your dog, Champ, but you don’t want to call Champ anymore because the Crow might come instead. Praise for Rosalia Scalia These stories are like a diamond, and Scalia's prose is a fine cut. Her debut sparkles with the energy of its characters -- all of them radiate their hopes, their tragedies, their humanity on the page. Reading this collection is like being given a close, multi-faceted look right into the heart of a city and its people." — Susan Muaddi Darraj Rosalia Scalia is Baltimore’s Flannery O’Connor. She inhabits her disparate characters, warts and all. Not an easy task considering the bigots, religious fanatics, hoarders, alcoholics, drug users, and damaged lives presented here. And yet, like the fictional Father Brown, she refrains from judgments, allowing each a generous shot at redemption. —Richard Peabody, editor/publisher, Gargoyle Magazine About Rosalia Scalia Rosalia Scalia’s fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in The Oklahoma Review, North Atlantic Review, Notre Dame Review, The Portland Review, and Quercus Review, among many others. She holds an MA in writing from Johns Hopkins University and is a Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artist's Award recipient. She won the Editor's Select award from Willow Review and her short story in Pebble Lake was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She lives in Baltimore with her family. About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. STUMBLING TOWARD GRACE is available on November 9, 2021 as a paperback (254 p.; 978-1-950730-82-7) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking opportunities, interviews with the media, and readings. Electronic review copies are available upon request. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Rosalia Scalia rscalia1@yahoo.com |
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