M.A. Dubbs's Blog, page 4

Author Fair & Publication

Hello All! Another week and another round of writing updates!

This past weekend I attend HEPL annual Author Fair in Fishers! This was my first time attending and I was able to sell some books, meet some other authors and readers, and perform my first reading of my latest book Limestone Versified. Check out my pictures below:

I’ve also sold 7 of my Axolotl charity zines, raising $7 so far for MOJA (wetlands restoration in Mexico). Woot! You can find my proof screenshots below:

I had my poem “The Secret Identity of a Bi Girl” published in Growing Up Queer in the Suburbs which was created and edited by long arm stapler. The zine features art, poetry, and non-fiction from queer creatives about their experiences in suburbia during their formative years.

It was very eye-opening to read many stories that were similar to my own, particularly the feeling of not belonging and not recognizing one’s own queerness due to lack of representation, acceptance, and internal homophobia. Coming out and accepting my identity has been an journey and not the easiest one, but it feels so freeing to be out and proud. I’m happy to have a space to share my experiences and hopefully the younger generation will have an easier, more accepting time than I did.

I also have a fun Sailor Moon reference and some boy band references in this poem. Hm, I guess Sailor Moon did provide some representation, although most of it was heavily censored here in the U.S. (thanks BS&P!). Guess Sailor Neptune being my favorite Scout now makes a lot of sense in hindsight.

Readings, Voting, Book Fair and More

This past weekend was busy one full of readings and traveling!

On Saturday I went to Noblesville Creates for the book launch and signings for the Gal’s Guide Library Anthology: Nourish (available on Amazon). My two poems, “A Verse for the Canner” (a free verse poem about gardening and canning) and “Cooking Genealogy” (a Spanglish haiku about tamales), were published in the anthology.

Sunday for the Nourish book tour we read at Indy Reads where 40% of the profits sold went to Indy Read’s and their community outreach. We had more signings and a Q&A.

Voting for the People’s Choice award has begun and now until May 2nd you can vote for your favorite piece in the Nourish anthology.

This weekend (4/20) I will be at the HEPL local author fair in Fishers. This annual book/author fair allows local authors to sell their books and meet new readers. I will be selling all three of my books (which includes my latest release, Limestone Versified) along with the Axolotl zine (for MOJA charity), and some custom stickers I made. I will also be reading from 3:20 to 3:30 pm EST in the Reading Room.

An anthology I have a poem in is launching a Kickstarter campaign! The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters – A Sci-Fi Anthology is by Thinking Ink Press and explores alien encounters and how they intersect with neuro divergence. I saw the call for this anthology and it took me a while to explore what an outer world encounter would look like and how could an alien relate to my mental health experiences?

Soon, I recalled one of my favorite sci-fi games of all time, Mass Effect. I’m a huge fan and have been in love and engrossed by the expansive universe since my freshman year of college (and a forever Thanemancer). Inspired by the Drell of the Mass Effect universe, I wrote the poem “A Conversation with a Drell” exploring how a Drell (an alien with perfect memory and untimely flashbacks) might relate with experiences of OCD and PTSD. The result was fun! The poem has been re-titled “A Conversation with a Xotiran” (which I created from the Uzbek word “Xotira” which can mean memory or flashback) after conversations with the editors. One to help strengthen the meaning of the poem and two just in case EA/Bioware gets grumpy about me name dropping their species (have mercy on me, big corpos!). You can pre-order this nerdy, sci-fi anthology through the Kickstarter above.

I think that’s all my updates for now! There’s more upcoming publications but I’ll continue to share as more comes available.

Publications

I had several new publications that came out at the end of March.

My “3 Quail Haiku” were published in COOP the duck, duck, goose edition. COOP is a digital zine that normally publishes writing solely about chickens (because, why not!). However, this edition focused on chicken friends. I thought this would be a fun opportunity to write about quail because they are super cute and I’ve always liked the way they run, little plume bopping on their heads. I did some research on a few different types of quail which was fun. Shout out to “14 Types of Quail” by Chinny Verana for the helpful information so I could accurately research quail for the poems. You can read this zine for free online here!

I also had my poem “What’s All The Fuss” published in Issue #1 of Unfold Magazine. Unfold is a new zine focused on self-expression. The theme for this first issue was love and I submitted a poem about motherhood and parenting. I wrote this poem as part of a chapbook writing competition. We had 72 hours to write an entire chapbook on the theme “Human Animals”. I didn’t place, unfortunately, but I had a collection of poems that I could start sending out for publication. The theme for my chapbook was children’s literature and each poem was inspired by a children’s book, most I read as a kid myself or read to my kids now. “What’s All The Fuss” is about the book Owl Babies byMartin Waddell but I wanted to put it in the perspective of an exhausted mother owl returning home from the hunt. You can order a physical copy of the zine on Ko-fi.

I also got to attend a free workshop via Brick Street Poetry and learned how to write sijo, a form of poetry from Korean. Shout out to Lucy Park from Sejong Cultural Society for teaching us about Korean culture, poetry, and writing. I have a new poetry form to play with and try out!

Release Day! Limestone Versified Out Now!

Happy National Poetry Month Everyone!

Today is the release day for my third poetry book release! Limestone Versified: Indiana Haiku and Other Poetry is now live in both digital and print formats. If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read the book for FREE.

This poetry collection is mostly haiku with a bit of free verse poems and explores that diverse landscape of my home state of Indiana. From the southern limestone valleys to the sandy dune beaches up north, readers will explore the real parks and natural wonders that Indiana has to offer. Each poem as a geo-location marker, allowing readers to travel to the places that inspired each verse or inspire readers to go on a travel adventure of their own.

I want to thank everyone who supported this release: those who helped with editing, bought pre-orders, shared, or just have followed along for the journey. Thank you.

Click here for purchase or read!

Poem Published in Muse Journal, Nigeria

My poem “Free Ranging” was published in The Muse Journal, No 51 earlier this month. This poem was inspired by something that really happened to a friend I had in college. I got my digital copy from the editor-in-chief, Uchenna Edwin Eze, today. They released the journal at the Literary Arts Festival of the English and Literary Studies Department at University of Nigeria. The college is located in Nsukka, Nigeria and is my first publication in the country and on the continent of Africa!

The edition is filled with amazing poetry, short fiction, non-fiction, plays, and critical analysis. I added some books from some fellow contributors to my To-Read list on Goodreads. Lately, I’ve been trying to read and support fellow contributors.

The journal will be posted online later via The Muse Journal website, which I will share once it’s pushed out. But in the meantime, enjoy the cover art!

publication, Workshop, New Merch

My little writing world continues to stay busy this spring with lots of new updates!

Today I have three poems out in Hues of Spring: A Festival of Colour by Nyra Publishers. Nyra Publishers is based out of India and created this anthology to celebrate the holiday of Holi and the various colors as spring finally begins to appear. The cover is gorgeous and Nyra also offers royalties to writers which is amazing to see. You can get a digital copy on Amazon!

This evening I am holding a FREE poetry publishing workshop at Poets Laureate of Lawrence. I’ll be guiding you through the process of publishing and leaving you with confidence in sending your work out into the world. Come one, come all!

In less than a week, my latest poetry book is releasing! In celebration for my April 1st launch, I have a sale going on at my pop-up merch store. I have added new designs and new merch, so check it out and get yourself some writer swag!

Reading and Banner for Hidden Sun

Last night I had the honor of reading my haiku as part of The Hidden Sun program at DePauw University. I was joined by other poets and musicians which created a beautiful experience to celebrate the upcoming solar eclipse! Poets read their haiku while the musicians performed improv, giving their live reactions to each haiku after it was read.

My haiku was also printed and posted on a banner around Greencastle square which was so exciting! It is amazing to be able to be a part of this public art project and to be able to bring together so many different kinds of art. I was honored to be included and got to meet so many other artists! Check out my photos below!

Cover Reveal! ARC Reader Call

Yesterday I revealed the cover for my latest collection Limestone Versified: Indiana Haiku and Other Poems.

Digital pre-orders are live now! Print orders available on launch day April 1st!

The cover was created using a photo from cottonbro studio who has a huge collection of free use photography of natural and human elements. I greatly appreciate artists sharing open source materials with the creative community! I picked this photo due to it showcasing limestone, a renowned building material quarried in Indiana and often used in several of our important buildings. Limestone valleys are often common to see when hiking in southern Indiana, usually covered with moss and loose tree roots. Their sight often makes me think about Indiana’s creation from glacial movement and how that has created the diverse landscape the state has to offer.

I am looking for ARC readers, so if interested please reach out via my Contact Me page or DM on Instagram.

I’m looking forward to the eclipse reading next week at DePauw and have been working on several edits for several publications behind the scenes. I also submitted a flurry of literary magazines to Poets & Writers for them to add more to their database.

I have some merch I’ll be sharing as the launch day comes closer! This year seems like it’s already going by so quickly!

New Book Tease! Publication & Upcoming Events

The cat is out of the bag! I teased on my Instagram feed this week the behind the scenes of my third book release. Limestone Versified: Indiana Haiku and Other Poems is launching April 1st. I’ll be teasing more photos on Instagram to lead up to the launch as I’m prepping the last pieces but I am excited! This full length poetry book focuses on nature and the parks, landscapes, and landmarks of my home state. I’ll post more on here as included pre-order information soon!

Coffee to fuel the final edits!

Today I attended the launch of “Grow” an anthology created by Rue who was the resident creator at Ignite Studio (located at Fishers Library). It was a fun event where we signed each others’ books, read, and ate snacks! Remaining books will be for sale at Noblesville Library at a future date.

This spring is really busy for me! The Eclipse and upcoming Poetry Month makes for an active time for poets! Here’s some upcoming events you can see me at!

March 13th I will be participating in the Hidden Sun haiku reading at DePauw University. Haiku from the poets will be printed on banners around the area and generate some hype for the upcoming total solar eclipse! I’m an amateur astronomer, so I am thrilled to be combining two passions together! You can find full event details at Indiana Humanities Website.

March 23rd I will be attending Gal’s Guide award ceremony for their Nourish Anthology. I have two poems included in this anthology. They’re both about food: one about canning and another about my Hispanic heritage. This will be in person and on Zoom (link pending).

March 26th is my FREE publishing poetry workshop at Poets Laureate of Lawrence at 7 pm. Dip your toes into the publishing world and learn how to submit your first poems for publication. Find full information at IndyArtsGuide.

April 13th is the book launch party for the Nourish Anthology by Gal’s Guide. Event runs from 2pm to 4pm.

April 20th is the Local Author Fair from my library. There will be nearly 60 authors and literary organizations with books, zines, and merch to sell eager readers. Find me there from 1pm to 4pm! Get the full details on the HEPL calendar.

Lastly, on May 4th will be a Meet the Authors event for the Nourish Anthology for Gal’s Guide. This will also be accessible online (more details pending).

I’ll need a breather for the summer, ha ha! I have lots of upcoming publications in zines, anthologies, and journals but nothing set in stone at this time. I feel so blessed to be able to be so busy with my craft and it has been incredibly fun getting around my area to meet other creatives.

Vote in Left Brain Media Contest

My piece “No Way to Prevent This: A Dialogue” is now live and up for voting with Left Brain Media! Left Brain Media is an online U.K. based publication of poetry, short fiction, non-fiction, and art focused on addressing political or cultural issues. They are hosting their first ever writing competition!

I submitted my short fiction piece which is a series of dialogues showing the various factors that lead up to a character’s horrific act of violence. This has been a very hard and complicated piece to work on, trying to balance being respectful as I approached this hard topic while addressing possible social and personal areas of growth. I’ve worked on this piece on and off for a couple years now, researching and seeking feedback, so I am excited to have it finally see the light of day. For those wanting to seek additional information, I highly recommend this NetCE course where I learned so much. You can read my piece “No Way to Prevent This: A Dialogue” here.

If you like my piece (or any others!), you can vote for me in “The State of It” Writing Competition by Left Brain Media. You can vote using this Google form and drop down which pieces you liked best in each category.