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The Accomplices LLC

Civil Coping Mechanisms / Entropy / Writ Large Press

  • About
    • About The Accomplices
    • Who We Are
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    • New/Forthcoming
    • Bestsellers
    • All Titles
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    • Teaching Guides
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Monthly Archives

November 2016

tobias carroll
BooksNews

Coping with Tobias Carroll, Author of ‘Transitory’

by CCM November 28, 2016
written by CCM

#CopingWith is CCM’s interview series run by managing editor Joanna C. Valente


Tobias Carroll’s book, “Transitory,” came out on August 15, 2016 from CCM. Of the book, Laura van den Berg has said, “Ingenious and mysterious, the stories of Tobias Carroll are spun with quiet loneliness and wild surprise. Transitory is that rare kind of collection where each story stands shining alone and, in the end, forms a beautifully melancholic whole. Tobias Carroll is an original and deeply exciting talent.”

As such, we interviewed him about his book, although instead of asking boring lit questions, our managing editor Joanna C. Valente asked Tobias about everything else instead, like what his favorite meal and apocalypse plans are.

Here’s what he said:

TransitoryCoverFront

Describe your favorite meal.

On the one hand, I’d go with something savory but a little complicated: there’s a pizza that you can get at a restaurant in my neighborhood, Adelina’s, where the crust is lightly fried, the toppings (spicy meat, cheese) work well together, and the tomato sauce is rich.

On the other hand, I’m also fond of something simple: there’s a bar in my hometown where the bar nachos are basically my definition of comfort food: heaps of cheese and meat, some of them seared to the plate. Delicious. I’ve had some amazing meals that have largely been one-offs; in terms of something that can be replicated, maybe the pizza mentioned above or a Sicilian slice or two from a place in Lincroft, New Jersey. That said, I’ve become fixated more recently on the chechebsa served at brunches at Bunna Cafe in Bushwick. So maybe a blend of the deeply familiar and the newer?

What music do often you write to, if at all?

Lots of ambient and drone work: Nils Frahm and Stars of the Lid (and related projects) are particular favorites. There are certain albums that I love that I can’t write to, and that’s mightily frustrating. Certain composers will also work: Steve Reich, some Bach, some Pärt. Though some of that is related to place, too: I can write at a coffee shop with almost anything on, but at home, it’s a little trickier. I have no idea why.

What are three books that you’ve always identified with?

Annie Proulx’s The Shipping News, Haruki Murakami’s South of the Border, West of the Sun, and Jonathan Lethem’s Chronic City.

Choose one painting that describes who you are. What is it?

This is tough, especially because the artist I’ve been most obsessed with in recent years has been James Turrell. (“I’m like Roden Crater–vast, cosmic, and still in progress!” Wait, no.) Maybe Leonora Carrington’s “Play Shadow”? Something where you can get lost in the details.

Wikiart

Wikiart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choose a gif that encompasses mornings for you.

What do you imagine the apocalypse is like? How would you want to die?

I had a dream about this very topic a couple of months ago. First I was on the earth when things started to simply fall apart; then, I was watching from some vantage point in space (maybe the Moon?) as continents started to crumble. I blame the film Melancholia for making a very specific, very vivid, very visually stunning vision of the end of the world. As for the other part of the question? Lately, I’ve been utterly terrified of dying in my sleep. So I think I’d prefer to have some sort of conscious awareness that this is it for me–preferably in some level of comfort at a ripe old age.

If you could only watch three films for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Three Colors: Red, The Long Goodbye, and Raising Arizona. (The last of those because, well, I’d need something funny in the mix.)

How would you describe your social media persona/role?

Diplomatic and sometimes hesitant to a fault. I sometimes envy my friends who opt for more private social media presences, as I feel like I can’t necessarily be as candid; on the other hand, I think that, by nature, I’m not that candid to begin with. Alternately: sometimes I look back at the columns I wrote for the zine I did in the 90s or the blog I maintained in the early 00s and see someone working a lot of things out in public, sometimes very awkwardly. I’m glad I did it, but I’m also okay with no longer doing it, if that makes sense.

What’s your favorite animal and why?

I’m slightly more of a dog person than a cat person, and recently, I’ve been wondering if I’m making a huge mistake with my life by not being a dog owner. I grew up around dogs–my parents have beagles–and lately, I find myself freaking out a lot when I’m around dogs of all varieties.

What do you carry with you at all times?

Wallet, keys, phone, reading material, and some sort of note-taking device. Which is sometimes the phone, but more often than not is a notebook and pen. Usually all of these things are in a tote bag; when I’m without it, I often end up looking for it when I go to different places. (Such was the case earlier today, when I was doing some errands.) When I worked an office job, I would also usually have some kind of writing device–at the time, that was a tablet and a Bluetooth keyboard–which I’d use after work to get a couple of minutes of writing time in.


tobias carrollTobias Carroll is the author of the short story collection Transitory (Civil Coping Mechanisms, August 15) and the novel Reel (Rare Bird, October 11). He is the managing editor of Vol.1 Brooklyn. His writing has been published by Bookforum, Tin House, Rolling Stone, Hazlitt, Men’s Journal, and more. He grew up in Tinton Falls, NJ and now calls Brooklyn, NY home.

 

 

 

joanna valenteJoanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of Sirs & Madams (Aldrich Press, 2014), The Gods Are Dead (Deadly Chaps Press, 2015), Marys of the Sea (ELJ Publications, 2016), & Xenos (2016, Agape Editions). She received her MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She is also the founder of Yes, Poetry, as well as the managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine and CCM. Some of her writing has appeared in Prelude, The Atlas Review, The Feminist Wire, BUST, Pouch, and elsewhere. She also teaches workshops at Brooklyn Poets.

November 28, 2016
henry hoke
BooksNews

Coping with Henry Hoke, Author of ‘The Book of Endless Sleepovers’

by CCM November 21, 2016
written by CCM

#CopingWith is CCM’s interview series run by managing editor Joanna C. Valente


Henry Hoke’s book, “The Book of Endless Sleepovers” came out on October 31, 2016 from CCM. Of the book, Maggie Nelson has said, “I love how Henry Hoke plays fast and loose with autobiography and genre. The Book of Endless Sleepovers is wry and finely-wrought, a philosophical fever dream studded with the pleasure of proper names and surprising turns of phrase, a lyric page-turner.”

As such, we interviewed him about his book, although instead of asking boring lit questions, our managing editor Joanna C. Valente asked Hoke about everything else instead, like what his favorite meal and apocalypse plans are.

Here’s what he had to say:

sleepoversactual

Describe your favorite meal. 

Tortellini. I saw a Reading Rainbow about how it’s made and was hooked for life. 

What music do you often write to, if at all? 

Night Bus.

How would you describe your gender? 

Southern expat gothic.

What are three books that you’ve always identified with?

365 Days, 365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks

Music for Chameleons by Truman Capote

The Indispensible Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

Choose one painting that describes who you are. What is it?

A painting I saw at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice called Still Life with Lobster, a cartoonish still life where the lobster was hulking and alive and seemed to be flailing its claws at the viewer. I thought it was by Botero but I can’t find any evidence of its existence. Maybe that’s for the best.

Choose a gif that encompasses mornings for you. 

My gif, like my mornings, is set to music:

 What do you imagine the apocalypse is like? How would you want to die?

Pass.

If you could only watch three films for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Paris is Burning

Rear Window

Eyes Wide Shut 

How would you describe your social media persona/role?

Idiosyncratic. Restrained. I save my favorite stuff for the books. 

What’s your favorite animal and why?

Tapirs. They’re singular! 

What do you carry with you at all times? 

I keep a foot-shaped blue gem in my wallet. I’m pretty sure I know where I got it. It’s been with me a long time.


henry hokeHenry Hoke was a child in the South and an adult in New York and California. He authored The Book of Endless Sleepovers (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016) and Genevieves(winner of the Subito Press prose contest, forthcoming 2017). Some of his stories appear in The Collagist, PANK, Gigantic and Carve. He co-created and directs Enter>text, a living literary journal.

 

joanna valenteJoanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of Sirs & Madams (Aldrich Press, 2014), The Gods Are Dead (Deadly Chaps Press, 2015), Marys of the Sea (ELJ Publications, 2016), & Xenos (2016, Agape Editions). She received her MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She is also the founder of Yes, Poetry, as well as the managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine and CCM. Some of her writing has appeared in Prelude, The Atlas Review, The Feminist Wire, BUST, Pouch, and elsewhere. She also teaches workshops at Brooklyn Poets.

November 21, 2016
sean doyle
BooksNews

Coping with Sean H. Doyle, Author of ‘This Must Be the Place’

by CCM November 14, 2016
written by CCM

#CopingWith is CCM’s interview series run by managing editor Joanna C. Valente


Sean H. Doyle’s debut book, “This Must Be the Place,” came out on May 1, 2015 from CCM. Of the book, Jim Ruland has said, “Sean H. Doyle is a punk rock sailor shaman with a message from way down below decks where the guys with horns and hooves go jet skiing on a lake of fire. This Must Be the Place is a ferocious testament to love and loss written with razor blades and backed with blood. An unputdownable debut.” I can personally attest to Sean’s passion for the written word, for finding one’s own personal truth, for understanding when to throw out that truth, and for being a visionary who isn’t afraid to tell a story, blemishes and all.

As such, we interviewed him about his book, although instead of asking boring lit questions, our managing editor Joanna C. Valente asked about everything else instead, like what his favorite meal and gif are.

Here’s what he told us:

ThisMustBethePlaceExteriorFINAL2
Describe your favorite meal. 

Damn. Well, I love to cook and spending time in the kitchen is one of the best parts of any day for me, so I have a lot of favorites I go back to. I’m carnivorous as all get-out, so I really love to take a nice cut of red meat and rub it down with some coffee, sea salt, and pepper and throw it in the broiler for a while. Always goes well with some spinach salad and roasted sweet potatoes. If you want to eat, email me, I’m down.

What music do often you write to, if at all?

I try to stay as instrumental as possible, unless there is something I’m trying to achieve that words can help break loose a little. I’m a huge Steve Reich acolyte, so all of his work and anything else that pulses in that way is good for me. Lots of ambient drone stuff, too. Nick Cave always helps goose the romantic in me, which is something I am trying to embrace a little more in my upcoming work. All the old punk rock I grew up on when I know there is something deep in the meat of me that needs to come out.

How would you describe your gender?

I am a lover.

What are three books that you’ve always identified with?

Only three? Shit. Since I’ve read them, or since I knew they existed? I am answering your question with questions to stall. Fine. Three books.

“The Hagakure.”

“The Hotel New Hampshire.”

The Torah

Choose one painting that describes who you are. What is it?

My buddy Tim Kent is a brilliant artist and a good dude. He did this painting that murdered me when I saw it, called “The Night’s Heir,” and I totally see me in the horse. Open to the bone with exposed innards and meat, as if it were an everyday happening.

kent

Kent

 

Choose a gif that encompasses mornings for you.

 What do you imagine the apocalypse is like? How would you want to die?

My own apocalypse is my inability to get shit right the first four or fives times I try. I imagine the actual apocalypse is what we’re living right fucking now. Climate change and war and violence in every city pushed by the people in power who don’t want to lose their power and no money going toward education and hate and racism getting louder and hunger and prisons for profit and the drug wars and cellphones and anger anger anger. Don’t worry, though. The oceans will clean this all up and the salamanders will take over the earth soon enough.
I’ve dealt with more than my fair share of trauma in this life, so I would like to die in my sleep.

If you could only watch three films for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Only three? Fuck. Alright, here we go:

“Mean Streets.”

“Dumb and Dumber.”

Any Kurosawa film will do.

How would you describe your social media persona/role?I have a very hot/cold relationship with social media. I have quit every platform at one point or another and come back to them. I think I use each one differently and always have. Facebook is definitely kind of sincere and a little bit over the top for me. I try not to nudge people too much there, folks get sensitive and then have too much room to say whatever they want. I don’t want to hear or read any of that, I have my own demons. I use Instagram as a marker of sorts. Anyone who follows me there knows they will get photos of clouds and churches and dogs who come into the coffee shop where I work, with occasional videos of me zoning out on guitar.

Twitter is another beast and I still have no fucking clue why I came back to it. I mostly use it as a steam valve and try not to govern myself too much. Hilariously, these are all facets of my real self. On Tumblr, I definitely try to write a little more and try to open myself up a bit. Kind of like a proving ground for longer pieces of work or work that might end up being a “thing.”As far as roles go? Who says I should have one? I’m just being alive.

 What’s your favorite animal and why?

My dog, Gracie. Because she fucking rules.

 What do you carry with you at all times?

Hope.


sean doyle

Robb Todd

Sean H. Doyle lives in Brooklyn, NY. He works hard every day to be a better person and is learning how to love himself more. His book, This Must Be The Place, is forthcoming from CCM in 2015. For more information on Sean and his work visit his website at www.seanhdoyle.com or follow him on Twitter @seanhdoyle

 

joanna valenteJoanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of Sirs & Madams (Aldrich Press, 2014), The Gods Are Dead (Deadly Chaps Press, 2015), Marys of the Sea (ELJ Publications, 2016), & Xenos (2016, Agape Editions). She received her MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She is also the founder of Yes, Poetry, as well as the managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine and CCM. Some of her writing has appeared in Prelude, The Atlas Review, The Feminist Wire, BUST, Pouch, and elsewhere. She also teaches workshops at Brooklyn Poets.

November 14, 2016
alexandra naughton
BooksNews

Coping with Alexandra Naughton, Author of ‘American Mary’

by CCM November 7, 2016
written by CCM

#CopingWith is CCM’s interview series run by managing editor Joanna C. Valente


Alexandra Naughton’s poetry collection, “American Mary,” came out on March 11, 2016 from CCM. Of the book, Carleen Tibbetts has said, “This story is one of brave endurance in the face of loneliness and mediocrity. Naughton ‘fail Mary’ weaves searing insights among instances of the depersonalization of being marketed as ‘a capitalist body.’” As such, we interviewed her about her book, although instead of asking her boring lit questions, our managing editor Joanna C. Valente asked her about everything else instead, like what her favorite meal and apocalypse plans are.

americanmaryx1-1170x1854

Here’s what she said:

Describe your favorite meal. 

My favorite meal is probably breakfast, after noon, with black coffee or an almond milk latte, maybe a bagel and cream cheese, or maybe some kind of sandwich. I like sandwiches a lot, and diners. I wish the East bay or the bay area in general had more 24 hour diners. Is that an East coast thing? There’s so many all night diners in Philly. A 24 hour diner is great because you can take a late night bike ride to the art museum and then ride around Kelly drive and then head back to South Philly and get a patty melt and a milkshake before going back home to crash. And the endless coffee. And there is just something so pure and simple and pleasurable about sitting in a booth and looking out the window onto a parking lot or highway or back alley.

What music do often you write to, if at all? 

Whatever album I’m currently obsessed with. The newest project I’ve been working on, I’ve been writing along to art angels by Grimes. I wrote a lot of American Mary while listening to the song born to die by Lana Del Rey on repeat. I love listening to songs and albums on loop while I’m working because then I get into a rhythm and I’m not thinking about the music but it’s a way to keep track of time. This is the best when I really feel like I’m on a roll in regard to generating work.

What are three books that you’ve always identified with?

“Their Eyes Were Watching God,” “The Egypt Game,” and “Jesus’s Son.”

What do you imagine the apocalypse is like? How would you want to die?

The apocalypse is like being crushed slowly without really knowing it’s happening and you’re still able to operate your limbs but everything takes longer than you think it should and your head always hurts and you’re always tired and people tell you that you’re having a good time and doing a good job but you feel like you’re not making any progress and everything you see around you is somewhat frustrating especially when you think about it for too long so you try to get out of your head and into nature just take long walks but you eventually have to return to the daily monotony and the pleasant times always feel shorter than they should and you think if you just keep moving your limbs or at least nodding your head or at least listening to what they say and doing the work they give you that eventually you can just check out and everything can feel like a long walk for the rest if you’re time but you just keep toiling and sinking further into debt that you can’t think about because it makes your stomach turn and your heart race.

In an ideal situation, I’d like to bleed out via vampire.

If you could only watch three films for the rest of your life, what would they be?

“The Birds,” “Clueless,” and “Body Double.”

How would you describe your social media persona/role?

Annoying girl. I don’t know why I’m here. I guess I’m just trying to have fun. Maybe I’m too vertical sometimes but I feel like I’m mostly just cracking jokes or hating on myself.

What’s your favorite animal and why?

My cat, Sookie. Or a sparrow.

What do you carry with you at all times? 

My keys.

Choose a gif that encompasses mornings for you. 

Choose one painting that describes who you are. What is it?

“Prometheus Bound” by Peter Paul Reubens & “The Execution of Lady Jane Grey” by Paul Delaroche.

Delaroche

Delaroche

Reubens

Reubens


alexandra naughton

Joe Carrow

Alexandra Naughton is editor in chief of @baipress in California. Her first novel, American Mary, was published by Civil Coping Mechanisms in March 2016 . She’s a Libra. Follow her on twitter: @thetsaritsa

 

 

 

 

 

 

joanna valenteJoanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of Sirs & Madams (Aldrich Press, 2014), The Gods Are Dead (Deadly Chaps Press, 2015), Marys of the Sea (ELJ Publications, 2016), & Xenos (2016, Agape Editions). She received her MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She is also the founder of Yes, Poetry, as well as the managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine and CCM. Some of her writing has appeared in Prelude, The Atlas Review, The Feminist Wire, BUST, Pouch, and elsewhere. She also teaches workshops at Brooklyn Poets.

November 7, 2016
lauren hilger
BooksNews

Coping with Lauren Hilger, Author of ‘Lady Be Good’

by CCM November 2, 2016
written by CCM

#CopingWith is CCM’s interview series run by managing editor Joanna C. Valente


Lauren Hilger’s debut collection, “Lady Be Good,” just came out on October 31, 2016 from CCM. Clearly, we’re pretty excited to bring her gorgeous book out into the world–so excited that we interviewed her about it. Except instead of asking her boring lit questions, our managing editor Joanna C. Valente asked her about everything else instead, like what her favorite meal and gif are.

lady be good

Here’s what Lauren had to say:

Describe your favorite meal.
The Italian Christmas Eve seven fishes, but the next morning, for breakfast. Heaven. This makes me sound like a cat, but I think about it all year.

What music do often you write to, if at all?
Chet Baker.

How would you describe your gender?
I present as high femme.

What are three books that you’ve always identified with? 

Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Fatal Interview: Sonnets, Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey, Mikhail Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita. 

Choose one painting that describes who you are. What is it?
Gustave Courbet’s Self-Portrait (The Desperate Man.) Not with fear, but awe, and always grabbing my hair.

Choose a gif that encompasses mornings for you.


What do you imagine the apocalypse is like? How would you want to die?
I once got stuck in a blizzard, in the Canadian wilderness, on a horse. It was just hours on a horse with my legs numb. I was with my friends, but we each were on our own horse so we couldn’t communicate. We also couldn’t see beyond the few feet ahead. We’d start getting warm and sleepy then would laugh because we knew that was a bad sign. It was funny and profound and excruciating and stunningly beautiful, too. So, like that.

If you could only watch three films for the rest of your life, what would they be?
The Third Man, All About Eve, Niagara.

How would you describe your social media persona/role?
On Twitter, making jokes to the void, at which no one laughs.  

What’s your favorite animal and why?
Humans! Because we can make fire and music and art.

What do you carry with you at all times? 
My friend Rowan Hisayo Buchanan gave me this porcelain key in a tiny cloth envelope. I used to carry an antler with me, not all the time, but enough. I’ve accepted the porcelain key as a reminder to be easier. To be gentler, too, since it’s fragile.


lauren hilger

T Kira Madden

Lauren Hilger is the author of Lady Be Good (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016.) Awarded the Nadya Aisenberg Fellowship from the MacDowell Colony, where she was a fellow in 2012 and 2014, her work has appeared in Gulf Coast, Harvard Review Online, Kenyon Review Online, and Massachusetts Review, among other journals. She serves as a poetry editor for No Tokens.

 

joanna valenteJoanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of Sirs & Madams (Aldrich Press, 2014), The Gods Are Dead (Deadly Chaps Press, 2015), Marys of the Sea (ELJ Publications, 2016), & Xenos (2016, Agape Editions). She received her MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She is also the founder of Yes, Poetry, as well as the managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine and CCM. Some of her writing has appeared in Prelude, The Atlas Review, The Feminist Wire, BUST, Pouch, and elsewhere. She also teaches workshops at Brooklyn Poets.

November 2, 2016
accomplices-ramen-cats

The Accomplices LLC is a literary arts partnership and media company dedicated to amplifying marginalized voices and identities, particularly writers of color, through traditional and new media publishing, public engagement, and community building.


CCM + ENTROPY + WLP = THE ACCOMPLICES


The Accomplices is made up of the entities Civil Coping Mechanisms: publisher & promoter of kick-ass independent literature, Entropy: a magazine and community of contributors that publishes diverse literary and non-literary content, and Writ Large Press: an indie press that uses literary arts and events to resist, disrupt, and transgress.

We’re coping. No, we're thriving.

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