2013 Reverse Fan Mail Roster
Reverse Fan Mail is one of our favorite parts of APRIL. The process is simple: one person makes a donation to the festival, and then we take their name and send it on to one of our favorite small press authors. That author then writes a brand new, never-published piece of writing with the donor’s name as their ‘prompt’ or inspiration. Then we send a hard copy of that piece - the only one that will ever be printed - to the donor. It’s a way of connecting readers directly with authors in an unusual, highly personal way. (Check out a couple older RFMs here!)
This year, we had the honor of working with some truly incredible writers. Their bios are below, along with links on where to find and buy their work.
Matthew Rohrer is the author of seven books of poetry, including Destroyer and Preserver (Wave Books, 2011), A Plate of Chicken (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2009) and Rise Up (Wave Books, 2007). He enjoys fried chicken and Electric Light Orchestra.
Joshua Beckman is an editor at Wave Books and is the author of six collections of poetry, including the forthcoming The Inside of an Apple (Wave Books, 2013), Take It (Wave Books, 2009), Shake (Wave Books, 2006) and Things Are Happening (Copper Canyon Press, 1998). His translations include Micrograms by Jorge Carrera Andrade (Wave Books, 2011; with Alejandro de Acosta), Five Meters of Poems by Carlos Oquendo de Amat (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2010; with Alejandro de Acosta) and Poker by Tomaz Salamun(Ugly Duckling Presse, 2004).
Rebecca Brown is the author of twelve books of fiction and essays, including The Last Time I Saw You (City Lights, 2006), Annie Oakley’s Girl(City Lights, 1993), American Romances (City Lights, 2009) and The Gifts of the Body (HarperCollins, 1995), which won a Lambda Literary Award. She was the first writer in residence at Seattle’s Richard Hugo House, is the recipient of a Stranger Genius Award and is a thoroughly amazing human being.
Ed Skoog is the author of two collections of poetry, Mr. Skylight (Copper Canyon Press, 2009) and Rough Day (forthcoming from Copper Canyon Press in 2013). He has been a writer-in-residence at Richard Hugo House, the chair of the creative writing program at Idyllwild Arts Academy and the Jennie McKean Moore Writer-in-Washington Fellow at George Washington University. He lives in Seattle with his wife and new baby.
Stacey Levine is a novelist, short story author and journalist. Her books include The Girl with Brown Fur (Stacherone/Dzanc, 2011), Frances Johnson (Verse Chorus Press, 2010; Clear Cut Press, 2005) and Dra- (Verse Chorus Press, 2012; Sun & Moon Press, 1998). She is recipient of a Stranger Genius Award, and she lives in Seattle.
Donald Dunbar is the author of two books of poetry, Slow Motion German Adjectives (Mammoth Editions, 2013) and Eyelid Lick (Fence Books, 2012), which won the 2012 Fence Modern Poets Series Prize. He lives in Portland, where he co-curates the reading series If Not For Kidnap.
Rich Smith is the author of Great Poem of Desire (forthcoming from Poor Claudia in 2013). His poems have appeared or will soon appear in Tin House, City Arts, Guernica, Southeast Review, Hobart, Barrow Street, The Bellingham Review, Pleiades, and elsewhere. He lives in Seattle, and his drink of choice is a glass of whiskey, neat, and a Rainier.
Rebecca Bridge is a poet, essayist, and screenwriter living in Seattle. Maybe a novelist, too, who can tell, but she’s working on it. Her work can be found in a lot of places, including The Boston Review, Sixth Finch, notnostrums, Can We Have Our Ball Back, The Columbia Poetry Review, and Weird Deer. She likes climbing, sitting, and rolling over.
Mike Young is the author of Look! Look! Feathers (Word Riot, 2010), a book of short stories, and We Are All Good if They Try Hard Enough (Publishing Genius Press, 2010). He edits NOO Journal, runs Magic Helicopter Press and lives in Northampton, MA.
Thanks to all our authors, and once again to our fabulous donors!
