Thursday’s Notes 56.2

Dear all,

     We are fast approaching our spring recess from March 18th-24th! Hope you all have fun. I wanted to send out a few quick notes before the break.

Opportunities

The Gronk Nicandro First Book Prize for California writers

In 2024 [whatbookspress]What Books Press, an imprint of Los Angeles’s Glass Table Collective, is celebrating fifteen years of remarkable bookmaking. As a founding member of the collective, Professor Kate Haake is excited to let people know that we are marking the occasion with the inaugural Gronk Nicandro First Book Prize for California writers. This prize is offered in honor of and with gratitude to the renowned artist, known simply as Gronk, whose astonishing work distinguishes all of our fifty plus covers and counting. In addition to publication, the prize includes an award of $500 and 50 free copies of the book. It will alternate between prose and poetry, and this year invites submissions of full-length poetry manuscripts from California writers. If you would like to receive more information about this prize and other What Books news, please sign up for our email list here, or listen to Kate’s interview with Andrew Tonkovich on Bibliocracy.

Events

1. We are excited to bring Margaret Cho to campus to chat about the making of Fire Island!

 
The film, directed by Andrew Ahn and a modern-day adaptation of Pride and Prejudice has proven a huge hit with our students and really resonated as a film that centers the queer Asian American community. Professor Danielle Spratt will be speaking at the event about the critical queer adaptation of a Jane Austen work and English Honors/ESM graduating senior Jason Montoya will share his honors essay on how meaningful this work was in his exploration of Jane Austen texts. Food, drinks, and laughs will be served- join us! Contact Professor Heidi Schumacher and Professor Amanda Harrison for more information.
 
Sponsored by:
The Department of English, Queer Studies Program, Asian American Studies, The Office of Community Engagement, and USU Pride Center
Location: University Library, Ferman Presentation Room
 

 

2. Please join us for a celebration of Kate Haake’s legacy at California State University, Northridge.

The reading and reception will take place at CSUN and will also have a remote ZOOM option. Please save the evening of May 10, 2024. A formal invitation is forthcoming. Anyone who would like to be involved is encouraged to contact Professor Sean Pessin and Professor Gina Srmabekian @ katesretirementparty@gmail.com Please RSVP by April 1st for in-person headcount (those joining us on ZOOM need not RSVP).

Invitation below:

https://pp.events/a8AgYG0d

 

Accomplishments

Professor Kate Haake’s new book of eco fabulism, What Happened Was, won the inaugural Nothing Exists Alone climate change fiction series award from 11:11 Press and will be released on Earth Day, April 22. Kate has been writing about climate change since the last century and was a founding member of her hometown inaugural Earth Day committee in 1970, so this recognition is especially meaningful to her. A launch reading is scheduled for April 25 at Chevalier’s bookstore in Larchmont.

Professor Kate Haake’s new book of lyric essays, The Touch of Another Hand, won the inaugural Wolfson Prose Prize and will appear in fall 2024.