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PS Books, the books division of Philadelphia Stories free literary magazine, has released the second “Best of Philadelphia Stories Anthology” (ISBN 9780979335044).

The anthology highlights selected work published in the magazine and its Web site. The Philadelphia Inquirer called the first Philadelphia Stories Anthology a “collection that loves you back.”

Like the first volume, this second best-of anthology offers a wide selection of the literary voices that make Philadelphia so unique. Authors include doctors, lawyers, students, teachers, journalists, playwrights, and a detective – all talented writers who spend their precious free time honing their craft. James W. Morris (Regalia) grew up in Philadelphia and worked as a monologue writer for Jay Leno. David Sanders (School of Fishes) has been widely published and was the founder of the InterAct Theatre Company “Best of Philly” reading series. Ona Russell (The (O)ther Kahn) is the grand-neice of Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn; she is now working on her third Sarah Kaufman mystery. This is just a sampling of the many diverse voices featured in the second Philadelphia Stories anthology. 

“We asked our board and our readers to select their favorites from the magazine and website, and this work is included in the anthology,” says Carla Spataro, co-publisher and fiction editor of Philadelphia Stories.  “We’re really proud of the fact that we’ve published both first time authors and more established writers. The anthology pulls everything together in a really beautifully presented package. We’re proud of that, too.”

The Best of Philadelphia Stories Anthology: Volume 2 will be available for $13.95 at Amazon, all major bookstores, and www.psbookspublishing.com.

About PS Books (www.psbookspublishing.com)

PS Books publishes literary and commercial fiction, nonfiction and anthologies with a preference for, but not limited to, the Delaware Valley. PS Books is a division of Philadelphia Stories, a nonprofit literary magazine and companion website that publishes literary fiction, poetry, and art from PA-NJ-DE and provides it to the general public free of charge. PS Books distributes their titles nationally.  

About Philadelphia Stories (www.philadelphiastories.org)

Philadelphia Stories publishes literary fiction, poetry, and art from the tri-state area and provides it to the general public free of charge. Philadelphia Stories is available at over 120 locations throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Distribution highlights include all 55 branches of the Free Library, fifteen area Borders Bookstores, the Philadelphia International Airport, and many other cafes and independent bookstores.

KEYNOTE: Lise Funderburg is a regular contributor to O, The Oprah Magazine and has written for The New York Times, TIME, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Nation, Salon, and Prevention. She is a creative nonfiction writing instructor in at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers. Her latest book, Pig Candy: Taking My Father South, Taking My Father Home, is a contemplation of life, death, and barbecue. Writer Daniel Mendelsohn says she’s achieved “a personal narrative that is crisply intelligent rather than cleverly self-satisfied, deeply and meaningfully emotional rather than soppily sentimental."  

PANELISTS AND SPEED DATE EDITORS 

J.T. Barbarese is the author of four books of poems, most recently A Very Small World (Orchises, 2005) and The Black Beach (UNT, 2005), and a translation of Euripides’ The Children of Heracles (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999). ). His individual poems and translations have appeared widely in magazines and journals. 

Susan Barr-Toman teaches writing at Temple University and holds an MFA in Writing and Literature from the Bennington Writing Seminars.  Her debut novel When Love Was Clean Underwear, winner of the Many Voices Project’s Fiction Award, is out this October. 

Barbara Bérot is the author of two independently published novels, both of which have received international acclaim: When Europa Rode the Bull (2004) and its sequel, Lies & Liberation: The Rape of Europa (2007).  She is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and a resident of Bucks County, where she is currently at work on her third novel, expected to be released in the summer of 2010.

Elise Brown is an independent publicist for innovative companies and individuals. She was previously Dir. of Public Relations and Sr. Manager for Feature Content for Sirius Satellite Radio, and led the marketing efforts for Q Records, a former division of QVC, Inc. Brown also directed public relations for the New Jersey State Aquarium in Camden, NJ and Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., among others. 

Randall Brown directs and teaches at the MFA of Creative Writing Program at Rosemont College. He is the author of the award-winning collection Mad to Live and has an essay in the anthology The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction: Tips from Editors, Teachers, and Writers in the Field. He been published widely and most recently served as the Lead Editor at SmokeLong Quarterly.

Rosemary Cappello’s poetry has been published in Anthology of Women Writing, Voices in Italian Americana, Poet Lore, Avanti Popolo, and Iconoclast.  Her chapbooks include In the Gazebo, The Sid Poems, and San Paride. Rosemary edits and publishes Philadelphia Poets, which she founded in 1980, and in conjunction with that publication, organizes and presents poetry readings throughout each year and bestows two yearly awards.  

Lisa Dale writes for Grand Central Publishing and works for the author’s submission service Writer’s Relief (www.WritersRelief.com). A former assistant editor of The Literary Review, her writing has been nominated to Best New American Voices and The Pushcart Prize.  Her first romance/women’s fiction novel, Simple Wishes, was released to excellent reviews earlier this year, and her second book, It Happened One Night, is due this fall. Learn more at www.LisaDaleBlog.com. 

Anna Evans’ poems have appeared in the Harvard Review, the Atlanta Review, Rattle and 32 Poems. She has been nominated three times for a Pushcart Prize and was a finalist for both the 2005 and 2007 Howard Nemerov sonnet award, and for the 2007 Willis Barnstone Translation Award. She is editor of The Raintown Review and of the formal poetry e-zine Barefoot Muse. Her chapbooks Swimming and Selected Sonnets are available from Maverick Duck Press. 

Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban was born in Galicia, Spain. Her Young Adult novel Two Moon Princess,  won the bronze award in the Juvenile fiction category by the ForeWord Magazine. Its sequel, The King in the Stone, is scheduled to be published in 2010. She has also published four non-fiction books for Chelsea House: Heroin, Ritalin, Mad Cow Disease, and Lung Cancer. You can visit her at www.carmenferreiroesteban.com  

Kathye Fetsko Petrie is the author of the children’s picture book, Flying Jack, the editor/publisher of Local LIT and the Philadelphia Literary Scene Examiner for Examiner.com. Read full bio here.

Hattie Fletcher is managing editor of Creative Nonfiction. She is a coordinating editor for the Best Creative Nonfiction series, published by W. W. Norton. She is also co-editor, with Lee Gutkind, of Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know About Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction.

Melissa Frederick teaches creative writing and literature in the MFA program at Rosemont College and is a PhD candidate at Temple University. Her poetry and prose have appeared in numerous publications, including the Crab Orchard Review, DIAGRAM, The Cream City Review, Kalliope, and the Mid-American Review. In 2008, her poetry chapbook, She, was published by Finishing Line Press.

GREGORY FROST is a writer of fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers, and a finalist for every major award in sf and fantasy. His latest work is the duology Shadowbridge and Lord Tophet, voted one of the best fantasy novels of the year by the American Library Association, was a finalist for the James Tiptree Jr. Award in 2009.  His previous novel was the historical thriller, Fitcher’s Brides, a finalist for both the World Fantasy and International Horror Guild Awards for Best Novel.

Alison Hicks is the author of a novella, Love:  A Story of Images (2004) and a chapbook of poems, Falling Dreams (2006).  She has held fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts in fiction and creative nonfiction, and her work has appeared in Pearl, The Ledge, Eclipse, and Main Street Rag.  She leads community-based writing workshops under the name Greater Philadelphia Wordshop Studio. 

Anne Kaier’s poetry has appeared in Philadelphia Poets, The Schuylkill Valley Journal, Sinister Wisdom, and other venues. Her chapbook, InFire, was published recently. She reviews poetry for The Wild River Review. A short piece of memoir is forthcoming in Tiny Lights. She teaches at Rosemont College, Arcadia and Penn State. More at: AnneKaier.com. 

Aimee LaBrie received her MFA in fiction Penn State in 2003. Her collection of short stories, Wonderful Girl, won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction in 2007. Other stories of hers have been published in Minnesota Review, Pleiades, Quarter After Eightand numerous other literary journals. You can read her blog at www.butcallmebetsy.blogspot.com. She teaches the Philadelphia Stories fiction workshop. 

Harriet Levin’s book of poems, THE CHRISTMAS SHOW (Beacon Press), was chosenby Eavan Boland for a Barnard New Women Poet’s Prize and for an Alice Fay diCastagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America. Her second book hasbeen a finalist at AWP, Carnegie Mellon, Tupelo, Crab Orchard, and Ashland. 

Don Lafferty is a writer, lecturer and social media marketing consultant who works with bestselling authors and publishers to craft successful online marketing strategies. Lafferty has published articles about sales, marketing and social media for national magazines, trade publications and newspapers. He’s the social media director of  It’s Todd’s Show and Wild River Review.  Visit him at his blog, http://donaldlafferty.com. 

Marie Lamba is author of the humorous young adult novel What I Meant, which Publisher’s Weekly has dubbed “an impressive debut.”  Her other books include Over My Head and Drawn. Lamba has written more than 100 articles, including features in national magazines such as Garden Design, Your Home, and Sports International. Marie’s essay, “The View from the Outside,” is published in the anthology Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, May 2009). Visit her at www.marielamba.com.  

Fran Metzman has published twenty short stories in various literary journals and a novel, with Joy E. Stocke, Ugly Cookies. She gives creative writing workshops, teaches memoir/creative writing at Temple University’s Adult Education School and is fiction editor for two literary journals, Schuylkill Valley Journal and The Wild River Review. Her blog at www.wildriverreview.com, entitled “The Age of Reasonable Doubt”  deals with mature relationship issues. Her short story collection will be published in spring of 2010. 

Karen E. Quinones Miller  wrote and self-published Satin Doll in 1999 and sold 28,000 copies in eight months.  Miller went on to write five other Essence Bestselling novels for Simon & Schuster and Grand Central Books: I’m Telling, Using What You Got, Ida B., Satin Nights and Passin’. Miller, who is included in the book Literary Divas: The Top 100+ Most Admired African-American Women In Literature, is the CEO of Oshun Publishing Company.  

Tree Riesener has published poetry and short fiction in numerous literary magazines, from The Evergreen Review to The Schuylkill Valley Journal.  She is the author of three chapbooks: Inscapes, Angel Poison and Liminalog.  Riesener has been a three-time first prize winner at the Philadelphia Writers Conference, nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, and awarded  the Hidden River Arts’  William Van Wert Memorial Fiction Award.  She has had three short stories dramatized by Interact Theatre and is a Hawthornden Fellow. 

Lynn Rosen is Director, Graduate Publishing Programs, at Rosemont College. She has taught writing, publishing, and literature courses at a number of venues, including the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, and Temple University. Lynn is a veteran book publishing professional who has had a twenty-five year career as an editor, literary agent, book packager, and author. She is the author of two recent books: Elements of the Table: A Simple Guide for Hosts and Guests (Clarkson Potter, 2007) and The Baby Owner’s Games and Activities Book (Quirk Books, 2006).

Adam Schear  is a graduate of Tulane Univeristy and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.  He began his publishing career in the William Morris mailroom and joined DeFiore and Company in 2009.  He is interested in literary fiction and well crafted commercial fiction, work that engages the reader with both its prose and its plot, as well as humor, memoirs and non-fiction about politics, science, current events and popular culture.

Marc Schuster  is the author of The Singular Exploits of Wonder Mom and Party Girl, The Greatest Show in the Galazy, Don DeLillo, Jean Baudrillard and the Consumer Conundrum. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals ranging from Weird Tales to Reader’s Digest.  Heis the associate fiction editor of Philadelphia Stories, the acquisitions editor for PS Books and the editor of the Small Press Reviews blog.  

Curtis Smith’s most recent book is Bad Monkey. His other books include An Unadorned Life,  Sound and Noise, The Species Crown,  Placing Ourselves Among the Living and In the Jukebox Light. Truth . . . or something like it and The Agnostic’s Prayer will be released in 2010.  His works have appeared in over fifty literary journals and have been cited by The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Mystery Stories, and The Best American Spiritual Writing.

Catherine Stine’s novel Refugees was a "Best Book for Teens" and appears on the United Nations official study guide. It earned a featured review and "Story Behind the Story" interview in Booklist. She writes fiction for American Girl and Scholastic and teaches creative writing and literature at the School of Visual Arts.

J.C. Todd is author of What Space This Body, Nightshade and Entering Pisces. She also has published poems and translations (APR, The Paris Review, Verse Daily, Philadelphia Stories). Honors include a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Poetry Fellowship, Leeway Awards, Pushcart Prize nominations, and international fellowships. She lectures in Creative Writing at Bryn Mawr College and graduate English at Rosemont College.  

Nancy Viau is the author of the children’s novel Samantha Hansen Has Rocks In Her Head. Her work also appears in Highlights for Children, Ladybug, and other magazines. She has written for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicken Soup for the Soul books, The Writing Group Book, Family Circle, The Institute of Children’s Literature, Rx for Writers and other publications. Viau is currently writing a second novel for children. Visit her at www.NancyViau.com.  

Kelly Whalen is a blogger, organizer, and social media lover. Founder of the blog, The Centsible Life, she has appeared in national press, and on The Today Show and on NBC Philadelphia’s 10! show. Kelly leverages social media to help build networks, find clients, and connect with the press. She lives in Chester County with 4 children, 2 cats, a dog, and her husband.

     

 YA/CHILDRENS
Julia Chang (Philadelphia Stories)
Marie Lamba (author)

CREATIVE NONFICTION
Marc Schuster (Philadelphia Stories)
Matt Jordan (Philadelphia Stories)
Susan Perloff (writing coach)
Julia Chang (Philadelphia Stories)

FICTION
Nathan Long (Philadelphia Stories)
Carla Spataro (Philadelphia Stories)
Aimee LaBrie (Philadelphia Stories)
Josh McIlvan (Don Ron Books/Philly Fiction)
Kathleen Volk Miller (Painted Bride Quarterly)
Randall Brown (Smoke Long Quarterly)  [FLASH]         
Fran Metzman (Wild River Review, Schuylkill Valley Journal)
Christine Yurick (Think Journal) – and poetry

POETRY
Christine Cavalier (Philadelphia Stories)
Eileen D’Angelo (Mad Poet’s Review)
Rosemary Cappello (Philadelphia Poets)
Anna Evans (Schuylkill Valley Journal)
Peter Krok (Schuylkill Valley Journal)
Christine Yurick (Think Journal) – and fiction

NOVELS/AGENTS
Sarah Yake (Frances Collin Literary Agency) – fiction/literary fiction and young adult
         
Jon Stemfield (Irene Goodman Literary Agency) – literary fiction, thrillers, and narrative nonfiction  

Louise Fury (L. Perkins Associates) – High concept Young Adult fiction and fun, imaginative and engaging Middle Grade fiction (humor, adventure and mystery); historical (especially Regency and Victorian), paranormal and steampunk romance; contemporary category romance

Jonas Straus (Straus Literary) – literary fiction (interesting setting/context, such as an international location, immigrant community, or lesser known historical period; nonfiction (memoirs, journalism, biography, history, politics, travel and culinary narratives, and cookbooks)

Sheree Bykofsky Associates – prescriptive non-fiction, mysteries

Marc Schuster (Acquisitions Editor, PS Books) – literary fiction

Lisa Dale (Writer’s Relief) –  novels/memoirs/nonfiction

[img_assist|nid=841|title=Aimee Labrie|desc=|link=node|align=right|width=104|height=121]As writers, many of us find it beneficial to take workshops to inspire and shape our writing. I’ve been on both ends—the student and the instructor. In both cases, the hardest part of the fiction workshop for me is critiquing other people’s work. As a teacher, this is often particularly difficult because often, the other students will give my opinion more weight than the thoughts of their peers. 

First, I look for what’s working in a story. It doesn’t matter if it’s a story about an alien woman with X-ray eyes and a harelip. Or a nonfiction piece about a traumatic experience masked as fiction or a story rife with talking giraffes who want to over-throw the government. You still have to offer constructive suggestions, because at the other end waits a person brave enough to hand over a draft for you to critique, which is essentially the same as saying, “Tell me where I suck.” So, I find the good things in the story. And no matter where the writer is in his writing ability or experience, you can always find something to praise.

Here’s how it works for me:  I sit at the kitchen table with the story in front of me and search for positive feedback. Something more than, “Your font is really readable,” or “Your title, ‘Hills like White Giraffes,’ is very clever.” Because, as the instructor, part of my job is to be encouraging in ways that don’t make the student feel as though she should immediately go home and set fire to her laptop. This doesn’t mean that I should over-praise either; that can be just as damaging and misleading. But I know I must give the writer something to encourage her to do the hardest thing of all: to sit down in front of the blank page and try again.

Then, I go back to the beginning of the story to figure out how to offer the best suggestions for improvement in concrete ways.  I use a pencil or a black pen, never a red pen. No matter how strong your ego is as a writer, no one wants to get back a draft that looks like it’s been graded by a cranky schoolteacher; the equivalent of a “D-” on an English essay. Obscurity does not help the writer either; to suggest vaguely that she should develop her characters more. Instead, I strive for something specific like “What is Dolores’ job? What is her biggest, darkest secret? What does she want more than anything in the world?” I also make marginal notes (a check for a particularly good or vivid line; a question mark for something confusing), and then I write a page of end comments starting with the line “Things to Consider…” No mandates, just possibilities. It’s ultimately the writer’s story after all. She can do whatever she pleases. She can create a whole planet full of talking giraffes if that’s what she is drawn to.

And what about the student who is a really, really bad writer? She write pages of inane dialogue with adverb laden attributes, insists on the “ah-ha” surprise conclusion, types “the end” on the last page. Should I just pull her aside and say, “Listen, you might want to consider another artistic path. Collages, for instance?” No. No, I would never tell a writer to stop writing. If I believed people couldn’t improve their craft or if I thought that the ability to write well is given to a chosen few, then I should give up teaching. I believe that writers can improve—if they want to, if they work hard, if they consider suggestions for revision, and, above all, if they strive for the truth in their writing.  Aimee LaBrie received her MA in writing from DePaul University in 2000 and her MFA in fiction Penn State in 2003. Her collection of short stories, Wonderful Girl, won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction in 2007 and was published by the University of North Texas Press.Other stories of hers have been published in Minnesota Review, Pleiades, Quarter After Eight, Iron Horse Literary Review, and numerous other literary journals. Her short story, “Ducklings” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Pleiades.

Dear Friends,

We started Philadelphia Stories with a simple mission: to publish the finest literary fiction, poetry, essays, and art from the Delaware Valley and provide it to the public free of charge. In the past five years, our mission hasn’t changed. We’re still proud to provide a venue for local writers and artists.

So, here we are, five years into this journey called Philadelphia Stories, and we’ve certainly come a long way since that first fundraiser back in April 2004. When we started Philadelphia Stories, we developed a five-year strategic plan that included the launch of a book division, the institution of affordable writing workshops, and other opportunities for professional development. We’re happy to say that we achieved all of these goals. [img_assist|nid=5143|title=|desc=The premiere issue debuted in Fall 2004.|link=node|align=right|width=125|height=166]

We launched our first writer’s conference, Push to Publish, in the fall of 2007, and it has grown every year since. In June of 2008, we partnered with Rosemont College for the Rosemont Writer’s Retreat, a one-week event under Carla’s direction that brings together incredible writers and teachers from all over the country. We now also offer affordable writer’s workshops featuring terrific teachers like award-winning author Aimee LaBrie.

We also continue to host fun events that allow readers and writers to network and enjoy the local writing community. And, we are continually looking for new ways to raise enough money to keep the magazine in print and free. Our members and sponsors continue to pitch in, despite the economic hard times, and for this we are grateful. Without these folks we would not be able to continue publishing–it’s just that simple. With help from our readers and supporters, our mission will continue for another five years.

We hope that you have a happy and productive fall. Watch our website for details about our anniversary and anthology launch party!

All the best,

Carla Spataro & Christine Weiser
Publishers