Wolves, Graveyards, and the Name Lupescu

For those who don't know, Lupescu comes from the Latin lupus, meaning wolf; and so it means of the wolf in Romanian--mothertongue of my husband's ancestors. Yes, Romania, land of werewolves, vampires, and Magda Lupescu; I married into quite a history and legacy.

*devilish grin*

Our ancestry being what it is, our family is fascinated with wolves. Truth be told, I loved wolves before I met and married my husband, and our oldest daughter has been drawn to wolves and other furry animals since birth, but those are stories for another day.

Interesting that Neil Gaiman's 2009 Newbery Medal winner, The Graveyard Book, features a character names Miss Lupescu. I won't give anything away, but let's say that she lives up to her ancestry and etymology.

I like to think that someday, when I have a few published books under my belt, my path will cross with Neil's (whom I admire), and I will share with him my amusement at having one of my names appear in one of his books. Perhaps I'll return the favor and plop a Gaiman into one of my stories. Hmmmm...I think I shall.

And speaking of wolves and children's books, a writer-friend has written a lovely children's book about wolves. Scotti Cohn, another Illinois native, has written One Wolf Howls available at Sylvandell Publishing: http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/Wolf.php

This from Scotti's website:

Spend a year with Scotti Cohn in the world of wolves in One Wolf Howls. This adventurous children's book uses the months of the year and the numbers 1 through 12 to introduce children to the behavior of wolves in natural settings. The lively illustrations of Susan Detwiler complement the rhyming text and bring each month to life. From January to December, howl, frolic, and dance -- while learning important lessons page-by-page!

Support an emerging writer and a small press, while getting a fantastic book to share with the wee ones (or wolf-lovers) in your life. It is a beautifully written and illustrated book, and I hope that it is well-read and well-loved. I know it shall be in our home.

Speculative Coffee and the Allusive Alchemy of the Neil Gaiman Latte

Speculative Coffee: Coffee that exists on the threshold between this world and the liminal realms; coffee that encourages speculation, invokes the Muses, and inspires travelers. The art of crafting speculative coffee is a form of literary coffea alchemy, requiring an extensive knowledge of certain Books of Magic and requiring tools of the barista-alchemist. When successful, the ever-elusive speculative coffee is allusive ambrosia.

I've been a fan of Neil Gaiman's since the Sandman days and have followed his career and books with interest, reading his blog and gleaning quite a bit from his method of maintaining contact with his audience in a way that's wide-reaching and personal.

Recently there has been a great deal of Internet and Twitter talk about coffees named after Neil Gaiman. It seems to have sprung from a bookshop in Indonesia, and the idea took off from there. The Guardian did a story on the Reading Lights bookshop in West Java:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/jan/20/writers-food-novelists-analogy?commentpage=1

Then Needcoffee.com did an article on Neil Gaiman: Man, Myth, Legend, Coffee Drink:
http://www.needcoffee.com/2009/01/23/neil-gaiman-coffee/

This was accompanied by two other coffeeshops that jumped on the Create-a-Neil-Gaimain-Coffee bandwagon:
Strange Brew in Greenwood, Indiana has a Neil Gaiman Latte (and a colorful description of the process of creating the drink on Joan of Dark's blog):
http://joanofdarkknits.blogspot.com/2009/01/neil-gaiman-needs-coffee.html

ZubZub in Boonville, Northern California, has their version of the Neil Gaiman Latte: espresso, bitter almond, dark chocolate, black cherry.
http://www.zubzubicecream.com/

There is also a list of growing suggestions on Twitter from Neil's fans. The campaign to find the quintessential Neil Gaiman coffee (or beverage, since Neil himself prefers tea), is a testament to his writing and ever-growing fan base, but it's also grassroots, internet publicity at its finest. What better way to spread the word about Neil and his writing than to bring a coffee named after Neil to your favorite local coffee shop. It's brilliant and fun. Where else will the Neil Gaiman coffees appear? How many different cities and countries?

Perhaps next will be Gaiman character-inspired beverages: Coraline macchiato with black sugar button; hot Nobody chocolate with marshmallow skull; an iced Odd Mocha, served with an eye-shaped biscuit; Death Chai made with Gunflower and Rosehips teas. It's poetry in coffee.

Keep an eye out for a Neil Gaiman coffee coming to a café near you, and thanks to The Graveyard Book, perhaps there will be a Lupescu Latte?

~Valya Dudycz Lupescu

Moments of Azure Hue

We began our visit home to Chicago by flying into subzero temps and snow on the ground, and we returned to snow on the ground in Frankfurt during a particularly icy cold European winter. It seems there's no escaping the cold this year.

My oldest daughter brought a nasty German virus to Chicago that swept though the family (including my parents) and devoured a large chunk of our time. We spent the holidays at home, in self-prescribed quarantine. After a week and half, the family was on the mend, and we started squeezing in visits.

The trips home are always too short, but this one felt even more so than usual. Still, I was grateful for the time, for the coffee and laughter, the pizza and hugs, the time spent in the company of loved ones—blood-related and chosen family. Those moments are always a gift.

Throughout my visit I found myself wanting to write, but at night I went to sleep early (for me) and exhausted (from jetlag), so I haven't really written in weeks. Instead I have notes and images in my moleskine for the book I hope to finish up this month.

I hope that you all had lovely holidays, be they Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, Kwanzaa, New Year's Eve, or whatever it is you celebrate. I hope that you and your loved ones are warm and healthy, safe and happy.

Conclave: A Journal of Character to Launch at The Book Cellar in Chicago

New Characters Arrive on the Literary Scene

CHICAGO, Illinois – On Saturday, October 18, 2008, Wolfsword Press will launch its literary magazine, Conclave: A Journal of Character, with a party from 7-9 pm at The Book Cellar, 4736-38 North Lincoln Avenue in Chicago’s Lincoln Square. The character-focused journal showcases the work of 36 writers and 15 photographers from around the world.

“Conclave is a different kind of literary magazine because of its character focus,” says founding editor Valya Dudycz Lupescu. “It has a less academic texture than many literary magazines put out by university presses. The black and white photography and bold cover art evoke a more accessible and artistic sensibility.”

Dudycz Lupescu, who divides her time between Chicago and Frankfurt, Germany, met most of her editorial team during their participation in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award contest. The Amazon online forum became a conclave for writers looking to find camaraderie and support during the competition.

After the contest ended, Dudycz Lupescu and her husband, Mark, founded ABNABooks.com, an online showcase and networking site for writers. Recognizing the high quality of talent in their ranks, the couple also created a small nonprofit publishing company, Wolfsword Press to publish Conclave, as well as future fiction, nonfiction, and poetry titles.

Dudycz Lupescu assembled an international advisory board that includes Nahid Rachlin, Maureen Seaton, Roy Kesey, Altaf Qadri, and 12 other renowned writers and photographers. The editorial staff then set out to find strong character-driven poetry, fiction, nonfiction, dramatic excerpts, flash fiction, and photography.

“The writing in Conclave is compelling,” said Dudycz Lupescu. “Kathy Coudle King’s dramatic piece, ‘A Couple of Boobs’ is a bittersweet and believable snippet of a mother-daughter relationship; award-winning author of Darkroom: A Family Exposure, Jill Christman’s ‘Burned’ is poignant and elegant; and Richard Rutherford’s ‘Mongo Hits the Mark’ is an unsettling naturalistic glimpse into fear and aggression.”

In addition to the launch, Conclave is participating in this year’s Around the Coyote Festival held in Chicago. Several of Conclave’s pieces were recorded by writers or performers and will be played in the festival hall to complement the visual arts being displayed over the October 18th weekend. Conclave Journal is also one of many locally based books and magazines to be featured in the new Publishers Gallery located in the Chicago Cultural Center.

“Conclave has generated an exciting discussion among our editors and contributors on what character really is,” said Scott Markwell, managing editor of Conclave and a Chicago-based writer, educator, and performer. “We've asked ourselves what character looks like and why it's important. Fundamentally, we believe character is core to good story-telling, rather than simply relying on the novelty of a narrative.”

The premiere issue of Conclave: A Journal of Character will be available on Amazon.com, as well as on the Conclave Journal website. The inaugural issue includes the work of Denise Duhamel, Michael S. Glaser, Mark Neely, Gérard Lavalette, Thomas Weschta, Sebastián Utreras Lizana, and many others. In addition to the Chicago Launch for Conclave, there are plans for a San Francisco Launch, and possibly a New York Launch as well.

Conclave will open for online submissions in April for its 2009 issue. Authors wishing to submit their work can visit the Conclave: a Journal of Character website at http://www.conclavejournal.com for submission guidelines.

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About Conclave: A Journal of Character:
Conclave is an annual print journal that focuses on character-driven writing in contemporary literary fiction and character-focused black and white photography. Conclave is published by Wolfsword Press, a nonprofit independent publisher based in Chicago.

All great characters had to start somewhere

Update on Conclave Journal

Exciting things in the works for October!

Conclave Journal should be ready for purchase online at Amazon.com and on the Conclave Journal website by the middle of October! You can already pre-order if you like.

We received nearly 1000 submissions of writing and photography, and they have been narrowed down to the writings of 36 contributors and the photographs of 15 photographers for our premier issue.

You're invited to celebrate the premiere issue of Conclave: A Journal of Character
at the Book Cellar, 4736-38 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, on October 18 from 7-9 p.m.

Come for the launch party. Eat, drink, listen to some readings, and enjoy the company of some interesting characters.

In addition to the Chicago Launch Party on October 18th (see the website for more information), Conclave is going to be a part of the AROUND THE COYOTE Fall Arts Festival.

ATC Festival is a multi-media arts festival featuring visual art, theater, dance, film, music, video and poetry.

This from the Literary Curator: “For this year's festival, the literary curation will feature recordings of readings / performances that will be played between theatre / music acts -- everyone in the hall will be able to hear them, though they will function as a series of disembodied voices: of characters without a play, if you will. They will be both foreground and background in terms of sound -- so it's a way of introducing the readings to the audience as something they are surrounded by but maybe can't quite identify. It won't be as though there's a seated audience, though there is a small-seated section, but on the other hand: instead of an audience of 20-30, everyone touring the visual art (usually 200+) will hear what is being played.”

They are allowing us roughly 1 and 1/2 hour of recorded poetry and prose from our inaugural issue of Conclave to be read by writers and by performers! They are also looking at a way to have a place where the journal can be sold at the festival!

There's another exciting development in the works, Chicago is getting a "Lit Lounge" at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Wolfsword Press and Conclave Journal are also going to a part of the newly-created Chicago Lit Lounge. It will be in the Randolph ground-floor lobby, on either side of the marble staircase, and it will contain books and periodicals by Chicago-area publishers and authors.

They tell me that the lounge will be a place where visitors can learn about publishing ventures that are happening in Chicago--and explore some of the publications that are being produced in the city. Each publisher will have its own space, so browsers can get a sense of its identity. Visitors won't be able to remove books or periodicals from the area; they will be allowed to browse or to read them there. They also plan to highlight six Chicago publishers per month in the Cultural Center store. Also, a computer will be built into the Lounge, so people can look at Chicago's literary websites and blogs, and order books that are displayed from publishers' websites or Amazon.

I hope to see some of you in October!

Announcing Conclave: A Journal of Character

Conclave: A Journal of Character is accepting submissions for its debut print issue, Fall 2008. We will accept submission from April 1-July 1, 2008. Prepare your fiction, nonfiction, poetry, dramatic excerpts, or photographs for submission and visit: www.conclavejournal.com

Conclave is an annual print journal that focuses on character-driven writing in contemporary literary fiction. Conclave seeks writing that centers around well-crafted and authentic characters: like Leopold Bloom, Huckleberry Finn, Anna Karenina, Hamlet, Miss Havisham, Hannibal Lecter, Hester Prynne, and others. Whether you love them or hate them, these characters are unforgettable and infuse their stories with life beyond the page. Those are the kinds of characters that we’d like to have populate the pages of Conclave: A Journal of Character.

We look forward to reading your work!

Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Editor
www.conclavejournal.com

Definition

It's tricky with writing, because you have only the words. In person, introductions are more beautifully complex. Body language and nuances of voice reveal so much about a person and what he or she intends to say. But here and on the page, these nonverbal cues are absent.

We are essentially creating a characterization for our selves by the content we place here, by the titles we choose, the topics we write about (be they political, literary, artistic, domestic, etc.). We suddenly have an audience, even if it’s only a few people. With an audience, we are sending out a message.

When I was teaching writing, I had my students do self-portraits in words. This was a great exercise for college freshmen to do, and it was my favorite assignment to grade. The kids took all kinds of creative risks, which was one of the points.

I never did the exercise myself. Perhaps this is it.