Dis time, I ain’t takin’ dat left toyn at all…

Posted by Jeff on Sep 8th, 2023 in News | 0 comments

Busy, busy month. And getting busier next month.

This weekend, I’m heading to Albuquerque… but not going to take the left turn, nor am I going straight. I’m going to break the Bugs Bunny rule and stay where I am. Because I’ll be featuring at the New Mexico Poetry Summit, alongside these fine folks:

I get a fifteen-minute live set on the Saturday morning, at a spot called Tortuga Gallery. The festival includes an open mic and other cool events, all organized by Marissa Prada.

Visit the Read or Green Books website for more information.

But wait, there’s more!

The following weekend, catch me at Word Vancouver, selling both hardcover and paperback copies of my novel Hate Story.

And that’s not all!

The weekend after that, you can also catch me at Word on the Street Lethbridge in Lethbridge, Alberta, doing the same.

I’ll leave you with a bit of Walt. (Not Whitman.)

The Limes of August

Posted by Jeff on Aug 8th, 2023 in News | 0 comments

So my appearance at Indie Author Book Expo North turned out to be a lie.

The event happened as planned, of course… but I wasn’t there. Because the flight to Timmins was cancelled.
I got a refund from the airline immediately. But I’m still disappointed. I think Porter should go to Timmins and make everybody there buy my book. That would be fair, wouldn’t it?

But never mind. I’m doing another out-of-town literary event at the end of this month, and I won’t need any plane fare or accommodations for this one. I don’t even have to leave my computer.

Because I’m featuring in this… only on Zoom:

Part of this ongoing lineup of August features:

I’ll read for fifteen minutes, followed by an open mic, so bring a poem of your own to share.
More info, including the Zoom link, right here.

And stayed tuned for some actual travel in the coming months. If the airlines can be trusted.
Vancouver, Alberta, Australia and more await…

May you all one day find the joy that Jacko finds in Energizer batteries.

Man! I feel like a writer.

Posted by Jeff on Jul 16th, 2023 in News | 0 comments

Why the Shania Twain reference in the heading?

Because I’m going to be in her hometown next weekend.
I’ll be one of the exhibitors in this thing:

So if you know anybody in Timmins who loves books, tell them to go.
As usual, I’ll be selling and promoting both the hardcover and paperback editions of Hate Story, as well as the spoken-word CD that I’ve been trying to get rid of for more than eight years now.

More information on the event at this link.
If I don’t sell anything… it won’t impress me much.

This will be the next stop on Jeff’s Magical Canadian Book-Fair Tour.
Speaking of Jeff’s Magical Canadian Book-Fair Tour… there’s a new stop on Jeff’s Magical Canadian Book-Fair Tour.

That’s right – on September 16, I’ll be exhibiting at Word Vancouver.
This year, it’s happening at UBC Robson Square.

That’s all for now.
I’ll leave you with a rockin’ tune about long-distance communications.

Roll up! Roll up for the Book-Fair Tour!

Posted by Jeff on Jun 13th, 2023 in News | 0 comments

I meant to post an entry earlier, but got caught up in work and a grant application and planning stuff.
I’m going to tell you about the big Book-Fair Tour in the title… but first, BIG NEWS:

My story “The Madness East of St. George” was a finalist in the Writers’ Union of Canada’s 2023 Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers!

As a result, the Writers’ Union of Canada will submit my story, the contest winner, and ten other finalists to a few major Canadian magazines for possible publication.
More information about the contest at this link.

 

And now…

Roll up!
Roll up for Jeff’s Magical Canadian Book-Fair Tour!

This Saturday afternoon, I’ll be at the Ottawa Small Press Book Fair at the Jack Purcell Community Centre in (duh) Ottawa. It’ll be my first time in the capital in almost ten years. Look for me with a half-table there, selling my novel Hate Story (both hardcover and paperback versions) and my 2015 CD This Album is NIT FENNY!.

More info about the Ottawa Small Press Fair here.

Next up…
JULY 22: Indie Author Book Expo North, Timmins, Ontario
SEPTEMBER 23: Word on the Street, Lethbridge, Alberta
SEPTEMBER: Hopefully the Toronto WotS Pop-Up event… if it doesn’t conflict with another event, and IF they actually get my application this time.

There’s also a thing in Montreal in December, so we’ll see if I get in that one too.

I don’t have a promo video, but I suppose I can steal this one:

See you there. Wherever you be.

No parent. Only a Guardian.

Posted by Jeff on Mar 19th, 2023 in News | 0 comments

I’ve already mentioned the event I’m doing on April 2 here… but I thought I’d pop back in to point out a couple of small media thingees that featured me last week. Because I know the millions of salivating fans who devour this website with unquenchable addiction are hungry to know.

First: The Toronto Guardian‘s “A Day in the Life” artist-profile series featured me on Wednesday. With an adorably snarky bio by my friend, YA novelist Timothy Carter.

Click here to read the Guardian piece.

Second: I was recently interviewed on the new literary video series In Other Words, in which authors are asked questions about anything except their work. Hosts James Bryant and Lee Eric Freedman asked me about puppies, karaoke, the Beatles, the JFK assassination, and cancel culture (“Yes, he’s whining about cancel culture again! Who does he think he is, Tucker Ingraham or somethin’?!?”).

The episode hasn’t been uploaded to YouTube yet, but you can currently watch it on Facebook.
Click here to watch.

Once again, if you’re in the Toronto area, come to Bright Lit, Big City on the afternoon of April 2.

 

And if you missed my Art Bar feature a couple of weeks ago… you can watch part of it here:

Stay warm, Heinrich Broarm.

In the big sittay. Where the girls are prittay.

Posted by Jeff on Feb 27th, 2023 in News | 0 comments

March comes in like a poem and goes out like a book.

I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean either, but it sounded mildly clever.
And it’s an apt way to introduce what I’m doing from early March to early April – a period that starts with a live poetry gig and ends with a live fiction reading.

That’s right! Live features! In person, here in Toronto! Not on Zoom.
So you get all the benefits of seeing a writer live on a stage… without any of the benefits of watching them online. The latter benefits being the ability to view from anywhere in the world, and the convenience of watching from home. Maybe the COVID lockdown spoiled us in some ways.

So here’s what’s on, John. Here’s what’s soon, goon. Here’s what’s happening… Lappening.

1) March 6: The Art Bar
I’m a headliner once again at Canada’s longest-running poetry series, along with Laurie Macfayden and an open mic. This is my first live poetry gig in Toronto in more than three years. (I’m not counting the book launch last November or AuthorFest last August, in both of which I read from my novel… and I’m definitely not counting the outdoor gig I was supposed to do a year and a half ago, at which literally nobody showed up, including the host.)

2) April 2: Bright Lit, Big City
Carolyn Bennett is back to host this fiction reading series, in which I’ll be reading from my novel Hate Story. This was supposed to take place way back in November, but things got weird with the venue scheduling. I’ll be sharing the stage with the likes of Josh Morris, Lisa de Nikolits, Alan Resnick and Brent van Staalduinen.

 

My appearance at Bright Lit, Big City is being funded by the Writers’ Union of Canada.

 

 

More info on these two events in the right sidebar.

Also look for me as a guest in the upcoming web series In Other Words, and I’m also going to be spotlit this month in the Toronto Guardian‘s “A Day in the Life” series.

Finally – if you missed my Spoken World Online feature on Zoom a few weeks ago, you can catch it on YouTube:

Tally ho, Dinklemeyer.

Paris, Thailand, Melbourne, Toronto, everybody talkabout poetry music

Posted by Jeff on Jan 29th, 2023 in News | 0 comments

Busy these days, mostly with trying to find the time to work on the next book.
So I’ll make this one brief. Three events coming up over the next few weeks, all online:

1) Spoken World Online: this Tuesday
The Zoom extension of Spoken Word Paris, hosted by David Leo Sirois. I gigged in the IRL version of this series back in 2015 (as well as the Monday series twice, in 2015 and last October).

2) Soul Refraction book launch for Paul R. Kohn: February 4
Paul has asked me to perform my poem “Adequate Man” as one of the guest performers for his book launch, along with fellow Decent Beings tourmates Skylar J. Wynter and Neshka Turner.

3) Magic Theatre Poetry Reading: February 19
A monthly series. Happens at 8:30 in the morning EST, I think because one of the organizers is based in Thailand.

#1 and #3 also have open mics, so if you ain’t coming for me, come to share your own work.

More info, including links to Zoom details, in the right sidebar or to come.

Also catch me live in Toronto in March at Bright Lit Big City (date and venue to be confirmed).

Now, some existential horror from Charles M. Schulz:

Bye.

No failure to launch

Posted by Jeff on Nov 1st, 2022 in News | 0 comments

Stuff is happening. A lot of stuff is happening. And you can be a part of it.

Just came back from an exhausting European (well, mostly the U.K.) book tour with Australian poet Skylar J. Wynter and her designer Neshka Turner. We entertained a few people in Birmingham, Belfast, Paris, Leeds, Leicester, Derry, Donegal, Worcester and the Peterborough region (not to be confused with Peterborough, Ontario). The Decent Beings will return… maybe next year? Maybe Australia? We’ve yet to start planning.

[EDIT: I was also interviewed (with Mel Bradley) on BBC Radio during the trip!
You can listen to it here until November 25 or so. Our segment starts at about 18:00.]

Also: my novel Hate Story is now available in stores!
Well… a store. If you find yourself in Derry, Northern Ireland in the near future, check out Little Acorns Bookstore on Foyle Street. They now have a few copies of my book, and also of SHINE by Skylar and Neshka.

But we’ll sort that out later. Because it’s November, and I have to tell you about a few things.

1) Tonight: the world premiere of Something Funny Going On

Dane Ince of Eye Publish Ewe (based in San Francisco) is launching an online streaming poetry series, and tonight (November 1) is the debut of the humour episode – featuring me, Bobby Miele, and Alan Harris. More info at this link.

2) November 26: Winter Warmer Festival 2022

I’m honoured to have been asked to perform at this annual Cork, Ireland poetry festival… via Zoom.
For the second straight year, the festival has gone hybrid (i.e. both live and virtual) so people outside the geographical area can take part. General info on the fest is available at this link; I will be performing on the Saturday.

3) December 1: Bright Lit, Big City
I’ll be one of the features at this bimonthly live fiction series at Hirut, in the former East York. More info to come.

But the most important of all is coming on Sunday, November 13:

I am holding a live launch event of my debut novel, Hate Story, at Hirut.

Ivy Reiss will host. Guest performers will include authors Heather Babcock, Monica S. Kuebler and Timothy Carter and singer-songwriters Kari Maaren, Sean Peever and Neil Traynor, and there will be a Q&A session with the host and the audience.

This event will also be the official launch of the limited-edition HARDCOVER version of the novel!
(It may also be an unofficial birthday party. We’ll see.)

If you’re in the Toronto area, just click “Going” on the Facebook event page linked here.

And if you missed the Zoom launch of the book back in March (featuring an impressive lineup of local and international guest performers), and you’ve got two-and-a-half hours free, watch the recording on YouTube here:

Be there or have four corners. There are no other options. See you soon.

Remember, remember, what’s happening in September

Posted by Jeff on Aug 30th, 2022 in News | 0 comments

Couple of small things coming up in the next month, but first…

1) I was recently interviewed by The Artisanal Writer, a website that explores writers and their inspirations. Debbie Bateman asked me some smart, challenging questions about Hate Story.

You can read the interview at this link.
(You have to register with the website to read the content, but it’s free and easy.)

2) Hate Story received a nice review in the U.K. lit journal Dream Catcher – written by Amina Alyal, co-organizer of Leeds-area reading series WordSpace (in which I featured in 2018).

The mag content is not online, but here’s the review photographed from the journal itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now for that couple of small things.

1) Next Tuesday night, I’ll once again be one of the guests on HOWL, the long-running literary radio series, once hosted by the late Nik Beat. This time, Valentino Assenza is interviewing me about Hate Story in a prerecorded interview.

Toronto-area folks can tune in on CIUT 89.5 FM.
Outsiders, I believe, should be able to listen live through the station’s website.

2) On the 16th, Jammin’ on the One is back! The monthly improv jam returns to the Arts and Letters Club for the first time since the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic. And I’ll be one of the featured performers, with spoken word and/or a reading from Hate Story, along with sketch from Arden Church and Alex Baird and possibly somebody else.

More info on the right sidebar. Make with the clicky.

I’ll leave you with a perfect song about a perfect day.

See you soon, alligoon.

CanLit AuthorFest is coming! And SpoFest too.

Posted by Jeff on Jul 29th, 2022 in News | 0 comments

Are you excited for August?
You better be. Because this is happening at the end of next week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll be sharing a stage, as well as a signing table, with a number of wonderful novelists and poets and more. Look, they even gave me my own individual ad:

You not only get to meet me… you also get to greet me. That alone is worth the price of admission, isn’t it?

But that’s not the only thing I’m doing over the next month.
On August 16, which you may already know is Elvis’ Death Day, I’ll have my next Zoom feature at the SpoFest Online series. This is a weekly poetry night with a unique structure, organized by James Bryant and based (I believe) in Missouri. This time, I’ll be sharing the virtual stage with Craig Firsdon and Lillian Necakov, while Virtual Fridays Dire Literary Series host Timothy Gager is the guest author. And there’ll be an open mic and other fun stuff.

No Facebook event page is set up yet, but there’s a general FB page at this link.

To get you in the AuthorFest mood, I’ll leave you with this interview I did with co-host Ivy Reiss more than three years ago…

La di da.