What do you do if you’ve got 30 notebooks full of your writing and no one to publish them? If you’re University of Hell Press founder Greg Gerding, you do it yourself and create a self-publishing empire. The author of seven published books of prose and poetry, Greg’s initial spark for the press came from a weekly reading series he’d hosted at a bar in Washington, D.C., aptly called Hell. After moving to San Diego, he was inspired by the city’s local music scene’s DIY ethos and began calling on his friends to design covers, among other things. Finding himself in Portland a few years later and virtually swimming in literary goings-on, Greg expanded the press and at this point, publishes a combination of solicited and unsolicited material, and spends most of his time trying to convince other folks to start their own self-publishing empires. His birthday buddies include Stephen Baldwin (boo) and Tony Hawk (yay)!

“Hopefully if you’re a writer, you’re constantly reading as well, and you’re being exposed to all these products, and you’re probably drawn to a certain kind of aesthetic. So then start deconstructing that aesthetic and figure out what you would like to see in the final product of your work, and how you can make that happen.”

Greg Gerding is a noted underground writer and publisher. He runs University of Hell Press, an indie book publishing imprint, and is the Editor-in-Chief of leading opinions and editorials website The Big Smoke America.

Greg graduated from the University of Maryland with a BA in English Language and Literature, and then hit the streets to continue his education as a scholar and scrivener of the real world. He has had seven books published: five books of prose poetry (Poetry in Hell, The Burning Album of Lame, Loser Makes Good, Piss Artist, and The Idiot Parade), a collection of short stories (Venue Voyeurisms), and his most recent book, I’ll Show You Mine, an oral history on the subject of intimacy, was published by The Sager Group in 2013.

Greg founded the University of Hell Press in 2005 as a self-publishing brand and then expanded it to publishing others beginning in 2012, launching a platform for unconventional artistry. He started The Big Smoke America in late 2015 and has published over 1,700 articles and essays since. He has collaborated on projects with musicians and visual artists, and is well known for organizing readings on both coasts. Greg was born in Kentucky, has lived and/or worked in nearly every city in America, and currently resides in Portland, Oregon.

You can find University of Hell Press on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

More links!

• Authors! Greg wants you to write for the Big Smoke America.
• Check out the entire University of Hell catalogue
• This Never Happened by Liz Scott
• All This Can Be Yours by Isobel O’Hare

The post Episode 38: Greg Gerding — Author and Publisher at University of Hell first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Episode 38: Greg Gerding — Author and Publisher at University of Hell appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.

Traditional, self-pub…the hybrid author says: “Why not both!” Frances Kingsley joins us to talk about her experience writing for both sides of the shelf. We also talk about our Great British Baking Show reverse-harems in the least creepy way possible (i.e., who is dreamy AND would make the most beautiful cake on our birthdays).

Frances Kingsley is an indie author who loves books about strong heroines, magical kingdoms, and, of course, swoon-worthy heroes. She’s got two reverse-harem series: one is a fantasy about a lost kingdom of unicorn shifters, the other is contemporary rom-com about a girl who inherits a bakery in England. She has two cats named Jean-Ralphio and Mona Lisa.

Discussed in this episode

• Frances’ contemporary rom-com RH, Bakers Dozen: Sweet Treat
• Her unicorn shifter series, Beyond the Shine
• Award-winning author Merritt Tierce, who works as a mail carrier
• #Selandrew 4eva
• The Feather Thief — a bird heist book

The post Episode 19: Hybrid Author Frances Kingsley first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Episode 19: Hybrid Author Frances Kingsley appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.

Does self-published YA literary fiction have a place?

Can a self-published book be nominated for a book award usually reserved for traditional authors?

Yes AND yes! Today’s guest Shelley Pearson proves it.

Shelley Pearson self-published her first zine when she was sixteen. She grew up making art and crafts and, despite being an adult, has always gravitated toward young adult books. She leads a book club for adults to discuss young adult books through a queer and feminist lens, and self-published her first young adult novel in July of 2018. The novel, Book Smarts and Tender Hearts, was recently named a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in Young Adult Fiction. She lives in Portland with her girlfriend and two cats. Check out her website shelleypearsonwrites.com and find her on Instagram @shelleypearsonwrites.

Shelley came to chat with Emily and Corinne about making friends with strangers the old fashioned way—through placing an ad in a magazine! Other topics include: writing with a mentor, staying vulnerable while weathering promotions and the sudden attention that comes with being nominated for an award, and of course influential YA books.

Links from this episode:

• Sweet Candy Press
• Book Smarts and Tender Hearts (Shelley’s Oregon Book Award nominated YA novel!)
• Info about the 2019 Oregon Book Awards Ceremony
• Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite
• Juliet Blackwell cozy mysteries
• Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
• Everything’s Trash but It’s Okay by Phoebe Robinson

The post Episode 18: Oregon Book Award Nominee Shelley Pearson first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Episode 18: Oregon Book Award Nominee Shelley Pearson appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.