flipped eye news

Jacqueline Saphra's The Kitchen of Lovely Contraptions shortlisted for the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize

2011-09-21T15:21:00.001+01:00

Jacqueline Saphra's delicious début collection The Kitchen of Lovely Contraptions has been shortlisted for the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2011, one of the coolest, best-established and most in-touch poetry prizes in the UK.

The Kitchen of Lovely Contraptions is one of five collections, out of the 74 titles that were submitted, to have reached the shortlist for the prize. The Poetry Trust has called the five shortlisted poets as 'ones-to-watch' amongst the next generation of UK poets.The other poets to make the shortlist are: Tom Duddy, Nancy Gaffield, Ed Reiss and Rachel Boast.

The winner will be announced at the start of the 23rd Aldeburgh Poetry Festival on Friday 4 November 2011. As huge fans of last year's winner, Christian Campbell, we're chuffed J's in the same company!

[We have a couple of offers on The Kitchen of Lovely Contraptions: it's half-price until the end of September on our site www.flippedeye.net/store and if you buy Emma Hammond's tunth-sk from our Amazon seller (flippedeye) you'll get a copy for FREE in addition)

flipped eye publishing completes residency on Incwriters.co.uk

2010-08-31T10:16:00.001+01:00

flipped eye publishing's editors and authors have just completed a month-long blogging residency on the incwriters.co.uk site. Some of the topics that came up in the shared musings include, the craft of writing, the place of short stories in the world as well as trends and best practice in editing and publishing work. To read the blogs, visit the incwriters.co.uk site using this link.

Q&A with Inua Ellams in Guardian

2010-02-01T14:53:00.004Z

Inua Ellams: performance poetry for all

Young writer Inua Ellams is bringing performance poetry to London's National Theatre with his show The 14th Tale, which tells of growing up in Nigeria and London

- Hermione Hoby
- The Observer, Sunday 31 January 2010
- Article history

Inua Ellams, performance poet.

How did you come to write the play?

There's this parallel between writing and martial-arts films: typically the young upstart challenges the old master and does several backflips then the master just stands there, makes one move and the kid's on the floor. You have to do something similar with writing: control your tongue and just show off a couple of times. When I was 19 I tried to show off as much as possible – all the backflips – then this astonishing poet, Kwame Dawes, ripped to shreds one such poem and I didn't write for about six months. Then my father had a stroke and I began to think about the lineage of troublesome men in my family and my role as the only boy. It's really a coming-of-age story.

Does it feel like a real departure from your previous poems?

Before this, I'd written global poems and that was easy: you throw a pen and it bounces against something that's wrong with the world. It's more difficult to write about yourself and at the same time make it so that Joe Bloggs will be able to find something of himself in it.

What made you write for the stage?

I've been known to write densely beautiful things with extended metaphors that require you to pay attention, but I so often go to poetry readings where half the audience are drunk or more interested in sleeping with the person beside them and there's chitter chatter – I just got fed up of that and wanted to write something where people come expecting to be quiet for an hour.

Is there a growing enthusiasm for poetry in performance?

Yes, although part of me hopes the art form will never be that widespread, because as soon as something hits the mainstream it gets watered down.

But aren't you worried about hitting the mainstream by having a show on at the National?

[Laughs] That's a good question, but I'm not worried because I'm far too much of a troublemaker and far too stubborn to make other people happy. I'm terrible at lying, I can never hide my emotions, it's ridiculous. My duty is to the beautiful: as long as I create that then I'll be true.

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See original article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/jan/31/inua-ellams-performance-poet-national
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Update from MSF

2010-02-01T13:41:00.001Z

Dear flipped eye publishing,

Thank you for setting up a Justgiving page in memory of Georges Anglade; we really appreciate this special gesture. The £177.44 (including Gift Aid) donated so far will act as a lasting tribute by helping MSF provide urgently needed medical care in Haiti.

At the time the earthquake hit, MSF were already present in Haiti with teams based in Port-au-Prince. In the first 72 hours, these teams treated over 1,500 critically wounded people. Most of the patients were treated in four tents, which were set up near the badly damaged buildings we used to work in. These included our health centre in Martissant slum, the Trinité trauma centre and the Maternité Solidarité hospital.

Our teams are finding it extremely difficult to move around the city because of the damaged infrastructure; however we have been able to reach the most affected areas and are now working in thirteen locations. Despite transport problems, we have managed to bring in 165 extra international staff and more than 500 tons of relief material with more on the way. Our teams include surgeons, anaesthetists, nephrologists (kidney specialists) and psychologists and we now have over 1,000 volunteers and national staff working to provide emergency medical care to the earthquake survivors. We have successfully set up an inflatable hospital which has two operating rooms, among other facilities.

For further information about our response in Haiti, please see our website http://www.msf.org.uk/haiti_video_20100126.news

Spotlight on Inua Ellams [Catch a Vibe]

2009-12-05T07:32:00.001Z

Spotlight on: Poet Inua Ellams

by Elizabeth Salmon

Ahead of his play The 14th Tale being picked up at the National Theatre, Inua Ellams met up with Catch a Vibe to talk about poetry and his numerous projects.

Catch a Vibe: When did you decide to become a Poet?
Inua Ellams: I didn't decide to become a poet. It was by accident. I wrote a poem and my English teacher told me it wasn't bad. I didn't think of it as a poem just me writing rubbish on paper. Then a friend of mine dared me to write a sonnet, which I did, but even then there were just far too much obscure hip-hop references for it to qualify as literature, or so I thought. Then I came to London from Dublin and another friend of mine played me a CD – Amethyst Rockstar by Saul Williams and I saw what he tried to do with literature and I wanted to do the same thing. So I began to chase it… I guess I didn't really see myself as a poet until people started calling me a poet.

Read the rest of the interview online at: http://www.catchavibe.co.uk/spotlight-on-poet-inua-ellams/5605/

Sefi Atta wins Noma Award 2009

2009-11-13T18:46:00.001Z

Our latest fiction title, News From Home by Nigerian author Sefi Atta has just won the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa based on a submission for the Nigerian edition of the book, under the title Lawless and other stories. Sefi - who is the winner of several other prizes including the inaugural Wole Soyinka Prize, which she won for her novel Everything Good Will Come - submitted the collection to flipped eye's fiction editor Nii Ayikwei Parkes for consideration for the lubin and kleyner imprint prior to its release in Nigeria and he was struck by her ear for dialogue and effortless control of plot and nuance. "I was stunned by the quality of her work; the characters jumped into view immediately and were utterly compelling. However, what really struck me was Sefi's versatility - her ability to inhabit character and place so completely, obliterating the veil that separates the storyteller from the story. We feel very privileged to have her as one of our authors."

The Noma Award places Sefi firmly in the company of some of Africa's most revered writers such as Mariama Bâ, Wally Serote, Dambudzo Marechera, Chenjerai Hove, and Ngugi wa Thiong'o, all of whom have either won the award or been commended by the Noma judges. The citation for Sefi Atta's 2009 award confirms her place amongst Africa's best; it notes her admirable balance of content and form and the fact that she "does not romanticise or demonise the world of her characters: her genius is to deprive the stories of their sensationalism, allowing her to display complete mastery of her craft. One of the most original, imaginative and gifted fiction writers in Africa, and arguably the best of her generation." The full citation can be read on Book News SA: http://tr.im/DSX3

We hope to have Sefi in the UK to read sometime next year - in the meantime, don't let the book go unread. Buy it on amazon UK: http://tr.im/DDzs or on our site: http://tr.im/ETVW

New Niki Aguirre Interview (July 2009)

2009-07-29T16:47:00.001+01:00

Niki Aguirre interviewed by Nik Perring
By Nik Perring
The wonderful stories in 29 Ways to Drown are a varied bunch, in theme and in mood; how would you describe a typical Niki Aguirre story? Are there certain ingredients you put into everything you write?

Read More... | Buy the Book

Our July Newsletter: July 21 2009

2009-07-24T10:39:00.001+01:00

It continues to be a good year for us - in spite of the credit crunch - mainly because we are determined to make it so. It is after all our 8th anniversary - we started celebrating at the Southbank Centre and we've carried the fire with us around the country. We open this month's update with a video from our last group reading in Leeds (below) and an invite to our next one (further below). The other things in this update are some information on what new books are available and some exhortations for you to vote for our authors who are in with a shot at the new People's Book Prize.

Read more...

Our latest newsletter: June 24 2009

2009-06-28T10:48:00.001+01:00

This has been a good year for us so far and we hope it continues. Amidst all the anniversary celebrations, Niki Aguirre's brilliant 29 Ways to Drown has been selected for the People's Book Prize June list. Please stop by the site and vote for her book to be the overall winner and make this year the sweetest ever for flipped eye: http://tr.im/n1Bm

Even better, we have been informed that Aoife Mannix's debut, Heritage of Secrets, has made the July list for the prize. We will inform you as soon as it it possible to vote for Aoife.

Read more...

From BookBrunch: Manchester indie flipped eye goes on the road

2009-04-21T17:17:00.001+01:00

Written by Liz Thomson

Monday, 20 April 2009 09:01

Flipped Eye Publishing, the award-winning small press based in Manchester, has unveiled a house band, l'8 Quintet (pronounced lit quintet), to mark its eighth anniversary. The brainchild of publisher Nii Ayikwei Parkes (who is a finalist for the UK Young Publishing Entrepreneur of the Year Award, to be announced at the LBF next week), the band will play a series of gigs with literary guest musicians such as Roger Robinson and Hisham Matar from July. The gigs follow their official debut at the Southbank Centre on 20 May at a gala evening to celebrate Flipped Eye's milestone and to launch a nationwide series of readings and performances, F8.

The gala launch is described by Parkes as "a fun-filled evening to remind us all why we fell in love with words". Drawing inspiration from the kinds of literary evenings that saw Langston Hughes jam on stage with jazz greats, the programme consists of a quiet session, with readings from short stories and novels, and a "punctuated" session where writers will jam with l'8 quintet while mingling with the audience and enjoying wine from Chile and Argentina, sponsored by South American wines online.

The members of l'8 quintet are keyboardist, trombonist and arranger Dave Holland, saxophonists Chris Rand and Rob Sell, trumpeter Mark Crown, and bass player Hedi Pinkerfeld. Although a young collective, members have played with some of the biggest names in contemporary music, including Courtney Pine, Estelle, Jason Yarde, Finley Quaye, Denys Baptiste and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Parkes, who was born in Ghana, where he has set up a Writer's Fund to promote writing among the country's youth, is a former Poet-in-Residence at London's Poetry Cafe and was British Council Writer-in-Residence at California State University in Los Angeles. Between 2001 and 2005, he was Resident Poet at Borders Charing Cross Road, hosting monthly open mike sessions; he now runs the African Writers' Evening at the Poetry Cafe. Parkes was featured in Granta's New Writers 15 in June 2007 and is credited by the Arts Council as one of the people who, through Flipped Eye's Mouthmark pamphlet initiative, helped inspire Faber's New Poets series of pamphlets. He also has a novel, Tail of the Blue Bird, due from Cape in June.

l'8, left to right: Hedi Pinkerfeld (bass), Mark Crown (trumpet/flugelhorn), Rob Sell (saxes/flute), Dave Holland (trombone/keys/strings) and Chris Rand (tenor sax)

flipped eye publishing unveils house band

2009-03-31T22:50:00.001+01:00

For Immediate Release
March 2009

l'8 quintet
flipped eye publishing Unveils House Band To Mark 8th Anniversary

flipped eye publishing, an award-winning small press based in Manchester, has unveiled a house band l'8 quintet (pronounced lit quintet) to mark its eighth anniversary. The brainchild of publisher Nii Ayikwei Parkes, the band will play a series of gigs with literary guest musicians such as Roger Robinson and Hisham Matar from July 2009 after their official debut at the Southbank Centre on May 20 2009 at a gala evening to celebrate flipped eye publishing's milestone and launch their nationwide series of readings and performances, the f8 tour.

The f8 tour's gala launch has been described by Mr Parkes as 'a fun-filled evening to remind us all why we fell in love with words.' Drawing inspiration from the kinds of literary evenings that saw Langston Hughes jam on stage with jazz greats, the programme consists of a quiet session with readings from short stories and novels, and a 'punctuated' session where writers will jam with l'8 quintet while mingling with the audience and enjoying wine from Chile and Argentina, sponsored by South American wines online.

The members of l'8 quintet are keyboardist, trombonist and arranger, Dave Holland, saxophonists Chris Rand and Rob Sell, trumpeter Mark Crown and bass player Hedi Pinkerfeld. Although a young collective, members have played with some of the biggest names in contemporary music, including Courtney Pine, Estelle, Jason Yarde, Finley Quaye, Denys Baptiste and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Notes:

l'8 quintet is a jazz-style quintet and the brainchild of writer and publisher Nii Ayikwei Parkes who has always sought to sustain the fun in literature and thought l'8 quintet would be the perfect way to link his love of music with his love of words. He enlisted the help of friend and jazz virtuoso Jason Yarde to audition a set of 'groovy and tight' young musicians with a good appreciation for words at the Spice of Life in Soho to form l'8 quintet (pronounced lit quintet).
Nii Ayikwei Parkes, the publisher at flipped eye publishing, started his performance career at the Frog & Bucket in Manchester and has shared the stage with many musicians and bands including the Kindred band, Natalie Williams, Trouba, Terri Walker and US hip-hop icons, Dead Prez.
l'8 quintet can be found online at www.l-8vibe.com

Further Details:

For images, or more information on l'8 quintet please contact Ian Somers on: Ian.Somers [at] shesgotthatvibe [dot] com

For more information flipped eye publishing and its initiatives, please contact Horton Silvera: horton [at] shesgotthatvibe [dot] com or Stuart Strong on: stuart [dot] strong [at] flippedeye [dot] net / 0845 652 9517

Editor at Pre-London Book Fair 2009 Seminar On Indian Publishing

2009-03-10T09:25:00.001Z

News/Press Release link: http://www.booktrade.info/index.php/showarticle/20143

Become a Fan on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/6qxe3v

Anthologies Galore: Jacob Sam-La Rose et al

2009-02-16T13:28:00.000Z

It all started with Niall's entry into the Forward Prize anthology late last year, wethinks, and then all of a sudden - here come the anthologies: So, Jacob Sam-La Rose is having some work in a Bloodaxe anthology edited by Roddy Lumsden, two London anthologies, 'Michael's Rosen's A-Z: The very best of children's poetry from Agard to Zephaniah' (wethinks our new boy, Joseph Coelho may have something in there too - or is it in The Complete Works anthology he's in? anyway, back to Jacob...) and a Penguin anthology of love poems for which his poem 'Things That Could Happen' has been selected. Senior Editor, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, has also had his poem 'I Like it to Rain' selected by the Education group at Cambridge University Press for an anthology provisionally titled 'The Truth About Love' - and Inua Ellams is getting in on the action with one of those London anthologies Jacob has work in... Good hunting boys! Ladies?

Nick Makoha poem features on Tate: Remixed

2009-02-13T20:52:00.000Z

A little late to be sharing the information since the Turner Prize is all but done, yet it's worth letting you know that Nick Makoha, author of The Lost Collection of an Invisible Man, was one of four poets commissioned to do a special piece for the Turner Prize as part of the Tate: Remixed initiative. You can hear his poem Vistas online at: http://www.tate.org.uk/podcasts/tateremixed/nickmakoha.htm - but here's the text for the quick readers:

[Nick Makoha – Turner Prize]

Vista

Welcome back to the neighborhood.
From factory rooftops the ruins fade.

Adjust your set the static will clear.
We are close to the river where the evening has gathered.

In a dead-end alley, discarded cigarette carcasses glow on the pavement.
This dark night lacks direction, a broken skyline smolders in its distance.

I am one of the bystanders, heads bound in headphones.
Music heard without interruption is our common spark.

The ricocheting hums of trains through tunnels, sets the hand in motion.
Spray cans on the canvas of derelict walls will make us legend.

Paint smeared like oil on the chest finds its shape with a flick of the wrist.
Look at the origins of sentient formless life along this faceless mountain.

A cats cradle network of power lines in silhouette to the moon.
CCTV cameras crane their necks to give us an afterlife,

as laundry organizes itself in pairs on the clothesline. 
A seamless beat overlaps and fades stitching me to the world.

Watch the street lamp undress the darkness that moves like a body.
The body becomes song, an aria of light casting out shadows.

If you are one of us you know this vista, these characters these signs.
History is on the tips of our tongue, yet we are not in textbooks.

The sign says, No Talking. Listen to the opus, the anthem, the tune.
Do not adjust your speaker just change your point of view

www.tate.org.uk/go/tateremixed

lexEYEcon up for Mashable Web Awards

2008-11-11T18:21:00.003Z

The flipped eye translation wiki project lexEYEcon (lexicon) is up for a Mashable Web Award in the niche category. You can see the PDF of the project's results so far at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/6lg9av

Senior Editor up for UKYPE Award

2008-11-11T18:08:00.005Z

flipped eye publishing is happy to announce that Senior Editor and co-founder, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, has been longlisted for the UK Young Publishing Entrepreneurs Award run by the British Council. A shortlist will be released in late November/early December. For more information visit the following link: www.creativeconomy.org.uk/UKYCE/index.asp?ID=28

Ainsley Burrows featured in New York Times

2008-09-16T22:18:00.004+01:00

So, we were picked for photo of the day at the Brooklyn Book Festival. Again... Ainsley Burrows at work... again! This time by the New York Times, no less. Better pick up Ainsley's new book, The Wolf Who Cried Boy, before New York beats you to it... Link: http://tinyurl.com/5cxu5t

Nicholas Roberts for The New York Times
Ainsley Burrows recited a piece for an audience at the Brooklyn Book Festival on Saturday.

13 Fairy Negro Tales - limited edition release

2008-08-29T18:42:00.001+01:00

After sales in excess of 1500 for his debut chapbook, writer / artist Inua Ellams was invited to curate an exhibition of illustrations based on written works at London's Southbank Centre. The result of his own illustrations is this exquisite limited edition version of the now iconic title 13 Fairy Negro Tales, with an illustration accompanying each poem. The 313 numbered, signed copies will not appear in stores, but will be sold exclusively at events, readings and via our new online store, where the first 20 are already on sale. To order a copy, please visit our online store by clicking on the image on the right, or - if you want a specific number - please e-mail us on books [at] flippedeye [dot] net. Please note that numbers 1-5 and 21-60 have already been bought by collectors and are not available.

Book Review: A Publicist's Response

2008-07-13T13:55:00.001+01:00

Read this thought-provoking note from our publicists:

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=18468172849

Niki Aguirre interviewed on 'Guide to Good Books'

2008-05-29T10:44:00.001+01:00

Niki Aguirre has been interviewed by Malaysian site Guide to Good Books as one of the authors longlisted for the Frank O'Connor Short Story Prize. Read the article at this link:
http://goodbooksguide.blogspot.com/2008/05/on-couch-with-niki-aguirre.html

flipped eye launches series of events under 7FEST

2008-05-21T08:36:00.005+01:00

flipped eye publishing has launched a series of events under the banner 7fest to mark its seventh anniversary year. The first of the events - an all day series of readings, performances, discussions and book signings - will take place at the Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden. More details can be found on the events page, but the timings for the event are as follows:

12.00-12.40: NEW FICTION
13.00-13.40: REDIRECTION
14.00-14.40: WRITING OBSESSIONS
15.00-15.40: QUESTION THE EDITORS
16.00 - BOOK SIGNING
17.30-18.25: FORTHCOMING POETRY
19.00-19.50: NEW POETRY
20.00 - BOOK SIGNING
20.30-21.10: GENERATIONS
21.20-22.50: FICTION UNLEASHED

WHILE THE EVENT IS FREE, WE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO DONATE TOWARDS THE DISASTER RELIEF EFFORTS IN BURMA THROUGH DEC (http://www.dec.org.uk/) OR CHINA THROUGH THE RED CROSS (http://www.redcross.org.uk/donatesection.asp?id=77029)

29 Ways to Drown reviewed in The Sun

2008-05-09T21:43:00.001+01:00

Niki Aguirre's debut 29 Ways to Drown which was recently longlisted for the Frank O'Connor Short Story Prize, has just been reviewed in The Sun newspaper of May 9, 2008. The full review is reproduced below:

This debut novel is a collection of short stories which is perfect to dip in and out of at your leisure. Each tale takes us to a different country, spanning London to America. Along the way we meet a beautiful woman trapped in a marriage because her husband is so determined that money is the only thing of importance, a man who is at his happiest in his shed writing a story he knows he will never finish and a woman who is terrified of the rain after a traumatic experience during her childhood. Aguirre has an amazing imagination and each story is individual and thought-provoking. This collection of tales is perfect bedtime fodder. – Natasha Harding, The Sun

The book has also been made available on The Sun's online bookshop. To see Niki's next events, please click on the events tab on the top right of the news page.

Become a Fan on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/6qxe3v

Videos of Jacob Sam-La Rose reading

2008-03-20T00:40:00.001Z

on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twZE5XTGSDU (Gravity)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE2EkvupFew (Never + extra poem)

Work from flipped eye poets to appear in stage show

2008-03-12T12:40:00.001Z

Poems from Truth Thomas (author of Party of Black) and avery r. young (whose poems appear in A Storm Between Fingers) have been incorporated into a stage show, which will appear at Harlem's National Black Theatre from March 19-22, 2008. We congratulate them and pray for movies next :) Details below:

March, 19 2008 at Fingernails Across the Chalkboard @ National Black Theatre
2031-33 National Black Theatre Way, Harlem, New York 10035
Cost : $10

This ground-breaking anthology dealing with HIV & AIDS in the African American community has been adapted for the stage and will appear at Harlem's own National Black Theater from March 19-22. Each show takes place at 7:30 p.m. The theatre is located at 2031-33 National Black Theatre Way, Fifth Avenue between 126th & 127th Streets. Poems by Tara Betts, Alan King, avery r. young, Evie Shockley, Lamont B. Steptoe, Melanie Henderson, Ebony Golden, Fred Joiner, Dwayne Betts, Myronn Hardy, Duriel Harris, Tony Medina, Truth Thomas, Arisa White and others will be a part of this production with Kraven Seneca: The Company. Tickets are $10.00. For reservations and tickets call 718-960-6087.

Dance the Guns poet, Lisa Suhair Majaj featured on IMEU website

2007-10-26T08:04:00.001+01:00

Text: Widely-published Palestinian-American poet and scholar Lisa Suhair Majaj was captivated by poetry at a young age. "I wrote poems for the school magazine as early as second grade," she says. "I remember the excitement of discovering that words could convey both visual images and feelings, and that they could take on substance on the page."

Born in Iowa in 1960, Majaj grew up in Jordan...

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