Did you know that in the wine country, beer has surpassed wine as the favorite drink outside of the home? A 2010 study done by Makno for Assobirra found the number of Italians drinking beer while eating out had more than doubled since the previous year and beer had overtaken wine as the preferred beverage enjoyed outside the home (World Atlas of Beer 2012).

More and more Italians are consuming beer. And why not? Apart from the U.S., Italy is the most interesting and creative beer country in the world, combining the traditional beer cultures of Europe with the unique Italian touch, from Baladin’s purposefully-oxidized Xyauyu` to the beautifully blended Beersel Mattina collaboration with Tre Fonteinen and Del Ducato.
Italy's craft beer movement has accelerated in the last few years. They are today, where the Uninted States was 15 years ago. Fifteen years ago a handful of men, Teo Musso, Agostino Arioli, and Leonardo Di Vincenzo crafted a mark on the Italian culinary culture. Their pitch has fermented from 20 microbreweries in 2002 to nearly 500 today.

One of Italy's most impressionable mark on the taste buds of beer lovers has been the chestnut beer. Yes, chestnuts. How very Italian, no?

So next time you're at your favorite beer store, ask about Italian Craft Beers. 

Cin Cin 

 

 

My massive project, the memior of Ron Gonen, is nearly complete. I've spent five years working on this memior about Ron Gonen, an international thief who escaped Interpol and made his way to Manhattan in the early1980s where he became a highend coke dealer. His success got the attention of what would become known as the first Israeli mafia. After turning state's evidence he was hidden away for 20 years in the Witness Protection Program.

There is already a very well written book by David Copeland about Ron Gonen's years as a coke dealer, but this memior encompasses his entire 25 years as a criminal. It's a page turner. Ron Gonen's life as a thief is probably my favorite part. His cu

I will be doing a reading at the Mercury Cafe, 20 Oct. @ 7pm of my story Cold Feet from the wonderful Fast Forward Press, the first all flash fiction press ever with the likes of:

Chase Townsley
Evon Davis
Nicholas Morris
Jamey Trotter
Amy Braziller
Jon Olsen
John Kuebler
Nate Jordon
Shari Jones
Erin Virgil
Rob Geisen
Nancy Stohlman
Kona Morris
John Jaramillo
Shelby Jaffe
Jonathan Montgomery
Meg Tuite
Katharyn Whynograd

If you've not heard of these people, look them up. They are some extraordinary folks and I'm very excited to be in a room with all of them. I will be surrounded by friends, family and some great writers.

The new release of Fast Forward, the only publication solely devoted to flash fiction, is out! Check out my story Cold Feet and come to the reading on Saturday, Oct. 20th at the Mercury Cafe in downtown Denver.

Glimmer Train'sVery Short Fiction AwardTop 25 Winners And Finalists

The finalists, listed in alphabetical order:
Madalyn Aslan for "The Man in the Sky"
Sean Beaudoin for "Planning"
Belle Boggs for "Deer Season"
Michael Busch for "Patterns of Flight"
Peg Cronin for "These Things Will Not Convey"
Stevie Davis for "The Shadow Knows the Corner, the Corner Knows the Dust"
Edmund DeJesus for "Feathers"
Rebecca Epstein for "Broken Things"
Sean Iannucci for "Before The Fight"
Julie Iromuanya for "My Brother Told Me"
Bryan Jansing for "Cold Feet"
Heather Jarrow for "Awaken"
Tom Juvik for "The Last Worst Thing"
Jonathan Kooker for "Measures of Height, Heat and Time"
Tarannum Laila for "Kadamphul"
sandra maddux-creech for "White Fleet Taxi"
jana martin for "Galletas"
Nima Omidi for "Haha, Circa"
Sara Pennington for "Hell Is a Smallish Hole"
Amy Root for "One Dry Dress"
Patricia Traxler for "The Secret of Life Itself"
Anne Wyman for "Hummingbird Feeder"

Glimmer Train Press, Inc.1211 NW Glisan Street, #207, Portland, OR 97209telephone: 503.221.0836

Bryan Jansing Performs at Fast Forward Release Party

AWP and Dazzle Reading

Monkey Puzzle Magazine


AWP Conference – April 7-10 »
Genres & Generations – April 8th

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) comes to town this week, bringing with it a variety of writers, from international bestsellers to amateur poets working on their first collections. Six local presses – Fast Forward Press, Monkey Puzzle Press, Tarpaulin Sky Press, Fact-Simile, Zero Ducats, and Bombay Gin – are using the opportunity to put together a unique literary event including some of the area’s most daring writers and poets at Dazzle on Thursday, April 8th. For an event flier, click here.

Readers include:Benjamin Dancer, Bryan Jansing, Kona Morris, Rob Geisen, Jonathan Montgomery, Nancy Stohlman, Matt Reeck, Travis Cebula, Gordon Massman, Andrew ZornozaShane, Joaquin Jimenez, Scott Alexander Jones

Fast Forward Press, a small independent press based in Denver, is dedicated to publishing flash fiction and will release its third collection in June. Boulder-based Monkey Puzzle Press is an independent trade publisher focusing on books from both emerging and established writers including a biannual literary arts journal. Fact-Simile is a small independent publisher of mostly handmade books and book-objects, using recycled and reclaimed materials to create distinctive artifacts of literature. Bombay Gin is the literary journal of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, and Tarpaulin Sky Press, founded in 2002 as an online literary journal, focuses on cross-genre / trans-genre / hybrid forms as well as innovative poetry and prose.

For a schedule of all offsite events during AWP, click here.
Tags: AWP, bombay gin, fact-simile, fast forward press, monkey puzzle press, tarpaulin sky press, zero ducats