By / On / In Books, Publishing
In solidarity with those whom he has hurt, MIEL has decided not to go forward with the planned chapbook of work by Thomas Sayers Ellis. Andrea and I thank those who provided testimony for their courage in coming forward, and wish them peace and healing.
Subscribers: a note will follow in your first package of books.
Éireann Lorsung
By / On / In Publishing
Let me say how pleased I am to welcome Andrea Blancas Beltran to MIEL. Andrea will be acting as an associate editor over the course of 2016, working with me on the editing and production of many of MIEL’s 2016 books and the two final issue of 111O slated to come out this year. I’ll let her introduce herself in her own words, and leave you with my excitement at the prospect of working with her.
—Éireann Lorsung
* * *
The west Texas border city of El Paso is where I call home. I was born and grew up here, but couldn’t wait to move away as soon as I found the chance. I lived in a suburb north of Dallas for over a decade, but my longing for my family, especially my aging grandparents, led to a long drive home, and here I’ve replanted myself among the mountains, cactus, and tumbleweeds.
I love to cook, bake, and grow and eat tomatoes. I make postcards on occasion. I’m quite fond of ants and snails and kind people. I’m a fan of Twitter as it’s afforded me opportunities to connect with many beautiful souls. My word for the year is ATTEND.
I recently completed my MFA in Poetry at Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier, VT where I wrote about women and translation in my critical thesis, “milk / del trans / late?: Cecilia / Vicuña & / Rosa Alcalá.” I’m revising my first book of poems and short essays.
These words from Eduardo Galeano’s The Book of Embraces are with me everywhere: “What it all comes down to is that we are the sum of our efforts to change who we are. Identity is no museum piece sitting stock-still in a display case, but rather the endlessly astonishing contradictions of every day life.”
MIEL continues to show me the importance of creation and diversity through its curious and thoughtful writers and artists and beautiful books, microseries chaps, postcards, and the like. MIEL and Éireann have given me new ways to think about language and art. I’m grateful and delighted to be connecting as an assistant editor with the MIEL community as it’s a community that consistently reminds me why I read and write.
I think back to Metta Sáma’s Le animal & other creatures, in which she says to Elisabeth Houston: “The question, for me, is how to transform realities into art & into questions that are not heavy-handed.” This is what I feel MIEL does: transform. I look forward to helping introduce these questions to readers and the world from my corner of the west Texas border.
—Andrea Blancas Beltran
By / On / In Methods of Recording, Publishing
DEADLINE EXTENDED!
I’m looking to add an editor to MIEL. This would ideally be a long-term working relationship, and yes, ideally in the long term a paid one. For the sake of financial transparency: printing is very expensive in Belgium. Poetry books are not bestsellers; chapbooks even less. An edition of books usually (but not always, and this has been a losing year in this aspect) covers its costs with nothing left over. The press does not make a profit, and I do not get compensated for my work. This is something I would like to change over the next few years, but it’s not possible at the moment.
Job description: You would be responsible for working on 2-3 chapbooks and/or 111O (editorial with possibility of design work, depending on experience) + possibly some reading (>2hr/month) for the 2017 anthology. Some administrative work is factored in to this position. Total commitment is likely to be 6-8 hours per month, depending on how quickly you work. This position will report to and be supported by me [editor-in-chief].
Qualifications: An attentive and thoughtful reader, a diplomatic and sensitive editor. Ability to engage with writers with firm care. Awareness of issues of justice in a broad sense and as they relate to the literary world in a specific sense. Demonstrated interest in and knowledge of MIEL: what the press publishes, why, how. Self-motivated, responsible, good with deadlines, creative, able to read and work outside of their comfort zone. You do not have to have had formal editorial experience.
Compensation: A €200 honorarium paid in two instalments (one at the end of the first six months; the second at the end of the second six months), a copy of each book MIEL publishes in 2016, editorial training, and training in InDesign if necessary/desirable. Support in kind for the development of your future projects.
Location: Anywhere. All work and communication can be done online or via telephone/Skype.
Terms: To begin January 1, 2016 with a six-month trial period at the end of which we will decide together whether to continue (and how). We will work together to edit one chapbook; then you will work further independently. We will meet once every two weeks at an agreed time for a debriefing and planning session. You will be responsible for contacting blurbers, writing front and back matter, negotiating edits with authors, and planning publicity work. You will also have a role in the book design process and in the planning of our 2017 anthology, including reading work.
To apply: Please send an email with the subject “Editing” to miel dot books at gmail dot com. Attach a PDF letter of interest (up to 2 pages) explaining your specific motivations for working with MIEL and a description of how you approach editing; also send a brief CV (up to 2 pages; PDF) with pertinent experience and/or education. Queries to the same address. People of color, women, and LGBTQ people especially encouraged to apply.
Deadline: November 30.