Roundtable Interview in the Chattahoochee Review

The editors of the William Gay Archive and Dzanc Books are featured in a roundtable interview within the Volume 38.2-3 Fall 2018/Winter 2019 issue of The Chattahoochee Review. I join Michelle Dotter of Dzanc Books, Lamont Ingalls, Sheila Kennedy, Susan McDonald, and Michael White in discussing William Gay’s ongoing legacy and the releasing of his posthumous works. My thanks to everyone at TCR, they were a pleasure to work with.

The Chattahoochee Review is a literary journal published by Perimeter College at Georgia State University.

February Release of Stoneburner

Unfortunately, we caught a few errors in our latest book proof of Stoneburner and are working to correct them. This will probably set the release back into February 2018.

I've used the time to improve the slipcover design and I can say for certain this will be the final cover. Added are a brushstroke of black along the spine and some new text. The book's now really striking from the shelf and the spine's easier to read, while one is still able to get a sense of William's painting a whole. I also reduced the size of the Stoneburner cover logo slightly to show more of the end drips.

Thank you everyone for your support and interest. We really value those that have written and shared their excitement for William Gay's works, past and future.

Update on Stoneburner

It's safe to say that all of us at the William Gay Archive were hoping Stoneburner would be out by now. Through trial and error we are finding the self publishing world to be a thorny one, and we are working hard to get the book to a place that we all can be proud of.

We had some setbacks with the inside book layout, and I have tinkered with my dust jacket design some. A third book proof has been ordered, and once that is reviewed and approved by all of us at the Archive, we will go ahead and send the presses into motion.

It is looking like December 2017 for the release. Thank you for everyone's interest and support in this book and the other posthumous books to come. We all appreciate it.

Jacket Design for William Gay's Stoneburner

It's hard for me to express what a strange honor it is for me to be working on the writings and jacket design for William's second posthumous release, Stoneburner. Long before I became involved with the archive project, I was a fan. I would read William's books and imagine what I would do for the covers. His writing spoke to some of my imagery and I felt a commonality. And so the years pass and an unlikely fate intervenes.

My original proposal for the Stoneburner cover was to do it entirely of my own design. JM White, William's friend, publisher, and director of the archive pushed for inclusion of one of William's paintings. He explained that William always wanted his paintings on the covers of his books, and it bothered William when the larger publishers didn't use them. During his lifetime, only two books had his paintings on the covers, Wittgenstein's Lolita and Time Done Been Won't Be No More, both published by JM White and Wild Dog Press.

I looked over many of William's paintings and selected a snowy farm house scene. There is a location in the novel where this is fitting, and I liked the painting's somber tone. The symmetrical composition of the painting naturally lent itself to both front and back covers. I made an effort not to manipulate any of the image, and to cover as little of it as possible and still have it work in a larger design.

The front cover for the novel Stoneburner. Typography and design by Paul Nitsche. Painting by William Gay.

The back and front covers for the novel Stoneburner. Typography and design by Paul Nitsche. Painting by William Gay.

In adding the ink brushstrokes and drips, I was thinking about the growing unraveling for the characters in the novel, the sense that things are falling apart and becoming uncontrolled. At some point during the design of this book, I began to realize the cover was an unexpected collaboration with one of my favorite authors. I can only hope William approves.

The full jacket design for the novel Stoneburner. Typography and design by Paul Nitsche. Painting by William Gay.

The full winter farm painting by William Gay.

Anomolaic Press to Publish Stoneburner

The inception of Anomolaic Press began in early 2014, when I was helping a group of William Gay's friends and admirers prepare what was to be the first manuscript of posthumous writings, This Ride's Not Over Yet. Our original intention was that we would publish the book ourselves under the imprint Anomolaic Press. During this time I created the two-headed whippoorwill image and Anomolaic Press logo. The manuscript was shelved when Dzanc Books voiced interest in purchasing the rights to Little Sister Death and The Lost Country.

The manuscript of Stoneburner has been completed for some time, but it was necessary to explore all the publishing options with different presses. In the end, we decided to release the book ourselves, and resurrect Anomolaic Press. In doing so, it will ensure several points: we have absolute editorial control, the book looks and is printed they way we think William would want, and most importantly, control over all profits so that they may go to William Gay's family.

The word anomolaic was a favorite of William's, and appears in several of his writings. We thought it an appropriate name for our press, as well as a tribute to the man himself.

New Author Photograph

Years ago, before I was involved with William Gay's archive, I was a fan and avid reader of his works. I often searched out any images or videos I could find of the man. To discover a new image of his rough-hewn face or to hear the deep Tennessee in his voice was always thrilling.

It was a pleasure to work on the new author photograph for the upcoming William Gay novel, Stoneburner. Originally taken by JM White, I converted it to black and white, did a few touch ups, and added some atmosphere.