Description
Adam McOmber's lush, hallucinatory stories are both familiar and wholly original. Drawn from the historical record, Biblical lore, fairy tales, science fiction, and nightmares, these offbeat and fantastical works explore gender and sexuality in their darkest and most beautiful manifestations. In the tradition of Angela Carter or Kelly Link, My House Gathers Desires is covertly funny and haunting, seeking fresh ways to consider sexual identity and its relation to history.
In "Sodom and Gomorrah," readers encounter a subversive, ecstatic new version of the Old Testament story. In "The Re'em," a medieval monk's search for a mythic beast conjures forbidden desire. And in "Notes on Inversion," the German psychiatrist Kraft-Ebbing receives a surreal retort to his clinical descriptions of same-sex desire.
From "Sodom and Gomorrah":
The strangers then are no longer like two men at all. They have undressed themselves, giving up the pretense of skin and becoming a denser part of the air. We are hungry for them. Ours is a sacred desire that was buried too long in our chests, like some city beneath the sand.
Adam McOmber is the author of The White Forest (Touchstone, 2012) and This New & Poisonous Air (BOA, 2011), from which he had stories nominated for two 2012 Pushcart Prizes. His work has appeared in Conjunctions, Kenyon Review, and Fairy Tale Review. He served as the managing and associate editor of Hotel America at Columbia College Chicago from 2007-2015. He now lives in Los Angeles, CA, where he teaches at Loyola Marymount University.
Galleys available: national mailing to key review/media outlets 4-5 months prior to publication National advertising: Poets & Writers, American Poets, the Academy of American Poets newsletter, Rain Taxi, and Redactions National print campaign: 100+ finished books will be mailed to key review outlets, specifically targeting Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, The LA Times, Poets & Writers Magazine, The Rumpus, Huffington Post Poetry, Bookforum, LA Review of Books, PBS Newshour, NPR, etc. Outreach to blogs and online outlets for category features, including Buzzfeed, Bustle, etc. for such themes as LGBT (Pride Month), Fairy Tales, Science Fiction, Scary Stories Buy-ins to relevant academic conferences, trade shows, and publications: American Library Association Annual Meeting, CBSD Sales and Academic catalogs, etc. Fall announcements will be submitted to Publishers Weekly Online/social media campaign: Extensive promotion through BOA's website and blog; Facebook (6,600+ followers), Twitter (6,700+ followers), Instagram (1,700+ followers), and Pinterest (550+ followers) accounts; print and e-postcards; print and e-materials; and print and e-catalogs. Electronic postcards to announce book publication will be sent to McOmber's academic contacts, bookstore contacts, and literary bloggers. Electronic newsletter feature will be emailed to BOA's database of 7,100+ contacts. Ebook will be available at the same time as print publication to maximize sales. Ebook ISBN will be included on all press materials, author and publisher websites, and whenever print ISBN is listed. Publisher and author will be promoting both e and p through social media. Author will attend the AWP Conference 2018 in Tampa, FL, where he will have an author signing. Plans for a multi-city book tour, including such places as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Indianapolis. Possible joint readings and events with BOA authors, including Rick Bursky and Christine Kitano. Promotion through the author's social media platforms and website: https://adammcomberdotcom.wordpress.com/
About the Author
Adam McOmber is the author of The White Forest (Touchstone, 2012) and This New & Poisonous Air (BOA Editions, 2011). His work has appeared in Conjunctions, Kenyon Review, and Fairy Tale Review. He was the longtime managing and associate editor for the literary magazine Hotel America at Columbia College Chicago before moving to Los Angeles where he now teaches at Loyola Marymount University.
Reviews
"An otherworldly collection of tales rich with mystery, suspense, and eroticism." -Kirkus Reviews
Book Information
ISBN 9781942683414
Author Adam McOmber
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint BOA Editions, Limited
Publisher BOA Editions, Limited
Series American Reader Series
