I was flipping through the March 23 issue of the New Yorker last night and happened upon a poem by Terese Svoboda, titled Mom as Fly. For those of you unfamiliar with Svoboda, she is the author of Tin God, which was published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2006. Her short story collection, Trailer Girl and Other Stories, will be released as a Bison paperback this fall. And her poem is on the New Yorker Web Site.

In addition, I have two interesting bits of general publishing news for our readers this Friday:

1. Publishers Weekly Online had an interesting story yesterday about Robert Kiyosaki, best known for Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and his latest book. Every other Thursday, Kiyosaki is posting a chapter from his book in progress, Conspiracy of the Rich, on his Web site. Anyone who registers at the site can read the chapters for free (three are posted so far) ask questions and leave comments or suggestions. This feedback will be used in some way when the book goes to press later this year. So far, the web site has attracted about 9 million users. Maybe we should begin publishing a book, chapter by chapter, on this blog.

2. The New York Times is reporting that the ballots are in for the 2009 Oddest Book Title Award and the winner is….. The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-Milligram Containers of Fromage Frais. The NYT goes on to say that this is more of a report than an actual book. But several books were finalists for the award: Curbside Consultation of the Colon, The Large Sieve and Its Applications, Strip and Knit With Style (in this case, the word “strip” refers to a method of tearing fabric, as opposed to the removal of clothing) and Techniques for Corrosion Monitoring. It should be noted that none of these are University of Nebraska Press titles.  

Have a great weekend!