So, I've had a couple meetings with the folks at Rough Copy and things are coming along nicely. I've ironed out a couple projects that I will pursuing over the term. How about I tell you what they are...
Rough Copy is undergoing a couple large enterprises in the coming months and I will be helping with most of them. First, there is the anthology of the magazine's work that I'm going to have a hand in making a reality. Having featured several authors who are now pretty hot shit (Bonnie Jo Campbell was nominated this year for the National Book Critics Circle Award, eep) it has become a priority for the whole Rough Copy crew to make a physical record of their efforts. The original reason the magazine decided to publish online as opposed to print is because of the costs involved and cost is still the main obstacle to the anthology, but part of my project will be researching publishers and finding a good way to bridge the gap between cost and quality. Also, I'm to start spreading my attentions to local designers who might be a good fit for the anthology's design aspect. I'd really like to see the anthology follow the stellar lead of Tin House and create a literary outlet that actually takes design seriously. There are a couple friends with whom I've had the pleasure of working who might be good for this project so I'm going to get in touch with them.
The main thrust of my project with Rough Copy will be to work on the blog associated with their magazine. Executive Editor Janet Freeman (currently in absentia while writing in Phoenix, but with whom I am corresponding via email) is interested in keeping the magazine's readership going in between the actual publication dates by creating a blog that will give a steadier stream of content to interested bibliophiles. Having amassed a decent amount of experience in print and web, I am to spearhead this effort.
The blog will focus on several things, ranging from interviews to essays to reviews. First and foremost my job will be to conduct some interviews with artists and authors and put these on the interweb. The first interview I will be conducting (curiously enough) will be with Mary Mattingly. Mattingly, as it turns out, is a childhood friend of Managing Editor Ashawnta Jackson and I've been put in touch with Ms. Mattingly to ask her some questions about her life and work. I will then transcribe these, write an excellent introduction and post it to Rough Copy's blog. From preliminary conversations I've had with Mattingly and from research I've done it seems like this will be a very fascinating project. Our conversation has been trending toward a discussion of the modern role of artists and what it is that makes someone an "artist" in this day and age. Good stuff!
After interviewing Mattingly I am going to interview several more authors (including Bonnie Jo Campbell) and post these interviews to the web as well. I will also be facilitating the community calendar on the blog and trying to make Rough Copy a community hub for Portland writers, something that will drive the magazine's viewership and help draw the Portland writing community closer together (hopefully...maybe). In addition to all this I will be soliciting essays and reviews from contributors to place on the blog.
This April will see the fifth edition of Rough Copy hitting the internet and yet another of my tasks will be to help facilitate the launch party for this occasion. Rough Copy's previous launch party took place at Powell's and was met with widespread attendance and an enthusiastic response so I've got to work on ways to one-up that. Eep.
Anyway, I am thoroughly in the thick of this now, as you can plainly see, and my work is coming along at an appreciably hectic pace. Further bulletins as events warrant.
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