Burning Book Press In 2009/2010, Definitely Superior Art Gallery in Thunder Bay received Ontario Arts Councils 3-year pilot project funding to be a new publishing house named burning.books.press that will serve Northwestern Ontario and hundreds of literary artists. With the support of OAC literature section funding, burning.book.press, the publishing arm of Definitely Superior Art Gallery, will formalize, expand and increase the level of professionalism of our publishing program. In keeping with our mandate as Northwestern Ontario’s leading-edge and nationally recognized, charitable/non-profit professional artist-run centre and gallery for the contemporary arts (incorporated in 1988), Definitely Superior Art Gallery’s new publishing program will be able to further recognize the quality and encourage the development of multi-disciplinary artists in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario (literary artists first and foremost, but also visual artists, musicians and spoken word performers), be able to pay more artists for their professional-quality published works, and will distribute the publications both regionally and nationally (including being deposited at Library and Archives Canada for future Canadian generations, and showcased at national publishing book festivals). Publications will be launched and sold locally at Definitely Superior Art Gallery and made available at local retail outlets. Contrary to what might be expected by the name, Definitely Superior Art Gallery’s publishing house, burning.books.press, will focus on publishing inspiring contemporary-traditional to experimental writing, as well as visual art, spoken word and music (in the form of audio CDs included in our publications) that constitutes, like a force of nature in power and effect, that which excites, illuminates and transforms, thus making an elemental expression upon the reader, viewer and listener. The common denominator in burning.books.press publishing program, is its willingness and ability to venture in new directions, both editorially, and in the areas of promotion, marketing and publicity, all the while maintaining the highest standards in all that it undertakes. Topics covered will be focused, as we delve into the multi-dimensional aspect of Books and Zines, and will therefore involve: poetry, short prose-both fiction/non-fiction (not historical non-fiction), ephemera, social theory, short graphic works/novels, visual art-stand alone or combined with writing (such as art and graphic design, comics, film+video storyboards, photography, drawing, illustration) and content far enough outside of the mainstream to be prohibitive of inclusion in more traditional media. Our small/micro publishing house will foster the growth and maintenance of the publishing sector in Northwestern Ontario while actively promoting its authors and their books in the regional and national context. We welcome contributions from throughout Northwestern Ontario and its diverse communities, while maintaining the highest standards of artistic excellence and aptitude. How do I find out about Calls for Submission? Calls for Submissions with Submission Guidelines for all publications will be disseminated through various means: Hard copies will be made available at Definitely Superior Art Gallery and can also be mailed to you if you request it. INFO will also be communicated online via: postings on our website, email (if you wish to be added our list, email us at:: burningbookspress@tbaytel.net), and facebook, become a facebook friend of Definitely Superior Art Gallery. Other important submission notes: Please carefully review Submission Guidelines-including Residency Requirements, outlined in Calls for Submission before submitting works, if you have questions, please inquire before submitting. For the sake of the continuity of records and efficiency of administration, we prefer to field publishing questions and inquiries by email, rather than by phone or facebook. We prefer email submissions if possible, but hard copy submissions are acceptable for those without computer access. What does the gallery publish? The new Ontario Arts Council funding will better support the publishing that Definitely Superior Art Gallery has already undertaken, and develops it further into a new publishing program, with a commitment to publish the following: A Book Anthology of creative writing, a new annual publication featuring contemporary-traditional to experimental writing. The first anthology will be entitled FUEL, in keeping with the theme of name of our publishing house, burning.books.press (see note below); SQUEEZE Zine, formerly called Core Zine, its publication increased to 3 times annually, featuring both contemporary-experimental writing and visual art; RANDOM ACTS OF POETRY Zine, an annual publication, featuring contemporary-traditional to experimental writing of the spoken word performers and singer-songwriter musicians who participate the gallery’s annual curated public art project “Random Acts of Poetry: Thunder Bay Performance Project (aka RAP), as well as a CD of spoken word and music-including live radio performances that are part of the RAP project. DIE ACTIVE youth Zine (note: Die Active means “the active” in German), a new annual publication whose creation is integrated with the gallery’s summer Die Active youth-led art collective program, where youth (age 14-30’ish) are encouraged to submit works, and join collective activities in the gallery and community-especially free Zine workshops, so that they may learn new art skills in order to create new works, including a unique contemporary/alternative multi-media Zine package, featuring contemporary-traditional to experimental writing, visual art, a music CD of youth bands and hand-made buttons (see our Die Active webpage for more INFO).
