2011 Alt Lit Awards — Immediate REAX

Here are my Immediate REAX to the 2011 Alt Lit Awards. Again, these should only be taken immediately.

altlitgossip:

REAX: MILDLY SHOCKED. These were definite “darkhorses.” Never saw these coming, would not have ‘wagered’ anything on these winning, especially in the poetry. Especially since I haven’t read either one of them. Would have thought “something by Kendra Malone” or “something by Spencer Madsen” or “something by Madison Langston” would have won or “something by Madison Madsen.”

Alt Lit Awards are semi-full of surprises.

REAX: VERY SHOCKED. Never read this. I’m way behind the curve. What about “NEW WAVE VOMIT” or “HOUSEFIRE” or “BARRELHOUSE” or the hometown “METAZEN” or “UNSURE IF WILL GROWN MY BEARD MUCH LONGER”?

Need to get my shocks replaced.

REAX: NOT SHOCKED.

Not sure what the difference is from above. Guess this is “in print.”

REAX: SEMI-SHOCKED. Honestly, kind of liked this/kind of didn’t like this. “Debut” and “novel” are the key words here. Can see the appeal, however. May have voted for “something by Mel Bosworth.”

REAX: NOT SHOCKED. Very solid choice. Feel they are “relatable” and would get along with all constituents.

REAX: PLEASANTLY SHOCKED. Great chapbook. Should have pushed my contenders from Deckfight Press more, especially Supercomputer by Jordan Castro or A Patchwork of Rooms by J. Bradley or The Five Lost Senses of Carl by Mel Bosworth. Totally pleasant pick, however.

REAX: SAFELY SHOCKED. Thought “something by Marie Calloway” in a late, ballot-stuffing run or a “Bebe Zeva stunt” or the “Jordan Castro gimmick” or “Roggenbuck/Poncho reading” would have taken this. Seems like this was a “safe bet;” would have made some money off of this.

REAX: NOT SHOCKED. Well deserved. Lot of hard work behind the madness.

REAX: NOT SHOCKED. Also, very much deserved. And she has a great PR mind workin the alt-lit scene.

REAX: SHALLOW-Y SHOCKED. Not sure how “zine” and “journal” or “online magazine” differ; it’s okay—let’s print up a buncha lil certificates. Thought “something by Beach Sloth” would be good here.

REAX: NOT SHOCKED. Let’s modify this category to the “Jonathan Safran Lethem Foer Franzen Lifetime Achievement Award.”

IMMEDIATE REAX: SELLOUT SHOCK. Love the Butler books, but this is like Arcade Fire or Death Cab for Cutie winning a Grammy for “New Artist of the Year.” Just not alt anymore, which is cool & all. He’s beyond the category. Would have liked to see “something by Noah Cicero” or “something by Sam Pink (2 books too!)” or “something by Scott McClanahan.”

REAX: LOVE SHOCK. Good, good, good, good.

IMMEDIATE REAX: EXISTENTIAL SHOCK. What is “alt lit” anymore? Is Harper Perennial totally alt? Is Knopf totally alt? Is Random House really random? Who is/is not alt-lit? No one knows. What about the “real” alt lit? Totally alt-lit confused. Feel like a chillwaver trying to transition into dubstep.

IMMEDIATE CATEGORY REAX: SUGGESTION SHOCK. How about some more categories next year?

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(Source: altlitgossip)

Alt Lit Gossip is.

We mourned ‘lit gossip’. Now the ‘darkness’ has lifted, b/c super-uber-lit-gossip-girl frank hinton has stepped into the ‘void.’

She has a proven record of success ergo this will be successful.

altlitgossip:

                                              

In 2011 there was a website called “Alt Lit Gossip”. 

In 2011 this website disappeared. 

Where did it go? It is a mystery. 

But from great mysteriousness comes rebirth. 

Let the spirit of Alt Lit Gossip live on. 

This is a reiteration. 

This is a continuance of the spirit. A return to the Path. 

Alt Lit Gossip 2.0. 

October-ish. 

- by Frank Hinton

(Source: altlitgossip)