The Books Have Arrived!!!

Just received the contract copies of The Great Frustration. This picture was taken before I dumped the books onto the ground and began rolling around in them euphorically.

Starred Review in Publishers Weekly

I am incredibly pleased to report that Publishers Weekly has just given The Great Frustration a starred review. In fact, "pleased" might be underselling it. All day long I have been climbing skyscrapers and swatting at biplanes. PW had this to say:

The 11 stories in Fried's debut have the vigor of adventures, taking place in settings as disparate as Spain in the time of the conquistadors, a king's harem, a city under siege, various scientific setups, and--in the case of the title story--the Garden of Eden. Such an imagination is refreshing, but even more rewarding is that the stories don't rely solely on concept or conceit, and trudge forward into the lovely mess of strong characters wedged into dramatic circumstance. The scientists in "Those of Us in Plaid" have a simple, though not easy, objective involving an obstinate monkey and a space capsule. Science is clearly one of Fried's major interests: "Loeka Discovered" follows a team of researchers reconstructing ancient history from bits of bone and other artifacts. The lengthy "Animalcula: A Young Scientist's Guide to New Creatures" offers 15 scholarly descriptions of minuscule fauna, creating a fictional microcosm and illuminating it with the surprisingly poetic inner life of the scientist studying his subjects. While Fried's stories run to the historical or technical, there's a strain of absurdism in his prose that combines pathos, unease, and dark humor to add depth and give these stories a sense of modernity and relevance. (May)

This means one of two things: 1.) Publishers Weekly got the cigars I sent, or 2.) Publishers Weekly liked my book. Either way, I haven't received a star on a piece of writing since grade school and it still feels pretty great. Huge thanks to PW!

The Missouri Review's textBOX Anthology

The Missouri Review is about to launch textBox, their new online anthology. The site -- which goes live tomorrow morning -- will feature a selection of fiction, essays and poetry previously published in The Missouri Review.

TMR has spent over three decades putting out one of the best print journals in the country, so, as a reader, I'm incredibly jazzed (yes, jazzed) to see them take this exciting new step. As a writer, I'm even more jazzed (jazzeder?) to point out that the anthology's debut will feature Loeka Discovered, a story of mine that TMR originally published in 2008.

Needless to say, I'm honored to be included in the first installment of this soon to be beloved anthology. Make sure to check it out!

Top Five Most Anticipated Books of 2011

It's that time of year again in which I predict the books we're all going to be reading and talking about in 2011. My selection process is simple; I base my predictions on a series of questionnaires that are filled out by booksellers and librarians all over the country. The questionnaires are administered, collected, and analyzed by a team of official survey proctors from The Institute of Statistical Mathematics. Those proctors then submit the compiled data to me and I report it to you here as objectively as possible.

1.) The Great Frustration by Seth Fried

Needless to say, I was shocked and thrilled to learn that my debut short story collection is the most anticipated book of 2011. I mean, it's weird. I worked really hard on the book, and I was confident that people would like it. But to get this kind of validation before the book is even released is pretty overwhelming.

2. A back-up copy of The Great Frustration by Seth Fried

This one came as a pretty big surprise as well. Though, if you've dropped as many books in the tub as I have, it makes total sense.

3.) CliffsNotes guide to The Great Frustration by Seth Fried

While I hate to think of students taking the easy way out with respect to my book, the fact of the matter is that my stories are packed with some pretty dense imagery. Without the benefit of a little guidance, my prose could come off as downright intimidating to a young reader. It is for this reason that -- with some reservations -- I'm glad to see this guide take 2011's number three spot. Used correctly, I'm confident that it will help enhance people's reading experience.

4.) Ebook of The Great Frustration by Seth Fried

Ebooks are here to stay people. We all know that making things electronic is the same thing as making them better. Though, make sure to avoid enjoying my ebook if you have a pacemaker or are on a plane that is about to take off.

5.) Sadly, it was discovered during the course of this study that people only buy four books a year. My condolences to any forthcoming title that did not make the list.

New Blog Header by Brent Van Horne

The incomparable Brent Van Horne has created yet another killer header for this humble blog. In addition to it fulfilling my life long dream (expectation is probably a better word) of being added to the periodic table, it also hints to the fact that I will soon be a citizen of New York City.

BVH is definitely correct in assuming that my new location will significantly change the content of this blog.

Example of what my posts have looked like while living in Ohio:

"Hey everybody! I have a story forthcoming in Whatever-the-hell Magazine! Make sure to check it out!"

Example of what my posts will look like once I live in New York:

"I'm heading to The Saw Factory tonight to see The Laser Committee do an acoustic set with the trombone player from Biscuit Quake."

So yeah, get ready for that!

I Will Continue Making Trailers Until Someone Stops Me

Book Cover!!!! Book Cover!!!! Book Cover!!!!

I am very excited to share this early book cover for my debut short story collection (coming May of 2011). There might be some slight changes in the months to come. I imagine at some point we'll be adding a hologram of me wrestling a minotaur. But as far as I'm concerned it's already pretty great.

Okay Internet, Lock Up Your Internet Daughters

Brent Van Horne, the best short story writer/copywriter/content strategist you've ever read about in a blog post, has just launched his new site. So if you want to take a break from downloading illegal music and Super Nintendo emulators, I strongly suggest you click here. Or here. But whatever you do, don't click here.

You should also check out all the great headers that BVH has designed for this humble blog here.