A Death in the Extended Codorus Press Family (Plus Some Happy News)

The literary world  mourned the loss of Amiri Baraka last week and we here at Codorus Press were especially sad to hear of his death at the age of 79.

For a man who, for much of his life, was perhaps known the most for being controversial, it’s important to note the positive ripples one person can put out into the universe without even realizing it.

In many ways, Amiri Baraka was the godfather of Codorus Press, since working on his final book of poetry was one of the moments that made our founder, Wayne Lockwood, suspect that he could start his own publishing house. You can get a better perspective on the influence Baraka had on Wayne in this post from his jazz blog.

And Now, the Good News …

Alex Segura, author of “Silent City,” speaks to the crowd at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla.

Codorus Press had an absolutely epic fall 2013, with the publication of three excellent works which spent the subsequent months garnering some excellent attention from all corners. Gerry LaFemina’s Clamor, Alex Segura’s Silent City and Tom Joyce’s The Freak Foundation Operative’s Report were all stellar additions to the Codorus Press catalog.

Each title made its own splash and covered the spectrum of writing from literary fiction to crime thriller to satirical horror. We’ve received a great combination of positive notices from other authors and impressive reader reviews. Each author has participated in his own events – such as Alex’s signings at the Mysterious Bookshop in Astoria, N.Y., and Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla. – as well as a couple of great group events like the Frostburg State University Indie Lit Festival (organized, incidentally, by Gerry LaFemina).

So what’s on tap for 2014? Well, a little rest, for one thing. But not so much that we won’t be busy hustling to sell all our titles at a variety of venues. Along with the regional book festivals that we’ve come to love (and who hopefully love us back), we’re branching out. A good portion of the Codorus crew (Tom, Wayne, Alex and possibly Gerry) will be in the house Jan. 25 at Enigma Bookstore in Astoria, N.Y. Tom and author Scott B. Pruden – the guys behind our two speculative fiction titles – will be appearing April 6 with their sci-fi/horror/fantasy brethren at the Central Pennsylvania ComicCon in Carlisle, Pa.

And that’s just within the next few months. Keep you ears open for more events by our authors individually and in groups, not to mention a slate of fall book festivals throughout the rest of the year (Frostburg will again be a pretty safe bet, and we’re hoping to once again hit the Baltimore Book Festival and maybe another ).

And no matter where it is, we hope to see you, our readers, when we’re out and about. If you’ve got someplace you’d like to see us, let us know. And if you want a Codorus Press author to visit you in your town, just give us a shout.