Friday, August 1, 2008

EVER

I've been waiting a long time to write this post and now I don't know really what to say.

Short word: looks like Calamari Press will be releasing my novella, EVER, sometime in the foreseeable future.

Those who happened to be among the gajillion commenters/perusers in the last few days re: my last post might have seen this buried in the comments, as EVER, I think most likely, became the first manuscript ever officially accepted via blog comment.

No clear plans as of yet as to when, etc., as Calamari father Derek White is as we speak perhaps still in the air in midst of his departure from America to live in the fairer climes of Kenya, of which I can only wish to one day follow. (I hope Derek doesn't get eaten by a wild goat: I will find the goat and eat it and vomit Derek back up and paste him back together.)

Save it to say I am beyond excited and honored to have my first full-on book with a press I could not admire more.

Thanks to Derek for this moment even in the midst of his own moment of such huge transition. And thanks to Peter Markus, the other new Calamari captain, for reading and believing in the book, and to Robert Lopez for just being a Calamari brother. It's no stretch to call these guys inspirations to me.

I'm blabbering a little, sorry.

EVER was written over several months during the period between the last story in Scorch Atlas and when I began the 10 day novel. I spent a lot of time staring at nothing between each sentence.

If you are interested in peeking at what EVER is like (I like to think of it as somewhat of a reversioning of Markson's WITTGENSTEIN'S MISTRESS fed through a Ben Marcus shredder and doused with maybe melted WHY DID I EVER and the spit of who I become only during sleeping), the only part of it that has been published to date is on the Unsaid website: 13 Plastic Doors.

Funny, also, and yet not cosmically surprising, that other brother Sam Pink almost simultaneously placed his mindfuck of a collection I AM GOING TO CLONE MYSELF THEN KILL THE CLONE AND EAT IT with the brand new Paper Hero Press. Fuckmaster bananafuck. I am going to mail myself to Sam tomorrow so we can walk into the street and take turns taking wide bites out of small cars while our ears spurt black blood.

I guess I have to get a tattoo, now: I always said I would.

39 comments:

Justin Rands said...

Congratulations, Blake.
*Pumps fist*.

BLAKE BUTLER said...

thanks justin.

fists.

Keith Montesano said...

Boom.

Awesome news.

Still, SCORCH is what's going to eat off peoplez headz n' armz.

But this is the beginning in a long line of universe take-overing.

BlogSloth said...

Well I will buy the fuck out of it (unless it sucks) then make students buy it (unless it sucks) and you will drink 3 at minimum beers just on my academic snowball.

Make them 3 good beers, I spleen u.

Sean

BLAKE BUTLER said...

kool keith iz da kool

haha sean, beer is weird, thank you, i will drink beer.

Lily Hoang said...

huge huge huge congratulations. can't wait to read it!

Tao Lin said...

that is very nice news, i'm excited to see it

BLAKE BUTLER said...

thank you lily and tao, i feel happy

jereme said...

shush little girl

the prophecy is fulfilling

do not fret

for it will be a beautiful new world

a world where all children will

know the meaning of

"BLAKE MOTHERFUCKING BUTLER"

BMFB congrats. seriously. i have seen this. you are on the steps of fame. ride that bitch like the whore it is.

sam pink said...

cunt-stache

BLAKE BUTLER said...

yallz

Josh Maday said...

congratulations, blake. i can't wait to read it. you are he-man and skeletor. you are the pope.

ryan call said...

good work blake

Matt Bell said...

Congratulations, Blake! That's great fucking news.

DOGZPLOT said...

CONGRATS

watched you read chris farley on keyhole. good stuff.

brandon said...

yes yes

its funny i just blogged, before reading this, something like

'blake butler will get a novel published in the near future its inevitable'

im excited about you getting published

brandon said...

you have worked hard and achieved

Michael Kimball said...

Calamari is great. You're great. Congratulations on the great news. Can't wait to read it.

Matt DeBenedictis said...

Congrats! I can't wait for the wonderful cover I'm sure "EVER" will have.

Mike Young said...

good work sir!!

BLAKE BUTLER said...

jeez thanks people i am drunk i feel nice

ryan said...

the asian lily hoang

Heather said...

Congratulations, Blake. You seem like you work hard, and deserve this praise.

Anyway, I was just reading your piece in the latest DIAGRAM, and CATERPILLAR knocked my socks off, and I suddenly felt the urge to stop reading to tell you that. I love that you use the word crud. I'm going to finish reading now. Wow!

Scott Garson said...

fantastic news, man! One day they'll be selling those black-bloody chewed car hunks on e-bay!

Pet & Gone said...

good shit.

christopher higgs said...

Congrats!

Now I have to find the place on my bookshelf where I will put your book...Ah, yes, it looks like you'll be living between Andre Breton & Octavia Butler. That's a very nice part of the bookcase.

BLAKE BUTLER said...

thanks to everyone for the nice comments, i am excited

haha, heather, yes, crud has become one of my words i have to sift and make sure i didnt use too much, thank you for reading the diagram story, thank you

chris, your bookshelf is legendary in my mind ;)

:)

DB said...

fuck yes.

Brandon Hobson said...

Congratulations, Blake. I'm sure Derek will put together a great looking book. I look forward to reading it.

Darby said...

congrats on ever.

I was wondering where I could also get a Ben Marcus shredder.

Brandon said...

Wow. This news makes me excited. Calamari is an insanely great press doing things that are great for literature and especially for writers like you who have worked insanely hard refining their craft and deserve to have it seen by as many people as possible. it will be a great home for your novella.

Peter Cole said...

awesome...i want to buy it right now

BLAKE BUTLER said...

thanks to everyone

Ben Spivey said...

I will buy one and tell my friends buy one too.

Chad Simpson said...

Congrats, Blake.

I know you like good-looking books, and Calamari, I'm certain, will make your novella look amazing.

I can't wait to buy it.

BLAKE BUTLER said...

thanks chad :)

Anonymous said...

i'm so excited for you and calamari, blake! can't wait to pre-order. seems a perfect fit. belated congrats!!

BLAKE BUTLER said...

:) ty EE

Anonymous said...

haha, i googled Blake Butler Ever and found this... must have missed it in limbo somewhere, let me think I guess in NM. So did you get the tattoo?

I was looking for the TS excerpt for the acknowledgements. I'll put the Unsaid one too. Oh, and the ISBN is 978-0-9798080-6-7. Tattoo that.