Forum / A Serving of News With Gratitude

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    Amantine B
    Jul 25, 10:16am

    I am generally very reserved about sharing news or promoting anything that has to do with my work;not an uncommon paradox for artists seeking an audience, but does make making a living something of a challenge, as many of us are painfully aware.

    I come to write this here because I find myself in a very unusual position and in the immensity of gratitude I feel, it seems only right to acknowledge this platform for what it gifts me every time I post a work and for the extraordinary individuals who are shaping my very odd and eclectic career.

    Like most professional wordsmiths here, I wear numerous hats, not least among these, a pseudonym distinguishing my literary voice from my real life role as publisher, editor and general custodian of authorial ambitions.

    The starkest irony of my career so far is that it took the world to come to a standstill under existential threat for my career to burgeon; within days of official lockdown I found myself inundated: suddenly offers of publication under my own and my pen name poured in, as did editing offers and I've been working non stop since mid March. All through this Fictionaut writers have continued to support my writing with such generosity and kindness that at times still overwhelms me. The friendships are treasured!

    What I didn't realise or expect was to find here in the Forums posts by Matt and David about the publication of their work in Literati Magazine. I apologise to you both for having missed these and seeing them is partly the reason I am writing to all of you here. Those of you who have accepted my invitation to join Literati Magazine as LM Authors
    so enrich the magazine and I hope more will accept invitations I will continue to send.It is an honour to host each of you; so thank you, David, Matt, Ed, Fos, Beate, Keith, Gary.

    Eamon, what an extraordinary journey our exchanges on Becket thas led me to - and my gratitude to you and Bob (RW)and Thrice Magazine for giving the works which evolved from those conversations, a home.

    It's a funny thing how a choice ripples its ramifications over months and years, if not a lifetime even; my choosing to write under Amantine B had led to the most productive season of publishing in my career to date, not least because it brings me full circle back to Fnaut:I submitted a piece to an online project known as 100 Words of Solitude (a hundred pieces of a hundred words each )and the piece title Solitude was accepted. I learned from Eamon sometime later that Erika had read Solitude and had decided to submit, and her piece too, was accepted. And more recently Erika submitted a piece of hers to Literati Magazine.

    In the interim, as a publisher, I was blindsided by an email which arrived a couple of months ago inviting Rare Swan Press which published Literati Magazine to be the publisher of 100 Words of Solitude! I pointed out that I had submitted under AB and would understand if they chose to withdraw the piece, they declined.
    And so, to my news... having signed a hundred contributor contracts and with the editors, I am now officially publishing the 100 Words of Solitude as a limited edition hardcover and softcover book, with all proceeds going to Unicef and other similar charities.

    I doubt I would have had the confidence, after a decade of hiding out because of continual online harassment had it not been for this exceptional group of people here who have embraced my presence and given me nothing but heartwarming encouragement and the fortifying kind of critique due any writer.
    So I share this news with immense gratitude to each of you; you're each more family to me than you'll ever know.

    Bless you all and please stay safe and well.
    And while I leave would with a few links to learn more about this collaborative book adventure,

    https://literati-magazine.com/words-of-solitude-the-book/

    https://literati-magazine.com/lm-emporium/

    be, Beautifully,

    with love,

    Amantine.

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    Mathew Paust
    Jul 25, 10:54am

    Congratulations!

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    strannikov
    Jul 25, 08:24pm

    You are entirely welcome, thank you, too, do stay well, and keep up all good work!

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    Erika Byrne-Ludwig
    Jul 25, 10:06pm

    Congratulations, Amantine. You are a very successful lady ...

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    Sam Rasnake
    Jul 26, 02:38am

    Wonderful news, Amantine. Congratulations to you.

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    David Ackley
    Jul 26, 02:52pm

    Opportunely, I was just about to post my own appreciation to the pseudonymous Amantine and Literati when I came across this.

    But in the event, I do want to turn it around a bit and tell you all and Amantine how grateful I am to her for the way she has taken some of my work and enhanced it with thoughtful and unobtrusive editing, and some brilliant choices for images to frame and underline the text: I have had some luck with editors of online magazines--a number from our fictionaut community--but she's the best and I would urge any of you looking for felicitous home for your work to send it to her.

    Thanks A.B.

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    David Ackley
    Jul 26, 03:54pm

    !

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    eamon byrne
    Jul 26, 11:55pm

    Well done Amantine for your genuinely proactive work in this space. All kinds of ways to take the words from the screen to the page have my support. So keep punching above your weight my friend.

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    Amantine B
    Sep 23, 09:00am

    I come to this late in the day, and firstly share my apologies to all; it's been an ever hectic-to-chaotic quasi lockdown these past couple of months.

    It's always difficult to properly express gratitude and how much the consistent support, encouragement and friendship you have all so generously gifted me and LM, means to me. That I am entrusted with your work - that you entrust it to 'virtual stranger, especially with respect to editing is humbling and deepens my appreciation for the courage it takes, especially in times such as ours, when the social and political onslaught on authenticity and integrity, both artistic and personal is brutal and relentless, to still send our ideas, stories and poems out into the world.

    You have each graced my professional and artistic life in ways I feel I could never adequately repay, save only for striving to serve artistry and language with an ever-deepening sense of responsibility and custodianship. That Literati Magazine might one day be regarded as a cultural and artistic journal of some value at least, for contributing something toward creating a truly independent publishing space, gives meaning to those moments when I feel the endless hours might be for nought. Thank you for letting me know otherwise. xx ever, A

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    Darryl Price
    Sep 23, 05:39pm

    Deserved, welcomed and celebrated news!

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