We’re thrilled to announce the acquisition of Michael Konik’s YEAR 14, a novel that came to us through our most recent open call for submissions and which, frankly, stopped us in our tracks.
In lieu of a traditional plot summary, we invite you to read the book’s opening lines:
I understand that writing this down on paper without first obtaining the proper license is not permitted.
I will be dealt with appropriately. You could say this report will be my suicide note.
But at the risk of displaying what might seem like a horrible lack of appreciation, I feel a strange responsibility, a civic duty you might say, to record what happened here in my Sacred Homeland.
What follows is equal parts hilarious and terrifying, heartening and heartbreaking, as the book’s narrator—an editor for the official state news agency—risks his life to tell the truth about what he’s witnessed in the 14th year of his country’s autocratic rule.
Barrelhouse Books will publish YEAR 14 in paperback in the fall of 2017, with an e-book release to follow. The book will be distributed by Small Press Distribution.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Konik has published several books, most recently The Termite Squad, has recorded and produced jazz albums, performed improvisational comedy at Second City Los Angeles, appeared with his dog Ella on a short-lived Animal Planet series, provided commentary for numerous FoxSports poker broadcasts, and hosted a weekly jazz show in Hollywood with his Tasty Band. For more information, visit him online at MichaelKonik.com.
ABOUT BARRELHOUSE BOOKS
Barrelhouse Books is the small-press imprint of Barrelhouse, Inc., a literary nonprofit founded in 2004 with the first issue of Barrelhouse Magazine. In addition to the print magazine, Barrelhouse publishes new and established writers online, runs two annual writing and publishing conferences (Conversations and Connections), and generally tries to be a good literary citizen.
YEAR 14 will be the third prose offering from Barrelhouse Books, and the first novel, following Sarah Sweeney’s essay collection, Tell Me If You’re Lying and Lee Klein’s book of performative rejection letters, Thanks and Sorry and Good Luck. Barrelhouse has also published two full-length poetry collections, erica lewis’ daryl hall is my boyfriend and Justin Marks’ You’re Going to Miss Me When You’re Bored.
For any inquiries, please contact Mike Ingram, editor of Barrelhouse Books, at barrelhousebooks@gmail.com.