Fiction Builds Strong Bones

Spilt Beans Issue 3 is currently in hibernation. It's cold and snowy in these mountains, and the poetry is piling up in the dusty corners of my email inbox. Although you diligent submitters have once again offered up your best art and poetry, the staffers here at Spilt Beans have decided to hold out for more fiction, since we received none.

Therefore, send us more, send us more! We are still accepting fiction and nonfiction submissions for Issue 3, and after the holidays while we're lounging in a soporific state of healthy digestion, we'll reevaluate and start to work on another excellent issue.

Thanks for your continuing support and happy holidays!

Drive safely!

And There Shall Be Another

Sorry for the long break, but now Spilt Beans is back on track and ready for issue 3. We've already received some submissions. We can tell that it will be a grand issue!

Deadline for all submissions is November 1st, while the magazine will probably be complete and printed by mid January.

As usual, send all your creative ponderings to spiltbeansmagazine@gmail.com. Questions can be sent here also, in addition to your praises, your critiques, and your forwards of the top ten office jokes of all time. The only thing we don't need is more Spam, especially the kind that tells us how to make more money. If we wanted money, we'd be stock brokers, not poets. Such is the life of a poet....

So get to writing and painting and all those other things we know you do best! The deadline is coming!

Good Things for Brains

Well, no one has expressed interest or disinterest in a release party for issue 2, but here is the tentative date for a release party/poetry jam anyway:

May 25th at 6 p.m.
Cafe Davinci downtown

Bring your writings to read, your art to show, and/or your ears to listen. You also might need hands to clap, but this is optional. Everyone is welcome to listen and to read, so be there! I guarantee, at least, aesthetically pleasing sounds, which does wonders for the brain, I'm sure.

If you have any questions, comment here or email me.

Have a wonderful week of May!

Patience, Patience!

Copies of issue 2 came rolling out of the press today, all warm and colorful, purring in hopes that they will find good readers to go to. Issue 2 is simply outstanding. Our inbox was overflowing with wonderful submissions by the time the March deadline hit. It took us a month to wade through it and to finish the hardest part of the Spilt Beans process: what goes in and what beautiful words must we pass by.... Trust me, it's not a job for the faint of heart, especially with the number of quality submissions that Enid, Oklahoma continually produces.

Unfortunately, this issue won't be available for sale until May 15th. I have to finish school and graduate before I can make it back to Enid and present to the community its own creativity in book form. But this issue is worth the wait. On May 15th you will find copies of it for $4 each at Davinci's Coffeehouse (by Jumbos Grocery) and Cafe Davincis (downtown).

A release party and poetry jam has not been scheduled due to my very busy schedule, but if there is enough interest, I might be able to plan one for May 25th. If you have a strong opinion on this, please comment below or send us an email at spiltbeansmagazine@gmail.com. Either way, I'll keep you updated.

Although we don't have a deadline yet, Spilt Beans is accepting submissions for issue 3. Check the website for updates about that as well.

That's all for now. I'll try to get a picture up of the cover of issue 2. It's a beauty!

Beware the Ides of March

Enidians! The submission deadline for the May issue is closing in on us. Send your stories, poems, art, and comics to spiltbeansmagazine@gmail.com as an attachment or in the body of the email by March 15. As always, this is a great opportunity to strut your creative stuff, so make that deadline!

A few copies of issue 1 are still available for $3 at Davinci's.





In fact here are a few pictures from the Release Party. Thanks to everyone who braved the ice and snow to enjoy the warmth of the coffeehouse and the sweet, sweet sound of poetry. Yay for the Arts!

My mom took the pictures, and even though I had my camera with me, I was so flustered and nervous that I forgot all about pictures. I would have liked to have more pictures of the readers,
because they were truly incredible. Very talented stuff. Mom did snap a shot of Katie Gienapp, our youngest contributor to issue 1, and her father. (We were prepared to lower the microphone, but Katie had her own elevating chair.)


Thanks again to all of our talented contributors and readers. Get ready for issue 2!

Ice Age Round 2

The wind is blowing us down and chilling our bones. The freezing rain is stinging our faces and covering our cars in a force field of ice. And by tomorrow our roads may be ready for ice skates.

But some people say the show must go on.

Even though the release party is not a show because the last thing I would ever want to be in is a show, the release party will go on! We will still read wondrous words. We will still listen to mystical music. And we will definitely submerge ourselves in deliciously hot coffee (or hot chocolate), though that part is still not free, unfortunately.

So, unless you feel that the roads are too dangerous to drive, you are welcome into the warm den of Davinci's Coffeehouse tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Fortunately, my mom has 4-wheel drive vehicle, and I will definitely be there, as will my mom who might not want me to drive. I keep telling her that I'm a good driver.

Also, did you see us in the paper today? Spilt Beans got an article in the Enid News & Eagle, written by Scott Fitzgerald. I thought it was extremely well written. Yes, mighty fine, indeed. But that's playing to my own vanity of even being photographed. Still, I think it was a great article, and I plan to take pictures of the release party and submit them to the newspaper. And if they don't get in the paper, you will definitely see the pictures here.

Once again, I hope to see you tomorrow, January 13th at 7 p.m. and don't forget to send your submission in by March 15th.

Release Party

Get ready, get set...issue 1 of Spilt Beans will finally be released! So clear your schedule and make room for that beautiful combination of words, music, and coffee (or hot chocolate).

Important details (the same kind you would see on a seven year-old's birthday invitation):

When: Saturday, January 13th from 7 to 9 p.m.

Where: Davinci's Coffeehouse (by Jumbos grocery store or check out the link for more info)

What: Contributors to the magazine will read their work aloud, Greg Stong will perform live music, and there will be an open mic session for anyone who would like to read his or her work. All for free. I wish I could give you free coffee (or hot chocolate) too, but I am a poor college student and do not have any persuasive weight to throw around. But, there will be delicious Davinci's coffee (or hot chocolate) for sale. Copies of Spilt Beans Issue 1 will be on sale for $3 each.

Why: So the community can celebrate itself!

Issue 1 features writers Leslie Cooper, Brandon Isaak, R. Almack, Morgan Mayberry, Sharon Frye, Keith Cole, Katie T. Gienapp, Danielle Pratt, Dale King, and BJHE with photography by Richard Black, an illustration by Linda Stong, and cover art by Jena Kodesh.
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Just look at it! You know it has to be good.

Stop by the Release Party for some fun or pick up your copy for $3 from Davinci's Coffeehouse any time after the Release Party.

If you any questions, don't hesitate to email them to spiltbeansmagazine@gmail.com.

Hope to see you January 13th!