Short Story #3: The Pulga

May11
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Editor

TO celebrate National Short Story Month, VAO Publishing is posting some of the fiction pieces published in last year’s Along the River.

Today we present Evangelina Ayon’s “The Pulga,” which won the third-place prize for prose.

Yawning, I fought the urge to drop my head the entire drive. The only thing keeping me awake was the thrill of a new experience. Glancing at my mother’s face in the rear view mirror, I knew she didn’t share my excitement. Her face was hard, and those black eyes stayed stony the entire drive, except for those rare occasions when the stones melted into glistening pools of water that ran down her face then disappeared forever. The sun had not yet risen, yet my stomach was wide awake and burning with hunger. But I would’ve starved before complaining to that face in the rear view mirror.

Posted in Along the River Anthology Series - Tagged Evangelina Ayon

Short Story #2: The Time about the Dog

May08
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Editor

TO celebrate National Short Story Month, VAO Publishing is posting some of the fiction pieces published in last year’s Along the River.

Today we present the Pushcart-nominated story “The Time about the Dog” by Álvaro Rodríguez: click here to read.

Posted in Adult Fiction, Along the River Anthology Series

Short Story #1: First Day

May07
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Editor

In honor of National Short Story Month, we will be posting some of the stories from the first Along the River anthology.

Up first is “First Day” by Daniel Tyx, which won second prize.

The panic began creeping into my body from the moment I pulled into the gravel parking lot at Josephina Aguilar Elementary School. Mr. Hernández, the head janitor, was out in a reflective orange vest directing the swarm of pick-ups and 70’s-era gas-guzzlers, herding the students into the gym that served as a holding pen until the day officially began. The school buses pulled around back, discharging dozens more students. As I waded through the crush of students into the still-empty hallways, I felt a tension branch up through my chest cavity, into my deltoids and neck, spreading outward until it had reached my hands, which I held clenched to try and make the shaking go away.

I waited, cocooned in the safety of my classroom, for 7:45 to arrive. I set out the name tents that I’d labored to write in my best cursive; I hadn’t written in cursive since junior high school, but I wanted to set a good example. When that was done, I adjusted and readjusted the desks to make sure the horseshoe was perfectly symmetrical. I was so occupied by keeping myself busy that I showed up a minute-and-a-half late to the gym. The other classes were already walking single-file down the hallway in my direction in total silence. Every student had their hands locked behind their backs like shackled inmates; later I would learn they were trained to walk that way since kindergarten to keep them from pushing and shoving in line.

Posted in Along the River Anthology Series - Tagged Daniel Tyx, short story

¡Juventud! to Feature Award-Winning Authors

Apr23
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Editor

In January 2013, VAO Publishing will release ¡Juventud! Growing up on the Border: Stories and Poetry. Edited by René Saldaña, Jr. (author of The Jumping Tree, The Whole Sky Full of Stars, A Good Long Way) and Erika Garza-Johnson, this YA anthology will feature work by notable authors David Rice, Xavier Garza, Álvaro Rodríguez, Diana López, and others.

Posted in News, Young Adult Fiction - Tagged anthology, David Rice, Erika Garza-Johnson, René Saldaña Jr., Xavier Garza

VAO Celebrates Poetry #2: No, Trovador

Apr23
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Editor

To celebrate National Poetry Month, we will be posting some of the many outstanding poems from Along the River. Here is the poem for which Verónica Sandoval took second prize.

No, Trovador

No, Trovador
I will not let you sing to me about love
I will not be another conquest de guitarra y amores de México
Yo no soy tu Amorcito Corazón
Tu muñeca de cuerda
I will not wait que salga la luna
I do not need your cositas bonitas
Quiero ser como Chavela Vargas
Quiero ser La Negra
Quiero nunca tener que engrasar las ejes de mi carreta
Quiero amar
a mi manera.

-Verónica Sandoval

Posted in Poetry - Tagged Chavela Vargas, Verónica Sandoval

VAO Celebrates Poetry #1: McAllen Morning

Apr03
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Editor

To celebrate National Poetry Month, we will be posting some of the many outstanding poems from Along the River. First up we have the poem for which Richard D. Givens took first prize.

MCALLEN MORNING

Sunrise in McAllen…
A brochure flutters along the curb
Behind the lone street sweeper
Making the only strip of moisture the day will see.
The colored pamphlet flashes photos of citrus,
Early landmarks, airlines at Miller Field,
Places to dine under a palmed paradise.

Rings of activity yawn with firing burners.
The waft of tortillas spread from the inner core
As pesos for migas are traded in serious Tex-Mex.
Pigeons flap from phone poles to browse the park.

The surrounding commercial district has not yet begun.
Managers and staff will magically appear at their desks
In an hour. Meanwhile, Mexican Yellowheads make noisy
Lime-green circles in an air race around the library.

Farther out, neighborhoods void themselves of children in cars;
A moment’s stop at school, then on to work, wherever.
Through the windshield, receding orchards pass.
Four-wheeled concert halls blare Selena, Reba, Smashing Pumpkins.

At the outer ring, retirees in plaid shorts exit new homes
To fiddle in the garden, or to meet other pensioners for golf.
The driveways are white, the trees are small,
The early air is filled with saws and the smell of pine lumber.

Holding the rings together are streets and phone wires
But more importantly, places to meet and unite in ideas
Of interest to both languages and cultures;
At school, church, the museum, Luby’s, El Posito, H.E.B.,
From North and South to McAllen; only a river divides.

Richard D. Givens

Posted in Poetry - Tagged American poets, Hidalgo County Texas, McAllen Texas, Poetry, Richard D. Givens

FESTIBA: Jardín del Arte

Mar29
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Editor

VAO Publishing will have a table at tomorrow’s Jardín del Arte, a community festival taking place at the Edinburg City Hall from 5 to 10 pm. This event is part of the annual Festival of International Books and Arts (FESTIBA), created in 2006 to promote an interest and appreciation for reading and early literacy, celebrate and appreciate the arts and humanities, and broaden cultural awareness within the South Texas community.

Drop by if you have a chance: there will be books and t-shirts for sale, as well as information about Valley Artistic Outreach and its mission.

UPDATE
Here’s a photo from the event:

From 3/30/12

Posted in News - Tagged Edinburg City Hall, Edinburg Texas, FESTIBA

Combustible Sinners Launches at Local Museum

Mar21
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Editor

The Donna Hooks Fletcher Historical Museum will be hosting its monthly artist reception at the town’s Historical Donna News Building, 129 S. 8th Street, on March 30, from 4:30 to 6 pm.

March’s “Evening of Art” is the latest in an ongoing series of celebrations of exhibits hosted by the museum. Admission is free, and hors d’oeuvre will be served.

This month’s reception honors the work of author Myra Infante, whose first book is released this month, and Nicol Bowles, an artist whose work is on display at the museum throughout the month of March.

Myra Infante lives and teaches in the Rio Grande Valley. She received her MFA in Creative Writing at The University of Texas Pan American. Myra has traveled with the UTPA Study Abroad program to England, Spain, France, and Italy. She plans to spend her life teaching, writing, and traveling. Her first book, Combustible Sinners and Other Stories, is being released by VAO Publishing on March 27. The collection of short fiction brings to life the familiar yet freshly different world of a community of Hispanics in the RGV and northern Mexico.

Nicol Bowles is a resident of Donna. An accomplished photographer, painter and graphic artist, Nicol has had work exhibited at Douglas Clark Studio, the McAllen Library, Peace & Coffee, Roosevelts at 7, and other venues. She has designed the covers of several books, including Combustible sinners and Other Stories, as well as logos, flyers, web sites and t-shirts for a host of local organizations. In addition to her work as co-director of the non-profit Valley Artistic Outreach, Nicol is pursuing a degree in graphic design. She is also director and head editor of the literary magazine Gallery.

For further information, contact Dalia Jiménez or Elvira Tovar at 956-464-9989 or e-mail them at dmuseum_edu@yahoo.com. The exhibit is open to the public during normal museum hours, Tuesday through Saturday, from 9 am to 3 pm each day.

Posted in News - Tagged Myra Infante, Nicol Bowles

Border Noir Submission Period Closed

Mar01
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Editor

The window for submissions for Border Noir is now closed. We will be notifying writers who submitted pieces by March 17.

Posted in News

Hardcover Editions

Feb27
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Editor

VAO Publishing is thrilled to announced that Overlooked Books will be distributing hard-cover rebound editions of all of our titles. Visit their website to learn more: http://www.texasoverlookedbooks.com