Literary Earthquake

Holy Macaroni!

Wufniks has been a busy little beaver these past couple of weeks. Be proud of us! To all of you who came to our launch party last week at Revolution we thank you in every language we can remember. So: thank you. To those of you who purchased a copy of wufniks issue #1 or #2 we are now best friends with you and will teach you the secret handshake very soon. The launch party was a first-rate affair filled with lovely readings by such luminaries as Xiena Saeed, Chris Smith, Matt Hull, E.M. Taylor, Tim Russell, and A.J. Adams. We had a great time listening to the wonderful stories and hope that you did too. Any comments about the evening would be great. You can email us or comment on our site, right here. This place. Hi.

We are dreaming in our wildest dreams of doing another party to celebrate words in general but — first! — we need to put out more issues for you to love and buy. Remember, every penny, nickel, and dime from a sale of wufniks goes right back into making more and more lovely magazines. We need more magazines.

Well lads and lasses, chaps and chicks, girls and boys, the Issue #3 deadline has passed and we are now in the assembly stages. ∴ the time has come to announce our Writer’s Challenge for Issue #4. As the wily few of you know, each issue of wufniks features an exclusive challenge from an author that gets our word waters warm. So. Issue #4? Zadie Smith. Wait, what’s that? Yes… Zadie Smith has been sweethearted enough to provide a challenge that is as grand as it is beautiful. Read it here. She is a wufniks lovepot of the heartthrobbingest variety. Thank you, Zadie.

More things: our 100-word obituaries are multiplying. We now have up to N for Nick Adams. The prospect of who O might be is almost too much for us.

Ah! Yet more news! Wufniks now has expanded (like the noblest of gases) into cyberspace. The fact is, if you want to find wufniks, you – as a bushy-tailed computer user – can now go directly to www.wufniks.com. As George Bernard Shaw once said, thimplicity is thexy. (Poor, lisping GBS.) A further fact: if you want to email us, you can use either the usual address or wufniks@wufniks.com. It sounds like a fun thing to do.

Last thing’s last. We are looking into the magic world of PayPal (“boo”?) as a means of receiving subscription orders. Our address there is wufniks@wufniks.com. Please contact us if you think this is a good idea or have any questions, or if you’d like to sign up for back, current, or future issues.

Here is the much-benigned Raccoons theme-tune for your wonderment and joy.

Once again, thanks to all who attended the launch, thanks to those who read, and to Revolution, Oxford Road, for providing a great vomit-free venue. Gracias! Merci! Guten Tag!
Now our eyes are dry and itchy with love, or possibly sleepiness.

dee eye ess sea oh,

Much Rejoicing

Gadzooks!

Issue #2 is nearly done. Imagine – it is in the kiln right now, taking shape. Soon it will be cautiously picked out and juggled from hand to hand, and then set down on a windowsill to cool. What a lovely bunch of stories we have. And the pictures – they are something else. And while we’re on the subject, let’s not forget the paper itself, which has been as reliable and subservient as ever. Yes, Issue #2 is looking like it was a good idea. Issue #2’s doing alright.

There are more things to tell you.

One of them is this: the 100-word obituaries have been updated. We now have everything up to the letter I. That’s I for Ichabod Crane; the rest you’ll have to find out for yourself. Remember: if you have a raggedy old obituary of a fictional character sitting in a desk drawer looking doe-eyed and under-fed, send it on over. We have the facilities to care for them. Once we’ve finished the alphabet, perhaps we’ll start on those arcane special characters, like this one: ~. What is that wriggling thing? Write its obit!

Secondly, we have been sent our very first book review by Mariana Prescott of the online literary quarterly, Enotion. Thanks Mariana! The review (of BF Stribling’s new collection, Without Showing Off) can be found here. Really, click it and see – it’s there. See?

I think that was it.

Except of course: Issue #3! Don’t forget to keep sending us your ripe homegrown wordplums. And join in the madness which is Irvine Welsh’s Challenge. Inter-species intercourse! That is quite literally phwit-phwoo.

Also – Scribble out that April 16th diary-entry reminding you to wash the dog or make prawn paella, and replace it with the simple, spunky word ‘Wufniks’. Because that’s the night of our launch party at Revolution on Oxford Road when you should come and be our friend. More info here.

Last but not least: The Big Snit. (3 minutes 8 seconds really makes me tinkle.)

Here’s hoping you’re like a good breakfast: healthy, hearty and full of Chilean cherries,