82 Proof

The first of the last swathe of proof reading material arrived on Monday, in preparation for the 2013 launch. I'm pleased that ordering from blurb.com is an efficient and fairly speedy service - it usually takes just under a week for an ordered book to arrive.

I was originally going to publish 82 scores solely as a paperback in colour but, on reflection, felt it would be best for it to be part of the initial b&w quartet I am going to publish in July. This also keeps it in line with the cost of the other paperbacks.

However, in addition, I've decided to release a colour, hardback version of the scores - signed - to accommodate those who don't mind spending a bit more and would welcome something robust for throwing at a tone-deaf partner/barking dog/Justin Bieber etc.*




* this is a joke. 82 scores does not condone violent actions (unless they are in the creation of music ;-)

Alembic 2013

After a timely pause I am back here to describe my artlife over the past year; April 2012 has become April 2013 all too quickly.

My main focus has been on writing (poetry and experimental texts) and the relaunching of my imprint, Alembic Books, for these digital times.

In some ways, this has been a natural progression from my involvement in Songs of Garden Guitars, A Tapestry of British Birdsong and Books in Sound and Light as each of these has featured an interactive notebook or similar, and all have been underpinned by creative writing in their development (see previous blog entries).

I began Alembic in 1990, just after I graduated, as a means of keeping my artwork going. Initially, I began this independent imprint to publish my book of music directives '52 Scores' (which began as scores written for my degree). This was quickly followed by a succession of titles: '11 more scores', 'Positions', 'Poems and other insects' and more performative works: 'A Book Thrown Into the Sea' and its sequel (at the suggestion of Katie Buckley) 'A Book Dunked Into some Tea'. Other books and collaborations were also worked on but not published including 'Collages' with Oona Campbell and 'Khartoun' with Geoff Stocker.

In 2012, I decided I would take advantage of the new publishing opportunities opened up by the internet and the proliferation of the digital devices and reinvent Alembic Books to allow my voice to be heard, once again, but this time by a larger audience.

After a series of trial runs, I decided to use Blurb.com to publish my work via POD. The first four books will be released on the 31st July 2013 with several more planned. New works will include a second book of poetry, a book of cartoons by Geoff Stocker and more experimental writings.

Today, I created a facebook page for Alembic: www.facebook.com/AlembicBooks
and will be exploring other promotional outlets over the next few months.

More on my bookworks and writings will be posted soon.