SMILE, HON leaves the beaten path

BALTIMORE, Md. – If main-street facades embody the stuffy front parlors of urban existence, then alleyways are certainly its living quarters, a place where collars are opened, tongues are relaxed, and business gets done.

Group of employees and several small boys in the littered alley entrance to a Baltimore garment factory, 1921. Source: National Archives.

Now, through July 1, 2012, literary byway Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore! is accepting stories, essays, poetry, photography and other artwork that creatively interpret the theme of “alleyways” for an upcoming special issue.  Creative non-fiction is preferred, though all submissions will be considered.  Copy (100 – 2,000 words) should be submitted via e-mail as attached Word (or text) documents.  Image files should be approximately 5" x 7", 300+ dpi (.JPG or .TIF format).  All contributors will receive a byline/artist credit for their work as well as two (2) complimentary copies of the issue.

From the harbor to the hills, Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! collects the tales of those on whom Mobtown has left her indelible mark. Polished, professional essays; barroom sermons delivered from the sanctity of a favorite stool; the poet's fleeting sentiment, captured in both word and snapshot – Smile, Hon offers a slice of Baltimore as told by Baltimore, presented with the time-honored DIY accessibility of a limited-run, handcrafted zine. A two-time Utne Independent Press Award Nominee, Smile, Hon has also been dubbed "Best Zine" by Baltimore Magazine (2008) and Baltimore City Paper (2004). Other special theme issues have tackled such subjects as sex, rats, tattoos and waste.

An Eight-Stone Press production, Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! is available locally for purchase at Atomic Books (Baltimore, MD); City Lights Books (San Francisco, CA) Cyclops Books & Music (Baltimore, MD); Microcosm Publishing (Bloomington, IN, and Portland, OR); Quimby's (Chicago, IL); Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse (Baltimore, MD) and Ukazoo Books (Towson, MD).

For more information, contact:

William P. Tandy, Editor

Eight-Stone Press

P.O. Box 11064

Baltimore, Maryland 21212

E-mail: Wpt@eightstonepress.com

Website: http://www.eightstonepress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wptandy

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eightstonepress

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