Kickstarter

EXPLODING PINECONE CHAPBOOK SERIES

One of our best friends is a recovering addict. He got into a lot of trouble in high school. First it was alcohol, then prescription pills, then the harder stuff. Then fights. Then a criminal record. Then a growing list of hospitals and institutions. We all know this story.

But then, something magical happened. He discovered poetry. With help from friends and family, schools and books, our friend turned his life around. Today, he travels around the country, performing his poetry and telling his story to young people who need to hear it. He’s an accomplished poet and a good man.

And yet, while this man writes and performs and works and tours in order to change the lives of young people (and grown folks, too), he is not living a sustainable life as an artist. And he is not alone.

In order to build a sustainable life in the arts, poets need more than bus tickets and tour dates. Poets need the experience and accomplishments to help build their careers as artists--accomplishments to include in school applications, grant proposals, and so forth. We want to do our small part to help.

We here at Button Poetry are excited to announce the Exploding Pinecone Chapbook Series. We will accept submissions of chapbook-length manuscripts (20-ish pages) from poets across the country in hopes of publishing the work of talented and deserving artists. The chapbook is a way for poets to continue developing their craft, to have sellable products to leave in the hands of their audiences, and to have a tangible example of the kinds of work and experience they’ve done when it comes time to take their careers to the next level.

Our chapbooks will be professionally made books, complete with ISBN’s and glossy covers. Our goal is to publish great poetry in a format that the poet can be proud of. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP

You can help us reach this goal by partnering with us on Kickstarter and becoming a backer. Contributing $5 or more earns you a .PDF copy of the first chapbook we publish; contributing $20 or more earns you both a digital and a physical copy of our first chapbook; contributing $50 or more earns you those rewards, a .PDF copy of the second chapbook we publish, and a copy of the first Button Poetry CD. All contributors earn our undying gratitude and love. And this is all or nothing: if we don't reach our goal of $500, we don't get anything. Your contributions will help us publish high quality books and develop new marketing and distribution networks for our authors.

WHO ARE WE?

Sam Cook and Michael Mlekoday. Sam is the Slammaster of the Soapboxing Poetry Slam in Saint Paul, MN. Michael is Poetry Editor of Indiana Review and an MFA candidate at Indiana University. We’re both National Poetry Slam Champions and published poets.