Missing: The Underground Literary Alliance

Years ago, the Underground Literary Alliance (ULA) was supposed to have an anthology out, a best of The Slush Pile zine.  It even had an Amazon page at one point; in fact, it still does, though I have no idea where that cover came from as it has nothing to do with the book, and I doubt it will still have that title.  The editor, Steve Kostecke, worked on the book for years, but unfortunately it never came out and the group broke up and Steve died.  I always wanted to read the book and Steve worked so hard on it that it was very disappointing that it never got published.

Well, cut to me getting rid of some stuff, including some old ULA zines.  Since many of these zines were rare, it seemed a shame not to do something with them.  That combined with some free time due to the COVID-19 panic has led me to attempt to finish the anthology as a free pdf/epub ebook and as a tribute to Steve.  So far, work is going well, but there are some ULAers I have not been able to reach yet.  If you are or are in contact with any of the following, please email or tell them to email me at wredfright WHEREIT'SAT YAHOO DOT COMM, as I would like to include you/them in the anthology:  Doug Bassett, The Urban Hermitt, J. D. Finch, Susan America, Tim Hall, Jessica Disobedience, Yul Tolbert, Marissa Ranello, James Nowlan, and Pat Simonelli.

Some of them I have reached out to, but maybe they're slow on email.  Nearly everyone else I've reached, though some still need to approve their proofs and whatnot.  A few others I have not gotten to yet, but I am working on it.  Those are Christopher Robin, Adam Hardin, Victor Schwartzman, Eric "Jelly Boy the Clown" Broomfield, Matthew Broomfield, Cynthia Ruth-Lewis, Mark Brunetti, Rita Webb, and Phillip Routh.  They are welcome to get in touch in the meantime, as that would save me hunting down contact information for them.

Everyone else should check their email, mailbox, or voicemail and get back to me.  If you declined to be included and you change your mind, then please don't be shy about getting back in touch.  And if you were in the ULA, and you haven't been reached yet already, then my apologies and please get in touch.

Steve also wanted to include two non-ULAers in the anthology, but writers who did contribute to ULA publications:  Cullen Carter and Cry Bloxsome.  I am not superhot on this idea (no offense to the writers, who are quite good, but I have enough trouble wrangling the official ULAers as is without any extras in the mix), but I am quite willing to abide by Steve's wishes.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to reach either of them either despite multiple attempts.  So Cullen and Cry, if you want to be involved, get in touch by the deadline, which is a.s.a.p.

On a sadder note, some ULAers have died in the intervening time.  Some such as Jack Saunders and Lisa Falour agreed to be in the anthology back when Steve was editing it, so they will be included.  The other deceased--George Balgobin, Joe Pachinko, and Joseph Verrilli--I don't have permission to use their work unfortunately.  I would very much like to, but tracking down the living ULAers is enough of a pain.  Nevertheless, if any next of kin or estate executors want to get in touch and give such permission in writing, then I will be happy to include the deceased writers in the anthology.

I hope to have the project done as soon as possible, but certainly by October in time for the ULA's 20th anniversary.  I will, of course, announce on the blog when it's out.

If you can't wait and need something to read now, then my latest novel is available here.