Get Your Read On!

If you are an emerging writer, it is essential that you book readings. What is a reading you ask? A reading is an event that usually lasts for at least thirty minutes to an hour where the author reads excerpts from his or her book. Most readings are held at bookstores, colleges, and libraries. A great resource to find out about potential reading venues can be found online at Literary Places on Poets & Writers.

Speaking about reading? Fiction writer Mary B. Banks participated in the 2012 Emerging Voices Project at the University of Baltimore last June. She read four stories from her debut short story collection, Street Magic: Stories and Tales, which included “Elvis,” “The Baltimoreans: A Case Study,” “Number Blues,” and “Lost and Found.” Check out the reading below!

A Mini-Interview with the Author of Street Magic

Mary B. Banks holding her book, Street Magic: Stories and Tales.

La Muse Press caught up with Mary B. Banks, author of Street Magic: Stories and Tales (2011). The 26-year-old, who is also the co-owner of La Muse Press, answered the following questions about her gritty debut collection, which is now available at Atomic Books for $12.

1. What inspired you to write Street Magic? 

When I wrote Street Magic, I didn’t write the stories with the idea that they would eventually become a short story collection. They were stories I wrote while attending the University of Baltimore to earn a MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts.   

2. How would you describe your writing?

I like to write stories that have an aural quality to them. I want the characters to speak directly to the reader without having the distance that a third-person narration usually brings. Sometimes my writing can be humorous, other times it can be sad. For example, “Lost and Found” is about two inner-city girls who find a discarded baby in the trash, and one of the girls, Janie, views the discarded baby as “one of those expensive babies that I wish I had.” There is “Number Blues” which is set in Chicago’s South Side during the 50s and the protagonist, Angela Thompson, is a domestic worker who yearns for her illegal number to hit. Then there is “Love Dust” that is about a young girl, the daughter of Pastor Crawford, who casts love spells on her next door neighbor, Leroy.  

3. How did you choose the stories in Street Magic?

I chose the stories that spoke to me the most, the ones that had a strong emotional overtone. I also chose stories that had magical, surreal elements in them. My classmates and professors at UB also were pivotal in helping to shape the collection. When I turned in my first draft of the collection for workshop, my classmates gave me useful feedback on which stories didn’t quite fit and others that they wanted to see included. For example, I had a story entitled, “Country Boys,” about two escapees from the mental ward which didn’t really fit with the other stories. “Lost and Found” and “Number Blues” were added to the collection with the suggestion of my classmates.

4. What advice would you give emerging writers?

Write, write, and write. Join a writing workshop. Read as much as possible. I also recommend that emerging writers began to create an online presence such as blogging and use social media to network. Stay up-to-date on what is happening in publishing.

For more information about Mary B. Banks, visit her website, The Writing Zone, and follow her on Twitter (mbanks6).

A New Release–Street Magic: Stories and Tales

$12 paperback

La Muse Press has just published its debut book, Street Magic: Stories and Tales (2011). It is a collection of nine stories that are gritty and unusual. Here is the table of contents to whet your appetite:

Testimony: Eve re-tells her version of the events that took place in the Garden of Eden. 

The Watchers: A deceased grandmother narrates her grandson’s tragic love triangle.

The Baltimoreans: A Case Study: A fabricated historical account of segregation in Baltimore.

Elvis: An African-American prophet who hears a voice that foreshadows his death.

Lost and Found: Two African-American girls discover a white baby in the trashcan.

Number Blues: In order to escape Chicago’s Southside, a young woman yearns for her number to hit.

Love Dust: A church girl, who is obsessed with her new neighbor, casts love spells.

Crazy Witchy: Two narratives about an outcast in a small Southern town.

The Inhabitants of a Peculiar Community: A Qualitative Report, July 9, 1975: An adolescent girl chronicles the outrageous behavior of the “characters” in her neighborhood.

Mary B. Banks, the author of Street Magic: Stories and Tales, will read a selection from her book during the MFA student reading held at the University of Baltimore, Student Center, 5th Floor on Friday May 6th at 7:30 pm located on 21 West Mount Royal Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201. She will sell the paperback books for $12 at the event. If you are unable to attend, but would like to order a book, click here.