Recent News


Regulus Press Announces
2023 LITERARY TAXIDERMY WRITING WORKSHOPS


28 April 2023 — Curious about literary taxidermy? Interested in becoming a literary taxidermist yourself? Regulus Press invites you to participate in two upcoming Literary Taxidermy Writing Workshops for a unique and creative way to jump-start your writing process and explore new avenues for literary creativity. Both workshops are over Zoom (so international participants are welcome!) and will provide personalized feedback in a supportive and encouraging environment. Come meet your fellow taxidermists in THE ART OF LITERARY TAXIDERMY (one 90-minute session) and STUFFED WITH WORDS: CRAFTING A COMPLETE LITERARY TAXIDERMY (one 60-minute session followed a week later by one 90-minute session). Whether you are an experienced writer, just starting out, new to the idea of literary taxidermy, or an old hand at stitching together stories and poems, these workshops will provide writers with valuable tools and techniques. You can learn about the current workshop offerings here: Literary Taxidermy Workshops. Early bird prices available until May 13th. Space is very limited, so sign up soon!   ★   Visit Workshop and Competition Website.


Regulus Press Announces
2022 LITERARY TAXIDERMY COMPETITION RESULTS


2 December 2022 — Regulus Press announces the honorable mentions, finalists, and winners of the 2022 Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition. This year's anthology is called I FOUND HAPPINESS & TRAGEDY and it includes the twenty finalists, selected anonymously by the editors of Regulus Press and the competition's judges. Writers, professional and amateur, came from around the globe — including the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. But also Hungary, Belgium, China, Egypt, Romania, Slovenia, Cyprus, Netherlands, Estonia, Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Spain, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Sweden, France, Japan, Jamaica, Nigeria, Israel, Ukraine, and many others. They ranged in age from 25 to 78 years old. This year's short story winner was CLARE KATE MAHON, an Irish teacher and doctoral student living in Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and author of the short story “The Stone.” The poetry winner was TRUDI PETERSEN, a nurse and shop-owner living in Wales in the United Kingdom, and author of the poem “Valparaiso.” The competition anthology is available now, as digital download or paperback.   ★   Visit Competition Website.


Regulus Press Announces
THE FIFTH LITERARY TAXIDERMY COMPETITION


1 May 2022 — Regulus Press announces the Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition for 2022. Showcasing a new generation of contemporary writers and poets, the Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition is returning for its fifth year. The competition awards original works of short fiction and poetry under 2000 words, and is open to all writers, in all genres. The catch: We provide your opening and closing lines chosen from classic works of literature — you provide the rest. Last year, aspiring writers were offered the opening and closing lines from two works by modernist author Katherine Mansfield. This year, writers will create stories and poems inspired by the words of Agatha Christie, Langston Hughes, A. A. Milne, and Edgar Allan Poe. The winning story and poem will each receive USD $500 and runners-up will receive USD $50. In addition, winners and runners-up will be published by Regulus Press in a forthcoming 2022 Anthology of Literary Taxidermy. The competition is open to professional and amateur writers from around the globe. The idea originated in a book of short stories called The Gymnasium by Mark Malamud. You can read all about the previous four competitions here: Previous Competitions.  ★   Visit Competition Website.


Regulus Press Announces
2021 LITERARY TAXIDERMY COMPETITION RESULTS


26 November 2021 — Regulus Press announces the honorable mentions, finalists, and winners of the 2021 Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition. This year's anthology is called THE ART of DEATH and it includes the twenty finalists and winning stories and poems, selected anonymously by the editors of Regulus Press and the competition's judges. Writers, professional and amateur, came from around the globe — including the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Panama, Canada, Iceland, Ireland, Philippines, India, Zimbabwe, Finland, South Africa, Italy, the Russian Federation, Belgium, Singapore and Denmark. But also Romania, Nigeria, Malaysia, Germany, Switzerland, France, and others. They ranged in age from 17 to 84 years old. This year's short story winner was LAURA LOTT, a student living in the Midlands, UK, and author of the short story “The View from Here.” This year's poetry winner was EMMA LAMONT-MESSER, a former lawyer living in Auckland, New Zealand, and author of the poem “Daleko Tea.” The competition anthology is available now, as digital download or paperback.   ★   Visit Competition Website.

Regulus Press Announces
LABIOVELORA


10 November 2021 — Regulus Press announces the publication of Labiovelora by Mark Malamud. "The time of our birth is tattooed on our left forearms, time corrected by the Equation of Time. I was born in Frost and Folly in the Summer of August, in the year 2007. I was born at six in the Labiovelora. I was given the miscegenation pattern when I became a woman. I was ten years old...."   Between the end of one day and the start of the next, there are twelve hidden hours, an interval perceived only by those born during midnight’s midnight, also known as the Labiovelora. But those twelve hours are fragile, and it’s up to one young woman—and the insatiable monster she carries inside her—to keep the Labiovelora safe. Set in Providence, Rhode Island, a city that despite the best efforts of upscale marketers is still best known for H. P. Lovecraft and Buddy Cianci, Labiovelora is a nightmarish tale of survival and sex, where it turns out that what you don’t know can hurt you. And you know so very little....   ☆   "Darkly comic, frightening, and uncomfortably sexy." (Ingrid Bell, Nomenclature)   ☆   “A propulsive narrative that takes you straight to hell.” (Iron Press)   ☆   “Surreal and provocative, Labiovelora peels back the veneer of our unknowable reality to reveal...something far more disturbing.” (Seamus Grosse, Dormouse Review)   ★   Available Now.


Regulus Press Announces
THE FOURTH LITERARY TAXIDERMY COMPETITION


14 August 2021 — Regulus Press announces the Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition for 2021. In association with a New Zealand arts exhibition called STILL LIFE | WILD PLACES, showcasing a new generation of contemporary artists, including taxidermists, the Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition is returning for its fourth year. The competition awards original works of short fiction under 2000 words, and is open to all writers, in all genres. The catch: We provide your opening and closing lines chosen from classic works of literature — you provide the rest. Last year, aspiring writers were offered the opening and closing lines from Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Beloved by Toni Morrison. This year, writers may choose to craft stories from two works by New Zealand modernist Katherine Mansfield: the opening and closing lines from "The Black Monkey" and "Je ne parle pas français." The winning story will receive USD $500 and runners-up will receive USD $50. In addition, winners and runners-up will be published by Regulus Press in a forthcoming 2021 Anthology of Literary Taxidermy, pubished as part of the Still Life | Wild Places exhibition. The competition is open to professional and amateur writers from around the globe. The idea originated in a book of short stories called The Gymnasium by Mark Malamud. You can read all about the previous three competitions here: Previous Competitions.  ★   Visit Competition Website.


Regulus Press Announces
2020 LITERARY TAXIDERMY COMPETITION RESULTS


27 October 2020 — Regulus Press announces the honorable mentions, finalists, and winner of the 2020 Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition. This year's omnibus anthology is called 34 STORIES / 124 BELOVED and it includes the twenty finalists and winning stories from the Aldous Huxley and Toni Morrison contests, selected anonymously by the editors of Regulus Press and the competition's judges. Writers, professional and amateur, came from around the globe — including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Spain, New Zealand, and Ireland. But also Thailand, India, Bolivia, Egypt, France, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Nigeria, Syria, and others. They ranged in age from 16 to 78 years old. This year's Huxley winner was AMANDA LA BAS DE PLUMETOT, a writer in Melbourne, Australia, for the short story “Cornucopia.” This year's Morrison winner was ERIKA BAUER, a teacher in Michigan, for the short story “You Know, He Knew, I Said.” The omnibus anthology is available now, as digital download or paperback. Standalone paperback editions of both anthologies are also available. Don't miss the competition that Stephen Ross Capulet calls "A re-invention of the re-write, perhaps even a re-invention of the short story itself."   ★   Visit Competition Website.


Regulus Press Announces
SUBMISSION PERIOD ENDS FOR LITERARY TAXIDERMY COMPETITION


04 June 2020 — The submission period has closed for the 2020 Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition. Thank you, everyone, for your enthusiasm and participation — it's been a thrilling few months! We're still processing many of your submissions, so if you've sent us a story in the last few days, it may take a few more days before you receive confirmation. (If you haven't heard from us in a week, let us know.) Of course just because the submission phase of the competition is over, it doesn't mean our work is done. In fact, now comes the fun part! Over the next few weeks we will be distributing your work to our editorial team so they can read the thrilling heterogeneity of your 2020 stories, poems, and epistles. Once our editors have reviewed every story, we will be passing your best work to our illustrious judges. Winners, runners-up, and honorable mentions with be announced sometime in the late summer or early fall, with the publication of this year's anthology shortly thereafter. The idea of literary taxidermy originated in a book of short stories called The Gymnasium by Mark Malamud, published by Regulus Press.  ★   Visit Competition Website.

Regulus Press Announces
THE TIMELESS MACHINE


15 May 2020 — Regulus Press announces the publication of The Timeless Machine by Mark Malamud. Most sequels pick up where the story they follow ends. The Timeless Machine picks up where H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine begins. The place is Richmond, a suburb south-west of London. And something terrible—or wonderful—has happened. An English scientist, known only as the Time Traveler, has invented a machine.... An entertaining fusion of Victorian certainty with postmodern doubt, The Timeless Machine rewrites H. G. Wells’ original novella to explore the limitations and contradictions of living with grief. What starts as a classic science fiction adventure twists into a parody of The Time Machine—and then a satire of rationality, an exposé of loss, and a existential meditation on the necessity of fiction. And then, and then, and then.   ☆   "It's nearly impossible to find a new take on time travel. This is it." (Nina Corner, ECFP)   ☆   “Whether you’re a fan of science fiction or meta-fiction, The Timeless Machine won’t disappoint.” (Shane Kelley, Enough)   ☆   “A curious yet touching story about grappling with one's grief.” (re/ART)   ☆   “H. G. Wells, Robert Coover, and Jorge Luis Borges walk into a bar. This is the story that might come out.” (Natalie Warren, Word Count)   ★   Available Now.


Regulus Press Announces
THE THIRD LITERARY TAXIDERMY COMPETITION


19 March 2020 — Regulus Press announces the Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition for 2020. The competition awards original works of short fiction under 2500 words, and is open to all writers, in all genres. The catch: We provide your opening and closing lines chosen from classic works of literature — you provide the rest. Last year, aspiring writers were offered the opening and closing lines from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This year, writers may choose to craft stories from two works: the opening and closing lines from Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Beloved by Toni Morrison. The winning story will receive USD $500 and runners-up will receive USD $50. In addition, winners and runners-up will be published by Regulus Press in a forthcoming 2020 Anthology of Literary Taxidermy. The competition is open to professional and amateur writers from around the globe. The idea originated in a book of short stories called The Gymnasium by Mark Malamud. You can read all about previous years' competitions here: The 2018 and 2019 Competitions.  ★   Visit Competition Website.


Regulus Press Announces
2019 LITERARY TAXIDERMY COMPETITION RESULTS


25 October 2019 — Regulus Press announces the honorable mentions, finalists, and winner of the 2019 Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition. This year's anthology is called PLEASURE TO BURN and it includes the twenty-one finalists and winning story from the Ray Bradbury contest, selected anonymously by the editors of Regulus Press and the competition's judges. Writers, professional and amateur, came from around the globe — including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and Ireland. But also India, Switzerland, Peru, China, Pakistan, France, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Israel, Panama, and others. They ranged in age from 18 to 75 years old. This year's winning story was "Sunshade, Starlight" by CUIFEN CHEN, a student in Singapore working towards her MA in Creative Writing. The anthology is available now, as paperback or digital download. Don't miss the competition that Stephen Ross Capulet calls "A re-invention of the re-write, perhaps even a re-invention of the short story itself."   ★   Visit Competition Website.

Regulus Press Announces
ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS


15 May 2019 — Regulus Press announces the publication of On the Orient Express, a daring act of narrative modification and and reinterpretation. By altering an event early in Christie's novel — there is no murder — the remaining text must adjust to accommodate the absence of the crime. The result is a transformation of the original novel into something entirely different: an expression of redemption rather than of revenge. By holding up a near-perfect mirror to the original text — nudging it as little as possible — certain conflicts otherwise neglected in Christie's work are exposed: notably, our urge to wound vs. our desire to heal. On the Orient Express is a parody, but it's also an academic exploration of the work, raising questions about creative appropriation, narrative reinterpretation, and the means of critical analysis. It is not intended to diminish the entertainment or market value of the original work, but rather to expand the ways we can think about it, academic criticism, and art in general.   ☆   “It's as if someone returned from an alternate universe and handed you a copy of Christie's alternate novel.” (Marta von Baugh, Verbal Helix)   ☆   “The transformation of Christie’s text is simple but ingenious.” (re/ART)   ★   Signed Limited First Edition available only from Regulus Press. Standard Second Edition also available.


Regulus Press Announces
THE SECOND LITERARY TAXIDERMY COMPETITION


19 March 2019 — Regulus Press announces the Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition for 2019. The competition awards original works of short fiction under 2500 words, and is open to all writers, in all genres. The catch: We provide your opening and closing lines chosen from a classic work of literature — you provide the rest. Last year, aspiring writers were offered the opening and closing lines from The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett, Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, and "A Telephone Call" by Dorothy Parker. This year, the opening and closing lines come from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The winning story will receive USD $500 and runners-up will receive USD $50. In addition, winners and runners-up will be published by Regulus Press in a forthcoming 2019 Anthology of Literary Taxidermy. The competition is open to professional and amateur writers from around the globe, and this year's judges include Catherine Barnett, Kelley Eskridge, Christine S. O'Brien, Brian Parks, Michael Pronko, Becky Selengut, Melora Wolff, and Nisi Shawl. The idea originated in a book of short stories called The Gymnasium by Mark Malamud. You can read all about last year's competition here: The 2018 Competition.  ★   Visit Competition Website.


Regulus Press Announces
A POCKETFUL OF FISH


9 March 2019 — Regulus Press announces the release of an omnibus collection of poetry by Choo 3T Fish, bringing together in one volume several of his most popular collections of poetry, including Swimming through the Darkness; Roe, Row, Roe Your Boat; and Will You Hold My Breath. Born in China, but greatly influenced by his graduate studies at Harvard in the early 1960s, Mr. Fish is considered one of North America's most redoubtable poets, credited with coining the phrase "iambic rentameter," originally to describe his own work.   ☆   “You cannot understand the arc of the arts in the last-half of the 20th Century without a thorough grounding in the poetry of Choo 3T Fish." (Richard Bledsoe, National Poet Laureate)   ☆   “Like the lark at break of day arising from sullen earth, these poems rise like a bloated deep-sea mackeral from the stony abyss. There is something profoundly life-altering in the poetry of Choo 3T Fish." (Jai Whills, Gendertermined)   ☆   “The short poem 'love tuna wobble-wobble' quite literally changed the course my life." (Dash Hilary, Riker's Review)   ☆   “Between the Beats and the Fluxists is the Fish." (Saryn Serantelli, Norton's Poetry Review)   ☆   “Delightfully fishy poetry." (Karen Colt)   ★   Available Now.


Regulus Press Announces
2018 LITERARY TAXIDERMY COMPETITION RESULTS


2 November 2018 — Regulus Press announces the finalists and winners of the Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition; and, thanks to the incredible response to this year's competition and the outstanding quality of the submissions, has published not one, not two, but three anthologies of literary taxidermy. ONE THING WAS CERTAIN includes the finalists and winning story from the Lewis Carroll contest, AGAINST THE BAR includes the finalists and winning story from the Dashiell Hammett contest, and TELEPHONE ME NOW includes the finalists and winning story from the Dorothy Parker contest. Writers, professional and amateur, came from around the globe — including the United States, Canada, Germany, Belgium, France, China, India, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. And this year's three competition winners came from the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Each anthology contains sixteen to twenty stories, selected anonymously by the editors of Regulus Press and the competition's judges. All three anthologies of literary taxidermy are available now. Don't miss what Stephen Ross Capulet calls "A re-invention of the re-write, perhaps even a re-invention of the short story itself."   ★   Visit Competition Website.


Regulus Press Announces
2018 LITERARY TAXIDERMY COMPETITION


5 March 2018 — Regulus Press announces the Literary Taxidermy Writing Competition. The competition awards original works of short fiction under 3000 words, and is open to all writers, in all genres. The catch: We provide your opening and closing lines chosen from a classic work of literature. You provide the rest. Aspiring writers will be offered the opening and closing lines from The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett, Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, and "A Telephone Call" by Dorothy Parker. Three winning stories will be selected, for a total prize of $1500. In addition, winners and runners-up will be published by Regulus Press in a forthcoming 2018 Anthology of Literary Taxidermy. The competition is open to professional, amateur, and first-time writers from around the globe — including the United States, Canada, Germany, Belgium, France, China, India, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Judges include Catherine Barnett, Kelley Eskridge, Holly Kowitt, Brian Parks, Michael Pronko, Becky Selengut, Stephen Graham Jones, and Nisi Shawl. The idea originated in a book of short stories called The Gymnasium by Mark Malamud. The competition closes on the 4th of June, 2018.   ★   Visit Competition Website.


Regulus Press Announces
THE GYMNASIUM


11 January 2018 — Regulus Press is pleased to announce the immediate availability of a new collection of short stories by Mark Malamud called The Gymnasium, an exercise in “literary taxidermy” by the author of Float the Pooch. By “re-stuffing” what goes in-between the opening and closing lines of classic works by Milan Kundera, Philip K. Dick, Thomas Wolfe, Ian Fleming, and others, the author has crafted 19 new and wholly-original fictions.   ☆   “At turns funny, sad, serious, and surreal — none of these stories will let you down.” (Robert Kramer)   ☆   “Imagine taking the opening and closing sentences of Lord of the Flies or Casino Royale, and then crafting your own narrative between their unique starting and ending points. The Gymnasium is an exercise in literary what-if, an alternate reality in which the surprisingly original emerges from the hauntingly familiar." (Henry Beecham)   ☆   “Truly remarkable. It's a kind of literary remixing.” (N D King)   ☆   “A pleasurable romp, a new way to think about classic fiction.” (Literature & Taxes)   ☆   “A roller-coaster of styles and voices, all anchored to the simple but powerful idea of re-imagining someone else's words as your own.” (Storycraft)   ★   Available Now.


Regulus Press Announces
FLOAT THE POOCH


1 February 2016 — Regulus Press announces the availability of the new novel by Mark Malamud, Float the Pooch. The novel tells the story of Disco Rigido, charismatic kingpin of black-market libidinal software, who spreads mayhem throughout the world for the benefit of an ancient extraterrestrial intelligence that uses life on Earth as a substrate for procreation; while Doctor Memory, a back-alley neurosurgeon dressed as a rabbi, tries to save what's left of humanity. Seamlessly interweaving elements of an all-too-real future with mind-bending inventions and hallucinogenic flourishes, Float the Pooch is mesmerizing, hilarious, and utterly original, a novel that folds back on itself.  ☆   "Creation myth or nightmare? Perhaps both." (Hal Sonderburg)   ☆   "A wild, loopy romp to another universe." (Emma Strand)   ☆   "Float the Pooch is packed with ironic geniuses, art museum shoot-outs, sex in new forms, and great one-liners. Few other novels would dare guest star Stanley Kubrick and David Bowie, nor put them to such great story purposes." (Michael J. Pronko)   ☆   "Part science-fiction, part technological thriller, and part hard-boiled Yiddish theatre, Float the Pooch pits sex against life, life against meaning, and — incredibly — David Bowie against Stanley Kubrick." (Tatyana Wjekeslava)   ★   Available Now.