Subculture Books News

Check us out at the Frankfurt Book Fair October 15-19

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:53:00 EST

Check out Subculture Books at the Jenkins Group booth next to the Random House booth at the Frankfurt Book Fair October 15-19 in Frankfurt, Germany. History of the Book Fair Tradition and future: the history of the Frankfurt Book Fair The history of the Frankfurt Book Fair dates back to the 15th century, when Johannes Gutenberg first invented movable type � only a few kilometres down the road from Frankfurt. Frankfurt remained the central and undisputed European book fair city through to the 17th century. In the course of political and cultural upheaval, in the 18th century Leipzig then came to play the part. In 1949, that early Frankfurt book fair tradition was given a new lease of life: 205 German exhibitors assembled on Sept. 18-23 in Frankfurt's Paulskirche for the first post-War book fair. Almost 60 trade-fair years later, the Frankfurt Book Fair is the largest of its kind in the world � and the hallmark for global activities in the field of culture. With year-round services and information offerings for the international trade, the Frankfurt Book Fair has thus emerged as the world-wide market place for ideas � 365 days a year.

Ride Utah by Dave Magdiel due for release in 2008!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:42:00 EST

Utah is certainly one of the greatest motorcycle touring destinations in the world. Nowhere else will one find such a variety of magnificent scenery, combined with great roads and great weather within the boundaries of a single state. With five national parks, seven national monuments, landscapes ranging from alpine forests to brilliant colorful deserts and a network of national and state scenic byways linking them, Utah is truly a biker's paradise. Dave Magdiel has spent years riding the American West and has explored Utah as few others have. In this book, he will guide you through three distinct geographic regions of the state, highlighting the history, legend and geology you'll encounter, spiced with just a tinge of humor in the right places. A fourth section offers alternatives to freeway traffic to transit Utah via secondary routes. Photographs and maps point you in the right direction while tips on weather, equipment and safe riding help make your journey more enjoyable. Extensive appendices provide contact information for all major motorcycle makes, clubs and organizations, internet resources and tourism information. Not since the book "Blue Highways" was published has an author shown more familiarity and knowledge of, not just the veins and arteries, but the capillary roads of Utah and all their quirks. Dave has a sense of scenic wonderment akin to a child on his first venture into open space. This book makes you feel like you are a part of the great outdoors. It's a marvelous saddlebag companion for any motorcyclist.

Take Me Out by Martyn Clayton

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:55:00 EST

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Take Me Out by Martyn Clayton Lauren Seymour enjoys a well-ordered existence. Passing her time in York she likes nothing better than the occasional crisp sandwich, reality TV, listening to her CD collection and ignoring the advice of her big gay housemate. An early morning phone-call suddenly shakes her out of her comfortable groove. How do you react when the odd guy you once tried to avoid befriending whilst at university claims that you are now the only person on the planet who could possibly help him? When that man has been pulled half alive out of the icy-cold waters of the River Ouse after attempting to kill himself you might feel obliged to at least see what you could do. What she discovers in the 32 year old Robert P. Gorman is a man who has kept the ashes of his dead granny under his bed for ten years, and who hasn't bought an item of clothing for a similar length of time. Yet he doesn't seem completely beyond redemption. Could Lauren be the one to rescue Robert? About the author: Martyn Clayton was born at the height of the 1970s in a small dull town in the heart of middle England in a post-hippy, pre-punk musical lull. His earliest ambition was to both escape his birthplace, and then win the UK Disco Dancing Championships. Sadly these were axed before he came of age. So rather than dancing, he took up writing having his first article published in a magazine when he was just 13. After a brief spell as a DJ, he trained as a journalist then embarked on a freelance career which saw him take in a head-spinningly diverse range of topics in search of a daily crust, including a brief role as a dating magazine 'agony aunt'. In 2003, he wrote a non fiction book about the Roma Gypsy people's worldwide. After hitting thirty two and realizing that he still hadn't written that novel he always thought he had in him, he got to work on "Take Me Out" after having a dream about the central character, Lauren Seymour walking through his adopted hometown of York in northern England. His fiction deals with issues such as mental health, friendship, gender and popular culture. His ambition is to write fiction that engages from the first page and is immediately accessible yet manages to touch on subjects rarely ventured into within popular fiction. He is inspired by the remarkable ordinariness of the everyday and the intriguing nature of the people he sees around him on the streets of Old York City.

Now Available for Amazon Kindle!

Clan Subculture Launched

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:57:00 EST

Subculture Books has launched its new co-op program "Clan Subculture" to spread the base of retailers worldwide who carry Subculture Books titles. A companion blog was launched to serve as a collective of research to aid new members as the joining.

Bay Area Environmental Icon Peter Berg Signs with Subculture Books

Mon, 26 May 2008 13:35:00 EST

Bay Area environmentalist, and founder of Planet Drum, Peter Berg has just signed the first of several book deals with Subculture Books.

Gogol Bordello front man Eugene H�tz writing the intro for Taras Bulba

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:58:00 EST

I spoke with Eugene this morning, who is currently in Japan, and he told me he will have the intro complete in another 2 weeks! SS Subculture Books is thrilled to announce that Gogol Bordello front man Eugene H�tz is preparing the introduction for our release this summer of Nikolai Gogol's Taras Bulba. Gogol Bordello is a multi-ethnic Gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of New York City that formed in 1999 and is known for its theatrical stage shows. Much of the band's sound is inspired by Gypsy music, as its core members are immigrants from Eastern Europe. The band incorporates minor-key accordion and fiddle (and on some albums, saxophone) mixed with cabaret, punk, and dub as well as multiple languages. Phill Jupitus has described the band as "a bit like The Clash and The Pogues having a fight... in Eastern Europe," while Kenneth Partridge of The Hartford Courant described lead singer Eugene H�tz's voice as "somewhere between that of Borat and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" Nikolai Gogol, the band's namesake, was an ideological influence because he "smuggled" Ukrainian culture into Russian society, which Gogol Bordello intends to do with Gypsy/East-European music in the English-speaking world. 'Bordello' refers to a brothel or a "gentleman's club". The band was originally titled H�tz and the B�la Bart�ks, but Eugene H�tz says that they decided to change the name because "nobody knows who the hell B�la Bart�k is in the United States".The band played their first show as the unofficial band at an after-hours club called Pizdetz on Ridge Street, where they became the house band and DJ H�tz became the house DJ. Gogol Bordello's first single was released in 1999, and since then they have released four full-length albums, and one EP. In 2005 the band signed to punk label SideOneDummy Records. The band has toured tirelessly throughout Europe and America on numerous international festivals and toured with such diverse bands as Primus, Flogging Molly, and Cake. In an interview with NPR, frontman Eugene H�tz cites Jimi Hendrix and Parliament-Funkadelic as among the band's main musical influences.

Subculture Books Signs Romanian Author Bogdan Tiganov

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:56:00 EST

Subculture Books signs Romanian Author and Poet, Bogdan Tiganov, to publish a collection of his short stories and poetry titled: "The Wooden Tongue Speaks- Romanians: Contradictions and Realities" due for release this summer.