FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
John Oelfke, Publisher
Central Avenue Press
(505) 256-8075
oelfkej@aol.com
http://www.centralavepress.com

Nov. 15, 2006

ALBUQUERQUE, NM: Central Avenue Press (CAP) announces the six best reasons booksellers, libraries and specialty retailers should stock CAP's newest title, Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up: A Thorough Primer for Writers of Fiction and Nonfiction:

a huge market
an in-demand topic
a unique angle
an affordable price
marketing help from the author
series' name recognition

A Huge Market

There are more would-be authors than ever perfecting their craft in the hopes of contributing to the $34 billion book industry. Therefore, there�s more need than ever for writing resources like Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up, a 227-page trade paperback by Martha Engber. The book is aimed at beginning and intermediate writers, especially those who subscribe to writing magazines and/or attend one or more of the over 400 writing conferences offered in America every year.The book increases market coverage by appealing not only to the authors of fiction -- screenplays, short stories, and novels -- but also to those who write character-based nonfiction such as memoirs, biographies, essays and creative nonfiction.

An Always In-Demand Topic

As Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up states, character development is the most important facet of any character-based book, because "readers won't follow for long if they find the people you're writing about dull, one-dimensional or unbelievable." After listing the three attributes of a great character, the book takes readers through a step-by-step process that teaches them how to develop characters from start to finish. The book lists 70 examples from past and present literature covering a wide variety of genres to illustrate key concepts. Each chapter ends with exercises, which if followed, are designed to help readers grow their own characters. The book ends with a glossary, sample query letter and list of questions that can be used during the editing process.

A Unique Angle

Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up is unique because the book equates the process of character development to that of gardening in which characters are grown from seed to maturation. "Who hasn't mown a lawn, trimmed a tree or planted something, even if only in a pot?" said Ms. Engber of Santa Clara, California. "Gardening is something all writers can relate to, though fortunately for anyone reading this book, you don't have to have a green thumb to succeed." The book is particularly well-suited for specialty retailers such as New Age book shops, stores featuring nature items and gift shops at public gardens.

An Affordable Price

Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up is priced at $13.95, which makes the book an inexpensive educational option for anyone who can't afford a writers' conference, hire a writing coach or enroll in a writing program. The book is also ideally priced for the holidays, because everyone has a writer on his/her gift-giving list.

Marketing Help from the Author

To help promote her book, Ms. Engber is willing to offer free one-hour character development workshops, which are successful in drawing customers and offer an alternative to traditional readings and book signings. A graduate of the University of Missouri -- Columbia School of Journalism, Ms. Engber has written about many famous people -- former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos, actress Marlo Thomas, choreographer Mark Morris -- for such publications as the Chicago Tribune, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Inside Karate Magazine. Besides having a play produced in Hollywood and a short story nominated for a Pushcart Prize, her fiction has appeared in Watchword, Anthology, Bookpress, the Berkeley Fiction Review and other literary journals. Ms. Engber is also a professional editor, speaker and workshop facilitator.

Series' Name Recognition

Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up is the third in the Thorough Primer for Writers series, which is growing in name recognition among authors. Distributed through Biblio Distribution, Quality Books, Baker & Taylor and available at Amazon.com and through CAP ($13.95, ISBN: 067916781), the book follows Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction and Punctuation For Writers by Harvey Stanbrough, two previous titles in the Thorough Primer for Writers Series started in 2003.

For additional information about Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up contact Martha Engber at (408) 243-7662, martha@engber.com or visit her web site at marthaengber.com or growinggreatcharacters.com.

Central Ave Press is pleased to announce the nomination of the following poets for the prestigious Pushcart Prize from the pages of The Raintown Review, CAP's bi-annual, perfect-bound print poetry journal. For submission guidelines, please click StoneThread.com/trr.html.

Melanie Houle, for "Steps": In "Steps," Melanie Houle uses just nine lines of deceptively simple blank verse and the image of a fading photograph to create a preternaturally bright snapshot of familial love and loss. Sad and sweet, wistful and hopeful, Dickinsian in its elegance and brevity, "Steps" is a beautiful little poem that will stay with a reader long after she finishes it.
Alexandra Moss Zannis, for "Last of the Wild Oats": With "The Last of the Wild Oats," Alexandra Moss Zannis has accomplished a feat that has eluded all but our most talented contemporary poets: She has written a confessional poem with enough meat on its bones to make a meal for someone other than the poet herself. Amazing.
Stephen S. Power, for "The Black Dogs of Whitechapel": Stephen S. Power skillfully blends history, myth, meticulous poetic form, and a gift for storytelling in the "The Black Dogs of Whitechapel," his grim and ambitious fictional account of the infamous Jack the Ripper murders in late nineteenth century London. To discover a finely crafted longer poem --- and a poet with the patience and skill to craft it --- is a rare thing indeed.
Michael Burch, for "Isolde's Song": Michael Burch's skillful use of iambic form and metaphor lend "Isolde's Song" a subtle emotional quality not readily matched in most contemporary lyric poetry, and make it a fine addition to the genre.
Solana d'Lamant, for "The Soul as Dill Pickle": Solana d'Lamant gives a quirky metaphysical twist to the old nature vs. nurture debate with "The Soul as Dill Pickle." The precise line structure contained in this poem gives it a formality not found in most free verse, and a gravity that belies its humorous title.
Thomas Kerrigan, for "The Dust of Stars": Thomas Kerrigan's "The Dust of Stars" is a formal poem that doesn't feel like a formal poem. His skillful use of iambic tetrameter gives his work a driving, visceral, almost hypnotic quality, and is a fine example of how the judicious choice of poetic form by a talented poet can dramatically increase a poem's impact.

Read reviewer Freada Dillon's review of Beyond the Masks. Read what reviewer Beth Morrow had to say about Writing Realistic Dialogue and Punctuation for Writers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 13, 2005 (Albuquerque, NM): Restless Tribes author Stephen Ausherman wins the Bernheim Writing Fellowship and two National Park Service Arts Program fellowships.

CAP author Stephen Ausherman was named the winner of the 2004 Bernheim Writing Fellowship. Mr. Ausherman submitted an essay from Restless Tribes entitled "Interview With the Witch Doctor" as part of the application process.

Established in 1929, the Bernheim Research Forest and Arboretum is a 14,000 acre park dedicated to environmental research and forest preservation in central Kentucky and attracts several hundred thousand visitors each year.

Winners of the Berheim Writing Fellowship receive accommodations for up to three months at the preserve and a $1000.00 stipend to support a writing project of the authors choosing on a subject inspired by nature. The recipient of the Bernheim Fellowship must donate examples of a body of work produced during the Fellowship to Bernheim for its permanent use. These works will become part of The Bernheim Library Collection. Fellowship recipients may participate in workshops, readings, and book signings that are open to the public. Bernheim will reach an agreement regarding the work to be donated and the interaction required from each artist.

Mr. Ausherman has also been selected as the recipient of two National Park Service Summer Writing Fellowships. He submitted an excerpt of the Restless Tribes essay "Nothing Will Kill You" as part of the application process.

The National Park Summer Arts Program provides opportunities for writers and visual artists to live and work within one of the twenty-nine national parks and monuments participating in the program.

Mr. Ausherman has been selected for summer writing residencies at Buffalo National River Park in Arkansas and Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming. He will be required to produce an original work for each park's permanent collection, as well as interact with park visitors as an artist-in-residence.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 10, 2005 (New York City, NY): Two CAP titles were named as finalists in the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Awards at Book Expo America.

Harvey Stanbrough's Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction and Stephen Ausherman's Restless Tribes were named as finalists in the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Awards at Book Expo America. Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction, one of fourteen finalists in the Education Category, won fourth place, Honorable Mention. Restless Tribes was narrowly beat out by three other books in the Travel category.

Book Expo America, the largest trade show in the US, was held from June 3 - 5 at the Javits Center in NYC. It brings publishers, booksellers, librarians, and rights brokers together from all over the world to buy and sell titles. Foreword Magazine is the premier book review trade magazine for titles published by independent and university presses and is distributed to over 20,000 booksellers, librarians, and industry professionals around the world.

The Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Awards honor the best books published each year by independent and university presses from around the world. Finalists in each category are invited to BEA each year to attend the ceremony announcing the winners. Usually, three winners in each category (Gold, Silver, Bronze) are selected. In some cases the judges may select one additional title for an Honorable Mention Award.