Happy New Year Everyone!

I can't believe we're putting another year to rest. We've gotten a lot accomplished in this one though. My favorite New Year's resolution this time round is going to be making Cellar Door bigger and better than ever. Speaking of, the first book is now available on Amazon and will be soon coming to a location near you (well...that is if you live in the Denver area otherwise I'd be happy to send one off). AND if you can't wait for the parties you can click on the brand new link on the right to get your copy now!

I hope all of you have a great night tonight. Be safe and exciting and decadent. Yes. All three.

Cheers.

Thea Jovie Hunt

That's right! You've been visually Rick Rolled! but take no offense. This is one of the latest pieces drawn by the remarkable Thea Jovie Hunt. You can find her work in the inaugural issue of the book as well as in her charming sketchbooks if you are local and can stop by Leela European Cafe on a Tuesday night for Drink & Draw. She's a talent to be reckoned with! With the greatest of ease she sketches incredible things including caricatures of those around her (which she also does for a paycheck at the legendary Casa Bonita). Keep an eye out for her future work and if you see her ask about Mayor Sheep ;)

Sam Spina

Meet Sam Spina! He is the inventor of such brilliant creations as the Snood, Sharker, and Hoodle! He also writes a daily comic that you should definitely be following at SpinaDoodles.blogspot.com! It will make you laugh, it'll make you cry, it'll make you curl up in a ball and chant your favorite chant ....well....maybe not....but it WILL make you laugh if you are of the human persuasion and not a robot.

You should check out his three page comic submission to Cellar Door: One (coming soon) entitled 3 M Adventure.

Also! If you are so inclined (as you very well should be) you can check out Sam's portfolio at SpinaCreative.com.

5280 Comic Book Classroom

You should be at Leela European Cafe tonight around 7:30 pm to meet and mingle with the crew putting together the brand new 5280 Comic Book Classroom. Find out all about opportunities to volunteer, donate and have fun with the newest non-profit on the block to bring about literacy, art and good reads. I'll try to keep you posted throughout the event but I may get caught up in the excitement and work.

More tomorrow if not tonight! If you can't make it down tonight be sure to check it out on here as well as the facebook page and the website at 5280ComicClassroom.org!

Deadlines Adjusted

Hey all. Just a quick note to let you know that the deadlines for Cellar Door: Unraveling have been altered. Just click on the link to the right to check out the new dates and let me know if you have any questions at all!

Well, gee!

I came to the Cellar Door blog to give you guys an update on the very belated first issue, but I found the below post instead! Thanks, Michael, you sure are swell!

Yes, it's true. Due to generous donations from my friends, family, and a few strangers, I was able to quit my hotel day job and work as a full-time comic artist and illustrator. It's been awesome, stressful, rewarding, frustrating, and fracking (to steal from BSG) magical. Thanks again for everyone's support! And for those of you just hearing about the project, visit my blog to catch up!

Now for a Cellar Door update:

It's getting done.

Tomorrow I'll be handing off the final, fixed files to Michael! I took an executive decision to fix a few small things. Even though a bunch of the changes were minute, I believed the changes were worth waiting another month to get the final book.

I'm very excited to finally get this book into your hands and I want to thank everyone for their patience.

Love and hugs!

Leila

Leila Del Duca

Surely you've heard of her by now! If not, you have not been reading these posts closely enough and you need to get your head in the comic game. This girl is on fire. She recently had a rather successful run on IndieGoGo.com and was able to give full time illustrating a go. This could not have happened to a better artist. Leila is doing incredible things with her newfound creative freedom. Make sure and keep your eyes open for the upcoming Fox Witch and Other Tales book she is currently working on as well as a bunch of other projects (including art directing the first issue of Cellar Door of course). You can see her work at LeiladelDuca.com, there's a link right there to the right of this blog. Now is the time to check out her work so you can say "you knew her when" after she hits her stride and is too important to talk to the likes of you ;)

The Proof and Photographic Evidence

It has been a long time coming but I am actually passing around the proof for the first edition of Cellar Door at Drink & Draw tonight. So far it is getting positive reviews. The cover looks gorgeous which comes as no great surprise. The entire thing has made me even more excited (as impossible as that sounds) to put together the second book: Unraveling!

Speaking of the second book... I will be adjusting the deadlines quite drastically. Apologies to those who have been working hard to get their material submitted on time. I do believe that more contributors will be sighing in great relief. Things got a lot busier than what I suspected they would and I want to dedicate time to getting the first book out instead of working at editing the second one at the moment. Therefore, more time for you. I will be posting an updated version here on the blog soon.

ALSO: We will now be able to accept B&W photography. The one that we used in the author button ad came out just fine. I'll be consulting with a photographer friend to draw up the guidelines and adding those soon as well.

Patience

Patience is a virtue that I do not have an abundance of. I hope you are all still excited about the book. The printers I'm working with for our freshmen-go at this are not very communicative and it turns out that the wait continues. Instead of trying to determine another countdown I just ask that you guys keep your eyes open for blogs and emails (and in person invites of course!) to the releases and such.

In the meantime! I've just added a donate button (in the right margin) for the amazing project that I've recently become a part of called The 5280 Comic Book Classroom. The website is coming soon and there is some info already posted on Facebook. Go check it out and send a donation in the form of $$$ or the supplies listed on the FB spot.

Thanks so much for hanging with us here at Cellar Door ;)

One....more....week....!

So I was informed one week ago today that after approving the interior as well as the cover for Cellar Door One that it would take ten to fifteen days to get the proof ready and mailed out to me. I have been nearly saintly in my patience and hope that you have been as well. Just wanted to keep you all informed of the status of our first book and hope that you are working on your submission for the second.

In the meantime you should look up the 5280 Comic Book Classroom on Facebook and go donate to Hamza Pecenkovic's Murder Machine on IndieGoGo.com.

Thanks!

The Comic Book Classroom!

Hey all! Make sure you make it over to Drink & Draw at Leela European Cafe next Tuesday to learn all about the upcoming 5280 Comic Book Classroom. Make no mistake, this is going to be a huge step in the revolution to gain academic respectability for comics in both education and literature. Come and see us with your ideas for how we can make our plans even better! OR if you are not in the area make sure and drop us a note to see what all the hype is about. You won't regret it.

Suspense is Deadly!

Hello all. Just wanted to keep you in the know. We have submitted the book's interior to our printers. I've been told it will be five to seven business days for them to review it and let me know if any changes are necessary. It has been four business days today and the wait is murderous! I can't wait to see all your fantastic work in print!

Also: Just a friendly reminder. If you want to produce a sequential piece for the book (that's a comic!) please let me know if you have not already talked to me about it. Doubly so if you don't plan on drawing it yourself. Triply so if you don't have an artist in mind yet.

Local Heroes

Hey! Anyone in or near the area will definitely want to catch this action! It's Noah Van Sciver of Blammo fame and Sam Spina of Spinadoodles.com (who wrote 3M Adventure for Cellar Door One) signing their sweet work at Time Warp Comics in Boulder. Be there! AND when you are there you should buy their work! AND buy other comics too. Wayne runs a great shop.

Off to the Printers

As of last night, Cellar Door One has finally been ushered off to the publisher! In about a week we should be holding the first proof of the book. It has been a long journey and there will be tears of joy upon holding that copy in my hands. As soon as I have an idea from the printers about how long it will take to receive the first shipment of books I will be announcing the first release party (for those of you in town...or willing to travel). I'll also be collecting addresses of those of you who contributed and are not nearby so I can send you your copy.

Be sure to take notice of the recently established guidelines and deadlines to get your work into the next book. I am very happy to say that we have lots of interested (and interesting!) people who'd like to be involved with Cellar Door Unraveling. I (Michael Prince) will be the chief editor again, Caitlin Calvert will be working very closely with me as editor and Hamza Pecenkovic will be taking the seat of art director this time round (you should check out his work and his project at www.IndieGoGo.com/MurderMachine).

If you'd like a copy of the guidelines for Cellar Door Unraveling just e-mail me at Cellar.Door.Book@gmail.com.

Unraveling Deadlines

THE DEADLINES

Shorts, Poems & Comic Scripts – January 15

Illustrations & Standalone Art – February 15

Comics – February 28

Unraveling

Call for Talent

Cellar Door, the literary and visual arts publication is now looking for submissions for its second issue that will be released in the first quarter of 2011! We will be accepting short stories, comics, artwork and poetry. Below you will find the general guidelines for each medium and a list of deadlines.

The Theme

The theme for the second edition of Cellar Door is going to be Unraveling. Think of Things Fall Apart by the wonderful African author Chinua Achebe...think Sweater Song by Weezer...think of crumbling...and unworking...and ideas that are being broken and strung back together. Let us know if you have any questions.

The Guidelines

Written

Written submissions should be formatted in standard manuscript form (double-spaced, twelve point font and one inch margins). Please submit in RTF (Rich Text Format) as an attachment in an email containing your name and contact information. The subject line should be composed in this way: YOUR NAME / TITLE OF WORK. If your work is accepted you will be asked to write a short biography including such information as previous publishing credits and any personal information you’d like to share.

Short stories should be no more than 10,000 words (with the occasional possibility of serialization).

Poetry submissions should contain no more than three poems at a time.

All written submissions should be sent to Cellar.Door.Book@gmail.com.

Artwork

All art submitted should be in black & white or grayscale. Though we may give it a try in the future, for no we are not accepting any photography. Files must be .TIF (preferred) or .JPG and 300 dpi.

Keep in mind that the book’s dimensions are 6 by 9 inches wide. We will be accepting full-page illustrations, spot illustrations, and comic pages. Full bleed images are acceptable and if you have any questions on how to create them properly feel free to ask.

Every story printed in our publication needs at least one full-page illustration. Many stories will also need spot illustrations. If you are interested in illustrating a story instead of a comic short or an individual illustration, please send either A) a link to your online portfolio or B) three .tiff or .jpg images that best represent your style. Please indicate that your interest is to illustrate a story. Once we receive an example of your work, we will determine if we would like you to contribute to our publication. If we do like your artwork, we will send you a story to illustrate and any specifics that would go along with that story.

Please send all art submissions and relevant questions to CellarDoorBook@gmail.com. The subject line should contain YOUR NAME/Art Submission.

Comics

Being that comics/graphic novel serializations are a hybrid of written and visual work please follow these guidelines:

First submit a proposal (no more than a page) outlining the story and some of its primary plot points and/or characters. Include only a minimal amount of artwork if you believe it necessary. If you are in need of an artist please note it in your email.

If your proposal is accepted you will be asked for a script and artwork sample (if applicable) and arrangements will go forward from that point.

Also, if you already have a finished work you’d like us to consider we would be more than happy to take a look at it without the process listed above.

Comic/graphic novel serialization proposals and relevant questions should be sent to Cellar.Door.Book@gmail.com.

Response Time

Though we try to get back to all contributors in a timely manner we do get behind in the game now and then. Please feel free to contact us in regards to the status of your piece if you have not heard from an editor within 30 days of submitting.

Compensation

Beyond exposure in the quarterly, the contributor is guaranteed one copy of the book in which his/her work appears.

Measures are being taken to obtain financial compensation as well but I have no firm details or planned rates at this time.

Rights

By submitting your unpublished work, you understand that, if accepted, Cellar Door is acquiring First North American Serial Rights which gives us the right to publish your work for the first time in the North American market. You, the author retain all other rights to the work and will be contacted for permission if we plan to include it in any future collections. If the work is not published within six months of acceptance all first rights are null and void.

Any use of your material in the format of Podcasts and MP3 will be protected under the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial - No Derivatives 3.0 license (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for full details). Basically this protects your work from any attempts to use it commercially or creating derivatives not approved by the creator of the work.

Any questions should be directed to Cellar.Door.Book@gmail.com. The editorial staff of Cellar Door look forward to hearing from you!

Get Unraveled!

I can't wait to start getting submissions for the second book! (Don't worry the first book hasn't hit the shelves just yet! You didn't miss it! Soon!). In case you haven't received the guidelines and have missed all the previous blogs, the theme for number two is Unraveling. Yes, that's right, before our first book is even printed we are daring the wrathful pantheon of literary gods with a theme about things falling apart. We here at Cellar Door thumb our noses at jinxes. Let's do this bigger and better than the first book that you have not seen quite yet! YES!

Murder Machine!

Comic auteur Hamza Pecenkovic has a great comic project up on IndieGoGo.com. You really do need to go and check it out immediately (and donate of course, but that should go without saying). You can do your part for as little as $5 and get some great merchandise in return! Don't hesitate! We're talking Nazi robots gone good and super science gone awry. How could you possibly miss that?

Go to the link below...yes, now.

www.IndieGoGo.com/MurderMachine

Author Buttons Photo Shoot

Don't these wonderful people make you want to jump online and buy some buttons depicting your favorite creative minds??? Be sure to stop by www.etsy.com/shop/storytellerarch (or just click on the link on this page!).

Also in the news: Be sure to let me know if you have not yet received the guidelines for our second book, Cellar Door: Unraveling. AND be sure to check out Hamza Pecenkovic's Murder Machine at www.indiegogo.com/murdermachine (more coming soon!).

In the Thick of It

We are now past the halfway point of the 24 Hour Comic Book Challenge at Time Warp Comics in Boulder. The expectation of sleep deprivation is starting to take its toll. Eyes are beginning to sag. Writer Ben Simkins temporarily grew breasts under a Jonah Hex tank top. Art director Leila del Duca is warning of oncoming crankiness. I actually only got enough energy to write this blog from a second piece of pizza and the invigoratingly cold hands of a lovely French girl on his neck.

Breaking News! Giant prehistoric penguin discovered in Peru!!!

And now back to writing and perusing comics. More to follow unless I lose consciousness.

24!

It is that time of year again: The 24 Hour Comic Book challenge. This year I will be attending at Time Warp, an awesome comic shop in Boulder. There will lots of amazing artists in attendance including Sam Spina, Hamza Pecenkovic and Leila del Duca! We will of course have the buttons there to hock (including the brand spanking new Murder Machine ones). Be sure to come out if you have the time! Things will be kicking off at 10 am tomorrow (Saturday the 2nd) and not ending til 10 am on Sunday.

Buttons are Booming!

Button sales are picking up speed at the Etsy store (www.etsy.com/shop/Storytellerarch). Make sure you get yours while supplies last!!!...well...not really in any danger of running out...for now! Still see what all your friends are talking about and wearing on their bags! See what the beautiful baristas of Leela European Cafe are sporting!

The newest offerings include beloved Roald Dahl drawn by Sam Spina and the beginnings of a line of Murder Machine buttons from the epic series written and drawn by Hamza Pecenkovic.

Also, after the first release parties for the anthology (sooooon I promise) we'll be procuring a machine that can make the 1 1/4" buttons too!

Art Collection

Greetings all. Tonight Leila and I will be gathering the last remnants of art for Cellar Door: One (our first issue!). Among other great pieces is the one below drawn by the uber talented Hamza Pecenkovic! The illustration will be alongside the Ace poems by Tabitha Dial. I can't wait to get finished putting everything together and hold that first proof in my trembling hands. Watch your e-mail boxes for news of upcoming releases and book two (Cellar Door: Unraveling) guidelines!

UPDATE

Hey all. I feel like I've been neglecting you all on here lately so I thought I would just share some news...no fancy videos or art at the moment since I'm not connected to my external hardrive...

So despite the delay (on the original word of an August release) things are going great! We have some great stories and poems to share and some truly amazing artwork! I really can't wait for you all, our loyal audience in the making, to take a look. Leila and I will be putting everything together in the next couple of weeks and sending it off to the presses.

We have new buttons on the Etsy site (Etsy.com/shop/Storytellerarch). I'm still working towards getting them all on there at once. I think right now there are 26 of 36. It's not easy getting them all on when they're selling so well ;) NOT that I'm complaining! The latest additions are Roald Dahl (drawn by Sam Spina), Hayeo Miyazaki (drawn by Peri Smith), Mary Shelley (drawn by yours truly, Michael Prince) and Martin Luther King, Jr. (drawn by Zech Baker). Be sure to check them out!

Also! there are only a mere seven days left on Leila del Duca's Indiegogo project (Indiegogo.com/thefoxwitch). She's made some good money but there's still more to go to make the minimum goal. Don't let this opportunity get away. There are some wonderful incentives including copies of her upcoming collection of mini-comics and ORIGINAL artwork and sketches. Go there....now!

Why are you still here?

No really.

Oh wait! Also if you've just found this site be sure to drop us an email at the address above. We'd especially love to hear from you if you are an artist or writer interested in submitting to our anthology!

Stay tuned ;)

Meet Berto the "Writist"

Here is the first introductory video in what I hope to be a long series. Listen to the inspiring words of our creative collaborators, or about their great projects, or...well...this video. Do not be fooled by the few, unique words of this writer. He is actually a very very talented individual. Be sure to check out his epic comic series, Boot Hill. The first issue of Cellar Door contains the story Boot Hill: One Born Every Minute. Be sure to check it out!

The Future is NOW!

Greetings all. Just have to say that just when I think I can't get any more excited about the upcoming book and all the collaborations and projects that are springing up around us (here in Denver and abroad) I reach a new height.

We met some great people and sold some buttons and art at the two most recent cons (first the Supercon video game conference and then Cowtown Indie Comics as mentioned below).

Tonight, though the turnout was slow at first, things built up to a great night at Denver Drink & Draw at Leela's. Thanks to Charlie (of the ever fantastic Indie Spinner Rack podcast) for a fruitful and fun drawing/writing jam! Our prodigal and wonderful friend Kevin returned to our masses! I'm sitting here afterhours with two new friends (and very talented artists) Andy and Fritz.

I'm constantly amazed at how much talent that I've become privy to. I feel like I caught a light through a keyhole then watched the door fall away to a fantastical world in which the horizon keeps growing and growing. (Disclaimer: It is nearly three o' clock in the morning of a rather long day...take that into consideration if you will). If you are reading this rambling blog I'd like to know your feelings on what is to come. Be a part of this movement. Give us your art. Give us your words. Give us your support whether it be simple encouragement (priceless) or financial. Help us make the world a more interesting place.

Thanks for reading this all the way through! More thoughts to come soon I'm sure.

Cowtown!

This Saturday is the Cowtown Alternative Comics Festival hosted by the Tattered Cover in LoDo. There's going to be plenty of great talent there to come and see. There's going to be plenty of great work there to come and purchase and read. Support local and independent art! Come out! Yours Truly will have half a table with author buttons and Cellar Door materials (not the actual book quite yet unfortunately). I'll be right next to the infamous Leila del Duca, art director and creator extraordinaire! Sam Spina will be there too! He drew the flier in this post and a three page comic that will be featured in the anthology.

Don't miss this!

Unraveling

While we are still working hard on getting the first issue of Cellar Door out I'd like to announce the theme for the second book. It will be UNRAVELING (or unmaking if you prefer). Start thinking up stories, poems, comic proposals, visions of standalone art, and the such and we'll be putting together an updated Call for Talent that reflects the theme and a few new ways of doing things (perhaps).

So...think of Things Fall Apart by the wonderful African author Chinua Achebe...think Sweater Song by Weezer...think of crumbling...and unworking...and whatever you need to inspire a piece of work about UNRAVELING!

A Night at Drink & Draw!

Welcome to Leela's European Cafe (or at least a brief video representation)! This is your average Tuesday night for us at Drink & Draw. Many of the artists and writers who are compiling the work in our first issue can be found here though there are some great ones from abroad as well. In the upcoming blogs we'll have bios and interviews from some of these talented individuals. If any of you contributers and future contributors from away would like to send us something to put on here just send it to Cellar.Door.Book@gmail.com.

The JRR Tolkien Button!

This is our button depicting the enchanting JRR Tolkien of Lord of the Rings fame. He holds a special place for the anthology since the title for the book comes from an essay by the brilliant creator of Middle Earth:

"Most English-speaking people, for instance, will admit that cellar door is 'beautiful', especially if dissociated from its sense (and its spelling). More beautiful than, say, sky, and far more beautiful than beautiful. Well then, in Welsh for mecellar doors are extraordinarily frequent."

Tell us your thoughts and/or experiences with reading Tolkien!

This button was drawn by the wonderful Leila del Duca whose project is listed in the previous post.

The Fox Witch and Other Tales

Hey all. Everyone should check out (and donate to) the latest project of our illustrious and illustrative art director Leila del Duca. For a mere $10 you can be a part of unshackling this super talent from financial concerns. For a mere $20 you can get a copy of her book which is sure to be a thing of beauty. Don't stop there though! (if pocketbook allows) She is offering a lot of other really amazing artistic rewards to those who are willing to offer some more backing! Even if you don't have the $1 to give for updates (really? its $1 people!) go to the following link to check out her charming video.

http://www.indiegogo.com/thefoxwitch

The Cover!

I'm very much in love with our first anthology's cover by Eric Hinkley. He's masterful in many mediums but this time he chose to put his hand to digital painting to (no big surprise) beautiful results. He is an incredibly talented artist. You can check out a lot more of his pieces at EricandalsoArt.blogspot.com. Be sure to check them out!

Also: I'd like to thank all the others who submitted entries for the cover contest. Our favorites will be printed (in black and white) within the book.

Capital Hill Books

Good news! Our author buttons will now be for sale over the counter at a great independent bookstore on the corner of Colfax and Grant here in Denver, Capital Hill Books. I'll be bringing the first assortment of them to the store tomorrow. I'm very excited about this venture. I think it'll be the start of great things.

So...just wondering if there's anything you'd like to see on this blog. For now I'm thinking artist and author profiles, excerpts and sneak peak artwork. Let me know if you have any other ideas. For now I'm going to return to the happy chaos that is Denver Drink & Draw at Leela's European Cafe.

Cheers.

The Secret Meeting

(there, now that my title has your attention...)

Yesterday.

Once the secret meeting (which will be declassified in upcoming posts) failed to come together at HQ (aka Leela's European Cafe) I decided to tuck into my studio for a day of hermitude. The original plan was to write and work on the encyclopedia I'm compiling to keep the names and beasts and gods and places of my mythological world in some semblance of order. Instead I found myself wandering to the ever-growing collection of comics I'd like to read. Therefore I have two many stars/thumbs up reviews to pass on!

The first is a really great "illustrated novel" both written and drawn by Craig Thompson. It is a biographical story of childhood, first love and coming of age. Its a bit over 500 pages and I went through it in one sitting (which for those who know my....ooo shiny...distractable ways, that is quite a feat!). It'll break your heart and make you laugh and (hopefully) make you question the world around you at least a little bit.

The second is Automatic Kafka. All I have to say is: Read Automatic Kafka. When you do, we'll talk. Do it soon. I want to talk now.

Today.

I have a mission. No, unfortunately it is not to get lost in comics once more. Today I am assembling packages of author buttons (if you don't know what author buttons are see the "Author Buttons for Sale" link on the main page) to bring to the local indie and used book stores. Hopefully they will fall in love with them--I mean how could they help it really--and beg me to allow them to place them on their counters for sale to the general literary masses of Denver.

Wish me luck.

Here we go!

Keep an eye out for this logo! It stands for creativity in poetry, prose, and art! It stands for a balance of image and word! It stands for a lot of really talented (and somewhat starving) artists and writers trying to get your attention. Cellar Door is an anthology with its base of operations in Denver, CO. We are well into the production of our first issue (with the theme "ONE") and gearing up to get it to you, our potential adoring public. Be sure to stop here often. Feel free to let drop a snarky comment (or two) if you don't see something fresh every few days. We creative types tend to drift. Soon though! you should be able to come here to find excerpts from the book, release dates, submission guidelines, fundraising events and other literary and artistic anthology goodness. Stay tuned!