ATL Literary Month | Vouched ATL

National Writing Month gives us a chance to highlight some of the good people, organizations and literature right in our backyard. Kicking off the CCATL literary celebration is none other than Vouched ATL mastermind Laura Relyea.

You’ve likely seen her sitting behind a table at various arts festivals this past summer. She’s able to vouch, at the drop of the hat, about any of the books in front of her — about the author, about the story, and probably, even how she got her hands on it.  Vouched Books Atlanta got its start in Atlanta as bookstores were dwindling —  Borders and the Atlanta Book Exchange were closing, and A Cappella Books was moving to a smaller location away from its Little 5 Points spot. But that didn’t stop her. She created a local chapter of Indianapolis’ Vouched Books and started reading. Now she promotes the books in pop-up shops at festivals, local readings and online. Slowly but surely, she’s leaving her mark on Atlanta’s literary scene.

CommonCreativ talks to Laura about taking Atlanta by storm, keeping up with releases (in a non-creepy way), hot air balloons and offers up some good advice for writers.

CommonCreativ: Happy National Writing Month! Tell us about Vouched Books ATL’s inception.
Laura Relyea: Hey, Happy National Writing Month to you as well! What a happy story to tell. So, Vouched Books got its start in Indianapolis in the brain of my best friend, Christopher Newgent, who was dissatisfied with the lack of small press books available in the city. He decided to do something about it—he contacted a bunch of small presses who had published books he had read and loved, purchased books as a bookseller and set up the first (now infamous) ‘guerrilla bookstore,’ as we dubbed it. Soon after our website was launched— where we ‘Vouch’ for literature that is published online, interview authors, review titles, etc.

Fast forward to May/June of last year! I wanted to get involved and make a difference in Atlanta, and I wanted to do with with WORDS. Many people had approached Christopher about ‘franchising’ Vouched in different cities, but he wasn’t sure how the process would work. It seemed like the perfect solution to offer myself up as a guinea pig. So I got to reading a bunch of small press titles and launched the Vouched Books Atlanta table at Artlantis 2011. Atlanta has been stuck with me ever since.

CC: What are your thoughts on the current state of book publishing and stores in Atlanta? How is Vouched changing this?
LR: Yowzers. BIG question. You get right to the good stuff, don’t you? Let’s just be honest — things aren’t great, but the publishing industry is in a state of transition just like many other creative industries. Distribution models are changing. Marketing and promotions are changing. Readers are changing.

Vouched Books (Atlanta + Indianapolis + online) exists because there’s a segment of literature  small presses/independent publishers who are taking risks and publishing really innovative words from up-and-coming authors that we really believe in. We’re something between hype men and a distribution model. We saw a void in the industry and are trying to help fill it. Most of these presses are comprised of one or a few people, they don’t have the funding or the man power to get a large amount of distribution or promotional help. They’re doing great work and Vouched wants to help. The stories being told, the poems being written — they are truly phenomenal and deserve to be read. We’re here to help facilitate that.

CC: How do you keep up with new releases?
LR: Many ways — word of mouth through my publishers and fellow writer pals, mostly. Every once in a while an author I don’t know will contact me directly about their work. I’m a voracious reader, and am always combing through online literary journals and publications, so if someone has work that catches my eye I’ll either contact them to see what they have in the works or just keep an eye on them (but not in a creepy way).

CC: What are your favorite festivals to set up at?
LR: Festivals are my favorite! What a great way to spend the day — hanging out with friends and selling books. Artlantis has a special place in my heart since that was the birthplace of Vouched ATL. Also, being closely affiliated with the Solar Anus reading series means I’m a big fan of all things related to Beep Beep Gallery. Of course it goes without saying that Labor Day weekend is my favorite weekend of the year. The Decatur Book Festival is such a dream!

CC: Any advice to writers trying to get their books published?
LR: You should read as much as you write! Honestly, if you’re an author who is pursuing publication (I’m talking journal submissions, chapbook submissions or whole manuscripts) read through the different literary journals and publications you’re interested in working with. Try to find a good fit for your voice — don’t just try to submit everywhere.

CC: What inspires you?
LR: People who have great ideas and act on them. Hot air balloons. White tailed deer.

CC: Tell me about your favorite local authors and what you are reading right now?
LR: I try not to pick favorites — they’re all my friends! That being said, I do have some friends with chaps or new books coming out in the near future: Johnny Carroll’s Slow Burn is coming out from Safety Third Enterprises, Johnny Drago’s Executive Privilege from Baby Robot Industries, Blake Butler’s Sky Saw, and Jayne O’Connor has a chap coming out soon as well. So many good things in the works in Atlanta.

Right now I just finished reading Amber Spark’s May We Shed These Human Bodies, and HOLY SMOKES it is beautiful through and through. I’m carrying it on the Vouched ATL table and Amber will be reading for us at the reading on November 9th.

CC: How about Atlanta projects and people?
LR: Other causes and projects that I hold near and dear to my heart around Atlanta include [but are not limited to]: The Wren’s Nest, WINK, The Goat Farm, The Inman Park Squirrel Census, The Decatur Book Festival, The High’s Teen Program, Kill Your Darlings, Little Shop of Stories, On the Same Page and Write Club Atlanta. To sum it up, it’s good to love literature and live in Atlanta right now.

CC: What’s next for Vouched ATL? You know aside from the awesome date night with New South this Friday.

LR: I don’t want you to see my full hand yet — but here are some things in the works: On Saturday, Nov. 17th, Kill Your Darlings and Vouched Books are co-hosting a reading at Joe’s coffee shop. Dec. 4th will be another co-hosted reading, this time with Burnaway and The Wren’s Nest at Youngblood Gallery & Boutique. Just know that I also have a lot of other fun things in store for Atlanta. More details soon!

Join VouchedATL and New South this Friday, November 9th at the Goat Farm’s Warhorse coffee shop, for an evening of readings. More info here.