An Anniversary, and a Milestone
I knew as soon as I got to the decapitation (third paragraph) that Malarkey was going to publish LJ’s book. No regrets. It’s been out for a year now and we’ve sold more than 500 copies—not a New York Times bestseller, necessarily, but it’s a pretty big number for us. Even better, it’s long-listed for the Dublin Literary Award, which is a huge deal. If it wins we’ll have to figure out how to send LJ to Dublin, so just to prepare we probably need to see another 500 copies at least.
Anyway, to celebrate, I’m going to share some of my favorite goodreads reviews of the book:
4.5 stars: “It’s all in the prose. The articulation of the emotions and feelings of a confused, restless person, relating those from young childhood to young adulthood—not told linearly, because consciousness isn’t linear—is superb.”
5 stars: “Wow! Beautiful and intense novel! So rich with life, friendship, love, desire, and humor. And the PNW references! I loved the stream of consciousness narrative, especially since our hero, V, is such a witty observer of everything going on around her.”
5 stars: “STILL ALIVE's prose is like both tumbling and watching someone tumble down a hill. Wide-eyed adrenaline swirling across sentences and paragraphs with uninterrupted momentum and just when you feel you might lose control entirely you find yourself sitting at the bottom in a sunset field of wildflowers. And sometimes LJ Pemberton lets you rest and enjoy the good fortune of the view and sometimes she walks up and punches you in the stomach.”
4 stars: “Visceral. Painful. Beautiful. Pemberton has a way with words. I look forward to seeing what comes next.”
4 stars: “At first I wasn't sure if I'd finish this one but I'm glad I did. It reads like a journal or like someone's thoughts. A relatable story of growing up queer and with a "troubled" family in the 2000s on.”
1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 stars all at once: “totally unrateable to me; simultaneously 1,2,3,4, and 5 stars. great atmosphere of course. recommended to me by my polycule of course.”
5 stars: “If a natural disaster occurred, this book is the first thing I would grab.”
I was thinking about grabbing a one-star review because even the people who don’t like the book acknowledge that the prose is great, but sharing negative goodreads reviews sometimes leads to blowback that I don’t really have time or energy to deal with. They’re there, though, if you want to read them.
It has really been an honor to work with LJ on this book. LJ is not only a great writer; she’s also a smart and tireless and generous promoter of her book and of this press. Working with her has made me a better editor and Malarkey a better press. Also just a really cool person overall, like all of our writers, actually.
If you haven’t read Still Alive yet, I very strongly encourage you to pick up a copy. I have copies to send if you’d like to order from us. Asterism has some copies, and I’ll be restocking with them soon. It’s also on Bookshop, and those other places. We sell the ebook for $5, downloadable right from our website.
Order a copy of Still Alive.
If you’re a writer working in the indie/small press world, you should also check out the article she wrote for our website about promoting an indie book.
That’s all for now. Happy Still Alive Day to all who celebrate!