Next week, I’ll be visiting the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for an alumni reading and career round table discussion. Below are flyers for these events.
Carr Reading Series Info and Bios
University of Illinois Creative Writing Dept.
My book, The Dead Will Rise and Save Us, has been out for just about a year now, and since it was the first year of my first book, it was a special one. I want to thank everyone who bought, read, and shared it. I was hoping that it would do well, and since it has already seen a second print run, I can say that I’m more than pleased with its success. The best things about the publication side of the writing life are the people you meet and the conversations you have.
The AWP conference in LA this year was a great time and taught me a lot about the business end of this. I met or reconnected with a number of passionate writers, editors, and publishers, people whose passion advances the culture of literature. (See an earlier post for more on the conference, including pics.)
2017, for me, will be exciting. I’ll be relocating to El Paso, TX (my hometown) and hoping to finish my first novel. There will be more readings/events coming up, including a big one in February that I’m dying to announce. I’m excited about what’s to come.
I’ll be reading on the New Mexico State campus this Friday, April 8 at 7:30 PM in the Health and Social Sciences 101A auditorium. Below is info from the Facebook event page.
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Like to hear a good story? How about two? Please make room on Friday for this very special night of story-telling. Paul Pedroza will read from his collection, The Dead Will Rise And Save Us, and MFA candidate Savannah Johnston will share her fiction from her thesis. It’s going to be such a treat! One that you want to share with friends, family, and acquaintances you want to impress.
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The AWP16 conference was good times. Not only did I get to spend a lot of time with writers and friends and writer friends, but I also enjoyed a successful book signing and a fortifying session at the AWP Writer-to-Writer Mentorship Program table. As a mentor, I enjoyed answering questions from writers who are a little hesitant about applying for MFA programs and are exploring their options, but I also learned a lot about the challenge of balancing full lives with writing dreams.
If you’re heading to Los Angeles next week for the AWP Conference, stop by the Veliz Books table (#2039) at the book fair on Thursday, March 31 from 2-3 PM. I’ll be signing copies of my story collection, The Dead Will Rise and Save Us.
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I’ll be reading on the New Mexico State campus in Las Cruces on April 8. The event starts at 7:30 PM in the Health and Social Services auditorium, room 101A. Details about the reading series can be found here.
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On February 19, my book was officially released at a special event held at the 501 Bar & Bistro in downtown El Paso.
The turnout was great, and it was a special night that I won’t soon forget. Below are some pics from the event. (Photo credits: Veliz Books, Laura Caldera-Marquez, Carol Fonseca)
My author page is now live over at Goodreads
If/when you read my book, I’d appreciate a rating and/or review.
The pre-order sale over here will continue through the end of the year. save 20%, read the book, and let me know what you think.
News about readings, radio interviews, reviews, etc. will be shared soon. Thanks for your support, and have a happy new year!
My story collection, The Dead Will Rise and Save Us, is available at the link below. If you order by January 1, you’ll save 20% off the cover price.
https://madmimi.com/p/3d6e07/preview
Blurbs:
“Pedroza’s prismatic, visionary, and fiercely loving tales of El Paso and its residents swerve from laughter to heartache, from surreality to the punch of the real. This is a deft debut with a bold range of approaches and an exultant, beating heart.”
–Alex Shakar, author of Luminarium
“The Dead Will Rise and Save Us, much like El Paso and the desert Southwest, is hazarded with moral complexity and unforeseen grace. Paul Pedroza’s stories, the characters crawling inside them, will not leave you soon after reading. They’ll remain beneath your skin and in your bones.”
–Matt Mendez, author of Twitching Heart
“The Dead Will Rise and Save Us is one of the most exciting books of fiction to come out of the southwest in years. The stories are intelligent and poignant, with complex characters and language that flows through the pages like a river, sometimes raging, sometimes quiet and peaceful, but always beautiful. With The Dead Will Rise, Pedroza is destined to be included in the canon of important border literature … .”
–Daniel Chacón, author of Chicano Chicanery and Hotel Juárez: Stories, Rooms and Loops.
My story “Motion Without Meaning,” which ranked #11 out of 369 entries in Sixfold’s fiction contest, is now available as part of their new Winter 2014 e-book. It’s narrator is Martinez, the owner of a small grocery in the middle of downtown El Paso, a man who has witnessed the glory days and the decline of the city proper, a character who has played small roles in other stories and whose call for a story of his own was too tempting to ignore.
A Collaborative Mental Health Blog
Ryo Yamaguchi
Paul Pedroza 
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