Catch a Rising Star

In 1993, I jotted the words “good writer” on the new card I’d just inserted into my Rolodex. (Not a metaphor.) What an understatement! I’d just accepted a short story from Sebastian Junger. Four years later, his marvelous thriller The Perfect Storm crested at No. 1 on the bestseller list. George Clooney starred in the movie.

Last week I had an email exchange with Junger, discussing old times. “Hi, Colin. Yes, indeed, I think that probably would have been my first published short story. Thirty years to the month. Amazing. How funny. I’d completely forgotten about that...Thank you!”

Catch the wave.

Last week we also heard from one of our early columnists, Rick Barton. Properly addressed, he’s Ambassador Frederick D. Barton, former U.S. Representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Not only does he remember his roots, he keeps in touch! Thank you, Rick.

How proud we all were when our first intern, Hannah Holmes, rocketed up the bestseller list with The Secret Life of Dust. Prize-winning author Gwen Thompson (Men Beware Women) is still on our masthead after nearly 30 years. Memoirist Mira Ptacin was an intern with us in 2004 (see our interview “Through the Looking Glass” in this issue.

As we sail toward the 40-year mark, we’ve confirmed that we’re the first magazine to publish short stories by many legends, including Joan Connor, National AWP winner in fiction (History Lessons); Morgan Callan Rogers (Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea); and Jason Brown (Driving the Heart). Brenda Sparks Prescott dazzles her audience with her Home Front Lines: “The most rewarding experience I can think of was the first time I had a piece of fiction accepted for publication years ago. Colin Sargent, of Maine’s Portland Magazine, accepted a very short piece and paid me for it—a rarity in the fiction world, and certainly for an unknown author. They also commissioned an artist to paint an illustration for the story. He offered two choices to the magazine, and they wound up publishing both. I was so elated to think that another artist had been in conversation with my work that I bought both paintings.”

Celebrated author and screenwriter Dan Domench, with a unique knack for an edgy quip, has published nearly 100 stories with us—for five decades running!

This magazine is people, not just pages. Sure, we’re quixotic. We’re a dream, not a Ponzi scheme. We’ve always proudly worn the label “quirky” bestowed upon us by Mediabistro, along with “beyond the usual city-magazine fare.” They caught us at it, and we’re catching you on the beach, in the library, at the airport, and at coffee shops across the universe—any spot where you have a chance to take a breath. No electricity needed—it’s already built in. And to all the writers, artists, and photographers we’ve had the honor to work with over the years, we’d like to hear from you too. In this issue, catch some great new fiction by Jason Brown.

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Roman Holiday

...I was away late April into early May on my 14th tour of New Zealand (twelve recitals). I had a recital at the Weston, MA, Public Library on May 14th, then flew to Germany to join Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 in Hamburg for a transatlantic crossing to New York May 16–26 via Southampton and Le Havre in France, playing three recitals on board.

I’m leaving this Saturday on my seventh tour of Alaska, playing recitals in Talkeetna, Palmer, Nome, Petersburg, and Wrangell. I will also conduct master classes for local piano students and teachers in Palmer and Nome.

In July, I have recitals in Livonia, MI, and at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, CA. In late August, I’ll play four recitals in Britain, followed by my 23rd Australian tour, with fifteen recitals.

Regarding Maine: very possibly next year my wife and I will come up—thinking of maybe spending a week at Quisisana again [See “Mr. H,” February/March 2023].

Roman Rudnytsky, on world tour

LOVE TO!

We should chat sometime about how instrumental your first request for an article about my Franco-American experience was in setting my sails…

Rhea Côté Robbins, Brewer

REALTOR’S REALITY CHECK

I am completely dismayed with “A Federal Case” [Summerguide 2023] that was written with [an] incorrect quote asserted by me.

I never sold a home to Daryl Hall…

I did mention that the founders of Stonewall Kitchen live nearby. Your writer made statements about Daryl Hall sumptuously renovating the house up the road. Where did he get that info… I certainly never said it…

Sincerely,

Linda Briggs,

Anne Erwin Sotheby’s International Realty

We got the details about Daryl Hall’s sumptuous renovations directly from Mr. Hall. See our interview “Preservation Hall” in July/August 2007.

We’d love to hear from you!

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Hot Nerd Summer

Forsake the swimsuit and don thy chainmail! This July marks the 35th Great Northeastern War, a four-day Renaissance romp in Hebron hosted by the Society for Creative Anachronism.