There is a lot of excitement buzzing around our editorial bunker here in northern California. We are adding quite a few titles to our growing list of sublime art & literature, with books by Alphonse Allais, Alain Arias-Misson, Mark Axelrod, Pierre-Corneille de Blessebois, Catherine D’Avis, Farewell Debut, Edith Doove, Eckhard Gerdes, Richard Kostelanetz, Terri Lloyd, Doug Rice, and Carla M. Wilson, among others. As always, expect some surprises, including (we hope) a book once listed as forthcoming by the great Gaberbocchus Press in London that, alas, never appeared. For now, that’s all we’re at liberty to divulge.
For those who missed out on collecting all 31 titles in the Absurdist Texts & Documents series, we suggest getting in on the ground floor of our New Urge imprint—devoted to contemporary erotic fiction by writers from Europe and North America. The first volume, White Fire & Other Tales by Cody Kmoch has just been released, with four more scheduled to appear in 2015. These sensual trade paper editions are numbered sequentially, handsomely designed, and custom-sized (5 x 7.7 inches) for your comfort and edification.
We should also mention that our magazine Black Scat Review has been redesigned, and will sport a new look when its eleventh issue appears in the spring.
Here are a few goodies waiting in the wings.
THE SQUADRON’S UMBRELLA
by Alphonse Allais
Translated from the French by Doug Skinner
FIRST PUBLICATION IN ENGLISH
A collection of 39 pieces by the great French absurdist. This is quintessential Allais, featuring some of his funniest texts—never before translated.
In regards to the significance of the title, Allais states in his preface the following:
“I have entitled this book The Squadron’s Umbrella for two reasons, which I ask the reader’s indulgence to tick off before him.
- There is no mention, in my volume, of umbrellas of any kind.
- The vital question of the squadron, considered as a unit of combat, is not even broached.”
That pretty much says it all.
UPDATE 1/30 —ON SALE NOW
ANGEL OF EVERYTHING
by Catherine D’Avis
Translated from the French by Kenneth D. Fletcher
FIRST PUBLICATION IN ENGLISH
Bored with her life in a quiet, French coastal town and desperate for excitement, Emma sends out a prayer to the Angel of Happenings. When she meets an enigmatic Parisian photographer, her wish appears to have come true, until she finds herself drawn into an intimate world of erotic temptations, obsession and danger.
The controversial novel L’ange de toutes choses originally appeared in Paris in 2012. Published under the pseudonymous initials “C.A.,” the work received favorable reviews, as well as the condemnation reserved for works in this arena. Ms. D’Avis’s writing has been compared to the novelist Marguerite Duras.
ORDER ON AMAZON
“The Zombie of Great-Peru marks an extremely important literary occasion.” —Apollinaire
THE ZOMBIE OF GREAT-PERU
by Pierre-Corneille de Blessebois
Preface by Guillaume Apollinaire
Translated from the French by Doug Skinner
FIRST PUBLICATION IN ENGLISH
Black Scat Books will proudly resurrect this rollicking novel featuring the first mention of zombies in world literature! Originally published in 1697, it offers “a biting satire of colonial society as licentious, credulous, and possessed by its own belief in zombis.”*
In the words of translator Doug Skinner, this libertine tale is “Great fun. Filled with sex, slapstick, deceit, and fake zombies.”
Who could ask for anything more?
___
*Doris Garraway, The Libertine Colony
MINCE
by Edith Doove
A collection of poems & observations by a gifted young British writer. These works were originally written in Dutch and composed over a ten year period.
Ms. Doove has a sharp eye and her words whisper fresh visions.
PUBLICATION; January 31, 2015
On July 4, 2012, we published Alphonse Allais’s MASKS in a limited edition of 50 copies—the first title in our Absurdist Texts & Documents series. The chapbook quickly sold out and, today, is a coveted collector’s item. Since we’ve received many requests to reprint the book, we’re pleased to announce a revised and expanded edition. Translated from the French, adapted and illustrated by Norman Conquest, this new volume also features a most Allaisian introduction & notes on the text by the great Doug Skinner. Originally published in France under the title Un drame bien parisien (1890), this darkly humorous tale is quintessential Allais—a pataphysical text admired by the Surrealists (André Breton included it in his seminal Anthologie de l’humour noir). It was also celebrated by the French group Oulipo, and has been the subject of scholarly studies by the writer and semiotician Umberto Eco, Francis Corblin, and others. 
This is the first illustrated edition of this mini masterpiece. If you missed out on our first edition, now’s you chance to own a copy. MASKS Alphonse Allais Translation & illustrations by Norman Conquest With an introduction & notes on the text by Doug Skinner Absurdist Texts & Documents No. 1 Revised & Expanded Second Edition 50 pp., perfect-bound; illustrated; Special limited launch price: $12.00 (*$14 after June 4th)
blackscatbooks.com 