Literary “Trash” Becomes Fiction: Lily Hoang’s Unfinished

July 22, 2011 - PRLog -- During one terribly brief summer break, award-winning fiction writer Lily Hoang found herself without a writing project that appealed to her. All she possessed were fragments of old stories she thought were trash.

“Then, the idea struck me,” writes Hoang in her introduction to her story collection, Unfinished, published by Jaded Ibis Press.  “If I had abandoned so many stories, other writers must have, too.”

So Hoang asked her favorite writers to send her their unfinished stories and then offered to finish them – in their style.  The result is a delightfully quirky collection of fiction as stylistically diverse as the writing submitted. Visit "http://jadedibisproductions.com/UNFINISHED.html" for details

What did the writers think of the results?

Kathleen Rooney, who contributed material for Hoang’s complete story, “So Cold & Far Away,” stated that “Lily's project is compelling in a reduce-reuse-recycle/let's go live in a co-op sort of way. It seems especially appropriate in the wake of the burst of the housing bubble and the ongoing recession; it's like instead of building a bunch of new construction, she's retrofitting old buildings where people had given up living and making them inhabitable – not only inhabitable, but vibrant and attractive and stylish.”

And Kate Bernheimer confessed that her “idea for ‘Kitty's Mystical Circus’ had come to a halt… So when Lily's invitation to complete a story for me arrived on my desk, I thought ‘What a great gift for Lily to offer.’”  Bernheimer is author of two fairy tale collections and editor of the acclaimed fairy tale anthology, My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me.  “As a devotee to the art form of fairy tales,” she continues, “I’m interested in the art form of variation and I don't have proprietary feelings about my ideas… I felt Lily was giving something to me, not that I was giving something up.”

Unfinished contains full-color art completed by Anne Austin Pearce who invited notable and naïve artists to send her their incomplete artworks that she then finished. Pearce also contributed nine of her own incomplete drawings that are included in the book with an invitation to readers to finish them. A soundtrack for the book was written by Ron Heckert (Tornado In A Jar) and sung by Betsy Carney.

Other contributors to Unfinished were: ]Blake Butler, Beth Couture, Debra Di Blasi, Justin Dobbs, Trevor Dodge, Zach Dodson, Brian Evenson, Scott Garson, Carol Guess, Elizabeth Hildreth, John Madera, Ryan Manning, Michael Martone, Kelcey Parker, Ted Pelton, Davis Schneiderman, Michael Stewart, and J. A. Tyler.

Jaded Ibis Press and its parent company
Jaded Ibis Productions produce fine and unusual works of literature, music, art and related products with the intent of merging diverse media and art forms. The company directs business decisions with an attempt to perpetuate literature that is intellectually, culturally and ecologically sustainable.

Lily Hoang is available for interviews, as are many of the contributing writers.

CONTACT:
Debra Di Blasi
Publisher-in-Chief
Jaded Ibis Productions / Jaded Ibis Press    
sustainable literature by digital means™
email: ddiblasi (at) jadedibisproductions (dot) com
http://jadedibisproductions.com
Tel:  (206) 395-2085 (U.S.A.)

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“[A] hotpoint where the novel is undergoing radical transformation to reflect its time.” – Forbes
Jaded Ibis publishes fine and unusual works of literature, music and art, giving wide exposure to artists of exceptional talent.