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AGAVE PRESS

On the Blog

Will you Go Set a Watchman?

24/7/2015

Very few books evoke as much universal praise as To Kill a Mockingbird. In 2010, bookstores and libraries across the United States planned events to celebrate the book's 50th anniversary; at the same time, the book rose to the top of several bestseller lists in the UK. Atticus is even a popular baby name for parents inspired by the character's bravery and moral compass.

In February of this year came an exciting-yet-puzzling announcement: Harper Lee's second book, Go Set a Watchman, would be released in the summer. Although Lee publicly claimed to be ecstatic about the release, the questions and concerns came immediately: why did the reclusive Lee decide to release a new book now? Did she really want this or was an adviser taking advantage of her? How could the book live up to its beloved predecessor?

(We should warn you: while we won't give away anything in this post, links from this point forward will most likely have plot spoilers.)Days before its official publication date, the first chapter was released to even more controversy and, for some people, a palpable sense of grief. 

Reviews of the book have been mixed - and some lovers of Mockingbird have declared that they won't read Watchman. We won't comment on the book in this post, but as a staff who critically reads literature regularly, the chatter has given us food for thought. Does reading the book somehow make a person complicit in Atticus Finch's development as a character? Can a reviewer really objectively evaluate the quality of Lee's writing? Does reading the book make us feel differently about Lee or Mockingbird? Should Watchman be read in classes as a companion piece in schools? We could go on.

It may seem trite to say that books we love become part of us, and it's easy to forget the power of words in our 140 character-at-a-time world. But as the reaction to Watchman show us, when a book is beloved we become so invested in the characters and their worlds that we are genuinely angry and disappointed when they don't live up to our expectations. For any writer (or should we say every writer) who's ever questioned why you're toiling away at your latest piece, it's comforting to know that words have the amazing potential to make people feel something.

Will you be reading Watchman? Why or why not? Tell us what you think in the comments!


Go Set a Watchman
US cover of Go Set a Watchman Photo: Wikipedia
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Sponsorship & Promotions | AGAVE digital media

12/7/2015
Picture

Picture

Agave Magazine is known as a publication that brings art, literature and photography to the fore. Advertising-free, it presents a streamlined aesthetic for a modern readership, showcasing literary and fine art pieces and allowing them to shine. Over the past several months, we have received a number of inquiries about sponsorship opportunities in our publication. It has never been our intention to compromise the breathing space that we afford each accepted piece, or the overall look and feel of our publication; in each case, we have kindly declined.

At the same time, the inquiries got us scratching our heads. Could there be another way to highlight and to promote works more fully, to present the kinds of exhibitions, book shops, websites, publications, galleries and blogs that our readership would enjoy discovering? As such, we have decided to open up our website and digital media to sponsorship. More in-depth details about our readership and presence on the web can be found in our Agave Magazine + Press 2015 Media Kit, available now. Sponsorship and promotional opportunities on our website can be obtained at very reasonable rates, and can be customized and bundled as well. 

To learn more and to receive a copy of our media kit, please contact our Founder/Editor-in-Chief, Ariana Lyriotakis at ariana@agavemag.com
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SUMMER READS

5/7/2015
By Deb A.
PictureSunshine and a stack of books... it's summertime.
Photo: Agave Magazine
It's official: it's summertime. Here are the books that will, like sunscreen, be our close companions over the next couple of months. What will you be reading?

Founder and Editor Ariana will be reading through submissions and revisiting issues of Agave Magazine, but also looks forward to finally finishing All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and Paul Bailey's The Prince's Boy, both of which have made a semi-permanent home on her nightstand and are collecting dust.

Contributing Editor (Literature) Linda has pledged to finally read the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, after years of promising her super-fan wife that she would do so. Unable to resist a new Judy Blume book, she'll be reading In the Unlikely Event, along with Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely, since she likes to read at least one book each summer that can give her insight into what's at the core of social/new media trends. Rounding out her reading list are Mia Alvar's In the Country: Stories and Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr.

Blog Manager Deb will be poring over the fascinating Public Abstraction in preparation for a post-vacation interview with editor Vlado Velkov. She's also excited to finish up Steven Pinker's The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century and L.M. Montgomery's Canadian classic, Anne of Green Gables. (Guess which one is her daughter's bedtime story.)


Editor-at-Large (Art + Photography) Emily is excited to slowly re-read a new favourite book, Sh*t My Dad Says, by Justin Halpern. This gem was found in a $1.99 clearance bin around the holidays and became an instant family classic. She is also working on her (signed!) copy of Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates, and The Whole Shebang, by Timothy Ferris.

Business Manager Grant is fully entrenched in courses for Wharton Business School's online MBA in addition to working full-time, and so his reading consists of whatever is required course reading, the New York Times, and nightly bedtime stories.

And finally, something that should be on everyone's reading list: Elizabeth, a debut poetry volume by Pushcart Prize-nominated poet Charlie Baylis.

Happy reading from the Agave Magazine team!



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    Agave Press

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