Anthony Doyle’s narrative has been nominated for the SPILLWORDS story of the year!
unfolds a poignant tale of father and son, delving into the essence of masculinity and the relentless quest for validation.
For those familiar with my blog, you’ll recall that Anthony penned the novel HIBERNACULUM, a personal favorite of mine. The decision to publish it was driven by the sheer brilliance of his storytelling, which continues to captivate me.
Anthony is a dedicated independent writer striving to carve his niche, and recognition like this makes a significant impact. Therefore, I urge you, to cast a vote in support of Anthony!
I also nominated him as a write-in candidate for SPILLWORDS Author of the Year. Your backing would mean a great deal to him.
So please, if you have a moment, give Anthony a vote!
We’re thrilled to shine the spotlight on Anthony Doyle, a writer with a captivating journey from the historic town of Wicklow, Ireland, to the vibrant streets of São Paulo, Brazil. In this exclusive interview, Anthony shares insights into his creative process, inspirations drawn from dramatic landscapes, and the unique linguistic gems that grace his works.
Curious to delve into the mind of this imaginative wordsmith? Read the full interview here. Embark on a literary journey and explore the diverse influences that shape Anthony’s writing, from Viking tales to the bustling diversity of São Paulo.
Don’t miss the chance to uncover the essence of Anthony Doyle’s creative spirit. Head over to the interview now!
And get your copy of his groundbreaking novel of human hibernation, deep thought, and climate change, HIBERNACULUM.
Old Scratch Press founding member, poet and novelist, Anthony Doyle has a few suggestions:
“Science fiction envisions the future. The best way to imagine future change is to look at how and when change occurred in the past.
The drivers seldom change: climate, war, and famine. None of those indicators are looking particularly good for humanity right now. Dudley Young’s masterful, poetic, and irreverent scholarly work about the origins of the sacred in human history is the most enjoyable and rewarding book I have read on human evolution and development. So many things began to make sense to me after reading it.”
Looks can be deceiving. Can you guess who did what?
Can you match these poets: Alan Bern, Anthony Doyle, Ellis Elliot, Gabby Gilliam, Morgan Golloway, Nadja Maril, with the correct fun fact?
Nadja MarilAnthony Doyle
Alan Bern
Janet Uchendu
Gabby GilliamEllis ElliotMorgan Golladay
A. This writer/poet has a secret fantasy to be part of a singing flash mob.
B. This writer/poet was so afraid of sharks, they conquered their fears by participating in a White Shark Cage Dive.
C. At a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader audition, this writer/poet taught the choreography.
D. In high school and college, this writer/poet had a following as a fortune teller. Their specialty was reading tarot cards.
E. This writer/poet was so embarrassed by their first attempt to bake an angel food cake, they buried the “cake” in their mother’s garden.
F. This writer/ poet fervently played the clarinet in their youth with hopes that the instruments vibrations would enhance the quality of their hair.
G. This writer/poet made a project of collecting all the dead ladybugs where they were working and lining them up on the top of their office cubicle walls.
AND THE ANSWERS ARE:
A. Gabby Gilliam secretly or not so secretly likes to be in the limelight. The many talented writer/ poet who by day works as a teacher, sometimes fantasizes about being part of a flash singing mob.
Poet and Writer Gabby Gilliam wearing what appears to be a pizza hat.
B. Poet and writer Anthony Doyle loves to swim. But he didn’t always feel safe in the water because he worried about being attacked by sharks. So in order to conquer his fears he allowed himself to be locked inside a protective cage and submerged in deep water, a White Shark Cage Dive in Gaansbai, South Africa, so he could confront his terror close up and now scuba dives as a hobby.
C. Poet/writer Ellis Elliot once taught ballet and was a dance choreographer too. So, once upon a time she taught choreography at a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader audition. Here’s a professional photo of her dancing.
Ellis Elliot, dancer and choreographer.
D. In High School, Nadja Maril was fascinated by the occult: astrology, numerology, time travel and fortune telling. Her talent to predict the future in college, with the aid of a battered deck of Tarot cards had fellow students lined up outside her dorm room door. Eventually, she packed the cards away. “While influences, opportunities and obstacles can be predicted,” she says, “We make our own destiny.”
A very young Nadja performing in a High School play.
E. Writer, poet and artist Morgan Golladay is not afraid to tell the world her first attempt at baking an Angel Food Cake was such an embarrassment, she hid the evidence by burying it in her mother’s garden. Often the work of creating something “just right” takes multiple tries.
F. Allan Bern shares this wonderful photo of him in his youth when long full hair was “a thing” and he was convinced, if he kept practicing his clarinet, the vibrations of his instrument would enhance his hair growth. “Here I am in Napoli in 1966, ” says Alan. “My friend Umberto and I played the Clarinet, and he claimed the practicing made your head vibrate and, perhaps, helped your hair grow like this.”
Alan Bern in 1966.
E. Writer/Poet Janet Uchendu thought it odd that an inordinate amount of ladybugs were turning up dead inside the office where she worked. Like most writers, she is a keen observer. Perhaps it was the end of their lifecycle, but why inside that particular office? So she stacked them up on the top edge. of her cubicle. But much to her surprise, no one else noticed.
Ladybug ladybug fly away home.
Thank you for playing the game. Don’t forget to follow this blog for news and announcements. It’s free. Just sign up. Coming up is the October 15th deadline to the Coold Turkey issue of Instant Noodles Literary Magazine. Prose submissions this time must be approximately less than 500 words and no more than two poems, if you are submitting in the poetry category.
Do you find that your work as a translator influences your approach to writing original works?
A:
I can safely say I learned how to write from translating other people’s work. Translation has been a school to me. In a way, it’s like those painters you see reproducing great works at art galleries. They’re learning through reproduction. Translation is like that too. Translation means taking a text in one language and rewriting it in another. But literary translation is about taking an author’s text in one language and transferring it to another language in that author’s style. So it’s reproduction of content and form, to the extent that that’s possible. You learn a great deal from doing that. And it was through translation that I finally acquired those other competencies I mentioned before—planning, discipline and patience. It’s great training for a writer.
Congratulations to Anthony Doyle, whose dystopian sci fi novel was chosen for inclusion in the August Kirkus Reviewsmagazine!
To have a book chosen by Kirkus for their magazine means that they think the book is worth your precious reading time.
Could Anthony Doyle be the next George Orwell?
Have you bought your copy?
We have a few ways to get you that copy you want!
first option (and to get a FREE copy):
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second option (includes pre-order sale price & special collector’s item!):
During the month of August, order Hibernaculum at the pre-order price and receive a free copy of the Hibernaculum Spa brochure! A collectors item, signed by the author, that you won’t want to miss!
And, just as an FYI, I read this book when it was submitted to us, I read it to edit it, and I read it a few more times after that. I was captivated by the book every single time. If you, like me, loved1984, A Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, you will also love Hibernaculum. It’s just that good.
NM: In your notes about the book, you mention wanting initially to tell the story of Jonah and the Whale. How do you see that story relating to the plotline of Hibernaculum?
AD: The Jonah story has always held a particular fascination for me. Both the Christian and the Islamic versions are so rich in symbolism and psychological truths that I could go on writing about them and never get bored (though the reader probably would). Hibernaculum was originally intended as part of a triptych called Three Jonahs. The other installments are a recently-finished novel called Jestor, and a poetry chapbook called Jonah’s Map of the Whale (which is currently with Old Scratch Press). Each work explores the Jonah story from a different angle. In Hibernaculum, I imagined the process of hibernation and the hibernaculum dome itself as a “whale” that swallows the sleeper. Instead of 3 days, this descent into the underworld lasts 3 months or more. Jonah had plotted his course: he was going to board a ship at Joppa Port and sail away to Tarshish (Gibraltar). That was his plan, but it wasn’t the right one (he was supposed to go to the city of Nineveh). We have our plan, our course, collectively and individually, and it doesn’t seem to be the right one either, and sooner or later we’re going to be tipped out of our own boat and forced to reconsider. That’s what Hibernaculum is about: a society forced to reconsider its “course”.
Hibernaculum began life in Kindle Vella, but KV does not have the whole story. If you began reading it there, you’ll want to get your hands on the book, to see what happens at the end, when the dystopian becomes…. Orwellian.
Anthony Doyle is an amazing author, and while Hibernaculum is his first published novel, it will not be his last. I highly suggest you follow him to follow his career, especially if you like deep books that challenge our modern world. And, in his current post, he has an extra Hibernaculum story posted that you won’t want to miss!
As his publishers, we feel incredibly lucky that we are the ones to publish this book, and we’re looking forward to getting a chance to sit down with the print book and enjoy it all over again. The journey the book takes the reader on is…. unexpected, and when you think you’ve seen behind the curtain, there is more to know, and more secrets revealed. And, if you enjoy fiction that is also culturally relevant, this is the book for you. Like the best sci fi, it is a prescient book, and when you read it, and realize it was written before any hint of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, you’ll think that Anthony is a seer, and it will shock you to realize exactly where tough climate choices could take our children someday. No, you will not be able to put Hibernaculum down! But don’t take my word for it. Listen to the experts:
“Thought-provoking SF delivered in an intriguingly panoramic form.” KIRKUS REVIEWS
“Doyle has hit on something rare: an original approach to climate fiction.” BOOKLIFE REVIEWS
“Gripping, revealing, and frightening.” MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW“The contrast between notes and experiences of those who navigate this world are exceptionally well done, and will lend to book club discussions and sci-fi reader delight. Libraries and readers seeking a futuristic exploration which examines sleepers of the world and the social and political truths and realities that underlie their motivations will find Hibernaculum replete with a growing horror of realization that awakens, at the end, into a nightmare of manipulation and truth. It will leave readers thinking long after the story’s final startling revelations.” DONOVAN’S BOOKSHELF
In an imploding world, time is money, time is trouble, and time is risk. For those who can neither afford or bear to exist 24/7, 365 days a year, time is also a solution.
In Anthony Doyle’s startling debut novel, you’ll step into a world where global voluntary hibernation facilities provide a way out, a chance to step off the status quo carousel. Hibernaculum takes you into the before, during, and after of this strange new process and posits the question: Do things really look better after a good, long sleep?
A compelling, unsettling glimpse into the world of tomorrow.
And see what the readers thought who read the abbreviated version on Kindle Vella:
Yes, we’ve been recommending Anthony’s book for some time now, but it’s finally here! And you know that in a few weeks you’re going to start shopping for Christmas presents or Holiday gifts, and why not give your friends and loved ones not just another “thing,” a tie, socks, etc., why not give them an entire week of great reading? People love and remember experiences more than things, and no one will be able to forget this book, or put it down.
DO YOU RUN A BOOKSTORE? ARE YOU A LIBRARIAN? DO YOU HAVE A PODCAST?
Anthony is a warm and engaging human, and he is free, willing, and able to Zoom with you and your guests to talk about his book, or climate change, or sci fi that predicts the future, or how to write and publish your debut novel, or any number of other topics.
Writer and poet Anthony Doyle often uses short form prose in his work to link a concept or idea into a larger story. In talking about his forthcoming novel Hibernaculum, he says, “I hope the novel makes people consider hypotheses they may not have thought of before….it takes a multi-faceted approach. It’s a little like looking at something in a hall of mirrors, and that can be challenging but fun at the same time.”
Ten dedicated writer poets comprise the Old Scratch Short Form Collective, with the goal of working with the Devil’s Party Press, a small independent publisher, to bring to fruition the concept of publishing chapbooks of poetry and short form prose under the imprint Old Scratch Press.
This week we are introducing founding member Anthony Doyle.
Anthony Doyle was born in Dublin and raised in Wicklow, Ireland. He has been living in São Paulo, Brazil, since 2000, where he works as a translator of fiction, non-fiction and film scripts from Portuguese. He has published numerous translations, including the novel There Were Many Horses, by Luiz Ruffato (Amazon Crossing), and the acclaimed memoir Operation Car Wash (Bloomsbury), by Jorge Pontes and Márcio Anselmo. In addition to short stories and poems, he has published the children’s book O Lago Secou (Companhia das Letrinhas, 2013). His first novel, Hibernaculum, is due for release in July 2023 through Out Of This World Press, the sci-fi imprint of Devil’s Party Press.
If you’d like to read a short piece of prose, by Anthony Doyle, his piece “Brain in a Jar” just won the AUTHOR OF THE MONTH AWARD on Spillwords.
Don’t forget to visit our Old Scratch Press Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter to find out what our contributors are up to and the latest poetry news. Thank You as always for your support.
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