Virtual Dada Salon – The Americas

October 31, 2023October 31, 2023 / Sarah M. Chen / Leave a comment

I’ll be part of the Three Rooms Press virtual salon on Tuesday, November 7 at 4pm PST which features contributors of Maintenant 17: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art. The theme is Peacefire. I’ll read an excerpt from my piece entitled “Now a Word From Our Sponsor.” It should be a fun time!

Here’s more info:

Three Rooms Press and Jefferson Market Library present the 2023 International Virtual Dada Salon a compelling night of DADA performance and poetry by maverick artsts from the Americas.

The event featured contributors to the internationally-renowned MAINTENANT 17: Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art (2023, Three Rooms Press), which features more than 250 visual and literary works by artists and writers from 33 countries on 6 continents. The virtual event takes place Tuesday, November 7, 7pm EST and will be livestreamed to Facebook via the Three Rooms Press group page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/threeroomspress).

Performers include renowned contempoarary DADA artists Liz Axelrod (Albuquerque, NM), C. Mehrl Bennett (Columbus, OH), Sarah M. Chen (Los Angeles, CA), Kathleen Florence (Almonte, Canada), Annaliese Jakimides (Bangor, ME), Gary Lawless (Nobleboro, ME), Mercedes Lawry (Seattle, WA), Marc Olmsted (Portland, OR), Suzi Kaplan Olmsted (Portland, OR), John Olson (Seattle, WA), Mado Reznik (Mexico City, Mexico), Travis Richardson (Culver City, CA), Beatriz Seelaender (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Sheree Shatsky (Melbourne, FL), W.K. Stratton (Round Rock, TX), Daina Surrealism (Chicago, IL), Ingrid Wendt (Eugene, OR), Gerald Yelle (Amherst, MA), and Maggs Vibo (Ewa Beach, HI). Three Rooms Press co-founders and MAINTENANT editors Peter Carlaftes and Kat Georges host.

MAINTENANT 17: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art is the latest of the ongoing annual MAINTENANT DADA journal series, established in 2008. This year’s issue features 250 contributors from 34 countries and 6 continents, offering work on the theme of PEACEFIRE. With searing cover art by renowned Georgian artist, Uta Kaxniashvili, MAINTENANT 17 elaborates on dada’s original premise as an antiwar movement.

Maintenant 17: A DADA Journal of Contemporary Writing & Art is Out Now!

July 19, 2023 / Sarah M. Chen / Leave a comment

It’s release day for the latest issue of the Maintenant DADA Journal that Three Rooms Press puts out every year. This year the theme is Peacefire. I’m thrilled to have my story “Now a Word From Our Sponsor” included. It’s a satirical take on conflict resolution or what not to do.

Here’s the book info:

When a war ends provisionally, the agreement is called a ceasefire. But when peace ends, there is only war. War and peace are co-dependent. What might be best would be a “Peacefire.”

In Maintenant 17: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art, 254 artists from 34 countries on 6 continents explore the concept of the end of both war and peace, providing provocative outsider ideas as dada has done since its inception.

With searing cover art by Georgian artist Uta Kaxniashvili (“Child Under Bombs”), this issue of the renowned journal elaborates on Dada’s original premise as an antiwar movement.

The Maintenant series, established in 2008, explores themes of politics, humanity, philosophy, and current concerns from an antiwar, anarchic (and often eye-opening) perspective. Past issues include work by artists Mark Kostabi, Raymond Pettibon, Joel Hubaut, Heide Hatry, Avelino de Araujo, Pawel Kuczynski, Inas Al-Soqi, Giovanni Fontana, Nicole Eisenmann, Syporca Whandal, and Kazunori Murakami; past writers have included Gerard Malanga, Charles Plymell, Andrei Codrescu, Harry E. Northup, Malik Crumpler, Maw Shein Win, and more, with a strong contingent of artist-writers from the world of punk rock, including Thurston Moore, Mike Watt, Bibbe Hansen, and more.

MAINTENANT 17: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art,edited by Peter Carlaftes and Kat Georges

Author Spotlight with Three Rooms Press

April 28, 2022 / Sarah M. Chen / Leave a comment

Peter Carlaftes, the publisher of Three Rooms Press, features an author every month on their website and for the month of May, it’s yours truly! I had fun chatting with Peter who I’ve worked with on several projects, including The Faking of the President anthology and Maintenant 15: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art. Hopefully we will work together on another project sometime soon!

To read the interview, click here: The Threads Underlying Crime Fiction.

La Di Dada Event

October 13, 2021 / Sarah M. Chen / Leave a comment

Today is the Maintenant 15: Humanity Reboot Dada event in DTLA!

It’s in Grand Park from 4pm to 6pm on Wednesday, October 13. I’ll be attending virtually through Zoom, but if you’re in the area and would like to see the performers live, you should check it out!

Otherwise, you can view the livestream on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/threeroomspress

I’ll be reading from my story “Safe Mode” about Words going on strike.

Hope to “see” you there!

Maintenant 15: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Art & Writing

September 15, 2021 / Sarah M. Chen / Leave a comment

Out now from Three Rooms Press and edited by Peter Carlaftes and Kat Georges is Maintenant 15: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Art & Writing.

I have my first dada piece of writing included in this journal which is really exciting. The theme was “Humanity: The Reboot.” My piece is called “Safe Mode” and it imagines a world in which words go on strike due to human abuse.

Here’s the description of the journal from the Three Rooms Press website:

“A smorgasbord for those who are sick and tired of it.” —Seattle Book Review

The 2021 edition of the world’s premiere journal of contemporary dada writing and art considers humankind past and present with a collection of contemporary dada art and writing driven by the theme “HUMANITY: THE REBOOT.” More than 250 creators from 33 countries establish that social protest can be creatively acheived via risk-taking art. The premier journal gathering the work of internationally-renowned contemporary Dada artists and writers, Maintenant 15 offers compelling proof that Dada continue to serve as a catalyst to creators more than a century later.

The annual MAINTENANT series, established in 2008, gathers work of contemporary Dada artists and writers from around the world. The new issue features cover art by renowned Cuban American artist Edel Rodriguez, whose work has been featured on the covers of TIME, The New Yorker, Der Spiegel, and more.

Learn more here: Maintenant 15

Stay tuned for info on an upcoming Dada event! And in person too! (outdoors and also available on Zoom)

The Faking of the President New York Times Review Tour

July 30, 2020 / Sarah M. Chen / Leave a comment

Last night we chatted presidents and politics with our esteemed editor / publisher Peter Carlaftes. It was a blast! We also read excerpts from our stories in The Faking of the President. To watch, click on the YouTube link below!

Buy links for The Faking of the President, a New York Times Editors’ Choice!

The FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT West Coast launch

May 20, 2020 / Sarah M. Chen / Leave a comment

Last night we had our virtual launch party for the West Coast writers of THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT (in addition to Chris Chambers and editor/publisher Peter Carlaftes who are East Coast). It was a blast! We chatted about politics and our predictions and hopes for the upcoming election. It was the first time I got to chat with writers I only know virtually like Nikki Dolson and Chris Chambers.

I read from my story “In Mother We Trust” which is told from the POV of Karen Pence. It’s set during the 2024 election in which Pence is the Republican nominee and Trump refuses to leave office. Not only is it an important presidential election but Calexit is on the ballot for California.

To watch, click below!

The Faking of the President is here!

April 22, 2020April 27, 2020 / Sarah M. Chen / Leave a comment

Today is the release of The Faking of the President anthology with Three Rooms Press. 19 tales of White House Noir that Publishers Weekly calls “highly entertaining.”

My story “In Mother We Trust” is set during the 2024 election with Mike Pence as the Republican candidate. Trump refuses to leave office which sets off all kinds of shenanigans, Calexit being one of them. I tell the story from Karen Pence’s POV which required me to do a lot of research into the Pences. That was interesting to say the least. I had a lot of fun writing this and it was quite the challenge!

And CrimeReads singled my story out in their “10 Books You Should Read this April!”

Three Rooms Press is hosting several virtual launch parties on Facebook Live in the next few weeks beginning with one tonight. I’ll be reading at the virtual L.A. one on May 19 with the other Los Angeleno writers. More on that to come!

In the meantime, check out this cool promo!

Buy the anthology now at these venues:

10 Books You Should Read This April

April 4, 2020April 4, 2020 / Sarah M. Chen / Leave a comment

CrimeReads came out with its “Top 10 Books You Should Read This April” list and selected The Faking of the President as one of them. On top of that, they singled out my story, along with Angel Luis Colon, as stand-outs. Woot!

My story “In Mother We Trust” is set in the near future during the 2024 election with Mike Pence running as the Republican candidate. It’s told from Karen Pence’s POV and she will do anything to ensure her husband’s rightful place as president. This resolve is tested when Trump refuses to leave office. Throw in Governor Elon Musk of California and the looming possibility of Calexit and you have a noir thriller that one reviewer wrote “reads something like a prequel to Handmaid’s Tale.”

The Faking of the President is out April 21, 2020 with Three Rooms Press but you can preorder it now!