Current News

An Interview with Mark A. Pritchard Mark A. Pritchard grew up in the New Forest, Southern England, a village with more sheep than people. He is the eldest of four siblings, whom he assures are recovering well. Mark holds a degree in drama from King Alfred’s College, Winchester. Tired of suffering Mark’s essays, the Head of Drama suggested he try a screen play as his dissertation. Words magically ceased to be mortal enemies and he has been captivated by story telling ever since. Rose Solari discovered him at the Oxford Literary ‘Fringe Festival’ in 2008 reading from his then work in … [Read more...]

Notes from the Personal Journal of James J. Patterson (On Joanna Biggar) At our October book launch, James J. Patterson introduced Joanna Biggar in a way only he could pull off, with passages from his personal journal. ASP’s Fall Book Launch Party took place on October 10, 2019 at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD. There James J. Patterson was giving the lofty task of introducing his mentor, Joanna Biggar, whose novel Melanie's Song was debuting that night— its predecessor That Paris Year was among the first books published by ASP ten years ago. The evening was also, in many ways, a … [Read more...]

Escaping the Fat Man by Joanna Biggar "To say that the Gao jail was notorious is an understatement. It was a spot we had no intention of visiting. Yet, in the heat of mid-day, there we were, sweating inside the interior of its relatively cool cement walls...Watching those ahead of us beg, grovel, and attempt to pay their way out of their difficulties was not reassuring. Watching a prison guard beat until bloody two beautiful young Tuareg men in blue robes was positively terrifying." IT BEGAN, OF COURSE, WITH A FRENCHMAN. While living in Ghana in the 1970’s with my husband and three young … [Read more...]

Two Poems by Reuben Jackson Kelly Recalls 1963 I still call The year 1963 Season of Nightmares After Medgar Evers Was killed I Would lie awake And wait for My uncle Joe To get home Safely he and My Aunt Blanche Had the same Carport Mr. Evers Had I know Because I read The story concerning His assassination over And over in Ebony magazine even When he my Uncle was safely Seated on the Couch I could Not sleep because I now knew That we were Hated for being Who we were And are then The four little Girls in Birmingham Died in that Bombing who will Protect us I Asked the moon On more … [Read more...]

Shanghaied By The Past By Linda Watanabe McFerrin SHANGHAIED BY THE PAST appears in Navigating the Divide (ASP 2019) SOME CALL SHANGHAI THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT. And, in many ways, it is—organic, iridescent, a nacreous gemstone wrapped around a suffering center stuffed into the belly button of China. Behind it, China’s umbilicus, the great Yangtze, crawls through the fat middle of the country all the way from Tibet. Shanghai is young as great cities go. A murky backwater for centuries, its origins as a cosmopolitan center are rooted in the 1843 Treaty of Nanjing and trade concessions … [Read more...]