2008-06-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

On the Cusp - Recorded May 2008 - includes excerpts from Ohio River Dialogues, Ballad of the Confessor, The Hole, and Homage.

2008-03-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Ohio River Dialogues is a Finalist for the 2008 Ohioana Fiction Award

2007-08-14T15:33:00.000-07:00

Ohio River Dialogues, coming the fall of 2007

"Blood, water and the high lonesome sound of late night guitars; Ohio River Dialogues is a twisted, bumpy ride that shouldn't be missed."
-- Michael Stanley

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jeanie Van Paepeghem

SUGAR LOAF PRESS – Dedicated to Real Literature
Phone: 740.507.2704
Email: jeaniev@sugarloafpress.com

FOUR HUCK FINNS GO ELECTRIC

Four men, a weekend of river fishing, the impending Iraqi war, global warming, scandal in the Catholic Church, the Israel-Palestinian problem, familial gossip, middle-age neuroses, the plight of single dads, cheap labor gone south, the origins of saviors, contempt for the 401K Generation. . . these topics and more are discussed in dialogue and presented in dramatic format in Ohio River Dialogues by William Zink.

Set in the summer of 2002 after 9/11, as the U.S. government considers war with Iraq, an ex-hippie, two software dropouts, and a Steady Eddie convene for a weekend of fishing, drinking, and fraternal debate. Pandora’s Box opens wide for the unadulterated, unedited sparring of ideas and fraternal dominance.

Four men go at it--leaving no white elephant unidentified, permitting no unclothed emperor to pass without howls of laughter, and no bounds of propriety left uncrossed. There are no sacred cows in the freewheeling minds of dreamers, as there are none in the souls of these beaten-down warriors--for they have seen love blossom in the historic flourish that was the 60's, watched as it was ground into meal for the disco dancing and empire coasting of the 70's, and pondered ever since what good has been taken and what lessons learned as we now enter an undetermined new phase of American culture and influence. The collective soul of a nation is mirrored in the bumbling, boasting, beautiful voices of four ordinary men.

Ohio River Dialogues is Huck Finn with some ganja in his pocket, a Gibson over his shoulder, and world destruction in the back of his mind. . . times four.

For more information contact: Jeanie Van Paepeghem
343 N. Pearl Street Granville, Ohio 43023
phone: 740.507.2704 email: jeaniev@sugarloafpress.com

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Ballad of the Confessor, 2003

"This is a muscular and gripping tale from inside the world of work. 'The Confessor' brings home the real shape of a reality nearly erased by television and statistics. Is this the start of that much-needed social realist fiction? Perhaps. Zink is one hell of a writer."
-- Andrei Codrescu, NPR's All Things Considered

"A genuine Southern Masterpiece."
-- The Charleston City Paper

"To anyone who says Southern literature has disappeared from the new South of of air conditioning and interstates, I say read this book. The characters in William Zink's amazing novel don't go inside when the heat hits 100 degrees -- they just keep working and dreaming as they dig the flowerbeds and cut the grass of all the intellectuals who moan about great Southern novels being a thing of the past."
-- Jason Sanford, storySouth

"Ballad of the Confessor is a world of work tale that grips the reader in the arms of the new South and doesn't let go until the final page. In passages terse and stark, in others strident and moving, this novel takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of emotions."
-- Curled Up With A Good Book

"Read this book with cicidas and beer, because that's how I suspect it was written. It is tight and beautiful and glazed with the good kind of sweat."
-- David Giffels, Akron Beacon Journal

2007-08-13T16:59:00.001-07:00

Riffs from New Id, 2004

"Riffs contains some pieces that are sincerely moving."
-- Rain Taxi

2007-08-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

Torrid Blue, 2002

"Torrid Blue is an engaging anthology of brief, original free-verse."
-- Midwest Book Review

2007-08-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

The Hole, 2000

"The Hole is a strange and magical love story that is a joy to read."
-- Larry Lawrence, Abilene Reporter-News

"Highly Recommended."
-- Eric Robbins, Booklist

Sugar Loaf Press