Stop the Presses! Ira Nayman Joins DSP Inc. as Senior Editor
And some other stuff, in the off chance you were wondering how it's all going
Being the 46th edition of Assorted Nonsense, the official newsletter of Donovan Street Press Inc.
Donovan Street Press Welcomes Ira Nayman Aboard!
Yes, that’s right, you heard it here first: editor and author Ira Nayman has just joined Donovan Street Press Inc. as Senior Editor.
When I informed our Business Manager Jenn D. of this, she replied, “That’s amazing news!”
I wonder if she realized what she did there.
Cuz you see, Ira Nayman was, not that long ago, the editor of Amazing Stories magazine. Yes, that Amazing Stories.
Here’s the rest of Ira’s bio:
In addition to the magazine, Ira edited several volumes of Amazing Selects, working with such writers as Alan Steele, David Gerrold and John Stith. The Dance, Ira's first anthology as editor, was published in 2024. Ira is also a highly accomplished humour writer who fell into speculative fiction a couple of decades ago and decided to hang around for a while. He is the author of eight published novels (most recently The Multiverse Refugees Trilogy: Good Intentions, Bad Actors and The Ugly Truth). He has also had 40 short stories published in various magazines and anthologies. Les Pages aux Folles, Ira's web page of social and political satire, has been updated weekly for the past 22 years.
Needless to say, I am (we are) thrilled to have Ira aboard. I’m telling you, with this roster of talent, the sky’s the limit for Donovan Street Press. But not the sky you’re thinking of: I’m talking about a sky somewhere on a planet in the galaxy candidate HD1, about 13.5 billion light-years away from here. If that!
PS. As soon as I saw Ira’s preferred headshot (see above), I thought… yep. We’re gonna get along juuuust fine.
In Other News…
Those of you who have been paying attention know that Donovan Street Press Inc. released Tanah Haney’s psychological thriller A Peculiar Symmetry into the wild this past December 1st. This is the first book released by DSP Inc. not written by a Mahoney. We plan many more such releases, including books by Mark Rayner, Matt Watts, and Michael Antman all coming out in 2025.
We held a private launch party for Tanah Sunday, Dec 8th in which DSP Inc. presented Tanah with a handmade coffee mug courtesy of our friend Kary Bates of Horus Eye Pottery. We plan to make this a tradition for every author we launch from now until the end of eternity (whether they want a damned mug or not). (I have a mug and a honey pot and at least one bowl from Kary. I would be happy if all my dishes and cookware came from her.)
In related news, (not to jinx it!) but A Peculiar Symmetry has been selling every day since its launch. This is good.
A Brief Karate Update
Cuz I’m sure you’ve all been dying to know how that’s been going.
Well, in this, my fourth attempt at studying martial arts in this iteration of my life, I just graded to green belt. The highest I’ve ever achieved before this point (twelve years ago) was green belt with two brown tips; my next promotion after that would have been brown belt had I kept it up.
In this style of Karate, Shotokan, the order is something like white, yellow, green, blue, brown, then black. And there are several black belt levels after that. It is said that you only really start learning Karate once you achieve that first black belt level. So, I’ve quite a ways to go still. And time’s a tickin.’
At least, I think I successfully graded to green belt. There’s a postal strike here in Canada and the belts are coming by mail (along with a new gi I just ordered), so I haven’t actually received the belt yet, and I never really trust for sure that I’ve made the grade until I’m wearing the belt around my waist.
As for the grading itself, it went well… sort of. I always manage to mess something up. I kinda botched the end of Heian Sandan (the third kata in Shotakan Karate). And I was a bit uncoordinated during one of the cross decks. Not enough to fail the grading, but enough to irritate me.
I seem to suffer from a bit of performance anxiety, you see. I get self-conscious and over think things when I’m performing katas in front of other people. This happened last Saturday morning during the beginner’s class too. This was particularly embarrassing because I was one of only three adults present, and an orange belt. The beginner’s class is really for white and yellow belts. As an orange belt, I’m supposed to have the basics down, including the first three katas. At this class, as an adult and an official YMCA volunteer, I’m kinda halfway between a student and an assistant instructor (or Sempai, as I’m sometimes called).
So anyway, at one point everybody who knows Heian Shodan, the first kata, is lined up and the understanding is that if we make a mistake it’s twenty push-ups. Push ups don’t bother me; I’ve done them all my adult life and I can do about fifty if we’re doing them reasonably quickly with momentum (thirty if we’re taking our time and waiting a couple of beats after every one). But making mistakes in front of other people does bother me.
We perform the kata with those who are still learning it looking on. Some mess up and wind up doing push ups. And I’m thinking to myself, don’t embarrass yourself Mahoney, but we do it and I get through it just fine.
Unfortunately, we’re required to do it again, and somehow I get distracted and screw up the fourth move, a tettsui-uchi (forward hammer strike). I sometimes forget this move because the kata starts out similar to Fukyugata Ichi in Shorin Ryu Karate, my old style, which doesn’t have that move. I look up and naturally I’ve been seen.
“You’re putting me in an awkward position here, Joe!” Sensei says.
Sheepishly, I go and do the twenty push ups in front of all the kids.
Adventures in the Radio Trade
Some of you might be familiar with Tom Pendergast who pens a fine newsletter here on Substack called Out Over My Skis.
Tom was kind enough to read and review my memoir Adventures in the Radio Trade. Here’s his review.
Thanks Tom!
It’s rare to read a book and to find yourself so keenly aware of the audience that will cherish that book … but that’s where I found myself as I read Joe Mahoney’s engaging memoir Adventures in the Radio Trade, an account of his long career working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a technician, a producer, a sound-effects wizard, and a manager. Those who listened to the CBC from the late 1980s through the 2000s will undoubtedly enjoy the “behind the scenes” look at the making of many of their favorite programs, and Mahoney is a terrific guide, for he possesses an amazing memory for detail as well as an affable style. You can’t help but like the way the curious, humble narrator describes speaking French with Margaret Atwood, making his first sound effects in Studio 212, or going on strike with his colleagues.
Mahoney’s recall of detail that will endear him to another natural audience for this collection of tales: people who have worked in radio, or who have an intense interest in the technical details of radio production. Mahoney’s obvious love of learning new technology allows him to create interesting accounts of all the tools he learned to use over the years.
What lifts this book out of the realm of radio industry nostalgia, however, is the charming character of Mahoney himself. Talkative, informal, and continually curious, Mahoney shows that a curious and reasonably intelligent person can make it anywhere, as long as they’re willing to work hard and try new things.~Tom Pendergast, Goodreads (five star review)
Podcast
Re-Creative: a podcast about creativity and the works that inspire it.
Last week Mark A. Rayner and I talked to singer, podcaster and producer Lauren LoGrasso, who drops by to talk about one of her favorite pieces of music, Vienna, by Billy Joel.
The song is having a bit of a renaissance for its age-positive message and it's had a huge influence on Lauren's own work in music.
The Michigan State grad is a creative best known for her work as a singer/songwriter, public speaker, actor, and Webby Award Winning podcast host. She also interned on the Ellen DeGeneres show.
Lauren shares her hopes for her music, provides some welcome advice on podcasting, chats with us about the entertainment industry and her career, and proves to be a thoroughly delightful guest.
All previous episodes are available online, comprising the first 3 seasons, over 60 conversations with creative people from all walks of life about the art stoking their imaginative fires.
Advance Readers Wanted
Donovan Street Press Inc. is looking for advance readers for upcoming books. If you’re interested, drop us a line at contact@donovanstreetpress.com
Thanks for reading!
Follow Joe Mahoney and Donovan Street Press Inc. on: Goodreads, Bluesky, Threads, Mastadon, Facebook, and Instagram
And here’s a few tracks from Joe on Spotify:
This has been the 46th edition of Assorted Nonsense, the official newsletter of Donovan Street Press Inc.
Glad to see Ira in the fold here.