Indie bookstore set to launch literary journal
Who says print is dead?
Brooklyn’s growing literary landscape will get a new addition in a few weeks when Cobble Hill indie bookstore BookCourt launches its own journal.
“It seemed like a natural step, with all of the great ideas that flow through this establishment,” said Zach Zook, the Court St. store’s general manager and the journal’s executive editor.
The twice-yearly publication, dubbed “Cousin Corrine’s Reminder,” will feature more than 150 pages of fiction and photography from local and international artists and authors, as well as a graphics section curated by Brooklyn comic book author Dean Haspiel.
“You’ll be seeing essays and pictures, and then you’ll come to the literary equivalent of the Sunday comics,” Haspiel said.
The journal is the first publication of Zook’s independent book imprint, Cousin Corrine, named for a relative who bequeathed the seed money for the store to his parents, Mary Gannett and Henry Zook. Zach Zook is also hoping to publish first-run fiction paperbacks, pocket-sized photo books and maybe even a children’s line.
For the first edition, Haspiel teamed with “Motherless Brooklyn” writer Jonathan Lethem on a piece that chronicles Lethem’s daily walk to work along Nevins St.
Controversial author James Frey is contributing what he describes as “this weird little dictionary” of Hollywood jobs, which offers a biting commentary on the entertainment industry.
Frey said he wanted to give back to BookCourt for its support, even after the 2006 controversy over the truth of bits of his best-selling memoir “A Million Little Pieces” and his resulting feud with Oprah Winfrey. Plus, he said, he’s a fan of independent bookstores.
“They’re an important part of literary culture,” Frey said. “It’s the same reason I don’t want all the diners in New York to go away and be replaced by McDonald’s.”