Bad Banana

Don’t invest in AI, invest in the future of the book Nov 18, 2025   by Lucy Mercer Why the publishing industry must back small presses, rather than LLMs.  © Sam Fisher I’m writing to make the case to you, the wider book industry, that small-press publishing is important.  I imagine this almost as if you are judges, perhaps peering over stacks of bestsellers, and I am one of the defendants.  Why is that?  Because really the situation is this: the industry is not supporting small-press publishers enough, not because it ought to, but because small-press publishing is the future of book production in this country. Fiction, poetry, non-fiction, hybrid books, artist books, broadsides, pamphlets, even vinyls and posters, beautifully written and beautifully printed. These are some things we could look at. Or I could say to you, small-press publishers are the spirit that animates our literature.   And you might say – why, what do they do?  For...

Brendan Basham is a Diné author, teacher and artist who lives in New Mexico, near the Navajo and Zuni Reservations. His debut novel, “ Swim Home to the Vanished ,” tells the story of a small-town Diné line cook and uses magical realism to explore themes of grief and redemption.   What words of advice do you have for aspiring writers or aspiring cooks? What would you say to those folks? BB: Number one for any young Native person: It doesn't matter what you want to do with your life, your story matters. Your story counts and it needs to be heard. Number two: If you're a young artist writer, you need to read everything you can get your hands on. All genres, all time eras. And you’ve got to travel a lot, and you’ve got to learn new languages and challenge any kind of preconceived notions of the world that you've had. Also: Don't forget where you come from. I want to see craft, I want people to make beautiful things. I don't want to see young Native writers wr...

IT IS OUR BIRTHDAY TODAY - WE STARTED PUBLISHING ON 11-11-11. Happy 14th Birthday to us!  and we are happy to be BAD BANANA, too! 

  Inuk writer Jamesie Fournier says scary monsters and horror stories often have important lessons and serve as cautionary tales for young people. (Photo courtesy of Jamesie Fourner) Arts and Culture    Oct 31, 2025  New anthology brings horror to the tundra Collection provides 12 spooky tales about zombies, monsters and other mythical creatures By Jorge Antunes A new anthology of Arctic horror stories includes modern interpretations of Inuit myths, zombies on the tundra and cannibal children. “When you encounter scary stories, in most cultures, they have that high interest value where they could be a little morbid or graphic or very da...