Young Junius

The Free Podcast!!

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Listen to Episode 1

Synopsis:
Before Jack Palms ever shook 'em down, Junius Ponds came up on tough streets outside Boston way back in the day. In the middle of drugs, gang violence, and the toughest set of tower-projects you ever knew, Young Junius fights to escape the consequences of a murder he had to commit and tries to live long enough to avenge the death of his brother.

Young Junius: This novel is still in progress.

Submitted by Seth on Sun, 04/19/2009 - 08:43
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Because this novel is live--still being updated and serialized as a podcast, you'll see the most recent episodes at the top here. Go here to hear the beginning.

Publisher's Weekly Review for YOUNG JUNIUS

Submitted by Seth on Mon, 08/23/2010 - 15:42
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It is IN!! Pub Weekly, the powerhouse reviewing company has weighed in on Young Junius. This is what they had to say:

Young Junius
Seth Harwood, Tyrus (Consortium, dist.), $24.95 (408p) ISBN 978-1-935562-28-3; $14.95 paper ISBN 978-1-935562-27-6

Set in 1987, Harwood’s searing if overlong look at doomed youth chronicles a few pivotal days in the life of 14-year-old Junius Posey, a captive of poverty, ignorance, and misguided social programming in the Rindge Towers, a drug-ridden Cambridge, Mass., housing project. Beginning with his older brother Temple’s funeral, Junius’s extended quest to wreak vengeance on Temple’s killer and make himself a power in his ’hood results in a vicious black comedy of murderous errors. Harwood (Jack Wakes Up) pulls no punches, revealing not only the white death of crack cocaine but the ineffectuality of black liberals who believe their Harvard Law books can cure the malignancy inherent in “forgotten civic ideas” like the Towers and the desire of the Towers’ inhabitants to destroy anyone trying to escape. In the end, Junius’s fate is as old as Aeschylus, the endless cycle of killing “just a snake eating itself.” (Oct.) 

---I have to mention here that I've also heard the writers of The Wire refer to their work as an Aeschylus story/tragedy. So I take that very well. Very well indeed. Black comedy? Yeah. I guess it is.

So there.

 

Young Junius

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Young Junius

Six foot tall, fourteen-year-old Young Junius sets out to find his brother’s killer in a cluster of Boston’s low-income housing towers—prime drug-dealing territory. After committing a shooting to protect his friend, Junius finds himself with fifty dollars and instructions to run. Shocked by the violence he’s created and determined to see its consequences, he stays put.

Now you can preorder the print version of Young Junius in both trade paperback and hardcover from Tyrus Books.

Amazon: Hardcover, Paper

B&N: Hardcover, Paper

Indiebound: Hardcover, Paper

Borders: Hardcover, Paper

July 31st -- Last Day to Order YJ Special Edition!

Submitted by Seth on Sat, 07/31/2010 - 11:06
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TODAY -- July 31st is your last chance to pre-order a copy of the YOUNG JUNIUS SPECIAL EDITION. 

No, after today you cannot get one. You'll have to cry and covet your friends' copies. Sorry.

You want one, you have to act now. Because after this we roll up the magic carpet of literary fancy-edition goodness and that's that.

Thanks to all who've already bought copies. This promotion, pre-sale and special edition publishing endeavor have all been huge successes! Tyrus and I are stoked about what we've accomplished here. We're damn close to having sold 200 copies of the book! 

That's awesome for a special edition like this, in pre-order and takes us a long way toward what the overall cost of printing all copies of the book will cost us. You guys rock! Thanks again.

Next up is publicity and marketing and we'll be paying for that from Special Edition proceeds too. Readings coming up: October in San Francisco and early-November on the East Coast!

Day full of HOT and awesome!

Submitted by Seth on Fri, 07/23/2010 - 00:48
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Wow! I got my hands today on this new galley/promo copy of Young Junius and it looks SWEET!! 

I'm pretty pumped, as you can imagine. How pumped? Well, let's just say that this podcast I recorded today with Ben from Tyrus barely scratches the surface and it's still a pretty crazy one.

So you hear me? Nuff said. Just listen:

Click here to experience the word on when you'll no longer be able to order copies of the Special Edition!

Man, having the book in my hands, seeing it in print? Yeah, there's something dramatic about this that really does make it all worthwhile.

Newspaper Coverage in SF Chronicle!

Submitted by Seth on Wed, 05/26/2010 - 16:10
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In the old days - which, in this case, you might define as "two years ago" - getting your book published would entail finding an agent, sending it off to publishing houses like Random House or, when that failed, paying a vanity press to put the thing in print.

All of that has changed, thanks to radical shifts in the publishing industry and, oh yeah, the Internet.

Here are some examples of how a few Bay Area authors recently got into print:

Berkeley author Seth Harwood, who teaches writing and literature at Stanford University and City College of San Francisco, wrote his first book, the gritty crime novel "Jack Wakes Up," in 2005. He began posting 50-minute podcast episodes from it on Podiobooks.com in 2006, establishing a marketing platform for his work. He made a print-on-demand deal with Breakneck Books in March 2008, and then Three Rivers Press, an imprint of Random House, scooped him up and published the book in May 2009.

Read more here: Http://sfgate.com

Young Junius Open Culture Preorder

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Subscribe with one click via iTunes: free!
Get this free audiobook and hundreds more at Podiobooks.com

Six foot tall, fourteen-year-old Young Junius sets out to find his brother’s killer in a cluster of Boston’s low-income housing towers—prime drug-dealing territory. After committing a shooting to protect his friend, Junius finds himself with fifty dollars and instructions to run. Shocked by the violence he’s created and determined to see its consequences, he stays put.

Sure, you can listen free, and now you can order the print version of Young Junius as well. Below, you'll find a block to order the Special Edition of YOUNG JUNIUS from Tyrus Books. This edition will be covered by a special, embossed dust jacket featuring artwork by Jerry Scullion and Bob Ostrom. Inside, there will be a b&w insert with photos of some of the book's locations. A cloth binding, a metallic spine stamp, and more fun features will round out this gorgeous edition. Available only online for a limited time.

Use promo code OC to save $3 off the price!

Have a discount code? Enter it here, click "submit query," and the new price will appear.

Regular Price

Product
 PRICE
Jack Wakes Up
The original Harwood crime hit.		 $10
Young Junius Special Edition
Signed and numbered, special limited edition.		 $35

Front Cover by Jerry ScullionFront Cover by Jerry Scullion

We're looking at a run of less than 1,000 copies total. Once we sell them out, they're gone!

When will I get my books? The edition will print in September and be shipped to you in October.

Are there discount codes I should use? You hella best betcha. We got a lot of affiliates helping us out on this one. So choose your favorite and you'll get $$$'s off your checkout AND help them right back in return. Click here to go through to the page of codes.

Where can you get it? HERE! Right here on this page from none other than yer boy and Tyrus Books.

Will you ship it to me wherever I am? YES. We will ship anywhere in the world!

Back Cover by Bob OstromBack Cover by Bob Ostrom

What can I do to help spread the word? Now that's what I'm talking about! I'm glad you asked. Just go here or scroll down a bit for more on that.

Evangelism/Street Team

Can I reserve a special number? No. You cannot reserve a special number. This edition is first come, first-served, and once all of the copies sell out, that's all there is. So bring it as soon as Cinco de Harwood starts. Ordering will begin at Noon EDT on 5/5 or 9AM PDT here on the left coast! We gonna go full-wild on that day!

What will this special edition cost? The cost of the special edition will be $35, but you can find lots of promo codes here to take $3 off of that and knock it down to $32.

Can I get mine signed and personalized? HELLS fricking yeah! I'd love nothing better than to scrawl my chicken scratch all over this thing telling you how happy I am to have you as a fan! You'll even be able to write in exactly what you want me to say in your order form. Or you can tell me your name and say, "Freestyle it, Seth. Show the love!" And know what? I WILL!

Just add how you want your book personalized in the "Special Instructions to seller" box (see left) during your PayPal transaction.

Can I order multiple copies? Sure!! Adjust the quantity on the PayPal page once you click through to buy.

What if I need more help? What if I change my mailing address before September? Just use the Contact Us form or email Tyrus Books and we'll get you sorted out.  (Unless you're writing to request a specific number, in which case: No, you can't have it. Sorry.)

I still have questions!  Contact us here, email Tyrus Books or hit the Frequently Asked Questions.

What's up with this? It's a dope-ass partnership is what it is! Here we work together (you, me and Tyrus Books) to raise funds for promo and the full-scale print run of the book, which will hit stores everywhere in the fall. And you get a great, special edition of the book to show the world you're a true Palms Posse Pundit!

Scott did this last year with The Rookie and is doing it again now with The Starter (see video about his process here).

That's it. That's the goods, the news and the dope! I'm currently working on big revisions to the book right now, and it's going to be even better than last year's podcast version. This is definitely one you'll want to get in on!

 

Young Junius Blog Roll - Part 1

Submitted by Seth on Wed, 05/12/2010 - 11:08
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In the next week I'm going to post links for all the awesome blogs that wrote about last week's Young Junius launch. These guys all did really wonderful work that I want to honor here and point you guys toward. All of these sites/blogs offer wonderful content on a regular basis. Check 'em out!

click to enlargeclick to enlarge(Thanks to Nathan Cain of Independent Crime for the accompanying covers.)

First up is my boy Aldo Calcagno whose site Powder Burn Flash rocks our socks all the time with awesome flash fiction crime stories! You know it! Here's his post, "Cordite Alert."

Then we got Seth Strong, who found me because we're both named Seth. Ha! Other than that, he regularly drops great bits of knowledge on his blog "Seth's World." Wish I'd thought of that title! Here's his post on YJ "Seth Harwood Wrote Another Book."

click to enlargeclick to enlargeI totally dig this next blog by Nathan Cain, not just for his awesome Wednesday Paperback Cover series, but for reviews, information and anything else covering Independent Crime. Check him out. And here's his post, "Cinco de Junius."

Last today is a post I'm truly proud of. Not only is Anthony Neil Smith known as Dr. Noir, but he's a great writer, friend and professor in the space. So his post on finding Young Junius as a story submission really hit me in the heart-pieces! His new blog is Herman's Greasy Spoon about a fat guy and his short dog. Check out this post.

Thanks to all the bloggers here! I'll be back soon with more!

Cinco de Junius Podioracket Interview

Submitted by Seth on Sun, 05/09/2010 - 23:18
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We had a great time last Wednesday night with this extended interview show. With visits from Ben Leroy and Alison Janssen of Tyrus Books, Brian Rathbone and Rhonda Carpenter hosting, and lots of Palms Daddies and Mommas in the house (and chat room) this interview was a great time.

Hope you enjoy it. Also, as a special mother's day treat, you'll even hear my own mother call in on the show. Nope, not embarrassed at all. Thanks MOM!

Click here to listen to the episode now.

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