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sleeper / noun 2. a timber, concrete or steel beam forming part of a railway track, serving as a foundation or support for the rails. 7. Colloquial a. someone or something that unexpectedly achieves success or fame. b. a book... which has slow but constant sales. 8. A spy who is allowed to carry on a normal life sometimes for years before being requested to undertake any espionage.
Macquarie dictionary, 3rd edition
September 2010 – Welcome to the Sleepers site
The Sleepers Almanac No. 6 Launched September 2nd
The book is what you've come to expect: 370 sumptuous pages of short stories with a couple of poems and illustrations printed on paper in ink and bound with glue. The App has stories but that's where the similarities end. When Studio Ish first showed us the beta of our new App, we felt very similar to the way we felt when we first unloaded copies of Almanac 1 back from the printers. As well as the new Almanac, all five of the previous Almanacs are contained in the App, as well as community connectivity via Facebook and Twitter, if that tickles your fancy. So, more than 200 stories are now captured in one place that also doubles as a phone, and it's only $5.99AUD. Are we crazy? Quite possibly.
The Philanthropist is Coming
John Banville reckons it's a "very fine piece of work", and we're inclined to agree. Perfect Christmas reading, The Philanthropist by John Tesarsch is being launched in November, and tells the story of an ageing business tycoon haunted by a horrifying past event. Bookseller and Publisher magazine have given it four stars, and already booksellers are calling it a hit novel for the Christmas period. Stay tuned!
The Sleepers iPhone App
The Sleepers Almanac has long been a favourite publishing project for us. We love discovering new voices and we're endlessly blown away by the hair-raising quality of short stories we receive. It's a joy for us to put this book together. And we have now turned it into an iPhone App, which is even more exciting. To buy the App head to www.sleepersapps.com
Things We Didn't See Coming booklisted for VCE English
In another coup for this debut novel (the author's and ours), Steven Amsterdam's Things We Didn't See Coming has been booklisted for 2011 VCE English. Looking forward to hearing what the students think.
Things We Didn't See Coming Wins Age Book of the Year 2009
In an incredible coup for small publishers, and of course, for Steven Amsterdam himself, Sleepers' first novel Things We Didn't See Coming took out the Age Book of the Year on August 21st 2009 as Bernhard Schlink was about to deliver the keynote address for the opening of the 2009 Melbourne Writers' Festival. The book has now gone into its third print. If you haven't got yourself a copy yet, do so, now.
Sleepers is proud to be a member of SPUNC: the Small Press Underground Networking Community
SPUNC is a growing organisation of members from Small Presses all around Australia. To find out more, and to join, go to www.spunc.com.au
If On a Winter's Night a Sleeper, by Casey Benetto
Here's a little treat for those of you who have read the second Sleepers Almanac. This song was written by Casey Benetto in response to that Almanac, way back in 2006.