Beating Windward Press to Publish Alex
Kudera’s Tragicomic Novel Illustrating
Precarious Times for College Adjuncts and Contract-Wage America.
Precarious Times for College Adjuncts and Contract-Wage America.
UPDATED JANUARY 19, 2016: As the issue of destitute adjunct
professors breaks into the mainstream with articles appearing in The New York Times, Al Jazeera, Salon, and The New Republic, Beating Windward is
excited to publish Alex Kudera’s second adjunct novel, AUGGIE’S REVENGE this
fall.
AUGGIE’S REVENGE is a satiric crime novel packed with small cons, betrayals,
vigilante justice, stolen vegetables, and clandestine romance. Michael
Vittinger is an adjunct philosophy instructor on his last contract and
searching for a life worth living. Disenchanted with academia, he finds himself
drifting into late-night supermarket friendship with Auggie, a man on the make,
and Jonny November, a one-legged grifter who is Auggie's protector-mentor, of
sorts. As the economic recession drags on and the marks dry up, the three plot
to murder Auggie's abusive stepfather and divide Auggie’s rightful inheritance among them.
At 75,000 words, AUGGIE’S REVENGE offers
a fast-paced thriller while illustrating some of the critical labor issues of
the day.
Alex Kudera is a Philadelphia native who teaches contemporary
literature at Clemson University in South Carolina. His debut novel, FIGHT FOR
YOUR LONG DAY (Atticus Books) won the 2011 Independent Publishers Gold Medal
for Best Fiction from the Mid-Atlantic Region. Reviews and interviews can be
found in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Academe, Inside Higher Ed, The Southeast Review, and other locations.
Beating Windward Press is an independent publisher of novels, short
story collections, and non-fiction. They are based in Orlando, Florida and
produce 4 to 6 titles a year. Their books reflect the individual tastes of the
small staff - mostly mainstream fiction with a literary edge. Print books are
distributed internationally through Ingram; E-books are distributed in all
e-reader formats through VitalSource and Smashwords. Matt Peters established
Beating Windward Press in 2011. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the
University of New Orleans.
Visit http://kudera.blogspot.com and/or http://www.BeatingWindward.com for
updates or find Alex Kudera at the Beating Windward table at #AWP16 in Los Angeles, Wright Library in Dayton, Ohio on March 5, and other readings and signings this spring and summer.
