It’s close enough to call it a year. Last March 12, My Life as Adam showed up on Amazon.com, and soon after, I made the decision to transform Sibling Rivalry Press from a vanity operation for my own books into a legitimate publishing house. Since then, Adam has met with some success, and SRP has published anthologies and chapbooks (like Ocean Vuong’s Burnings), but today is special. Today marks the release of our first full-length collection since incorporating the company – Road Work Ahead by the iconic Raymond Luczak. He doesn’t consider himself an icon. But, trust me, he is. He came to prominence in the publishing world in 1990, when Christopher Street published “Notes of a Deaf Gay Writer.” Since then, he’s published more than ten books, seen his plays workshopped or performed in multiple countries, and won even more fans and critical praise with 2010′s Mute (A Midsummer Night’s Press).  For his full bio, click here.  He’s become a friend and mentor, and in our daily email exchanges, he’s schooled me on poetics and publishing. On March 26, we’ll officially launch Road Work Ahead at a familiar place for me, New York City’s Rainbow Book Fair, where Raymond will be performing work from the book.

Sometimes I question whether I’ve made the right decision in forming SRP. It’s a lot of work, and then there’s the pressure of wondering whether I can represent these authors in the manner they deserve. Luckily, people like Raymond, Ocean, Theresa Senato Edwards, Jessie Carty, Saeed Jones, Kevin Simmonds, Loria Taylor, and Steven Reigns have been willing to take a chance on me, and they have been patient as SRP has grown. This morning, when I woke up and saw the excitement over Road Work Ahead, I knew I’d made the right decision. Watching Raymond’s latest promotional clip (for the poem “Jules”) gave me chills. These are poems that deserve a home, and these are books that deserve to be read. There’s no turning back now, folks.

And that’s fine by me.

Road Work Ahead, thanks to Ingram, our new distribution partner, is available everywhere (that’s right – everywhere. Your bookstore down the street can order and stock it). You can, of course, get it directly from SRP. You’ll want it after you check out Raymond’s clip.