News

Say Yes Quickly Books has recently published The Essential Russell Martin, a collection of work by the internationally renowned writer that spans forty years. Collected here are three excerpts from novels and a novella, five articles, and excerpts from seven narrative nonfiction books—all of them published between the years 1983 and 2022. When Colorado College awarded him an honorary doctorate, the citation read, in part, “Mr. Martin offers to general audiences precise and accurate, but highly readable, studies of extraordinarily complex issues. He does more: he sees beyond what is already known; he moves beyond synthesis to new insights. His work is disciplined, analytical, and creative. It is also profoundly humane.” This is an important retrospective collection of some of the finest work by one of America’s most celebrated writers. Buy Online.

More and more authors whose books have exceptional merit or seem certain to find a successful niche in the marketplace—or both—are choosing hybrid publishing at Say Yes Quickly Books. For a single pre-publication fee, publisher Russell Martin manages every aspect of manuscript preparation and book publication. Authors retain all rights and one hundred percent of the income derived from sales of their books. Books published at Say Yes Quickly Books are indistinguishable from those released by traditional publishers, and I offer my clients constant communication, feedback, and control over every potential decision. Don’t hesitate to inquire if you think your project might be right for Say Yes Quickly Books!

Say Yes Quickly Books has recently published Russell Martin’s novella Daily Bread, a story set in Denver and the southern Colorado coalfields in the early years of the twentieth century. Protagonist Tommy Dumont is a remarkable character, and his story is one of courage and true friendship, tragedy and redemption. “Absolutely spellbinding . . . a book to be savored,” wrote The Denver Post about Martin’s first novel, Beautiful Islands. “Martin is, first and foremost, a consummate storyteller,” says Kirkus Reviews. Buy Online.

The University of Utah Press has published a new edition of Russell Martin’s highly renowned nonfiction book A Story That Stands Like A Dam, winner of the Caroline Bancroft History Prize. Outside magazine writes,” The story of Glen Canyon is also a tale of lost innocence. Martin’s book tells it wonderfully.” The Los Angeles Times adds, “Read Martin’s fine book. We have needed such a record of the war between our appetites and our dreams, and now we’ve got it.” Buy Online.

Two Spirits won the Audience Award for the 2010-2011 season of the PBS series “Independent Lens,” selected by viewers as their favorite among the twenty films broadcast during the season. The film was screened nearly fifteen hundred times by 140 PBS stations across the United States in June 2011.

Beautiful Faces is being produced in association with the UNESCO Chair in Bio-Ethics and Human Rights. Executive Director Dr. Fernando Lorenzo Rego, based in Rome, calls the film “a great documentary . . . Seeing this film is one of the most significant human and spiritual experiences I’ve had in recent years. What pride it gave me in being a doctor, what pride to find work like this in Mexico . . . what pride I found in the hope of these families, and in these children who remind us of the grandeur of the human being.”

Two Spirits has been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary among films broadcast on American television during 2011. The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives.

Beautiful Faces had its world premiere at the distinguished Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in October. The film’s European premiere took place during the same week at the acclaimed Bergen International Film Festival in Norway, and the Ojai Film Festival in California hosted its West Coast premiere in October as well.

Beautiful Faces was enthusiatically received at its Los Angeles premiere at the Hola Mexico Film Festival on May 18 at the Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live. The festival, which takes place in both Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia, showcases what its organizers believe is the best Mexican cinema of the past year. This year’s festival included thirteen features and six documentaries, and we were delighted to be in such great company.

Beautiful Faces is now available for streaming rental, download-to-own, home DVD viewing, and screenings for schools and organizations around the world. The film can be rented or purchased with Spanish subtitles or English subtitles, and is in beautiful High Definition widescreen format. It is a “splendid documentary,” writes columnist Federico Reyes Heroles in Reforma, Mexico’s leading newspaper.

Beautiful Faces was the winner on March 2 of the coveted Audience Award at the ninth annual DURANGO FILM: An Independent Film Festival, selected by festivalgoers from among many wonderful new films from around the world.

Beautiful Faces has received the Humanitarian Outstanding Achievement Award from the Accolade Global Film Awards. The award “honors filmmakers who are bringing awareness to issues of ecological, political, social justice, health and wellness, animals, wildlife, conservation and spiritual importance. Congratulations to this year’s illustrious winners who are committed to making a difference in the world.” All of us who are part of the film team are deeply grateful to have been able to tell the story of this remarkable clinic in Mexico City where children’s lives are transformed—and we appreciate the acknowledgement of our work.

“Driving My Father Home,” the highly acclaimed personal essay by Russell Martin about taking his father home to Colorado to die, has been republished at SUBSTACK. Originally published in 5280 magazine in 2003, it is, he says, “one of those pieces of writing that feels like a gift to me.” At SUBSTACK, he has also published a number of short pieces of fiction and nonfiction written in recent years, as well as excerpts from his recently republished books.

Say Yes Quickly Books has published its first novel to universal acclaim. Author Howard Jay Smith’s Beethoven in Love; Opus 139: Concerto Quasi Una Fantasia is an impeccably researched historical novel that offers dramatic new insight into the life of the greatest composer the world has ever known. Its fresh perspective and deeply felt understanding of Beethoven’s motivations, passions, and challenges connect us to our own successes, failures, and dreams, and ultimately to the true consequence of our lives. “A great pleasure and a beguiling fictional interpretation of the tragedies and accomplishments of one of the greatest composers in history,” writes Nic Kabaretti, Artistic Director of the Santa Barbara Symphony, “a novel that remind us of Beethoven’s true genius.” Buy it at Amazon.