Anne Leighton is pleased to announce the birth of her first poetry book, THE LEIGHTON EXPLOSION, which has always been the title Anne has wanted to use. “Inspired by The Music Explosion who rocked with a favorite song, ‘A Little Bit Of Soul.’ It's optimistic, glorious, fun, and self-empowering, which are qualities I love in art... “
Empowerment was something Anne felt all the way through the making of the book. She pre-sold THE LEIGHTON EXPLOSION through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Lots of friends, including her stepbrother Ken Bluttman, helped her along. “Through my whole adult life, when my dad was telling me to get ‘a real job with the phone company,’ Ken was one of the biggest cheerleaders I had.” In the campaign, Ken would cc Anne and some of her closest friends in round-robin emails, “Come on, let’s spread the word; she’s gonna reach her goal.” Anne says,”He believed in me.”
Her father’s attitudes changed for the better as Anne became an editor at a rock magazine, HIT PARADER, and built a freelance career as a writer in rock, fitness, and cat magazines including BILLBOARD, GOLDMINE, CREEM, CATFANCY, INSIDE KUNG FU/KARATE, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, and then authoring books: USING YOUR ART AND THE MEDIA TO COMFORT PEOPLE (Free to Run, California) and PAWS FOR THOUGHT HOW TO KNOW WHAT YOUR CAT IS THINKING (Rockwell UK), and her own 2014 ebook, GET THE GIG: COMMON SENSE CAREER CONSULTING. Her plays are read in churches, libraries, and bars. They were also performed at the Howl Fest and by The Poets Repertory Theater of Long Island. She won some small writing awards and honorable mention for a 1993 BILLBOARD songwriting contest for the song “Carry Across” with Jessie Galante. She also works in music and publicity with clients that include Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson (who wrote the foreword to THE LEIGHTON EXPLOSION).
Anne has also performed on radio and in a variety of recordings, from Jay Tausig’s TRIP AROUND THE MOON series to the the GRAMMY-nominated album, HEALTHY FOOD FOR THOUGHT: GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT. It was with the making of HFFT that she met Canadian poetry publisher Ken Cowle.
THE LEIGHTON EXPLOSION is available for order at every major book chain in North America, Australia, Europe, South America. Next, look for Anne’s growing merchandise line (e-books, home recordings of the book, USB sticks, and her T-shirts, all designed by Anne!).
As for her agoraphobia, she’s becoming more mighty every day. She travels by buses throughout the city, and then asks people to help her cross the street till she reaches her destination. She will be traveling and sharing her poetry live through 2017 in New England, Washington, DC, eastern Pennsylvania, Buffalo, Bronx and Manhattan. She would love to open for Courtney Barnett.
E-books as PDF files will be available for media; please email Anne at Anne@AnneLeighton.com
“Anne Leighton is hilarious.” — Bebe Buell, author of REBEL HEART, singer, animal lover
“Whether musing about pets or past loves, the pleasure of her word-play is palpable.”— Sander Roscoe Wolff, LBPost.com
“You have an awesome book, Anne, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and found myself, smiling often, and laughing out loud at times too, with your great sense of humor and wit.” — Ken Cowle, Anne’s publisher at Soul Asylum books
Ordering page for Autographed copies anneleighton.com/store/
THE LEIGHTON EXPLOSION on Amazon: www.amazon.com/The-Leighton-Explosion-Anne/dp/1926876539
Photos at www.flickr.com/photos/8320698@N05/albums/72157611847817960 between Vonda Shepard and Brenton Wood.
