2021 End of the Year Newsletter – Katherine Montalto

Some Highlights from 2021.

I have been consistently publishing this newsletter every month for four years. One of the things I’ve learned from starting this newsletter and keeping up my website is just how much we forget. It’s been nice to look back each month and take stock of the things I’ve accomplished. It’s also created a sense of structure to my creative work and helped me manage and maintain goals.

I read somewhere once that at one time the Roman calendar had 10 months and that the last 50 or so days of the year were left unorganized and just called ‘winter’. In the spirit of that, I stayed pretty unorganized the last two months of the year. I decided to give myself a break and time to recharge creatively. I didn’t make any art or write. I think I might do something similar every year. Maybe I’ll use that time to learn new skills and make things that will never be posted or monetized. Maybe I’ll just go for long walks in the park and catch up on my reading. In any case, I will remain unorganized.

The Detroit Socialist published a flash fiction story of mine about the evils of wage theft. It was the only story I had published this year. I wrote it quite a few years ago but finally found a home for it. I hope to be more consistent in my writing and to submit more work in 2022 than I did in 2021.

I’ve been slowly working my way through a book of haiku prompts. I created my first zine of haiku poems this year and plan to create more in 2022 as I work through the book. I like working from prompts and I think I might try to use them for regular story writing as well.

I started messing around and composing music in 2019 and continued to do that in 2020. I only composed one new song this year. I created an animation for a song I composed last year. I hope to compose more work in 2022 and to learn more about music theory.

I participated in one art show this year, Pineapples at Public Pool in Hamtramck, Michigan. My illustration sold, but you can buy it printed on stuff here. I like participating in shows but it’s not a top priority of mine. Moving forward I plan on mostly making art for myself and monetizing it on my website and print-on-demand sites. I am of course always open to anyone who is interested in purchasing original pieces or licensing work I have already created. I will continue to be open to commission work but it is not a priority and it is not work I will seek out.

2021 in Lists

My 2021 Tumblr Top 10.
https://tmblr.co/ZN2ipnbEHmFN4m00

Books I Read in 2021
non fiction 7
Fiction 12
graphic novel 10
poetry 1

Fluent Forever by Gabriel Wyner read by Gabriel Wyner
Running Out of Time Margaret Peterson Haddix
Picnic at Hanging Rock Joan Lindsay
I Am Not a Wolf Dan Sheehan and Sage Co
The Tiger John Vaillant
The Lover Marguerite Duras
The Future of Another Timeline Annalee Newitz
Everything Is Beautiful, and I’m Not Afraid by Yao Xiao illustrated by Yao Xiao
Cat’s Cafe by Matt Tarpley illustrated by Matt Tarpley
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende read by Gerard Doyle
In the Pines by Erik Kriek illustrated by Erik Kriek
plum rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax read by Elizabeth Wiley
The Five Hallie Rubenhold
The Shining Stephen King
Salt Sugar Fat Micheal Moss
The Blue Lagoon H. De Vere Stacpoole
A Little Princess France Hodgson Burnett
Halloween David J. Skal
Papaya Salad by Elisa Macellari illustrated by Elisa Macellari
Invisible Ink: My Mother’s Love Affair with a Famous Cartoonist by Bill Griffith
Catboy by Benji Nate illustrated by Caroline Sweater
You Can Try Again by Olivia Walch illustrated by Olivia Walch
One Million Tiny Fires by Ashley Franklin illustrated by Ashley Franklin”
Snowbird by Erin Wilson illustrated by Erin Wilson
Heads or Tails by Lilli Carre illustrated by Lilli Carre
The Tyranny of Sand and Other Tiny Stories Jesse Stanchak
Flash Fiction Online 2020 Anthology
Dark Blood Comes from the Feet Emma J Gibbon
The Sun and Her Flowers Rupi Kaur
Idea Generation TL Bodine