A YEAR-LONG CREATIVE EVENT FROM PETER S. BEAGLE, AVAILABLE BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

To receive all 52 weekly releases (plus MP3 files of all the recorded songs and poems) costs only $25.00  Available now.

In 1959 Peter S. Beagle sold his first novel, A Fine And Private Place. It was published to critical acclaim and launched his extraordinary career. 50 years later he has touched millions of lives through his novels, stories, screenplays, songs, and poetry.

In 2009, to mark the golden anniversary of that first big achievement, Peter set himself a whole new creative challenge: to write 52 brand-new song lyrics and poems, one per week for a year, for publication to subscribers worldwide..

And so the 52/50 Project was born.

This literary high-wire act started on April 20th — Peter's 70th birthday! — and every Monday since, without fail, he has sent out something new and dazzlingly different to a growing body of subscribers. Here's the list so far:

04/20/09:    "The Alien"
04/27/09:    "Physics Teacher Gunch"
05/04/09:    "The Perfect Beer"
05/11/09:    "Lovely Lo"
05/18/09:    "Wolves Are Cool"
05/25/09:    "The Saints Want Justice"
06/01/09:    "The Pirates of the D"   *
06/08/09:    "For Lisa Atkinson"
06/15/09:    "At My Age"   *
06/22/09:    "The Lady Made of Flowers" (a Sirit Byar song)
06/29/09:    "When I Get My Shit Together"
07/06/09:    "Mister Harris"
07/13/09:    "The Last Song of Sirit Byar"
07/20/09:    "Song for James D. Houston, 1933-2009"
07/27/09:    "Reflections"
08/03/09:    "The Pigeon and the Dog"
08/10/09:    "Hello, You"
08/17/09:    "Survivor"   *
08/24/09:    "Rhythm Section"
08/31/09:    "Werewolf Blues"
09/07/09:    "Singing for Grandpa"
09/14/09:    "Mantra"
09/21/09:    "The Ballad of Eleanor Roosevelt"
09/28/09:    "The Egg Cream Song"
10/05/09:    "I Want to be a Club Singer"
10/12/09:    "Aggravating Woman" (a Captain Cully song)   *
10/19/09:    "What I Carry with Me"
10/26/09:    "She's My Gibson J-45"
11/02/09:    "All I Know (Two Friendly Strangers)"   *
11/09/09:    "Irving the Goldfish"
11/16/09:    "Margaret 1960"
11/23/09:    "Bears Bears Bears"   *
11/30/09:    "Dark Water Down" (a Sirit Byar song)
12/07/09:    "Wintersong"
12/14/09:    "Getting It Wrong"
12/21/09:    "Willalou's Lullaby"   *
12/28/09:    "Mom on the Street"
01/04/10:    "Song for the Seattle Princess"
01/11/10:    "Matsev"
01/18/10:    "Naps"
01/25/10:    "The Long Way Home"
02/01/10:    "Grace"   *
02/08/10:    "Rain's Coming"
02/15/10:    "Grandmother's Ghost" (a Sirit Byar song)
02/22/10:    "Dragonsong"
03/01/10:    "Vespa"
03/08/10:    "The Great Watsonville Chicken Drop Talking Blues"

* piece based on a subscriber suggestion

To sample any of these pieces, just click on its title.

To subscribe and join in Peter's creative journey, click here. Each new song or poem is professionally laid-out and typeset, with extra notes and a color illustration, then delivered via email to subscribers as a PDF file. When you subscribe you will get all releases to date right away, with your first subscription piece arriving the next Monday.

The cost? Only $25, less than 50 cents each for all 52 creations. But there's more —

IN ADDITION, all 52 of these pieces will be recorded by Peter (plus musicians and singers of his choice). Subscribers to the Project will get MP3 files for all 52 songs and poems FOR FREE, and also a 50% discount on any future CD, songbook, or book releases of this material.

...AND YOUR IDEA COULD INSPIRE A PETER S. BEAGLE SONG OR POEM,because 10 of the 52 pieces will be based on subscriber suggestions. Only eight have been done so far, so there's still time to try and get your own ideas into the mix by emailing them to 52-50@conlanpress.com.

What subscribers are saying about the 52/50 Project:

"I have enjoyed the freshness of the poems — they feel like they're new (not necessarily newly written, but 'right out of the package' new; they have new-poem-smell to them). It's a treat I already look forward to."

          — Dena Bugel-Shunra (Port Townsend, WA)

"I feel like I'm part of something special, getting to read what many others won't have the chance to yet."

          — Dawn Wright (Whitby, Ontario, CANADA)

"Looks like this is one of the best deals I've ever made for $25."

          — Ben Roimola (Vahto, FINLAND)

"May I just say that we have thoroughly enjoyed this project. It was initially a college graduation present for my wife, but instead it is a way for both of us to connect even further with one another by talking/sharing our thoughts about the material. Thank you so much and please tell Peter to keep up his fantastic work."

          — Jared Gregg (Flagstaff, AZ)

"Peter never ceases to amaze me. I love being part of his spontaneous process."

          — Terri Kempton (San Francisco, CA)

"The news he will be RECORDING all the songs starting January is what decided me....besides, I've gotten enjoyment from his books since I was about 10. $25 is far too little for me to pay to enjoy Peter S. Beagle's writing in my inbox."

          — Moira Russell (Seattle, WA)

"First, as always say, sorry for my bad English, I'm from Mexico and I need more practice. Honestly, I was very skeptical with the idea. Sounds interesting, but I was no sure to spend 25 dollars in a weekly proyect, because I have a bad experience with weekly comics the last year. But, the last message of Peter made me think and signed Up... I love it. It was better than I Expected. The alien was great, Perfect Beer was funny and the last one was Lovely. I really enjoy it and I'm very happy with this. I can't Wait for the next Monday."

          — José Gabriel Domínguez Reyes (Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, MEXICO)

"I've felt an emotional resonance within each of the pieces, each in a different way (humorous, nostalgic, etc.), and also enjoy the graphic design of the pages."

          — Jake LeBeau (Pleasanton, CA)

"It's one of the bright spots of my week."

          — Marty Sandler (Tamarac, FL)

"I enjoy the 52/50 Project a tremendous amount. It's a great way to start the week, and often a welcome break from the day job. At first it was still a surprise to see each new piece in my inbox on Mondays, but now I'm hooked and look forward to them. My current favorite is 'Physics Teacher Gunch,' but I expect that to change as the year goes on. I also expect to be able to buy a printed collection of the 52/50 Project next year to have you and Peter autograph (hint, hint)."

          — Heidi Berthiaume (Plano, TX)

"There are writers whose words you can’t get enough of. It’s like withdrawal waiting for their next project to come out. When the project finally arrives and you’ve finished the last page….you are in withdrawal yet again. Peter S. Beagle’s 52/50 Project makes me look forward to Mondays (a notion I thought was impossible). Even though I am used to reading his full length novels or short stories getting poems and song lyrics is new and fresh for me. I must say I will be sad when the year is up and I go back into withdrawal….until then please keep them coming!"

          — Cynthia Myers (Burbank, CA)

"It's difficult not to love a writing project that one week is about a physics teacher falling through the floor and the next week is about beer. For most of the songs, I can almost hear it being sung in my head. The rest are still quite entertaining even if you can't mentally visualize the music to them. The only thing else I could ask of this project is for Peter himself to appear in my email and start singing."

          — Joshua Keezer (Schenectady, NY)

"What Peter is doing with the 52/50 Project is what he's done with other works and what we should all be doing every day: He's taking the time to laugh, taking the time to think about the ways words and thoughts fit together, and taking the time to let his brain craft unique and wonderful things. So, more than a collection of entertaining songs and poems, the 52/50 Project is a very important reminder that there's a lot of good that we should be sharing."

          — Sheila Johnson (Tinley Park, IL)

"'The Saints Want Justice' was the best one so far....[it] has the heart of Peter Beagle that I can recognize. It is strong and passionate and it speaks to my soul. Thank you for the gift of your words."

          — Shana Hickey (Hinton, IA)

"I have thoroughly enjoyed every installment of the 52/50 project so far. I look forward to checking my inbox every Monday. I just finished reading 'For Lisa Atkinson' and it was lovely. What a fitting tribute to someone Peter obviously cared about and admired. It was an amazing poem and it made me cry. Thanks so much to Peter for doing this project and to Conlan Press for giving him the support her deserves so he can continue to grace us with his writing."

          — Kelly Weiand (Freeport, IL)

"The series of poems and song lyrics has been amazing. So glad to be a part of this. Thanks to you all for making this experience possible."

          — Cathie Hackney (Spring, TX)

"[For just] four pennies more than the price of a weekly first-class letter, Mr. Beagle will personally make you laugh and cry with an abiding consistency to rival your own mother. I am already thinking how I'll miss this if it ends after the year is up. I hope Peter will consider continuing beyond. It beats any subscription I can remember buying, and it doesn't take up any space in the house!"

          — Jude Tulli (Tonopah, AZ)

"[Re 'The Lady Made of Flowers'] I love this one. More, please!"

          — Ronnie Whittingham (Felton, CA)

"This project is a delight and a wonder. Many thanks to you and Peter!"

          — Niki J. LeBoeuf-Little (Boulder, CO)

"[Re 'The Last Song of Sirit Byar'] This is the loveliest thing yet written for this project. I think I may make a frame for it and hang it on my wall."

          — Kate Joly (Austin, TX)

"[Re 'The Last Song of Sirit Byar'] Would you please pass along a big "WOW!" to Peter about the latest poem/song (talk about power!), & thanks to whoever decided to include the excerpt from the story. I'd never read the story so it really added a great deal to an already seriously cool piece."

          — Karen Ellery (Minneapolis, MN)

"[Re 'The Last Song of Sirit Byar'] Okay, that one shook the roots of the world."

          — David Wolfson (New York, NY)

"[Re 'The Pigeon and the Dog'] This one has me laughing with delight and crying with heartbreak, all at the same time. It's shameless, really. I love it."

          — Donna Odierna (Oakland, CA)

"[Re 'Survivor'] That was haunting. I teach high school social studies classes. Would Peter mind if I used this in class?"

          — Kit Kindred (North Las Vegas, NV)

"[Re 'Werewolf Blues'] This is FANTASTIC. I think this is the one I've most wanted to hear as a song so far!"

          — Moira Russell (Seattle, WA)

"[Re 'The Ballad of Eleanor Roosevelt'] Just wanted to send a quick note to say how much I liked this week's piece. Also, I forwarded it to my daughter, who's off at NYU being a student. I told her a little about who this was, because no matter how much you think you've talked about things to your kids, there's always something that comes up and makes you realize there are whole realms you haven't managed to touch on. So anyway, she told me she liked Peter's song, and added: 'She's really beautiful.'"

          — Laura Watkins (Berkeley, CA)

"[Re 'The Ballad of Eleanor Roosevelt'] THIS IS THE BEST ONE SO FAR! I was a child when she was first lady and did not really appreciate her. But I do remember her and read about her later on. This brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so very much! Long may she last..."

          — Dottie Lutz (Philadelphia, PA)

"To me, the biggest deal with the 52/50 project is the chance to kind of sit in on the creative process. At NASFiC 2007, I had the privilege of being in a 'coffee klatch' with Mr. Beagle — just a chance to sit there and drink coffee or tea and talk about whatever the heck came to mind. This to me is a similar sort of contact — the chance to follow his mind as it wanders down whatever paths shine before it."

          — Katie Simpson (Denton, TX)

"I loved the Sirit Byar songs (even though I have not yet read The Innkeeper's Song, they nearly had me in tears) and the pirate song. The latter had me in stitches, particularly the bit about 'don't drop the sorbet' because of the mental vision it gave me of pirates carefully inserting long-handled teaspoons into the sorbet while trying to figure out what to do with their cutlasses — which may or may not have even been intended by Peter! Anyway, those are my favorites that I remember. There are many more that I enjoyed...some of them I didn't like on first reading but enjoyed on the second. I think 'Physics Teacher Gunch' is the only one that struck me as having been only written for cheap laughs — but then again, that was the point, wasn't it?"

          — Heather Smith (Palmerston North, NEW ZEALAND)

"[Re 'Aggravating Woman (A Captain Cully song)'] BRAVO!!!"

          — Lyn Walfish (Lynfield, MA)

"[Re 'Aggravating Woman (A Captain Cully song)'] Loved it, loved it, F---ing brilliant."

          — Stephanie Bennett (Northridge, CA)

"[Re 'What I Carry With Me'] That is one hell of a poem. I love the way it builds up to the last line, and the bittersweet tone of the whole thing. Powerful and truthful."

          — Jonas Kyratzes (Frankfurt, GERMANY)

"[Re 'What I Carry With Me'] This really speaks to me — I love it. I always look forward to Mondays to see what treasure my email will hold. I had to think what do I carry with me — my father too loved books and always, always, could find the money for a book we wanted, even when we were poor as church mice. My mother always said we were as good as anyone, but no better than anyone else. That may not seem powerful to you but in 1950s Georgia to be told that your white skin color did not make you better than anyone else but that it did give you more responsibility to make the world a better place — that was revolutionary for the time."

          — Sheila Quinn (Rockingham, NC)

"[Re 'What I Carry With Me'] This is my absolute favorite of all of them so far. I'm printing it out to give to friends."

          — Stuart Bousel (San Francisco, CA)

"[Re 'At My Age] This is such a wonderful poem!  I love how positive and vibrant it is :)"

          — Hope Evey (Raleigh, NC)

"[Re 'All I Know (Two Friendly Strangers)'] I am stunned, delighted, agog and aghast — the latter only because I don't have sufficient words to express my gratitude. I just got off the phone with Gwen; the best part was having enough advance warning that I could catch her before she checked her email, and thus I got to hear the ten seconds of dead silence before she made a sound I suspect only dolphins can fully appreciate. She and Milks are over the moon. I love the poem itself; it's beautiful, and intricately captures both the exhausting frustration of a bad marriage and the enchanting simplicity of a good one. My parents have a marriage like Peter's parents did; I grew up with that same sense of easy security, and it is absolutely what I wish for my best friend. (I think she'll have it, too.)"

          — Carlen Lavigne (Red Deer. Alberta, CANADA)

"[Re 'Willalou's Lullaby'] I've enjoyed all of these but I LOVED this one."

          — Jennifer Morris (Menlo Park, CA)

"[Re 'Getting It Wrong'] This was wonderful. I have been afraid of making mistakes of late, This reminded me that it is okay to make mistakes, get messy, and screw up to get it right. The pics next to the poem made me smile and sigh at the same time. Thank you for making my week play once more. "

          — Diana Swiger (College Park, MD)

"[Re 'Willalou's Lullaby'] Thank you to Peter for writing such wonderful poems and songs, and thank you to you for making them available for all of us to read and appreciate."

          — Cathie Hackney (Spring, TX)

"[Re 'Mom on the Street'] Yes, this is so beautiful.  What a lovely woman!!"

          — Dottie Lutz (Philadelphia, PA)

"[Re 'Matsev'] This one made me cry."

          — Kay Kinghammer (Seattle, WA)

"Today, I'm a brand new septuagenarian. And ‘The Long Way Home’ makes for a fine birthday present. For me, short cuts work about 25% of the time. Thank you for this marvelous 52/50 series."

          — Alda Bethst (Santa Cruz, CA)

"[Re 'Grace'] This one really takes you there."

          — Priscilla Tate (New York, NY)

"Each week's edition of the 52/50 Project is one of the bright spots of my week, in the midst of work and aging parents and aging pets and more work. If Peter can be persuaded to to a 52/51 Project, I would pay all I could afford for that gift!"

          — Lyn Palmer (Louisville, KY)

Yes, I'd like to subscribe to Peter S. Beagle's 52/20 Project.