Category Thirteen

Joseph Michael Owens has written for PANK Magazine, The Rumpus, The Houston Literary Review, InDigest Magazine, Specter Magazine and Grey Sparrow Journal (CELJ’s Best New Literary Journal of 2010), where he is a regular contributor to its section, “The Campus,” and serves as an associate editor. Additionally, his short story “We Always Trust Each Other, Except for When We Don’t” was nominated for both Dzanc Books‘ Best of the Web 2011 anthology and storySouth‘s Million Writers Award (where it was a top-100 finalist!). Joseph also manages the website Category Thirteen, dedicated primarily to the hectic and haptic process of writing. Joe lives in Omaha with five dogs and one wife.

Current positions within the literary scene:

InDigest Magazine - Blog Editor, Film Reviewer

Grey Sparrow Journal - Associate Editor

PANK Magazine - Book Reviewer, Submissions Reader

MudLuscious Press – Editorial intern

Specter Magazine - Columnist

Links to some of my work:

–”We Always Trust Each Other, Except for When We Don’t” (Grey Sparrow Journal)

–”Contemptibly, A Hair: A Short Story” (PANK Magazine)

–”Ninjas! …In the Suburbs?: A Short Story” (The Houston Literary Review)

–”Where I Write: A Stable in the Floodplain: An Essay” (The Rumpus)

–”An Afternoon With Ralph Steadman: An Interview” (The Rumpus)

–”The Last Book I Loved: The Instructions: A Review” (The Rumpus)

So then, what is Category Thirteen anyway?

Category – [kat-i-gawr-ee, -gohr-ee] – noun, plural -ries.

1. any general or comprehensive division; a class.

2. a classificatory division in any field of knowledge, as a phylum or any of its subdivisions.

Thirteen – [thur-teen] – noun.

1. a cardinal number, 10 plus 3.

2. a symbol for this number, as 13 or XIII.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

I get this question a lot, mostly because it really isn’t self evident. In short, it’s a number of things and nothing at all — but that’s not exactly informative or helpful.

The genesis of the phrase really came from cycling. The last year I raced competitively (2009) I was a category 4 rider. Three plus one is four, so it made sense on that level. My blog/website was also mostly dedicated to cycling news, random cycling musings, rants related to cycling, etc. However, when I switched from Blogspot to WordPress, I decided to keep the name.

The number 13 has also been my favorite number ever since I can remember.

So then, this website is a place I’ve ostensibly dedicated to all things literary and writing-related — more specifically, the writing process: seeing/showing how stories and essays evolve (and also sometimes my personal experiences riding bicycles or what it’s like owning 5 dogs).  Category Thirteen represents a glimpse of this author’s process.  Though oftentimes, however, this is merely a repository for collecting rants about absolutely nothing, projects in progress, bits & pieces of writing that will never see the light of day elsewhere, etc.  Feel free to contribute ideas and or anything else to my own personal, gargantuan waste of time (which I say in the most positively loving and affectionate way possible).