Dzanc emailed contributors encouraging them to spread the word, and I figured — and yes, I’m self-conscious about this — I’d employ my capacities at Htmlgiant and do it. Slightly edited from their template letter:

Dear Readers,

I’m excited to tell you that Blake’s and my stories have been included in the Best of the Web 2009 anthology recently published by Dzanc Books.  The editors at Dzanc read thousands of works published by exclusively online journals last year and put together this collection of the 59 best short stories, poems and essays.

Last Tuesday there was an Invasion of the Internet as many of the authors included in the anthology wrote guest posts for various literary blogs, or were included in one large guest post for Book Notes at the Large Hearted Boy blog.  A full list of these with links can be found here.

The book is available in Barnes & Noble, and Independent stores across the country, via Amazon, and the publisher’s website; I hope you’ll consider buying it to support our work, and the other great authors whose work you’ll get a chance to read.

Thank you.

Sorry for the disclaimer, but the implicit etiquette is generally not to promote one’s own work; but there are many other awesome writers involved with this book, and my aim is at them: Waqar Ahmed, Arlene Ang, Michael Baker, Marcelo Ballve, Marge Barrett, Carmelinda Blagg, Benjamin Buchholz, Amy L. Clark, Amber Cook, Bill Cook, Michael Czyzniejewski, Darlin’ Neal, Matthew Derby, Ryan Dilbert, Stephen Dixon, Alex Dumont, Claudia Emerson, D.A. Feinfeld, Marcela Fuentes, M. Thomas Gammarino, Cassandra Garbus, Molly Gaudry, Anne Germanacos, Matt Getty, Todd Hasak-Lowy, Karen Heuler, Ash Hibbert, Philip Holden, Roy Kesey, Hari Bhajan Khalsa, Tricia Louvar, Peter Markus, Michael Martone, Heather Killelea McEntarfer, Lindsay Merbaum, Corey Mesler, Laura Mullen, Joseph Olschner, Jeff Parker, Elise Paschen, Elizabeth Penrose, Kate Petersen, Glen Pourciau, Sam Rasnake, Jonathan Rice, Tom Sheehan, Claudia Smith, Lynn Strongin, Terese Svoboda, Jon Thompson, Davide Trame, Donna D. Vitucci, Helen Wickes, Kathrine Leone Wright, Jordan Zinovich.