Spineless Books is an independent publishing house founded 20-02-2002 with the publication of 2002: A Palindrome Story in 2002 Words (written by Nick Montfort and William Gillespie, with illustrations by Shelley Jackson

Shelley Jackson

Shelley Jackson is a writer and artist known for her cross-genre experiments, including her groundbreaking work of hyperfiction, Patchwork Girl...

)—a book Paul Braffort of the French writing collective Oulipo

Oulipo

Oulipo is a loose gathering of French-speaking writers and mathematicians which seeks to create works using constrained writing techniques. It was founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais...

 declared the longest literary palindrome ever written. Spineless Books publishes constrained writing

Constrained writing

Constrained writing is a literary technique in which the writer is bound by some condition that forbids certain things or imposes a pattern.Constraints are very common in poetry, which often requires the writer to use a particular verse form....

, with an emphasis on the palindrome

Palindrome

A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers....

.

In May 2011, Spineless Books published the first book of palindromes on a single theme. Written by Jane Z. Smith and Barbara Thorburn, I’d Revere Verdi: Palindromes for the Serious Music Lover includes over seventy drawings, each with an original palindrome containing the names of classical composers (such as Bach

Bạch

Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...

, Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Elgar, Handel

HANDEL

HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....

, Haydn, Mendelssohn

Mendelssohn

Mendelson is a Polish/German Jewish family name, meaning "son of Mendel", Mendel being a Yiddish diminutive of the Hebrew given name Menahem, meaning "consoling" or "one who consoles".Mendelssohn is the surname of a number of people:...

, Mozart, Paganini, Puccini, Ravel, Rossini, Vivaldi), conductors (Solti

Solti

- Family names :* Krisztina Solti , a Hungarian high jumper* Sir Georg Solti , a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor* Valerie Pitts, Lady Solti, the widow of Sir Georg Solti- See also :...

, Ozawa

Ozawa

Ozawa is a Japanese surname. It may refer to:* Ichirō Ozawa, a Japanese politician* Jisaburō Ozawa, a Japanese admiral during World War II* Kenji Ozawa, a Japanese musician, nephew of Seiji Ozawa* Maria Ozawa, a Japanese adult video actress...

), operas (Fidelio

Fidelio

Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...

, Figaro

Figaro

-Literature:* Figaro, the central character in:** The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais***Il barbiere di Siviglia , the opera by Paisiello based on Beaumarchais' play...

, Tosca

Tosca

Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...

), or musical terms (adagio

Adagio

-Music:* Adagio, a tempo marking indicating that music is to be played slowly* A composition marked to be played adagio, e.g.** Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber** Adagio for Strings , a cover of Barber's Adagio by Tiësto...

, arioso

Arioso

In classical music, arioso is a style of solo opera singing between recitative and aria. Literally, arioso means airy. The term arose in the 16th century along with the aforementioned styles and monody. It is commonly confused with recitativo accompagnato....

, baritone

Baritone

Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...

, coda

Coda

Coda can denote any concluding event, summation, or section.Coda may also refer to:-Acronyms:* Calgary Olympic Development Association, the former name of the Canadian Winter Sport Institute, a non profit organization...

, largo

Largo

-Music:* Largo, a very slow tempo, or a musical piece or movement in such a tempo* Handel's Largo or "Ombra mai fù", an aria from the opera Serse* Hugo Largo, American band from the 1980s* Strong and stately...

, partita

Partita

Partita was originally the name for a single instrumental piece of music , but Johann Kuhnau and later German composers used it for collections of musical pieces, as a synonym for suite.Johann Sebastian Bach wrote two sets of Partitas for different instruments...

, sarabande

Sarabande

In music, the sarabande is a dance in triple metre. The second and third beats of each measure are often tied, giving the dance a distinctive rhythm of quarter notes and eighth notes in alternation...

, sonatina

Sonatina

A sonatina is literally a small sonata. As a musical term, sonatina has no single strict definition; it is rather a title applied by the composer to a piece that is in basic sonata form, but is shorter, lighter in character, or more elementary technically than a typical sonata...

, tenor

Tenor

The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...

). All together over 250 palindromes are embedded in the drawings.

True to its name, Spineless Books publishes electronic literature in addition to books. Its website hosts the hypertext novel The Unknown, (winner of the trAce/Alt-X International Hypertext Award (1998) as judged by Robert Coover

Robert Coover

Robert Lowell Coover is an American author and professor in the Literary Arts program at Brown University. He is generally considered a writer of fabulation and metafiction.-Life and works:...

), as well as the web-based serial fiction The Ed Report (awarded Honourable Mention in the same contest the following year). The Spineless Books website, designed to promote literary experimentation by encouraging writers and teachers, includes writing assignments and tools, including Deep Speed, a palindrome-authoring engine.