Saturday marks the release of the highly anticipated third volume of Minerva’s Wreck: 2011, an independently produced arts journal curated by local writer Wayne Alan Brenner. Join Domy Books Saturday night as they celebrate the release of the issue and the opening of an accompanying exhibition in their gallery space (running through Jan 5, 2012).

Minerva’s Wreck: 2011 is the third and final volume of an annual anthology series, which is curated and designed by Brenner. Each issue is a truly unique collection of local creative efforts, including writing, visual art, found objects, comics and unexpected surprises (the first issue included tiny bags of nori seaweed pasted between pages, and each came with a strip of B-movie film courtesy of the Drafthouse). Minerva’s Wreck is more than a collection of notable works; it’s a love letter to Austin’s diverse creative scene and a showcase of the range of talents steadily growing as our city expands.

Blogger Rick Bradford said of the first issue:

I liked Minerva’s Wreck so much, I picked up and moved to Austin. Yeah, that’s closer to the mark. An exaggeration, of course — or is it? Read the long personal narrative by editor Wayne Alan Brenner that threads its way through the pages of Minerva like a needle through fine cloth. Brenner’s essay is all about the subtle, synchronous ways the city entwines itself into one’s life; how the people and places at the hippie heart of Texas can create an Austin epiphany.

You can read a review of the first two issues, complete with plenty of photos of the artfully-crafted anthology, to get an idea of what to expect. We anticipate plenty of fringe fiction (like Henri Mazza’s trippy “Kangaroos and Vibrators,” from issue one) and alluring art (along the lines of Robert Faires’ illustrated tale “The Lad in the Iron Mask,” also from issue one).

This latest volume features an in-depth series of interviews with Austin artists of all ilks, including filmmaker PJ Raval, performer Shannon McCormick, puppeteer Connor Hopkins, artist Lauren Levy and more. Clocking in at 64 pages, it also includes fiction, photos by Jon Bolden, illustrations by Jason Stout and Lance Fever Myers — even a CD, courtesy of Shamrock Records, and plenty of fun inserts.

Minerva’s Wreck is printed in extremely limited runs, so don’t miss your chance to grab a copy this weekend at Domy. Dedicated collectors quickly picked up the first two runs, and we guarantee the third will sell out even faster.

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Celebrate the release of Minerva’s Wreck: 2011 on Saturday, December 17 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Domy Books. The exhibition runs through January 5, 2012.