Did you know that March is National Small Press Month? Started in 1996 by the Small Press Center and the Publishers Marketing Association, the idea was to give indie publishers a wider platform to share their books and lift up their authors, as well as to encourage them to press on (pardon the pun) in their important publishing pursuits in the face of fierce competition from the large publishing houses. We asked three small presses — Catapult/Counterpoint/Softskull, Feminist Press, and Tin House — to tell us about their presses, what makes them unique and important, and which titles they’re most excited about right now.
Catapult/Counterpoint/Soft Skull PressRachel Fershleiser, VP/Associate Publisher, Marketing & Events
Can you give us a short introduction to your press for those who aren’t familiar? Catapult, Counterpoint, and Soft Skull Press are three independent imprints that publish award-winning fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and craft books. Our books are alive, insightful, illuminating, and surprising, written by vital and diverse voices—emerging and established—that honor the craft of writing. What do you think is the greatest benefit indie presses provide to readers? Our team is small, collaborative, creative, flexible, and hands on. It feels like we really have the space and the freedom to think about each book as its own project, imagine its dream readership, and try every way we can to bring each author to an audience that’s going to want what we’re selling. We get to be true matchmakers between writer and reader. What is the importance of the relationship between your press and indie bookstores? Indie bookstores are absolutely essential for getting the kind of voices that we love to publish out into the world. We trust your booksellers to read widely and with an open mind, to take a chance on a new perspective, to try out a debut writer or an experimental form. And best of all we know that when you love something you won’t rest until you’ve pressed it into the hands of all the customers you know will love it too. What are two of your titles folks should grab off the shelves now, and two upcoming titles they should pre-order?
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Feminist PressJisu Kim, Senior Marketing and Sales Manager
Can you give us a short introduction to your press for those who aren’t familiar? The Feminist Press publishes books that ignite movements and social transformation, lifting up insurgent and marginalized voices from around the world to build a more just future. Founded in 1970, we began as a crucial publishing component of second wave feminism, and now specialize in an array of genres including cutting-edge fiction, activist nonfiction, literature in translation, hybrid memoirs, children’s books, and more. What do you think is the greatest benefit indie presses provide to readers? Many independent publishers are presses of discovery. For a multitude of reasons, these presses not only take chances on, but often prioritize, untried writers, genres, styles, and topics—creating a momentum that, over time, moves the cultural conversation forward. What is the importance of the relationship between your press and indie bookstores? Our relationship with independent bookstores is incredibly important, both as it relates to our values and to our business. As publishers, we look to different literary curators to ensure that our books reach readers—and booksellers are an essential part of that ecosystem, acting as community hubs that connect geographically-specific or affinity-based audiences. And especially for small and independent presses, a bookseller championing and handselling a book—particularly when it’s a less commercial title, an edgier list, or more grassroots author—can have demonstrable and meaningful impact. What are two of your titles folks should grab off the shelves now, and two upcoming titles they should pre-order?
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Tin HouseNanci McCloskey, Associate Publisher, Director of Sales & Marketing
Can you give us a short introduction to your press for those who aren’t familiar? Based in Portland, Oregon, Tin House is the publisher of award-winning books of literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry; home to a renowned workshop and seminar series; and partner of a critically acclaimed podcast. Tin House champions writing that is artful, dynamic, and original. We are proud to publish and promote writers who speak to a wide range of experiences, and lend context and nuance to their examination of our world. What do you think is the greatest benefit indie presses provide to readers? Independent presses provide readers with unique and, often, boundary-pushing prose and poetry. We don’t have all the same concerns of scale that large publishers contend with so we can take chances on work that is meaningful and important even if they might not sell a hundred thousand copies. What is the importance of the relationship between your press and indie bookstores? The relationship Tin House has to independent bookstores can’t be overstated. We rely on indie booksellers, with their dedication to hand-selling and personalized customer attention, to be our cheerleaders out in the world. We know when we send our Advance Reading Copies to frontline booksellers that they get the care and attentiveness they deserve. Indie booksellers are the tastemakers in book publishing, and we’ve seen over and over again, when booksellers get behind a book it makes all the difference. What are two of your titles folks should grab off the shelves now, and two upcoming titles they should pre-order?
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Here’s a list of just some of the other small presses we love!
*Nashville-based presses!
Musing 