Indie Press Reports
There’s an old saw tacked up on our bulletin board:
Commercial publishing houses publish books. Independent houses publish authors.
We define an independent house by its editorial freedom; some have corporate business managers. It’s the old market driven vs. art driven argument. But don’t assume that independent presses accept books without a plan to make back their investment. Indie presses know their market and select books that will make them money; the difference is that their threshold for turning a profit is considerably lower than a large corporate imprint like Vintage.
This is not news to many writers, but it has set certain criteria for our student-generated press reports. In choosing a press, the students must limit their search to presses that have a track record, publish at least two to three books annually, and accept unsolicited manuscripts. To meet these criteria, particularly the latter, students settle on independent presses. Each report includes a fact sheet, editor interview and book review. These reports will assist any writers searching for a press to submit their book manuscript.
It goes without saying but we’ll say it anyhow; the views expressed in our market research are those of the student reviewers and do not represent the opinions of the Fiction Writing Department, or Columbia College Chicago.
Abrams Press - A large press with an eye for detail.
PDF Press Report
Caketrain - Beautifully designed covers. Beautifully written books. Only $8 each.
PDF Press Report
Coffee House Press - Books that wake you up like a fresh pot.
PDF Press Report
Curbside Splendor Publishing - An indie press so Chicagoan it goes to the Logan Square Farmer's Market.
PDF Press Report
Dalkey Archive Press - An indie press spanning across three different countries.
PDF Press Report
Dark Coast Press - For those who like to write outside of the box.
PDF Press Report
Gorsky Press - A true indie that looks for work outside the mainstream.
PDF Press Report
Graywolf Press - Every full moon, this press has to buy a new letter jacket.
PDF Press Report
Leapfrog Press - Where the writer gets the attention they deserve.
PDF Press Report
MacAdam/Cage - Merges the indie and corporate publishing ethos.
PDF Press Report
Medallion Press - Genre at its finest.
PDF Press Report
7 Stories Press - Books that aren't afraid to get political.
PDF Press Report
So New Press - An exciting upstart press.
PDF Press Report
Soft Skull Press - Check out this interview, where Publisher Richard Nash dishes on the economic intricacies of indie publishing.
PDF Press Report
Soho Press - Take the F train to books as hip as the lower west side.
PDF Press Report
Tarpaulin Sky Press - As refreshing and resilant as the journal.
PDF Press Report
Top Shelf Productions - Welcomes all work, for an emerging author to great such as Alan Moore.
PDF Press Report
Unbridled Books - No holds barred since 2003.
PDF Press Report
