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.

Coffee House Press - Books that wake you up like a fresh pot.
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

MacAdam/Cage - Merges the indie and corporate publishing ethos.
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

Unbridled Books - No holds barred since 2003.
PDF Press Report