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
Atticus Books - Literature that transcends.
PDF Press Report
Black Balloon Publishing-They'll lift you off the ground and take you to a whole new world.
PDF Press Report
Caketrain - Beautifully designed covers. Beautifully written books. Only $8 each.
PDF Press Report
Curbside Splendor Publishing - An indie press so Chicagoan it goes to the Logan Square Farmer's Market.
PDF Press Report
Dark House Press - New, promising, and dark, like the day's first cup of coffee.
PDF Press Report
Dzanc Books- An indie press vying for the future of literature.
PDF Press Report
Eraserhead Press- Franz Kafka meets John Waters meets David Lynch meets Dr. Seuss of the post-apocalypse.
PDF Press Report
Gorsky Press - A true indie that looks for work outside the mainstream.
PDF Press Report
Leapfrog Press - Where the writer gets the attention they deserve.
PDF Press Report
NoPassport Press - A press that publishes plays because they're good, not because they're produced.
PDF Press Report
Outpost 19- Truly provocative reading.
Photocredit: Outpost 19
PDF Press Report
7 Stories Press - Books that aren't afraid to get political.
PDF Press Report
Soho Press - Take the F train to books as hip as the lower west side.
PDF Press Report
Sourcebooks - their mission: "to reach as many people as possible with books that will enlighten their lives."
PDF Press Report
Top Shelf Productions - Welcomes all work, for an emerging author to great such as Alan Moore.
PDF Press Report