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The CLMP Newswire
A Biweekly Email News Dispatch on Independent Literary Publishing
A Project of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (http://www.clmp.org)

Table of Contents for April 1, 2002 (Volume 2, Number 6)

• National Poetry Month, West Coast Style
• As for the Other Coast ...
• Get Your Short Stories--One by One
• In Brief
• CLMP Announcements
• Events

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH, WEST COAST STYLE

Who said there's no publishing presence on the West Coast? For the second year in a row, Small Press Distribution and Poets & Writers are putting the spotlight on independent publishers through their program "Underground California." First launched in the fall of 2000, Underground California's objective is to promote the relationship between independent California bookstores, California's independent literary publishers, and California's wide array of talented authors.

A year and a half ago, after a series of meetings with small presses, SPD and Poets & Writers were able to identify the main problems that California publishers faced in promoting theirs work: lack of publicity. "It's difficult for small publishers who don't have the money for cooperative advertising," says Ryan Tranquilla, Director of California Programs at Poets & Writers in San Francisco. "If you're a bookstore, and Random House is going to send you promotional material, you're going to focus on that." Tranquilla also points out that, because of the dearth of arts-oriented media outlets in California (particularly statewide arts newspapers and magazines), small presses have few options for advertising their work.

So, SPD and Poets & Writers, with the financial support of the California Arts Council, decided to establish a program that would help place small and medium independent presses in California in the limelight. "We wanted to bring attention to California's literary culture--to show that there is, in fact, a thriving world of California publishers," says Brent Cunningham, Sales and Web Manager for the Berkeley-based distributor. This year there are 40 participating bookstores--twice as many as last year--which span from Arcata down to San Diego. Among the bookstores participating are Berkeley's Moe's Books, San Francisco's City Lights, and Skylight Books in Los Angeles. The program's presses include Green Integer (a Sun & Moon imprint based in Los Angeles) and San Francisco-based Manic D Press.

SPD has a very specific role in the advancement of this event, which will run the first week of April in honor of National Poetry Month. "We will provide the promotional materials--shelf talkers and posters--to participating independent bookstores, and they will bring attention to local writers and publishers," says Cunningham. While SPD will handle the marketing aspect of the program, Poets & Writers--with Tranquilla at the helm--has coordinated several bookstore readings for the week, including Rae Armantrout and Jerome Rothenberg at Skylight Books on April 5 and Francisco Alarcon at Sacramento's Open Book on April 6.

Kerry Slattery at Skylight Books says the Underground California program meets two needs for California presses: first, it brings home the fact that there is a vibrant and flourishing publishing presence on the West Coast. But the program also highlights material that might otherwise never see the light of day. "It's the kind of work that might not be valued or brought to any attention by the big publishing concerns in New York," says Slattery.

For more information about Underground California and other programs sponsored by SPD, log on at http://www.spdbooks.org. Small Press Distribution, founded in 1969, is a non-profit organization that carries poetry, fiction and cultural writing and distributes more than 450 presses to bookstores and libraries throughout the United States. Poets & Writers, Inc, is the nation's largest nonprofit service organization for writers. It was founded in New York City in 1970. In 1989 it opened its California Programs office. You can log on at http://www.pw.org for more information.

AS FOR THE OTHER COAST ...

New York has long been a mecca for small press publishers, particularly poetry publishers. In keeping with that tradition, Poets House (http://www.poetshouse.org) a 40,000-volume poetry library in the SoHo district, will be hosting its 10th annual Poetry Showcase. The showcase will feature an exhibit of more than 1,300 new poetry books from commercial, university and independent presses across the nation--the newest editions to the library's collection. In addition to the showcase, Poets House will also host a festival of events that include readings and panel discussions to celebrate both the showcase and this year's National Poetry Month.

"The goal of Poets House is to create a space for people to find books that are otherwise unavailable," says Poets House Managing Director Jane Preston. For years Poets House continued to build its collection of poetry books and make them available to visitors, but the number of current releases seemed to forever lag behind. Because of the desire to increase its collection and keep the poetry community up to date on the latest in poetry publishing, the showcase was born.

In addition to increasing its library, Preston says the showcase was also established to find ways to better serve poetry publishers. Like their counterparts in California, poetry publishers on the East Coast told Preston that the number one difficulty they face in their business is gaining adequate exposure. For Preston, the showcase is a perfect marriage between bringing publishers to the forefront and increasing the Poets House collection of titles.

"We make a determined effort to seek as many publishers as we can find," says Preston. "And because we've done such a comprehensive job, we've been able to compile some fairly accurate records." These records, all gleaned each year from the Poets House Showcase, are compiled in the Directory of American Poetry Books, an annotated listing of the books shown at the annual exhibits. "As far as I know it's the only bibliographic resource of its kind," says Preston. The online version now lists 7,000 titles published since 1990, something Preston considers an invaluable outgrowth of the annual showcase.

Each year, the Poets House Showcase guarantees the presence of at least 1,000 titles, which are displayed face forward and arranged alphabetically by publisher, inclusive of chapbooks. This year, visitors will be able to view as many as 1,300 titles. "The showcase creates an objective view of poetry publishing," says Preston. "It's a clear profile of what's happening in the life of poetry in our country." According to Preston, 10% of this year's titles come from commercial presses, 15% are published by University Presses and the remaining 75% are published by independent presses.

The festivities begin with a showcase party, a very popular and widely attended aspect of the showcase. However, Preston sees it as more than just an opportunity to schmooze and gab. According to Preston, some visitors are poets looking for homes for their work. Some are anthology editors searching for work to include in their compilations. Many are simply readers putting together their reading list for the year. But most importantly, says Preston, "the showcase provides an opportunity for publishers to further expand their efforts at branding, at making themselves known, and to gather an idea of the current trends in poetry publishing."

The opening reception is Saturday, April 6. Members preview is from 4-5 PM, and the rest of the public may join in from 5-7 PM. Admission is free and the event continues throughout the month of April in celebration of National Poetry Month. The address is 72 Spring Street, 2nd Floor in New York City. For more information call 212-431-7920.

GET YOUR SHORT STORIES--ONE BY ONE

Maribeth Batcha and Hanna Tinti, two veterans of the publishing world, have started a new kind of literary magazine--one that sends subscribers one short story at a time. The new journal, appropriately titled One Story, states on its website that "short stories are best read alone. They should not be sandwiched between a review and an expose of liposuction." But Batcha, the press's Publisher, has more reader-oriented reasons for the decision. "First of all," she says, "there's always time to read one story. But also, it's sometimes really difficult to know where to start in a literary journal. Here, the choice is pretty simple."

Since its first call for submissions, One Story has also received about 500 submissions. In terms of readers, the press has already garnered about 300 subscribers--which is important, since One Story will remain subscription only. Subscribers will pay $21 to receive 18 stories a year, which translates into a new story every three weeks. Readers will also receive a case to keep the perfect-bound 5x7 books in order.

Each manuscript is sent to a printer in Minnesota where it is bound in what Batcha calls a professional and accessible format. The cover has no illustrations and will look the same every issue except, of course, for the title and the author's name. "We didn't want to send out anything cheap looking. We wanted them to look good and also feel durable to our subscribers," says Batcha.

The magazine, which threw a launch party last month that 175 people attended, is now focusing its attention on its first annual contest. Submissions are due May 1, and winners will receive $300 plus publication. One Story also hopes to sponsor a writing contest geared for new writers only. Batcha says the press plans to have author Q&A's on the website as well as a message board once more people start logging on. And, she and Tinti would like to put together an anthology of all the stories after a year.

While the staff is full of new publishing ideas, they also voice an age-old publisher's complaint--lack of time and money. "We both have part time jobs and are working on our own writing too," says Batcha, parroting the literary editor's main lament. As for money, while the press has no plans to go nonprofit for now, Batcha has managed to keep costs at a minimum so that production won't be threatened in the future. "Basically it survives by private funding--mine," she says.

Batcha brings ten years of experience in magazine circulation and subscription marketing to One Story, including two years at Lingua Franca and consulting stints at Granta and The New York Review of Books the. Tinti, the Editor of One Story, has earned her stripes as a past editor at several magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly, Boston Review, and Washington Square.

You can read more about One Story by logging on at http://www.one-story.com.

IN BRIEF

Recession. What Recession?

Go figure. While dire predictions continue to dog the publishing industry, the Census bureau recently released some astounding figures in bookstore sales for the month of January. In fact, sales jumped 27.2% to 2.25 billion, compared to only a 3.1% increase for the entire U.S. retail segment. What this means is anyone's guess. Perhaps people are foregoing fancy dinners and new cars for the relatively cheap entertainment of reading.

Legal Resources for the Indie Magazine Publisher

Magazine publishers searching for great information on your legal rights, responsibilities, and liabilities should check out Linda Gardiner's informative, no-nonsense article, "Some Internet Legal Resources for Magazine Publishing" at http://www.indypress.org/toolbox/lawlinks.html. Despite it's somewhat bland headline, Gardiner, the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Women's Review of Books, stocks her article with Internet links, resources and advice for steering clear of the legal hot waters. You can find a wealth of information regarding everything from the elaborate and confusing U.S. Postal rules, to trademarks, copyrights and dealing with contributors. A definite must-see.

CLMP ANNOUNCEMENTS

CLMP Member 1/2 price Discount for Book Sense 'Advance Access Program'

Book Sense is offering CLMP members a 1/2 price discount for its 'Advance Access Program.' The program promotes books to independent bookstores, who can then order review copies direct from the publisher. For more information log on to http://www.bookweb.org/booksense/publisher/3311.html.

EVENTS

CLMP Celebrates Poetry Month!

This April, CLMP partners with Poets House to present two panel discussions in celebration of National Poetry Month. The first of these panels, "Rebels Rebels: Generations of Experimental Poetry Editors in Discussion," will be held in conjunction with the Poets House Annual Showcase. This free event will start at 7 PM on April 12th, and will take place at Poets House (72 Spring St, New York City). Panels include: Lee Ann Brown, (Tender Buttons); Rachel Levitsky (Belladonna); Ravi Shankar, (www.drunkenboat.com); and Geoffrey Young (The Figures). For more information please call (212) 431-7920.