Council of Literary Magazines and Presses Hires Development Strategist for Literary Publishing

Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds Provide Money for Fundraising Position for the Field

New York City - The Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, America's leading service organization for independent literary book and magazine publishers, has hired a Development Strategist for Literary Publishing to provide information and services about foundation funding for the field directly to its publisher members. With support from the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds and in an effort to centralize foundation information for independent literary publishers, CLMP established this new position in February.

CLMP has hired Beth Harrison, a skilled freelance grant writer and book editor, with 10 years of experience in both editorial and marketing assignments in publishing and in successful grant writing for publishers and museums. Harrison has worked at independent presses and literary magazines, including the Quarterly and the Oxford Magazine, and founded her own literary magazine, Spinning Jenny, in 1994. She has also written successful grant applications for Princeton Architectural Press and the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. Harrison has a degree in creative writing from Miami University. According to Harrison, "Literary magazines and presses are doing some of today's most important culture work. I am thrilled to be working at CLMP in service of literary publishing."

In the coming months, Harrison and CLMP will be developing a centralized database of foundation funding sources for the field of literary publishing and will make this database available to CLMP members at www.clmp.org. Harrison will also disseminate appropriate grant announcements to the field, will be available to members via phone and e-mail to field questions and provide guidance and advice, and will be CLMP's major advocate for funding for literary publishers nationwide. She can be reached at bharrison@clmp.org.

CLMP was founded in 1967 as the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines, adding presses to its constituency in 1991. For over 30 years CLMP has supported the country's diverse literary culture by promoting and advocating on behalf of its publishers and nurturing their business and organizational capacity. CLMP strengthens its membership by offering marketing and organizational workshops, hosting a national membership meeting for the field, sponsoring technical assistance programs, representing the voice of its publishers in the media, maintaining a comprehensive website (www.clmp.org), and providing basic information services and publications. In addition, CLMP informs funders and other arts groups about the role of literary publishing in American culture, conducts research about the field, and ensures that literature has a voice in the politics of cultural policy.

CLMP receives generous and ongoing support from the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds, the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wendling Foundation, Deutsche Bank and gifts from the Friends of CLMP.

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