Council of Literary Magazines and Presses Announces the Launch of The CLMP Newswire

Seasoned Journalist to Cover Literary Publishing Beat for CLMP Members

New York City -- The Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, America's leading service organization for independent literary book and magazine publishers, has announced the launch of the CLMP Newswire, a bi-weekly e-mail news dispatch covering the world of literary publishing. With funds from its current Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds grant, CLMP has hired Los Angeles-based journalist, Leslie Schwartz, to cover the literary publishing beat, reporting new and underreported news geared toward independent publishers of fiction and poetry nationwide.

Schwartz, a freelance journalist, editor and published fiction writer, has 10 years of experience writing for the Los Angeles Times, Good Housekeeping, Shape, Self, Mademoiselle, and has worked as a Story Analyst for NBC, the Disney Channel and Spelling Entertainment. She is also a mentor of PEN Center West's Emerging Voices Program and had her first novel published by Simon & Schuster in 1999. Her short stories have been published in numerous literary magazines including the Sonora Review, Yellow Silk, Kalliope, Transfer and the Anterior Monthly Review, and she has done writers residencies at the Millay Colony, the Ucross Foundation and Hedgebrook. "I got my start as a writer in literary magazines," says Schwartz, "and I feel a debt of gratitude to the small press and magazine community. It seems like I’ve come full circle and I’m truly glad to be giving something back to CLMP’s members, many of whom published my work years ago."

Peggy Randall, CLMP Executive Director, explains, "Many of today's publishing news outlets simply overlook the world of independent literary publishers. Although mainstream publishing news is important, the more isolated and less trafficked world of independent presses and magazines need news sources that cover what's happening in their world." The CLMP Newswire, which will be available exclusively in an e-mail format (and digested on the CLMP website at www.clmp.org), will cover literary publisher news including notable achievements, innovative marketing and fundraising programs, people news, e-publishing ventures, grant making and fundraising trends, politics and policy issues affecting small literary publishers, and awards and grants deadlines. According to Randall, "Although the CLMP Newswire will provide hyperlinks to particularly important major news stories that have appeared elsewhere on the web, the goal is to uncover news of special interest to literary publishers that hasn't appeared in print before." The CLMP Newswire will be issued on the 1^st and 15^th of each month with the first issue scheduled for March 15^th.

The CLMP Newswire is available to CLMP members at no charge and to non-members for $12 per year. CLMP will also accept text advertising at a cost of $1 per word for members and $5 per word for non-members. Text ads will be positioned at the end of each Newswire. To subscribe or place an ad, please e-mail Peggy Randall at prandall@clmp.org for more information. News items should be sent directly to Leslie Schwartz at lschwartz@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), 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 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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