Jacket magazine - Small or Literary presses

Below, a brief list of links to a number of selected literary presses, print and electronic; the links in this list take you to a fuller annotated and illustrated listing, below.
(Jacket’s Links to print and electronic magazines are at litlinks.shtml)

began publishing in New York 1968 as a mimeographed “little magazine,” and continued through 1976 with individual pamphlets, featuring work by John Ashbery, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Bernadette Mayer, Frank O’Hara, James Schuyler, Anne Waldman and numerous others. After a long hiatus, they begin again with a series of books by both established and new innovative writers. Adventures in Poetry books are edited by Larry Fagin and Christopher Mattison. All questions concerning individual titles or orders should be directed to

Christopher Mattison
AIP, 50 Kenwood Street, Brookline, MA 02446 USA
Tel. 617.734.0661, Fax. 617.734.0661
Email: editor@adventuresinpoetry.com
On the Internet at http://www.adventuresinpoetry.com/

Vintage (1968—1976) Adventures in Poetry publications are available through Granary Books (see elsewhere on this page).

at http://www.alicejamesbooks.org/ is a nonprofit cooperative poetry press, founded in 1973 by five women and two men: Patricia Cumming, Marjorie Fletcher, Jean Pedrick, Lee Rudolph, Ron Schreiber, Betsy Sholl and Cornelia Veenendaal. Their objectives were to give women access to publishing and to involve authors in the publishing process. They named the press after Alice James — the sister of novelist Henry James and philosopher William James — whose fine journal and gift for writing were unrecognized within her lifetime. Since 1994, the press has been affiliated with the University of Maine at Farmington.

The cooperative selects manuscripts for publication through both regional and national competitions: the New England/ New York Award, and the Beatrice Hawley Award. Winners of regional awards become active cooperative members, judging future contests and participating in editorial and executive decisions. National awards do not carry a cooperative work commitment. AJB authors have been recipients of the American Book Award, The Kate Tufts Discovery Award, The Norma Farber First Book Award, The Arthur Rense Poetry Prize, the Lenore Marshall Prize, the William Carlos Williams Award, The Nation/Discovery Prize, The Rona Jaffe Foundation Award, and many other awards and fellowships. Recent Alice James Books titles have been reviewed in The New Yorker, ALA Booklist, Ms., Harvard Review, Publishers’ Weekly, Library Journal, Boston Review, Boston Globe, L.A. Times, Poetry, and other publications. Alice James Books itself has been featured in such magazines as Ms, Poets and Writers, Slate and Poetry Daily.

Alice James Books, 238 Main Street, Farmington, ME 04938, USA
phone: 207-778-7071, fax: 207-778-7071, email: ajb(at)umf.maine.edu Director: April Ossmann, Managing Editor: Aimee Beal, Editorial Assistant: Kim Roberts

Apogee Press in Berkeley, California, was formed in the Northern Fall of 1998 to focus on the work of West Coast poets. they are receptive to a wide range of aesthetics, they say, but lean towards innovative or experimental work. They expect to publish three books of poems each year and are currently committed through the end of the year 2000.

Apogee Press, P.O. Box 8177, Berkeley, CA 94707-8177, USA
Email at editors@ApogeePress.com
Order their books by contacting them directly at http://www.apogeepress.com/
or by ordering through Small Press Distribution

http://www.barquepress.com/

Barque Press publishes experimental and innovative poetry from the U.S. and Britain. Authors include J. H. Prynne, John Wilkinson, Ben Watson, Andrew Duncan, Keston Sutherland, Kristin Prevallet, John Tranter, Andrea Brady and Jordan Davis — over twenty-five chapbooks and one perfect-bound stunner, a quick-joy publisher of experimental poetry with its eye on young writers of intensity and commitment.

Si je désire une eau d'Europe, c'est la flache
Noire et froide où vers le crépuscule embaumé
Un enfant accroupi plein de tristesses, lâche
Un bateau frêle comme un papillon de mai.

“If there is one water in Europe I want, it is the black cold pool where into the scented twilight a child squatting full of sadness launches a boat frail as a butterfly in May.” — the penultimate stanza of Rimbaud's Le Bateau Ivre, from Oliver Bernard's translation of the Collected Poems for Penguin, 1962, ISBN 0 14 042064 9

is an independent publishing and production company based out of Boston, New York and Chicago. In addition to publishing literary fiction, non-fiction and poetry, Black Ocean produces a number of events each year that incorporate a variety of artistic mediums. They say: “From early silent films to early punk rock, we bring together a spectrum of aesthetics while promoting artists and writers who produce intelligent, skilful, and passionate work.” At: http://www.blackocean.org/

in Providence, Rhode Island, has been central to the promotion and publication of innovative writing for over 30 years. Now Duration Press has put their entire catalog on-line, at http://www.burningdeck.com/

is one of Britain’s leading poetry publishers. Now in its fourth decade, it provides a comprehensive and diverse list of modern and classic poetry in English and in translation. Their website is a useful resource for reviews and author biographies, and contains full listings of published books.
Internet site: http://www.carcanet.co.uk/
You may subscribe to Carcanet's weekly e-letter by emailing info(at)carcanet.co.uk
Carcanet Press, Alliance House, 30 Cross Street
Manchester M2 7AQ, United Kingdom.

at http://alexwritdespub.com/chax/index.htm

Founded in 1984 in Tucson by Charles Alexander. Their first project was to complete French Sonnets, by Jackson Mac Low, which had been started by Alexander's earlier press, Black Mesa Press, in Madison, Wisconsin. More than 50 books have followed, including several published during their three years in Minneapolis (1993–96).

The mission of the press is stated as “to create unique book arts editions of innovative writing and the book arts; to publish literary editions of challenging contemporary writing and distribute them to the general public; to present events which further public knowledge about explorations in contemporary writing and the book arts.”

Charles Alexander at work

Address: 101 W. Sixth St., Tucson, AZ 85701-1000, phone 520-620-1626, fax 520-620-1636, email chax@theriver.com

Tucson is nestled between the Santa Catalina, Rincon, Tucson, and Santa Rita mountain ranges. Standing anywhere in Tucson and looking at the horizon, there is never any doubt about where you are.

Southern Arizona features many hummingbird varieties and lightning strikes and fair weather most of the year, with dramatic sunrises and sunsets. It is a haven for astronomers and winter visitors, a showcase for spring baseball, and home to an active cultural life, in which Chax Press plays a vital role.

at http://www.coffeehousepress.org/ is an award-winning, nonprofit literary publisher. They produce books which, they say, “present the dreams and ambitions of people who have been underrepresented in published literature, books that shape our national consciousness while strengthening a larger sense of community.”

Coffee House Press, 27 N. 4th St., #400, Minneapolis, MN 55401, USA
Phone: 612.338.0125, Fax: 612.338.4004

at http://web.mac.com/countryvalley/
specializes in limited edition chapbooks and broadsides of poetry in the objectivist tradition. Current publications include work by John Martone, Theodore Enslin, and Devin Johnston. Forthcoming is a chapbook by Bob Arnold. Please go to the Press website for a preview. Editor: Mark Kuniya.

They say: The Eastern Washington University Press publishes innovative works that possess freshness in language and theme. It supports and extends the intellectual, educational and public role of the University through publications for academic and public audiences, the sponsorship of literary festivals, the presentation of literary prizes, student internships, and outreach to schools and civic groups. A central aspect of our mission is the publication of works that address the history, culture, literature, and public policy of the Inland Northwest and Northern Rocky Mountain regions of the United States of America. On the Internet at: http://www.ewu.edu/ewupress/

is one of Britain’s leading literary publishers, specialising in poetry and in high-quality artists’ books and original prints. It is divided into two companies: Enitharmon Press, which publishes poetry and general literature in small-format volumes and anthologies, and Enitharmon Editions Ltd, which produces de luxe artists’ books in the tradition of the livre d’artiste. These limited editions are usually letterpress printed, and contain original artwork in the form of etchings, lithographs, photogravures or photographs, and in one case with paintings on canvas.
Recent Enitharmon paperbacks have included poetry collections by Alan Brownjohn, Jane Duran and Anthony Thwaite, novels by Vernon Scannell and Edward Upward, essays by David Gascoyne and Kathleen Raine, and memoirs by Michael Hamburger and Anne Ridler.
Enitharmon is one of the few British publishers to commission collaborations between distinguished artists and writers. These artists’ books have earned an international reputation for their exceptional quality. Recent projects have involved Robert Creeley, Thom Gunn, Ted Hughes and Blake Morrison, the artists Jim Dine, Gilbert & George and Paula Rego, and — forthcoming — the poems of Harold Pinter.

Enitharmon Press, 26B Caversham Rd., London NW5 2DU, United Kingdom; Tel: 020 7482 5967, Fax: 020 7284 1787; onthe Internet at http://www.enitharmon.co.uk/

at www.futurepoem.com is a New York City-based publishing collaborative dedicated to presenting innovative works of contemporary poetry and prose by both emerging and important underrepresented writers.

They say: ‘Our rotating editorial panel shares the responsibility for selecting, designing and promoting the books we produce. We currently publish two titles per year. Futurepoem also occasionally invites writers or multi-genre artists to produce work for special projects that is then documented in print or via other media.’

Founder and Editor: Dan Machlin; Art Director: Anthony Monahan; Web site design: Ulysses Design; Web hosting: Duration Press; Non-profit fiscal sponsor: Fractured Atlas Productions, Inc.; Lyrics: Serena Jost
Questions/Comments: info@futurepoem.com

Advisory Board: Ann Lauterbach, Charles Bernstein

Guest Editorial Panel:Fall 2003–Spring 2004 — Edwin Torres, Kristin Prevallet, Heather Ramsdell, Dan Machlin

Fall 2002–Spring 2003 — Brenda Coultas, Anselm Berrigan, Laird Hunt, Dan Machlin

Granary Books is a publisher of artists’ books, poetry & poet / artist collaborations. They also publish an impressive range of books that investigate, document and elaborate in and around poetry, “the book” and writing. They’ve published several books by Johanna Drucker, including her ground breaking study The Century of Artists’ Books. The encyclopedic anthology A Book of the Book: Some Works & Projections About the Book & Writing edited by Jerome Rothenberg and Steve Clay came out in 2000.

Current projects (circa 2001-02) include Lyn Hejinian’s book-length poem A Border Comedy, several books on and by the artist & writer Joe Brainard, a massive anthology (650 pp.) of writings from Angel Hair books and magazine edited by Anne Waldman and Lewis Warsh, J. Hoberman on visionary artist Jack Smith’s film Flaming Creatures (plus a facsimile limited edition reprint of Smith’s photographic artists book of the early sixties The Beautiful Book), Bed Hangings by Susan Howe and Susan Bee, as well as titles from Julie Harrison, Robert Creeley, Piero Heliczer, Leslie Scalapino, bill bissett, Edmond Jabès, Kenneth Goldsmith, Gary Sullivan & Nada Gordon, Jerome Rothenberg, Ian Tyson and others. Their catalogue raisonne When will the book be done? describes in detail (& full color) their publications to mid-2001. They also deal in literary and art libraries and archives of the sixties and seventies. Inquiries are welcome. Hours by appointment only.
Granary Books, Inc., 307 Seventh Ave., Suite 1401, New York, NY 10001 USA tel: (212) 337–9979, fax: (212) 337–9774
Steven Clay, publisher sclay@granarybooks.com
On the Internet at http://www.granarybooks.com/

You can browse a complete and detailed descriptive catalog from Granary Books in Jacket, from this link

Cabin by Bob Arnold
Photo copyright © Susan Arnold, 2006

Their two-part bibliography is like a poetry magazine:
Welcome to Longhouse’s bibliography, covering 35 years of steady publications. The press was created by Bob Arnold in 1971, the year he was drafted by the Army and stationed with Conscientious Objector status in southern Vermont during the last gruesome stages of the Vietnam War. Bob was heading there anyway… being employed by a brotherly minister of the local Episcopal church, and therein was found the key to Longhouse’s future: the church offices held an AB Dick mimeograph machine, and the rest is history.

Volume one, 1971-1989: http://www.longhousepoetry.com/bibliography1.html

Volume two, 1990-2006: http://www.longhousepoetry.com/bibliography2.html

Established in 1998, Lost Horse Press — a nonprofit independent press — publishes poetry titles of high literary merit, and makes available other fine contemporary literature through cultural, educational and publishing programs and activities. The Lost Horse New Poets, Short Books Series, edited by Marvin Bell, is dedicated to works�often ignored by conglomerate publishers — which are so much in danger of vanishing into obscurity in what has become the age of chain stores and mass appeal food, movies, art and books. Check out their Internet site: http://www.losthorsepress.org/

Mercat Press is one of Scotland’s leading publishers. Founded in 1970 as part of the former bookselling chain James Thin, it became an independent company in April 2002. Mercat Press is a member of the Scottish Publishers Association. For further information please go to www.scottishbooks.org

Registered office: 10 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 7AL, Scotland, UK
t. +44(0)131 225 9774; f. +44(0)131 226 6632, enquiries@mercatpress.com
ALL ORDERS TO BOOKSOURCE: 0845 370 0067 (from UK); +44 141 643 3961 (from overseas). Online discounts do not apply. Mercat Press is staffed by Seán Costello, Tom Johnstone, Caroline Taylor and Vikki Reilly.

Kelsey Street Press has been publishing innovative writing by women since 1974. They began with a group of writers who wished to address the historical marginalization of women writers by mainstream publishers. The first books were hand set and printed on a letterpress in the basement of a house on Kelsey Street in Berkeley.
    Twenty five years later, founding members Patricia Dienstfrey and Rena Rosenwasser continue to direct the press with the assistance of members and interns.
    Kelsey St. Press is a non-profit organization. Publications include experimental work by emerging writers, women of color, and lesbians. In the mid-1980s Kelsey St. initiated a series of collaborations between visual artists and poets. Kelsey St. coordinates the collaborations and then documents the results.
    Recent titles include The Tales of Horror by Laura Mullen, Four Year Old Girl by Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge, Black Box Cutaway by Susan Gevirtz, Under Flag by Myung Mi Kim, Endocrinology by Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge with art by Kiki Smith, and Rebecca Letters by Laynie Browne.
    A special event is the release of Symbiosis — poetry by Barbara Guest, with drawings by Laurie Reid. The press says: “The bright synergies of this collaborative volume bring together the work of poet Barbara Guest and painter Laurie Reid. Guest began her career as a member of the New York School; she was recently awarded the Frost Medal for lifetime achievement. Reid is a young West Coast artist whose work is featured in the current Whitney Biennial. The title, Symbiosis, is a verbal expression of the pleasure and inspiration they found in each other's work.”
    Forthcoming in the late Northern spring, 2000. Paperback, USD$17, ISBN 0 932716 52 0 — Special edition available; call for price.
Jacket # 10 offers a special Barbara Guest feature.
Ordering: Institutions: Small Press Distribution
Phone (510) 549-3336 Phone (800) 869-7553 Fax (510) 549-2201;
also
University Press Books 2430 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA. 94704.
Ordering: individuals:
Kelsey St. Press, 50 Northgate Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94708
On the Internet at http://www.kelseyst.com/
Phone (510) 845-2260 / fax (510) 548–9185
Art work by Kate Delos, copyright © Kate Delos 2000

in Wisconsin seeks to preserve innovative writing that otherwise might not be published. Located in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, OP puts out chapbooks in limited editions of 60 copies (signed and numbered), which are not for sale. However, many of the texts are available to readers as free PDF downloads at the OP web site maintained by Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University. Texts by Pierre Albert-Birot, Stefan Themerson, Harry Mathews, Rikki Ducornet, Opal Louis Nations, Harold Jaffe, Stephen-Paul Martin, Eric Basso, Kirpal Gordon, Tom Whalen, and others, are available in this manner. Greg Boyd, Joel Lipman, Franciszka Themerson, Nick Wadley, M. Kasper, and others, have illustrated OP chapbooks. OP is published and edited by Paul Rosheim. The OP web site is at
http://odin.indstate.edu/

Independent literature for the literature-dependent...

Published quarterly by Parsifal Press, the purpose of the Modern Review is to dispute literary borders, and to foster both an appreciation and desire for a higher standard in the verbal arts. The Modern Review publishes literary works that are critical and uncompromising in their values and sense of place. Each issue of TMR includes poetry, prose, drama, and an explorative feature called “Subject and Matter”. The editors read submissions year-round.

At: http://www.modern-review.com/

http://www.parsifal-press.com/

was founded by wife and husband team Rusty Morrison and Ken Keegan to create books that are most closely aligned with each author’s vision, and to provide an interactive and rewarding publishing experience for poets and writers. At present we are publishing poetry books, with New Wave Fabulist fiction to be added. Some authors: Elizabeth Robinson, Norma Cole, Liz Waldner, Rosmarie Waldrop, Lyn Hejinian. Our book by Lyn, The Fatalist, was one of the Village Voice 25 best books for 2003. You can find out more about us at http://www.omnidawn.com/
    This October we are bringing out collections by Devin Johnston, Martha Ronk, and a book by Keith Waldrop that, in many interesting ways, crosses poetry and fiction borders.
    Rusty Morrison is a contributing editor for Poetry Flash. She is the co-winner of the 2003 Robert H. Winner Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America.She also teaches at Saint Mary's College and co-edits the poetry journal 26, which is affiliated with the Saint Mary's MFA program. Rusty is the Editor for Omnidawn Publishing.
    Ken Keegan has a background in theater, graphic design, desktop publishing, computer systems, and manages design, production, marketing, and operations for Omnidawn Publishing.

Telephone: (510) 237-5472; Fax: (510) 232-8525
Mailing Address: Omnidawn Publishing, 1632 Elm Avenue, Richmond, California 94805-1614 USA Sales: sales@omnidawn.com, Customer Service: service@omnidawn.com, Submissions: submissions@omnidawn.com
Letters to individual authors: authors@omnidawn.com (messages will be forwarded to an author you specify). All other inquiries: manager@omnidawn.com

Recent Publications: Carol Szamatowicz, Zoop; Edmund Berrigan, Disarming Matter; Brendan Lorber, The Address Book. Forthcoming in 2001:

Publisher, teacher, poet, Albert Flynn DeSilver is a board member and teacher with California Poets in the Schools (www.cp.org), and lives in the San Geronimo Valley of Northern California.
The Owl Press publications can be ordered directly from the press: Albert DeSilver, P.O. Box 126, Woodacre, CA 94973, USA.
Internet: http://www.theowlpress.com/
Email: asisowl@mindspring.com
Books can also be ordered from Small Press Distribution, 1341 Seventh Street, Berkeley, CA 94710 USA, Tel 800-869-7553,
Internet: http://www.spdbooks.org/

Small press. Big impact: Poetry and Fiction. At http://www.pighog.co.uk/
Pighog is a small press based in Sussex, England.
We are committed to the publication of unique voices. We believe language is energy.

Pighog Press, P O Box 145, Brighton BN1 6YU, United Kingdom.

Electronic Mail: info [at] pighog.co.uk

Project Gutenberg at promo.net/pg began in 1971 when Michael Hart was given an operator's account with a large amount of free time in it by the operators of the Xerox Sigma V mainframe at the Materials Research Lab at the University of Illinois. He began making out-of-copyright books freely available in simple text format. By 2001 the team expects to have 10,000 works available free of charge.
The Project Gutenberg Philosophy is to make information, books and other materials available to the general public in forms a vast majority of the computers, programs and people can easily read, use, quote, and search.

There are three portions of the Project Gutenberg Library:
Light Literature — such as Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, Peter Pan, Aesop's Fables, etc.
Heavy Literature — such as the Bible or other religious documents, Shakespeare, Moby Dick, Paradise Lost, etc.
References — such as Roget's Thesaurus, almanacs, and a set of encyclopedia, dictionaries, etc.
Books still in copyright cannot be made available on the Gutenberg site, so you won't find the latest bestsellers or modern computer books there. You will find the classic books from the start of this century and previous centuries, from authors like Shakespeare, Poe, Dante, as well as well-loved favorites like the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the Tarzan and Mars books of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Alice's adventures in Wonderland as told by Lewis Carroll, and thousands of others.

is a small press based in London, publishing new and innovative writing in English and in translation from other languages. It has been run since 1993 by Ken Edwards, formerly in partnership with Wendy Mulford. Reality Street has published books by Nicole Brossard, Allen Fisher, Barbara Guest, Fanny Howe, Denise Riley, Peter Riley, Maurice Scully and many others. Ken’s own writing has been published by Roof Books, Pig Press, Galloping Dog Press, Oasis Books and other presses.
At: http://www.realitystreet.co.uk/

at http://www.saltpublishing.com/
Salt Publishing is an independent literary publisher with offices in Perth, Australia and Cambridge, England. they have a diverse and growing range of titles in poetry, fiction, literary criticism and drama, including books by Maxine Chernoff, Andrew Duncan, Susan M. Schultz, Paul Hoover, Kate Lilley, Ron Silliman, Susan Wheeler and John Tranter. Staff: John Kinsella, Chris Hamilton-Emery, Jen Hamilton-Emery.

at http://silencedpress.com/
Silenced Press is an independent publisher and online literary journal based in Columbus, Ohio. We are dedicated to giving a voice to artists that must be heard and highlighting writers from Ohio. We exist to support Ohio and to support art.

at http://www.zephyrpress.org/
Our Mission: Zephyr Press, a non-profit arts and education 501(c)(3) organization, publishes literary titles that foster deeper understanding of cultures and languages. Since its first forays into American poetry and prose in 1980, Zephyr has expanded its list to include a series of Russian and Slavic literature, and most recently an East Asian line of books. Zephyr has also initiated collaborative ventures with the series Adventures in Poetry and the East European Poets Series through Ugly Duckling Presse. To further our commitment to cross-cultural exchange, we organize bilingual readings, translation workshops in schools, and other educational and cultural events.

More presses are being added as we speak... Say hi, e-mail your comments and notify us of your favorite small presses.
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Jacket magazine: Small or Literary presses