Task #21: Read a book published by a micropress

[Book Riot]

Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the twenty-first Read Harder task, from Roxane Gay, bestselling author of Ayiti, An Untamed State, Bad Feminist, Marvel’s World of Wakanda, and the forthcoming Hunger and Difficult Women.

[Bonnie G.]

Sorry if this is a stupid questions, but what exactly constitutes a "micropress"? Is it different from a "small press?"

[Book Riot]

Bonnie wrote: "Sorry if this is a stupid questions, but what exactly constitutes a "micropress"? Is it different from a "small press?""

No question is a dumb question! This post answers it a bit, though we're taking "micro-press" as beyond comics to include traditional fiction/nonfiction, too: https://thetinyreport.com/what-is-a-m...

[Book Riot]

Basically a super small small press!

[Liz]

I think this is a fascinating category. Do you have any suggestions on how to find a micropress? It kind of feels like searching for nanobreweries. :)

[Bonnie G.]

Thanks BR! :)

[Penny]

I will read The Rules of Ever After.

[SibylM]

I found a micropress (relatively) near me! And a couple of their books look like they would be right up my alley -- and are available on Kindle!
http://www.blackbombbooks.com/

[[deleted user]]

I'm not sure if all of these listed count as micro presses, but I think it's a good launching point!

http://www.pw.org/small_presses

[Rachel]

Micropresses tend to be one- or two-person operations that are not part of a larger publishing house (so anything described as an imprint won't count). If you live near an indie bookstore, a lot times those will carry micropress books or chapbooks.

[Soscha]

This link gives some publishers that should qualify: http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandcu...

[Tara]

Liz wrote: "I think this is a fascinating category. Do you have any suggestions on how to find a micropress? It kind of feels like searching for nanobreweries. :)"

This might help
http://www.micropressbooks.com/Books....

[Stina]

I was already planning to read Owl Dance by David Lee Summers, and it looks like its publisher, Flying Pen Press, is a micropress.

[Martha]

I think Two Plum Press counts, and of interest to book challenge participators in the Portland area, there will be a publication fair on Dec 21: http://www.twoplumpress.com/news/

[Viv]

A few for UK readers:

Linen Press
Blue Moose Books
Stonewood Press
A Midsummer Night's Press (who have an imprint, Periscope, for poetry in translation - might be useful for the collection of poetry in translation task too)

I think I am going to go with a book by Blue Moose Books - The Secret to Not Drowning as it was chosen as a "Brave New Read" by my regional library service and hence they have multiple copies!

[[deleted user]]

Viv wrote: "A few for UK readers:

Linen Press
Blue Moose Books
Stonewood Press
A Midsummer Night's Press (who have an imprint, Periscope, for poetry in translation - might be useful for the collection of poet..."

I actually just ordered one from one of the poetry in translation books (that's not about love) from A Midsummer Night's Press. I wasn't sure if it qualified as a micropress, but it certainly meets other challenge criteria!

[Rachel]

This may be a stupid question as well, but would these books be easily accessible in public libraries? I am highly dependent on my library for all of the books for my challenges and I'm having trouble finding options for this. I'm just thinking ahead and worried that even if I find something to read, I won't be able to find a copy.

[Jack]

Rachel wrote: "This may be a stupid question as well, but would these books be easily accessible in public libraries? I am highly dependent on my library for all of the books for my challenges and I'm having trou..."

You should go in and ask your librarian! They may be able to help you find something that they have available.

Another idea is to go for something that was originally published by a micropress, but is now widely available. The first thing that comes to mind is poetry. For example, any chapbook from the beat poets or the black mountain poets were originally small press releases.

[Rachel]

AJ wrote: "Rachel wrote: "This may be a stupid question as well, but would these books be easily accessible in public libraries? I am highly dependent on my library for all of the books for my challenges and ..."

Literally all I've been able to find is poetry, and none of it interests me at all. This will by far be the most difficult category for me.

[Lindsey]

Any Australian recommendations??

[Christine]

Check out Belt Publishing. Mostly essays and nonfiction, but I've really liked their Anthology Series.

[Martha]

This one looks like fun: http://www.twoplumpress.com/thecollec...

[Cindy]

I totally have one! Future Worlds: A Science Fiction Anthology It's got a local author in it too!

[Dallyce]

Does Two Dollar Radio count?

[Stina]

Rachel wrote: "This may be a stupid question as well, but would these books be easily accessible in public libraries? I am highly dependent on my library for all of the books for my challenges and I'm having trou..."

My local library *is* a micropress, come to think of it. So definitely ask yours if they have any suggestions.

[Laura]

Sara wrote: "I'm not sure if all of these listed count as micro presses, but I think it's a good launching point!

http://www.pw.org/small_presses"

This is a great website. Thanks!

[Laura]

Tara wrote: "Liz wrote: "I think this is a fascinating category. Do you have any suggestions on how to find a micropress? It kind of feels like searching for nanobreweries. :)"

This might help
http://www.micro..." This is the place to look to solve the mystery of challenge #21.

[Ellie]

I'm going with 'Blackguards: Tales of Assasins, Mercenaries and Rogues.' by J.M Martin. The press is ragnarokpress and since it is run by two people I just count it as a micropress.

[Leanne]

How do we feel about Willow as a micropress?

I want to read Deceit and Other Possibilities and they seem to be the smallest publisher represented on my TBR.

[Julia]

Only thing I could come up with was Twelfth Planet Press from Australia but I think they may be considered too big now... http://www.twelfthplanetpress.com/

[Rachel]

I'm most likely going to go with a book by Swoon Reads, which is an imprint of an imprint of a major publisher. My understanding of Swoon Reads is that books are submitted online, and are open to feedback and ratings from readers. The comments and ratings help determine what get published.

I wouldn't necessarily say that it is a true micro-press, but it seems pretty similar to me. Plus these books are more accessible to me, and I've already found a few that interest me.

I've also contacted my local library for suggestions so I'll see if I can find anything else that's from a true micropress, but I think a case could be made for this kind of publisher as well. At least, with the way I understand what a micropress is.

[Mel]

Christine wrote: "Check out Belt Publishing. Mostly essays and nonfiction, but I've really liked their Anthology Series."

Great suggestion! They've got one called "How to Speak Midwestern" that's perfect for me.

[Theresa]

Patrick wrote: "I had hoped to read "The Story of My Teeth" by Valeria Luiselli for this one, but I'm thinking Coffee House Press might not be small enough. Can I get a ruling?"

According to their website, "Coffee House Press is led by twenty-one directors and twelve staff members," so I think it might be too big. But there aren't officially any rules for this challenge so I say, if it gets you outside your normal reading then go for it. That is the goal, after all. :)

[Patty]

Rachel wrote: "This may be a stupid question as well, but would these books be easily accessible in public libraries? I am highly dependent on my library for all of the books for my challenges and I'm having trou..."

Like someone else said, talk to the library staff. They may be able to borrow something for you on ILL.

[Rachel]

Patty wrote: "Rachel wrote: "This may be a stupid question as well, but would these books be easily accessible in public libraries? I am highly dependent on my library for all of the books for my challenges and ..."

I've just heard back from them, and they didn't know much about it either and had to research it themselves. They suggested a few "zines" or said to go for a small press (which may or may not technically meet the criteria for a micropress).

[Charity]

Does it have to be a modern book? What about books like Thomas Paine's Common Sense or Thomas More's Utopia or Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman?

These all seem to have been published originally by very small presses, but I wonder if choosing them would be circumventing the purpose of the category.

[Cheri]

This one is really tricky. I like the idea of supporting something outside the established press, but these are hard to find and can mean money out of pocket for something completely unknown. It's not a literary category.

[Mel]

I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner, but one of my relatives published a book of poetry that likely qualifies as a micropress (it's just him, at his house) He's a really great guy, too!

https://www.amazon.com/Rip-This-Poem-...

[Bonnie G.]

I am considering "Sacred Matters", a book from The New Press. Do we think that is micro enough? It is a nonprofit.

[Claire]

What are our thoughts on how small a press has to be to be considered micro? I've found a few cool publishers that have between 4-5 staff...but is that too many?

[Rachel]

I bought a book by a local author earlier this year, publisher information says "CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform". Does this count as a micropress or is it just a fancy term for self-published, and therefore not applicable to this category?

[bubblegumpopper]

I exclusively read on my tablet and hate the waste of printed books, and it doesn't look like any of the proposed "Micro-presses" (which itself seems to be a very subjective term anyway) in this thread offer eBook formats. I think I am just going to choose to interpret anything self-published as fulfilling this challenge.

[Rachel]

Claire wrote: "What are our thoughts on how small a press has to be to be considered micro? I've found a few cool publishers that have between 4-5 staff...but is that too many?"

Great question. I've found presses that are essentially crowdsourced. I don't know how many people are involved, but what gets published is determined by popular vote and feedback.

What I find interesting is that of all the plans I've seen posted on this board, this is the one prompt that is most consistently left blank. It's definitely the hardest one!

[Stina]

Chelsea wrote: "I exclusively read on my tablet and hate the waste of printed books, and it doesn't look like any of the proposed "Micro-presses" (which itself seems to be a very subjective term anyway) that have ..."

I don't know if any of their offerings are to your taste, but my local library's publications are available for free download. It's mostly poetry and local interest, but there is also some flash fiction. You could slate one of the "spooky stories" anthologies for October. :-)

http://www.poudrelibraries.org/downlo...

I know the library itself has numerous employees, but I'd be very surprised if more than a few of them are assigned to publishing tasks.

It's mostly poetry and local interest, but there is also some flash fiction. You could slate one of the "spooky stories" anthologies for October. :-)

[Jessica]

I just got a book from a friend that was published by Asahina & Wallace...their website sounds like they might be a micro press? But I have no idea....thoughts?

[[deleted user]]

For those interested in micro-press comic publishers, thetinyreport.com has a great list of them.

[Beth]

I read this book from a small press a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I'm not sure if they qualify as a "micropress"--Bitingduck Press.

The Trajectory of Dreams
by Nicole Wolverton

[MacKenzie]

For those of you in Canada, I definitely recommend checking out Caitlin Press (http://caitlin-press.com/about-caitlin/), or the small press I work for, Coteau Books (http://coteaubooks.com/index.php?id=8). I am the marketing manager there, so it's tough for me to not to peddle my own wares! I can definitely help with recommendations when it comes to books Coteau has published (and even help get them into your hands). As for Caitlin Press, they're my choice, not just because I've read the books Coteau has published, but because I've been a huge fan of the work they're doing for years, and this finally gives me a chance to dive into some of their newer titles.

[Justine]

I'm going to try this year, as far as possible, to complete this challenge using books from my TBR pile. Luckily, for this task, I've already got a few contenders from Galley Beggar Press, a micropress in the UK that punches above their weight - one of their first titles, A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, won the Baileys and Goldsmiths prizes. You can find there here - http://galleybeggar.co.uk/2015-short-... - they publish some interesting stuff.

Also, Influx Press is another UK micropress that has a lot of interesting titles, and one - Imaginary Cities - I've had on my shelves for ages, but it think I might submit it for the non-fiction book about technology task. https://www.influxpress.com/about/

[Stacia]

Rachel wrote: "I bought a book by a local author earlier this year, publisher information says "CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform". Does this count as a micropress or is it just a fancy term for self-pu..."
CreateSpace is owned by amazon.com and is self-published books.