Yes, it's from 2004, but it's still great press!
Minnesota: land of long-lasting small presses
by Marianne Combs, Minnesota Public Radio
October 8, 2004
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| Graywolf Press is one of three top non-profit literary presses based in the Twin Cities. (MPR Photo/Marianne Combs) |
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Three
of the nations most successful non-profit literary presses are based in
the Twin Cities and they're all celebrating major anniversaries this
year. Somehow they've managed to survive in the multi-billion dollar
book publishing business where major houses viciously compete for
access to book-lovers' wallets. So how did they do it?
St. Paul, Minn. —
Allan Kornblum first dabbled with printing presses at school in New York while studying to be a music teacher.
"At
the time, in the late '60s and early '70s, it seemed to be almost a
coming of age ritual for young poets to start a little magazine and run
it for a few years and then it would die," says Kornblum. "And I
thought that that's what I would do as well."
But Kornblum has been running Coffeehouse Press for 20 years now, and he's still going strong.
He
started it in Iowa under the name Toothpaste Press, and handset books
of poetry himself. On a trip to the Twin Cities for a book fair,
Kornblum says he recognized an energetic literary and printing scene,
and he wanted to be a part of it. So he moved to Minneapolis.
He
no longer sets his type by hand, but he now publishes novels and short
stories in addition to poetry. Kornblum prides himself on the quality
of books he publishes. Coffeehouse Press specializes in works by
authors of color and other minority communities. He's published the
books of Minnesota authors Sandra Benitez, Alexs Pate and poet Wang
Ping.
Kornblum
says the book world has changed drastically over the past twenty years.
Many independent bookstores have been replaced with major chains and
online outlets. That makes life hard for small publishers.
"At
one point the chains represented about 25 percent of the market and
independent booksellers about 75 percent, and now those figures are
reversed," says Kornblum. "As a result, if the chains don't buy into
one of your books you're squeezed out. To some extent a couple of
buyers in Barnes and Noble and Borders have veto power over what's
going to show up in bookstores around the country."
In addition, Kornblum says many of the leading for-profit publishers are owned by the same companies.
"What
appears to be over 100 publishers is really only five. Random House,
Knopf, Vintage Contemporaries, Bantam, DoubleDay, Dell, Delacourt,
Washington Square Books, Dolphin Editions; they're all owned by the
same company - Bertelsmann."
Simon
and Schuster is owned by Viacom; Warner Books is owned by Time-Warner.
Kornblum says these big publishers have to pay strict attention to the
bottom line. So they can't take risks on a new author who's not
guaranteed to make a hefty profit.
Kornblum
says major houses rely on small non-profit presses like his to find new
writers and give them a test run. If they garner some good reviews from
the critics and develop a readership, the big houses might then offer
to publish their next book.
Milkweed
Editions first started as a publisher of literary magazines, but in the
mid-1980's switched to publishing books. It's now situated in Open
Book, a center for the book arts in downtown Minneapolis. Open Book is
the only center of its kind in the nation. It operates as a literary
incubator.
Editor-in-Chief
Emerson Blake says Milkweed is dedicated to publishing works that
better humanity. Milkweed is the most successful of the small,
independent non-profit literary presses in the nation - it publishes 15
to 20 books each year. A large for-profit publisher will often put out
upwards of 500 books each year.
"At
500 books a year, even with a lot of staff you can imagine that those
kinds of books are just not going to get the kind of attention that
you're going to have at Graywolf, Coffeehouse and Milkweed," says
Blake. "At these small publishers every book we put out counts. Every
book we put out really means something to us, and as a result of that
every book gets a special kind of attention."
Blake
says he has nothing against blockbuster books from the big publishing
houses. He reads them. He says they often speak to something important
going on in the present culture.
"But
I think it's also important to have books that speak to values that
aren't just about 2004, or just about the upcoming election, or just
about something that happened last year," says Blake. "It's important
to have books that speak to basic human values, that speak to things
that we struggle with every single day."
Blake
points to authors such as Jane Austen and John Steinbeck, who wrote in
different eras, but whose works are timeless. It's the next Austen or
Steinbeck he's looking to publish.
Such small presses can't survive on their booksales alone. They rely on outside funding to stay afloat.
But
nationally there are few foundations - aside from the National
Endowment for the Arts - that dedicate funds for publishing. Fiona
McCrae of Graywolf Press in St. Paul says publishing isn't nearly as
compelling as say theater or dance when it comes to charitable giving.
Publishers exist locally, but they work nationally, so they can't
really talk about how they effect their community. They don't even
really know who their readers are.
"You
have a situation where somebody is reading one of your books and they
don't know they're doing it. 8 out of 10 readers don't look at the
spine," says McCrae. "And we don't know they're doing it, either. Right
now as we speak there may be hundreds of people across the country
holding, reading, studying a Graywolf book, but it doesn't show up
anywhere."
So how is it that
Coffeehouse, Milkweed and Graywolf have managed to do so well over the
years, while other non-profit presses across the country struggle? All
three presses point to local foundation support. They say they rely
heavily on the McKnight Foundation, the Jerome Foundation, The Bush
Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board in addition to a host of
local companies that give charitably to the arts. That's one of the
reasons why Graywolf Press moved to Minnesota from Washington State
back in the 1980s. Fiona McCrae, Allan Kornblum and Emerson Blake all
say it's a major reason for why their presses have continued to thrive.
The McKnight Foundations's
Neal Cuthbert says while funding may have been key, it's also helped
that the Twin Cities literary community is so vibrant.
"Funders
don't make things happen - people do," he says. "All these people were
doing incredible work, and it might not be of the scale that it is, it
might not be of the prestige that it is if it weren't for the funding,
but they'd all be doing it. That work would be happening in one way or
another."
Cuthbert says the
literary scene feeds off itself. He points to organizations like Open
Book, Rain Taxi, SASE and others, all aimed at fostering the local
readers and writers. The more organizations there are, he says, the
more attention they get, and the more important they become to the
community.
Back in the 1970s
and '80s Jim Sitter was working at Hungry Mind Bookstore in St. Paul,
and distributing independently published magazines and books out of a
truck. He founded the Minnesota Center for Book Arts before moving to
Manhattan to work for the Nations Trade Association for Publishers of
Poetry and Fiction. Sitter says Minnesota is unique in the country with
it's abundance of literary houses and related centers for writing and
reading. He says local publishers should take advantage of the
situation and jump to the next level.
"Perhaps
a press like Graywolf needs to start thinking of itself as NOT a small
press," says Sitter. "But rather should it think about becoming a much
larger nonprofit organization with larger national presence than they
already have?"
Sitter says the
Twin Cities have the potential to be the national hub of non-profit
publishing in the same way New York is the hub of all for-profit
publishing. Jeffrey Lependorf, executive director of the Council of
Literary Magazines and Presses in New York, agrees the Twin Cities
publishing scene is exceptional. He says literature still plays a
crucial role in influencing people's ideas about their culture and the
world, so quality non-profit presses are essential. But, he says, in
order for these presses to continue to thrive they need the strong
support of not just the foundations, but their community as well.
"And
so not only should they try to buy local just like you buy produce -
buy the books from the houses that are local - but get to know them,"
says Lependorf.
Minnesotans
will have an opportunity to do just that on October 16th at the Twin
Cities Book Festival. The all-day event takes place at the Minneapolis
Community & Technical College in downtown Minneapolis. It features
author readings and signings, children's book readings and hands-on
activities for kids, a magazine fair and a used book sale. Local
presses Milkweed, Graywolf and Coffeehouse will all be there.
