In celebration of Small Press Month, a nationwide promotion highlighting the valuable work produced by independent publishers, from March 1-March 31, a string of independent, literary events will take place from coast-to-coast, showcasing some of the most diverse, unique, and significant voices being published today. Some of this year’s featured authors include Walter Mosley, Mike Farrell, Eileen Myles, Hatti Gossett, Steve Katz, and many more.
The month long celebration kicks off on March 6th at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York, City Lights bookstore in San Francisco, and Woodland Pattern Book Center in Milwaukee, followed by readings at the Rain Taxi Reading Series in Minneapolis, Chicago’s Poetry Center, and Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Los Angeles; culminating with events at New York’s Symphony Space, Portland’s Powell’s City of Books, Virginia’s Festival of the Book and WordTheatre in Los Angeles. Please see below for a more detailed schedule of readings.
Small Press Month, which takes place every year in March, is a grass-roots effort to raise awareness about the pressing need for broader venues of literary expression, as large, international conglomerates are taking fewer risks and publishing for a narrowing perspective.
This initiative is co-sponsored by The New York Center for Independent Publishing (NYCIP), the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP), and PMA, The Independent Book Publishers Association, with additional sponsorship from American Booksellers Association/
March 6
City Lights, San Francisco, CA
New Lit Generation (Small Press Distribution)
Bowery Poetry Club, New York, NY
Eileen Myles (Wave Books), Noella Kocottomblin (Wave Books), Camelia Entekhabifard (Seven Stories Press), Hatti Gossett (Seven Stories Press), Sharon Mesmer (Hanging Loose Press), Dedra Johnson (Ig Publishing), Grant Bailie (Ig Publishing), Camilla Trinchieri (Soho Press), Anne Landsman (Soho Press), Jason Schneiderman (Four Way Books), Alex Rose (Akashic Books), Paul Mills (Bowery Books) and others.
Woodland Pattern Book Center, Milwaukee, WI
Patrick Durgin (Atticus Finch)
March 7
Rain Taxi Reading Series, Minneapolis, MN
Joyelle McSweeney (Action Books)
Johannes Goransson (Action Books)
March 20
Powell’s City of Books, Portland, OR
Loila Yuknavitch (Fiction Collective 2), Steve Katz (Fiction Collective 2), Carlton Melick III (Eraserhead Press), Jeremy Robert Johnson (Eraserhead Press), Keith Rosson (arrow Zine), Danielle Dutton (Tarpaulin Sky), Kimberly Warner-Cohen (Ig Publishing), Geronimo Tagatac (Ooligan Press), Kate Lopresti (Microcosm), Mary Rechner (Cloverfield)
March 26
Symphony Space, New York, NY
A night of stories mined from the anthologies of The Pushcart Prize, the honored series that has featured the best stories, poems, essays and “literary whatnot” from hundreds of small presses for over 32 years. Introduced by series founder and Editor Bill Henderson.
March 28
Baroque Literary Arts Center, Los Angeles, CA
Sarah Maclay (University of Tampa, Beyond Baroque), Stephen Kessler (Littoral), and Ralph Angel (Sarabande)
The Poetry Center of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Small Press Showcase featuring the best in independent literary publishing from the Chicagoland area.
March 29
Virginia Festival of the Book, Charlottesville, VA
Mike Farrell of M*A*S*H (Akashic Books)
March 30
Virginia Festival of the Book, Charlottesville, VA
Walter Mosley
March 31
WordTheatre, Los Angeles, CA
At Canal Club in Venice with short story and poetry readings by:
Tess Harper (No Country for Old Men, Academy Award for Tender Mercies)
Rae Dawn Chong (Wild Card, Mysterious Ways)
Christopher McDonald (Requiem for a Dream, American Pie Presents)
For additional information, please visit www.smallpressmonth.org
