2.13.2006
Small Presses, etc.
I have a friend who has written an amazing manuscript that's sort of a hybrid of fiction, poetry, and playwriting, with a dash of other forms. It's not the kind of thing likely to be snatched up by large publishers who would probably view it as a risk, even though it's brilliant. I'm looking for suggestions as to specific small presses interested in experimental writing. Fence. McSweeneys. (Their book divisions). Others? Thanks for any and all suggestions.
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10 comments:
Akashic, McAdams/Cage and Softskull are indies I see a lot of as a critic. All three are publishing excellent work, much of which likely wouldn't (or didn't) fly at a major publisher.
There is, of course, also Featherproof, the press my friend Jon runs and I profiled on BAF a few weeks ago.
check out action books: http://www.actionbooks.org/
they seem to promote these types of projects...
I'm not too familiar with them but I think Small Beer Press (http://www.lcrw.net/) is open to stuff of that nature.
Thanks. I had told her about Featherproof already. I'll pass along these other suggestions, though.
Also try Coach House, which publishes "high-quality innovative fiction."
And of course Fiction Collective 2.
There is also Fugue State Press, which says, "Our novels tend to be unusual--singular, eccentric, impractical, emotional, visionary. They are also "experimental" in the sense that any good art is experimental. It comes down to one person looking for truth."
Akashic, Mcadams, and Softskull will get distribution. And they do have standards because of that that. I know they want the book a certain length, and they don't like doing short story collections for a new author.
If you just wanna go crazy Raymond Federman, Beckett, late Joyce style and you don't want to be edited, Fugue State and Six Gallery are good for that. They are POD, but if you have the drive you can get the book out there.
Fiction Collective 2 is good, that's Black Ice's press. They publish experimental prose. I don't know if they have distribution though. I don't recall ever seeing any of those books in a store in Ohio. They might make it to NYC and San Fran stores.
When it comes to experimental or weirdo presses they don't get much distribution. So if you are looking for money or fame writing in a weird format is not the way to go.
The big writer of Akashic Joe Meno writes very straight prose, he doesn't veer into language type weirdness at all.
Most of the writers who wrote books in a weird format or did something new with language Proust, Joyce, Acker had to self-publish their first weird books.
Publishers since the beginning of lit have always been afraid to publish books that took language and format to a different place. A publisher doesn't care if you're writing about incest or punks as long as it is written in a smooth flowing straight style. But if the same subject is written in a very weird format they get scared of it.
If your friend's experimental heroes are Foer and Ben Marcus Fiction collective, fugue state, and six gallery will laugh at him.
Did someone here email Mr. Cicero's blog or email address using my email address and the name "grendel"? He let me know his comment was in response to an email that read as follows:
"grendel has sent you a link to a weblog:
hello experimental writers, we need your help!!!
Blog: E a r t h G o a t
Post: Small Presses, etc.
Link: http://earthgoat.blogspot.com/2006/02/small-presses-etc.html"
I only want to know to put my mind at ease that my email has not been hacked. You can email me if you want. I'm not mad! I just want to know if it was a friend or someone else...
Never mind. It wasn't a hack. It was fraud. And we are zeroing in on the culprit.
That said, Noah Cicero's comments are greatly appreciated -- and I recommend Tao's interview with him on Reader of Depressing Books.
Now I need some air.
noah's comment is the most informative comment i've read on this site in the existence of this site
thank you noah
buy noah's book
noah's book
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