We believe in our list of small presses because it is curated, tagged, and searchable, which makes it easy to find the presses you are most interested in. But we also appreciate the many other resources on the internet that direct people to small presses, as well as the brick and mortar establishments associated with all things small press in our Amherst area.
Lists, Databases, and Further Reading on Small Presses
Small Press Lists & Databases
- CLMP Directory of Publishers is searchable by genre and category, and includes both literary magazines and small presses.
- Poets and Writers list of small presses is searchable by genre and reading period, and is geared toward writers who want to submit their writing for publication.
- Duotrope is a resource for writers that organizes literary magazines and small presses based on criteria involved with submissions.
- Chill Subs is a new resource for writers, founded in 2022. Like Duotrope, it organizes literary magazines and small presses in user-friendly format for use in submitting.
- The Small Press Database on Entropy (preserved on Internet Archive) was a series of 230 interviews with small presses published from 2014-2021. Click here for a shared folder including all of the Database’s interviews.
- The Small Press Map of Canada, affiliated with the Toronto International Festival of Authors, provides a visual map of small publishers in Canada.
- Bookboro’s Resource Directory is an extensive, alphabetical (but untagged) compendium of hundreds of small presses, including university presses.
- between the highway press’s publisher directory lists the URLs of more than 1,500 small presses.
- The Nonconformist’s, Big List of Indie Publishers and Small Presses lists small presses alongside short descriptions and links to their submission guidelines.
Articles and Essays on Small Presses
- “The PRH Trial Has Revealed a Barely Hidden Scorn for Independent Publishers,” Margot Atwell, LitHub, August 18, 2022
- “’Power to the people’s mimeo machines!’ or the Politicization of Small Press Aesthetics,” Matvei Yankelevich, Poetry, February 3, 2020. See the bottom of the post for three more essays on small presses in the U.S.
- “Books Are Not Products, They Are Bridges: Challenging Linear Ideas of Success in Literary Publishing,” Janice Lee, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, December 4, 2019
- “Astra Magazine Had Creative Freedom and a Budget. It Wasn’t Enough,” Kate Dwyer, The New York Times, December 3, 2022
- “Fuck the Poetry Police: On the Index of Major Literary Prizes in the United States,” Dan Sinyikin, Los Angeles Review of Books, January 9, 2023
- Showcase Magazine, Ephemera, C & R Press, Steel Toe Books, Fjords Review, PANK Magazine, American Poetry Journal…oh my? Becky Tuch, Lit Mag News, February 17, 2023
- “Little Magazines” Cluster, edited by Nick Sturm, Post45, June 2023
- “Small Press Economies: A Dialogue,” Hilary Plum and Matvei Yankelevich, Chicago Review, December 26, 2023
Books About or Related to Small Press Publishing
- Big Fiction: How Conglomeration Changed the Publishing Industry and American Literature, Dan Sinyikin, Columbia University Press, 2023
- The Small Press Model, Simon Cutts, Uniformbooks, 2023
- Write, Print, Fold and Staple: On Poetry and Micropress in Canada, Jim Johnstone, Gaspereau Press, 2023
- A Poetics of the Press: Interviews with Poets, Printers, & Publishers, Kyle Schlesinger, Ugly Ducking Presse, 2021
- A Secret Location on the Lower East Side: Adventures in Writing 1960-1980, Steven Clay and Rodney Phillips, Granary Books, 1998
- Chicago Review 66:03/04/67:01: Small Press Poetry in the United States
Podcast About Small Presses
- Index for Continuance, Hilary Plum & Zach Peckham, CSU Poetry Center
Small Press Resources at Amherst College
- Ilan Stavans is a Professor of European Studies & Spanish & Latinx and Latin American Studies. He runs the small press Restless Books and teaches the ABCs of Publishing class, which focuses on the process of publishing within the literary community.
- Rebecca Olander, who teaches poetry writing at Amherst, is the Editor and Director of Perugia Press.
- Sara Smith and Alana Kumbier. Sara Smith is a research librarian who specializes in collecting media, artist books, and zines. Alana Kumbier is a research librarian with expertise in engaging primary sources and zines. They run zine workshops to introduce learners to hands-on techniques of zine-making.
- Jennifer Acker is the Editor in Chief of The Common, a nationally-known literary magazine housed at Amherst College. The Common regularly employs student interns to help run the journal.
- Student-run publications that publish creative writing at Amherst include The Indicator and The Lilac. Click here for more literary resources at Amherst College and in the Five College area.
Small Presses in the Five College Area
- Ad Astra Press, Easthampton. Adastra Press is a chapbook press that publishes poems. Run by Gary Metras, the chapbooks are hand-crafted on a letterpress and hand-sewn.
- Factory Hollow Press, North Amherst. Factory Hollow Press publishes books, chapbooks and broadsides in both limited and trade editions. They are also a distributor for Scram Press in Northampton. Run by James Haug, Scram Press specializes in chapbooks and ephemera, including letterpress and limited editions.
- Interlink Books Northampton. Established in 1987, Interlink Publishing is a Massachusetts-based independent publishing house that is devoted to works of literature, history, contemporary politics, art, cultural guides, international cuisine, and illustrated children’s books from around the world.
- Ninepin Press, Easthampton. Run by Jedediah Berry, Emily R. Houk, and Andrew McAlpine, Ninepin Press publishes stories in strange shapes, alongside story games, tabletop RPGs, and other commodities under Phantom Mill Games.
- Perugia Press, Florence. Perugia Press, founded in 1997, is a nonprofit press run by Rebecca Olander that supports women’s voices in print. They publish one book of poetry a year by the winner of their annual contest.
- Restless Books, Amherst. Run by Ilan Stavans, Restless Books is an independent, nonprofit publisher devoted to championing essential voices from around the world whose stories speak to us across linguistic and cultural borders.
- Small Beer Press, Easthampton. Run by Gavin J. Grant and Kelly Link, Small Beer Press is a combination of the ancient order of Independent Publishing Concerns based in North America. They also run Book Moon Books, a bookstore selling new & used books in Easthampton, MA, which hosts readings and events.
Local Indie Booksellers
- Amherst Books. 8 Main Street, Amherst, MA.
- Bookends. 80 Maple St, Northampton, MA.
- Booklink Booksellers. 150 Main Street, Thornes Marketplace, Northampton MA.
- Book Moon Books. 86 Cottage Street, Easthampton, MA.
- Boswell’s Books. 10 Bridge St., Shelburne Falls, MA.
- Broadside Bookshop. 247 Main Street, Northampton, MA.
- Federal Street Books. 8 Federal Street, Greenfield, MA. A a woman-owned used and new bookstore in downtown Greenfield, MA.
- Grey Matter Books. 47 East Street, Hadley MA. Grey Matter Books is a used bookstore.
- Heritage Books. 225 College Highway, Southampton, MA.
- Montague Bookmill. 440 Greenfield Rd. Montague, MA. Home to Sawmill River Arts, Lady Killigrew Cafe, Watershed Restaurant, and Turn it Up!, the Montague Bookmill is a used bookstore.
- Odyssey Bookshop. 9 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075.
- Raven Used Books. 4 Old South Street, Northampton, MA.
- Restless Books. 69 Main Street, Amherst, MA 01002. The bookstore for Restless Books Press.
- Splendor Solis Books. 21 Market Street Northampton, MA. Splendor Solis Books sells used and new books.
- World Eye Bookshop. 134 Main St, Greenfield, MA.
Small Press Libraries
An important part of our Small Press Database work at Amherst College is to develop the Frost Library’s collection of books, chapbooks, and ephemera published by small presses. Here are several other libraries:
- Madison, Wisconsin’s Arts + Literature Laboratory includes a small press lending library with over 3,000 titles.
- Nashville, Tennessee’s Free Poetry Library features 3,000+ poetry titles and free live poetry readings.
- The Raymond Danowski Poetry Library at Emory University has thousands of small press poetry titles in a permanent collection.
If you have more resources to add to the above lists, please feel free to be in touch!
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