PRESENTED BY BLUE STOOP
Meet a panel of Philadelphia based small presses at the next installment of The Write Stuff. This series was created for aspiring authors looking to learn more about navigating the route from writing to publication. The Write Stuff provides advice for writers on a wide range of topics including general writing tips, writing for various genres, small presses, finding an agent and getting your work published.
Curious about Philadelphia's local small presses? Join us for a panel discussion with representatives and authors from New Door Books, Thirty West Publishing, Lanternfish, Frayed Edge Press, and Blue Stoop!
Julian Shendelman from Blue Stoop will be providing an introduction to kick off the event.
Participating authors include:
New Door Books: Kabria Rogers, Ways of Walking
Frayed Edge Press: Stephen St. Francis Decky, Werewolf Movie
Lanternfish Press: Melanie Moyer, The Original Glitch
Thirty West Publishing: Josh Dale (founder and editor-in-chief) Duality Lies Beneath and Jane-Rebecca Cannarella, Better Bones
About the Presses:
Founded in 2009 to publish literary works that might be overlooked by commercial outlets, New Door Books is a project of the Working Writers Group (WWG), a Philadelphia-area group of authors who have been meeting monthly since 1985 to discuss each other’s work. After more than 20 years of nurturing one another’s manuscripts, we felt that setting up our own book imprint was a natural evolution. As the mainstream publishing industry became more of a monoculture, we wanted to create a venue for significant literary voices that didn’t conform to standard formulas. To carry out this vision, WWG conceived the New Door Books imprint and took on the role of Editorial Board. P. M. Gordon Associates agreed to be the publisher. Works chosen for publication have consensus approval of the group. WWG members also contribute detailed suggestions for revision and polishing, working as a collective to bring out the potential in every book. Throughout the publication process, the author becomes a full partner on the team, collaborating closely in editing, design, and promotion. Book publishing takes time and hard work, but it’s much more than that—it’s a shared adventure.
Joining us from New Door Books is author Kabrina Rogers.
Established in 2015, Thirty West Publishing House is a boutique indie press with an editorial focus on literary fiction, poetry, and hybrid works. Originally a chapbook publisher, TW features book-length collections and novels by debut and seasoned authors in the USA and beyond. Books can be found in select bookstores, major online retailers, Asterism Books (distributor), and on www.thirtywestph.com. Escape the Mundane with your next favorite read.
Lanternfish Press, founded in Philadelphia in 2014, publishes literature of the rare and strange: fiction that crosses the boundary between literary and speculative; real or imagined tales of characters at the margins of history; essays rooted in a strong sense of place; a cabinet of curious Victorian reprints. We seek the grotesque, the alien made familiar, the “I don’t know what this is—but I love it.”
Lanternfish aims to make books and publication accessible to readers and writers who fall outside the literary mainstream, whether in race, sexuality, gender, situation, or pure individual oddity. We're a home for books that defy pigeonholes—and for the readers who love them.
Frayed Edge Press is an independent press located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which specializes in publishing marginalized voices, forgotten history, overlooked literature in translation, and works that wrestle with important questions impacting contemporary society. We publish literary fiction and poetry, as well as non-fiction titles in history and political science. We also publish the Street Smart Series of Short Fiction, consisting of contemporary, urban-set novelette-length works. Translated works in any of these categories are also considered if rights are in-hand. We especially welcome marginalized voices, both historical and contemporary, including women, people of color, ethnic and religious minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, and progressive political viewpoints. We seek original and thought-provoking works, including experimental fiction, contemporary poetry, and non-fiction focused on political and environmental concerns, history, civil rights, women's rights, and sustainability.
Blue Stoop nurtures an inclusive literary community by creating pathways to access writing education, inspiration, and professional support, and celebrating Philadelphia’s rich writing tradition.
Blue Stoop envisions a radically inclusive literary community where Philadelphia readers and writers are thriving and supported.