Small Publishers Night book exhibition & readings

The consolidation of publishing house after publishing house into five mega book businesses foretold a future where reading choices for the many would be controlled by the few. In addition, the kind of books being published changed. Small-run and medium-sized sellers fell by the wayside. But, good news! Small presses began to abound, startups and labors of love, which published what editors felt needed to be published, rather than what might make the executives and shareholders mega bucks.

At Word Week’s Small Publishers Night, we feature four of the best Bay Area small presses: Manic D Press, Nomadic Press, Two Lines Press, and Why There Are Words Press. Join us at 7pm, Wednesday, March 13, at Umpqua Bank Noe Valley, 3938 24th St., for an exhibition of books from these excellent publishers and readings by a few of their authors. Free admission and free refreshments provided by Umpqua Bank Noe Valley.

This is a Word Week 2019 event. Word Week is Noe Valley’s annual literary festival. For a full listing of Word Week 2019 events, go to http://bit.ly/2WXT09H.

About the publishers and their authors:
Manic D Press
Founded in 1984, Manic D Press is a critically acclaimed, internationally distributed, award-winning independent literary press based in San Francisco. D Manic Press

Jon Longhi has published four books of hilarious fiction with Manic D, all having to do with the absurdities of life in San Francisco.

Nomadic Press
Nomadic Press collectively weaves together platforms for intentionally marginalized voices to take their rightful place within the world of the written and spoken word through publications, events, and active community participation.

James Cagney is a Cave Canem fellow and author of Black Steel Magnolias in the Hour of Chaos Theory (Nomadic Press, 2018). He has authored five self-produced chapbooks.

Two Lines Press
Two Lines Press and its Two Lines journal specialize in presenting exceptional new writing and overlooked classics that have not previously been translated into English. The Center for the Art of Translation

Senior Editor Emily Wolahan works to bring great international literature, often previously untranslated, to a wider audience. She will read from their spring journal, Two Lines 30: The Future of Translation.

WTAW Press
WTAW Press is a non-profit, woman-run publisher that supports the artistic development of writers and fosters a thriving literary community with its national reading series, Why There Are Words.

Sarah Stone is the author of the novels Hungry Ghost Theater and The True Source of the Nile (Doubleday). She teaches at the Warren Wilson MFA Program and Stanford Continuing Studies.