MACMILLAN The Contemporary Small Press: Making Publishing Visible (New Directions in Book History)

The Contemporary Small Press: Making Publishing Visible addresses the contemporary literary small press in the US and UK from the perspective of a range of disciplines. Covering numerous aspects of small press publishing―poetry and fiction, children’s publishing, the importance of ethical commitments, the relation to the mainstream, the attitudes of those working for presses, the role of the state in supporting presses―scholars from literary criticism, the sociology of literature and publishing studies demonstrate how a variety of approaches and methods are needed to fully understand the contemporary small press and its significance for literary studies and for broader literary culture. Review “ The Contemporary Small Press: Making Publishing Visible is essential reading for anyone interested in the Anglo-American publishing industry of the past fifty years. At a time when conglomerates are dominating the industry, small presses offer an alternative model of development. The book shows how these enterprising publishers have carved a niche for themselves in relation to the mainstream firms. This is a powerful story of survival, of creativity and ingenuity at a time of rapid change and digital disruptions.” ( Lise Jaillant, Lecturer of English, Loughborough University, UK) “Anyone who has been paying close attention to contemporary literary culture will have noticed the exceptional rise to prominence of the small press as a counterbalance to the ever-narrowing output of the multinational publishing conglomerate. What we have lacked until now is a book like this one, which ably grasps the phenomenon of the small press without reducing its multiplicity and complexity. In the diversity of its methods and fascinating wealth of examples it offers to our scrutiny, this collection of essays ably advances the study of the institutions of recent and contemporary literature in new and exciting directions.” ( Mark McGurl, Albert Guérard Professor of Literature, Stanford University, USA, and author of  The Program Era: Postwar Fiction and the Rise of Creative Writing (2011)) From the Back Cover The Contemporary Small Press: Making Publishing Visible addresses the contemporary literary small press in the US and UK from the perspective of a range of disciplines. Covering numerous aspects of small press publishing―poetry and fiction, children’s publishing, the importance of ethical commitments, the relation to the mainstream, the attitudes of those working for presses, the role of the state in supporting presses―scholars from literary criticism, the sociology of literature and publishing studies demonstrate how a variety of approaches and methods are needed to fully understand the contemporary small press and its significance for literary studies and for broader literary culture. About the Author Georgina Colby is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Westminster, UK. Kaja Marczewska is a researcher, writer and Research Manager at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Leigh Wilson is Professor of English Literature at the University of Westminster, UK.