Publishers from independent presses such as Feminist Press, PM Press, Common Notions Press, and LittlePuss Press discuss the imperative of publishing books that uplift marginalized and insurgent voices, create and complicate representation, and spark and amplify movements. This is even more critical during challenging political times, when individuals are being disempowered, and marginalized communities are being scapegoated and stripped of their rights. These publishers will speak on the challenges of publishing radical books against political headwinds, why it matters, and the impact that radical books, writers, and conversations have within their communities and beyond. They'll also discuss their dreams for the future of radical indie publishing and indie literary community.
THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2023 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT.
About the participants:
Whitney Hu [moderator] (she/her) is the Director of Civic Engagement and Research at Churches United for Fair Housing and a community organizer based in Sunset Park. She organizes specifically around: tenant's rights, anti-gentrification and displacement, mutual aid, food sovereignty, and immigration justice. Previously, she was the Director of Public Programs for National Book Foundation and the Marketing & Communications Director for the Strand Bookstore.
Margot Atwell (she/her/hers) is a writer, editor, publisher, speaker, and community funding expert. She is the Executive Director and Publisher of Feminist Press. Previously, she was Head of Publishing and Director of Community Outreach at Kickstarter, PBC, and Publisher of Beaufort Books. In 2019, she was selected as a Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree and received the Digital Book World Outstanding Achievement Award. She’s the co-author of The Insider’s Guide to Book Publishing Success, and author of Derby Life. You can find her on Twitter or Instagram at @MargotAtwell, and read her writing in her On the Books newsletter.
Cat Fitzpatrick is the first trans woman to serve as Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Rutgers University–Newark, and the Editrix at LittlePuss Press. She is the author of a collection of poems, Glamourpuss (Topside Press) and co-edited the anthology Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction & Fantasy from Transgender Writers, which won the ALA Stonewall Award for Literature. The Call-Out is her first novel.
Ramsey Kanaan has been at various times the founder of AK Press (named after his mother’s initials), a teenage punk rocker, middle-aged folk singer, centerfold pin-up, anarchist book fair founder, vegan all-you-can-eat enthusiast, right (and left) midfield amateur soccer player, cofounder/publisher at PM Press, and devoted husband and father. Actually, he still is.
Malav Kanuga (he/him) is founding editor and publisher of Common Notions Press. He is also a founding member of Making Worlds Cooperative Bookstore & Social Center (Philadelphia), and before that, a longstanding collective owner-member of Bluestockings Bookstore (New York). He is a researcher at the Media, Inequality, and Change Center at the Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania / Rutgers University. He received his PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the City University of New York. Malav Kanuga’s research and movement-based media projects explores collective experiences of urban life, politics, and mobilization.