Inspirations
Here is a partial list of some of the companies and writers that inspire us.
One Story began in 2001. Hannah Tinti and Maribeth Batcha saw short stories disappearing from high-profile print publications and smaller literary magazines folding. They knew that with fewer venues for short fiction, emerging writers would have a hard time getting noticed, and short stories could fall by the literary wayside.
Hingston & Olsen In a world where print material is rapidly losing ground to all things digital, they remain stubborn, true believers in the power of the physical book. Their titles are driven by design and full of the unexpected—both the words on the page, and the look and feel of the page itself.
New Directions Storybook ND A series of slim hardcover fiction books that aims to deliver the pleasure one felt as a child reading a marvelous book from cover to cover in an afternoon. The series, beautifully designed by Peter Mendelsund, features original works by beloved New Directions authors.
Harper Perennial’s Olive Editions are exclusive small-format publications of some of their bestselling and celebrated titles, featuring unique, hand-drawn cover illustrations by Milan Bozic. All Olive Editions are available for a limited time only. The series debuted in 2008 and every fall since.
Faber & Faber celebrated their 90th anniversary by issuing a landmark series of individual volumes, presenting masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles. The series is an eclectic mix featuring such talents as P.D. James, Sally Rooney, Lorrie Moore, David Means, and Claire Keegan,
Field Notes owe their existence to a tradition of promotional memo books distributed to American farmers over the last hundred years by seed, tractor, and other agricultural companies. Field Notes co-founder Aaron Draplin has been collecting these for years, “rescuing them” from obscurity.
The Short Story Project is an online space dedicated to the art of the short story form. They think literature is and always has been the perfect tool to capture the amazing and the outrageous, the absurd and the mystifying, the ordinary and overlooked, the human condition in all its glorious complexity and intricacy.
Dorothy, A Publishing Project is an award-winning feminist press dedicated to works of fiction or near fiction or writing about fiction … and, of course, the inspiration for the name of our little publishing operation.
Obvious State makes literary art for discerning readers, critical thinkers, and armchair philosophers. Founded in 2011 by husband and wife team Nichole and Evan Robertson, they work with clients within the areas of art, publishing, e-commerce and culture.
Peirene Press has been a key player in the UK independent publishing scene for over a decade, publishing books from 25 countries and 20 different languages. Traditionally a publisher of European novellas in translation, they now publish writing from all over the world and are expanding their list to publish literary fiction of all shapes and sizes.
American Short Fiction is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary organization based in Austin, Texas, that promotes the art form of the short story in a nationally-distributed triquarterly print magazine, via ASF Online, and through live events and literary programming.