Desert Pets Press was founded in 2015 by
illustrator Emma Dolan and writer Catriona Wright. Based out of Toronto,
Ontario, the press publishes limited edition poetry and prose chapbooks and
strives to combine exciting contemporary writing with innovative design.
Catriona Wright is a writer, editor,
and teacher. Her poetry has appeared in Prism International, Prairie Fire, Arc
Poetry Magazine, Rusty Toque and Best Canadian Poetry 2015 (Tightrope Books).
She is the poetry editor at The Puritan and a co-founder of Desert Pets Press.
@CatTreeWright
Emma Dolan is a Toronto-based
designer and illustrator. In 2015 she co-founded Desert Pets Press.
@emmadarkandweird
1 – When did Desert
Pets Press first start? How have your original goals as a publisher shifted
since you started, if at all? And what have you learned through the process?
My friend Emma and I discussed starting a chapbook press several years
ago when I was enrolled in the MA in Creative Writing at the University of
Toronto and she was working as a book cover designer. We’ve been friends for
over 15 years, and we wanted to collaborate on something creative together. But
then we procrastinated for a long time (including many months of brainstorming
a name). Finally we got our act together in early 2015, and Desert Pets Press
was born!
We’ve published four books so far over two seasons (Fall 2015 and Spring
2016). Our original goal was to have fun, publish people we like, and make
beautiful books, and I don’t see those goals changing any time soon.
We’ve learned a lot through the process! I’m also the poetry editor at The Puritan, where I work with a big team of people who do the publicity, grant
writing, event organizing etc., so it was eye-opening to be responsible for
everything ourselves. The thing that amazes me most is the sheer number of
emails we’ve sent. So. Many. Emails.
2 – What first brought
you to publishing?
I still consider myself primarily a writer, so I came to publishing from
that perspective. I first became aware of the small press world in Ottawa
when I took a workshop with you at Collected Works in 2007, and when I moved to
Toronto, I learned about many other presses, both large and small. I was a
spectator/consumer for many years, and I eventually found the courage (and the
right partner) to participate more actively.
After completing a literature degree at Queen’s, Emma enrolled in the
Book and Magazine Publishing Program at Centennial, so she was exposed to that
side of things. She worked for several publishers before going freelance as a
book designer and illustrator.
3 – What do you
consider the role and responsibilities, if any, of small publishing?
We can only speak for ourselves, but for us it’s all about putting out
work we’re proud of and that we’ve enjoyed producing. We love to support other
presses by collaborating and attending their events, but at the end of the day,
putting the work in and getting the books out into the world is our biggest
focus.
4 – What do you see
your press doing that no one else is?
I think it’s a bit unusual to have an artist and a writer working
together. Emma has done an exceptional job with the design (covers, interior
illustrations, etc.). We were inspired by two other small presses, Ferno House Press and Odourless Press, both of which are no longer publishing new books.
I’d like to think we’ve done justice to their strong emphasis on design.
5 – What do you see as
the most effective way to get new chapbooks out into the world?
I have no idea! We’re still new to this. We’ve definitely found that the
majority of our sales have occurred at launches, but our Etsy store has been
active, as well. Toronto boutiques and independent
bookstores have also been taking notice of chapbooks and independent
publications and are carrying them in their stores, and we have some chapbooks
for sale at TKVO on Dundas and Type Bookstore on Queen. Chapbook creation is a
collaborative process, so we also rely on our authors to spread the word
through social media and their personal networks.
6 – How involved an
editor are you? Do you dig deep into line edits, or do you prefer more of a
light touch?
I’m still finding my editing rhythm, and so far my approach has depended
on the book. For example, E Martin Nolan’s chapbook had already been heavily
edited by Bardia Sinaee before it came our way. I was more involved in Michelle
Brown’s editing process, but I’m also in a poetry workshop with her, so some of
that editing came in the form of earlier workshop comments. Before we start on
a new project, I like to ask writers about their expectations to get a
sense of what they want from me, and then I go from there.
7 – How do your books
get distributed? What are your usual print runs?
We sell most of our books at launches, but we’ve sold several at Meet the Presses and the Ottawa Small Press Fair, and we’re lucky enough to have
some on the shelves at Type bookstore. We also have an Etsy store, which has
been quite successful this season.
For our first season of books, we did a 50 book print run, but we sold
out almost immediately. This time we did 100 of each book.
8 – How many other
people are involved with editing or production? Do you work with other editors,
and if so, how effective do you find it? What are the benefits, drawbacks?
As I mentioned before, Bardia Sinaee edited most of E Martin Nolan’s
book, but that was an unusual circumstance, and we don’t generally work with
other editors. We get our books printed at Colour Code, a great local printer and a press themselves, and we’ve been very
pleased with their work.
9– How has being an
editor/publisher changed the way you think about your own writing?
I’m not sure it’s changed the way I think about my writing, but it’s certainly
increased my respect for publishers and all the tough work they do. Before
Desert Pets Press I didn’t fully realize how much attention has to go into each
stage of the process (editing, layout, design, etc.), so I hope I’ll be more
understanding when my own books are going through production.
10– How do you approach
the idea of publishing your own writing? Some, such as Gary Geddes when he
still ran Cormorant, refused such, yet various Coach House Press’ editors had
titles during their tenures as editors for the press, including Victor Coleman
and bpNichol. What do you think of the arguments for or against, or do you see
the whole question as irrelevant?
Still working out my thoughts on this question! I haven’t published my
own work yet and have no plans to do so soon (but a part of me would love to
have Emma create some illustrations for my poems, so we’ll see).
11– How do you see
Desert Pets Press evolving?
We’re content at the moment, but we’ll probably try to start publishing
more books a season (3 rather than 2), and we’d like to start printing some
broadsides. We’re hoping to attend more book fairs (Expozine, Brooklyn Art
Fair, etc), as well. I don’t anticipate Desert Pets Press ever expanding into a
full trade press. We’d like to keep our scale small and our ideas big.
12– What, as a
publisher, are you most proud of accomplishing? What do you think people have
overlooked about your publications? What is your biggest frustration?
We’re still babies in the publishing biz so just getting our chapbooks
into the world has been our greatest accomplishment. Blissfully free of
bitterness and frustration…perhaps that happens later.
13– Who were your early
publishing models when starting out?
As I mentioned earlier, Ferno House Press and Odourless Press were our
main models. They both created some beautiful, intelligent books. Spencer Gordon and Bardia Sinaee have also been helpful sources of information about
making and distributing the books.
14– How does Desert
Pets Press work to engage with your immediate literary community, and community
at large? What journals or presses do you see Desert Pets Press in dialogue
with? How important do you see those dialogues, those conversations?
We collaborate with several other small presses. In the spring, we
co-ran our launch with the excellent Emergency Response Unit, and we’re hoping
to work with Metatron and words (on) pages on some events/readings/launches in
the next year. I’m also an editor at The Puritan, so we have close ties with
those folks.
These connections are absolutely vital to our existence, and we support
other presses by attending/publicizing events and trading/buying books. We got
into publishing because we wanted to create something for a community, and we
are continually inspired by the ingenuity of the Canadian literary world.
15– Do you hold regular
or occasional readings or launches? How important do you see public readings
and other events?
We’ve held two launches/readings so far, both at Reunion Island Coffee,
and they were magical. It’s so gratifying to see the authors read and share
their work. Public readings are important for publicity and sales, but even
more important for celebratory purposes. No one is making any money from these
books. It’s a gift economy, an exchange of creative energy, and we want to
nurture this connection by bringing people together in person.
16– How do you utilize
the internet, if at all, to further your goals?
Selling online has been a big help because it allows us to reach more
people. We’ve had lots of sales all over Canada and the US (and even New
Zealand!). Posting on social media has been our main method for getting the
word out about our projects and events and getting people excited about what
we’re doing.
17– Do you take submissions?
If so, what aren’t you looking for?
We’re not taking submissions at the moment.
18– Tell me about three
of your most recent titles, and why they’re special.
Moon Bones/Silver Tooth by Brooke Lockyer is our first fiction chapbook. A flip book with
two covers/stories, this chapbook delves into the dark heart of childhood. The
writing is compassionate, sad, subtle, and gorgeous.
Foreign Experts Building by Michelle Brown is silly on the surface, but don’t let that fool
you. These poems are anxious and death-obsessed. Plus, the chapbook features
some gorgeous animal illustrations.
Poems from Still by E Martin Nolan features spare, haunting poems about two post-industrial cities, New Orleans and Detroit. These poems will also appear in E Martin Nolan’s full-length collection, which is coming out in fall 2017 with Invisible Publishing.
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