Madhouse Press is a small chapbook press based out of
Las Cruces, New Mexico that specializes in hand-bound letterpress chapbooks.
Our press seeks to preserve and proliferate the ephemeral art of the chapbook.
Find us here:
Editors:
Jill Mceldowney is the author of the chapbook Kisses
Over Babylon (dancing girl press 2016) and Airs Above Ground (Finishing Line
Press Fall 2018). Her previously published work can be found in journals such
as Vinyl, Fugue, Whiskey Island, and others.
Caroline Chavatel is from Baltimore and got her BA in
Creative Writing from Salisbury University. Her work has appeared in AGNI
Online, Sonora Review, Gulf Coast, Hayden's Ferry Review & elsewhere.
1— When did MadHouse 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? What first brought you to
publishing?
Madhouse
Press was started in the Spring of 2017. As readers of poetry, we felt it
necessary to address the gap in the current books and chapbooks being published
and produced. By this we mean the lack of female voices and true voices of
diversity. Starting Madhouse Press is our way of making sure that those voices
have a platform and a space to be both heard and read.
2 – What do you consider the role and
responsibilities, if any, of small publishing?
We believe
small publishers are responsible, like all publishers, for bringing
marginalized voices to the center and for creating a more diverse poetic
landscape. We also feel like one of our main responsibilities is toward our
authors--making sure they feel secure and involved in the process of creating
the book.
In addition,
we want to support the work and the artists we choose to publish.
The
editor/publisher-author relationship shouldn’t necessarily end with the
publication of the book.
4 – What do you see your press doing
that no one else is?
One thing we
do that sets us apart aesthetically is that we hand-sew our books and hand
letterpress our covers. Each cover goes through the letterpress with a custom
plate, which we think gives our books a unique and personalized edge. Because we are so ‘hands on’ as far as the design, printing, and binding
processes go and because we are so small, we are able to engaged with the work
on a level that cannot be found in most publishing houses.
5 – What do you see as the most
effective way to get new chapbooks out into the world?
Personally,
we feel like the poetry community is already wonderful at promoting and
supporting one another so it makes our jobs pretty easy in terms of getting
people excited and getting the books out into the world. Our authors usually
promote their books (as do we) on Twitter. Find us here : @madhouse_press.
6 – How involved an editor are you? Do
you dig deep into line edits, or do you prefer more of a light touch?
Light touch.
The author knows the work better than an editor ever will. As editors, we believe
our presence is to ‘fine tune’
rather than become present in the work ourselves. We trust that our authors
know what is best for their own work.
7 –
How do your books get distributed? What are your usual print runs?
We have a
website (https://www.madhousepress.org) and collect payments through PayPal and
rely on social media like Twitter for promotion. We were also present at AWP
Tampa this past spring and were able to successfully promote our authors there.
Our books are printed in limited runs of 100.
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?
Right now,
it’s just two of us (Jill Mceldowney and Caroline Chavatel). In addition to the
two editors, we also have a “Board of Advisors” that have provided much
guidance and support.
Our press is
in the nascent stage, so we’ve yet to collaborate with other editors, but we
have worked closely with artists who we commission for the covers and our
letterpress expert, Joshua Flores. We are always looking for artists to
collaborate with on cover art.
11– How do you see Madhouse Press
evolving?
At this
point, we as a press are looking to establish ourselves and find our footing in
the poetry community. That is not to say that we are without long term goals.
In our first year, we published two collections of poetry. In our second, we
are looking to double that figure. We are reading some truly exciting
manuscripts right now and look forward to working with their authors over the
coming months.
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?
As
publishers, we are most proud of the way we have been able to promote our
current authors as well as books that we have not published but find exciting,
interesting, and in conversation with current events.
13– Who were your early publishing models
when starting out?
Our
publishing models are Noemi Press and Four Way Books. We admire the editors of
these publishing houses, the books that they choose to publish, and the way in
which they promote and care for their authors.
17– Do you take submissions? If so, what
aren’t you looking for?
Currently,
we do not take submissions and acquire work through solicitations only. We are,
however, always open to queries from poets who feel our press may be a good fit
for their work. As previously mentioned, we are planning a contest now for
Summer 2019 which will include a call outlining what we are looking.
18– Tell me about three of your most
recent titles, and why they’re special.
Thus far, we
have only published two books Alexis Pope’s Debt and Chelsea
Dingman’s What Bodies HaveI Moved. Both books are incredibly special to us. We feel so proud to have been
able to put these two works into the world as well as promote their authors.
Pope’s book very much addresses and complicates the traditionally held ideals
of the female body and the female body as mother. Dingman’s work challenges
history itself, family tradition, and the social concepts held in Eastern
Europe.
These books
are very different but both are doing essential work.
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