Small Press Day in Ireland & the UK...

In New Mexico, it's too hot.

I'm at work all the time (instead of having the summer off, like they taught me to expect as a kid!).

So, it's fair to say I'm in something of a rut. Hence the radio silence this past month or so. "If you don't have anything nice to say..." as the old adage goes...

However, the small press ain't in no rut! Happy small press day to my friends over the pond! I love discovering new books, the kind of thing that would never find a handhold in commercial publishing...just great books and voices all around, taking chances with either form and content. So, in that spirit, here are a few recent books and presses I think are worth a look. Only a couple are UK presses...but small presses everywhere need the love!

Two Dollar Radio's the Incantations of Daniel Johnston by Scott McClanahan and Ricardo Cavolo

Tyrant Books' Bad Sex by Clancy Martin

To Break the Heart of the Sun by William Taylor, Jr. from Words Dance

Lori Jakiela's Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe from Atticus Books

Ben Tanzer's Sex and Death from sunnyoutside

Russ Litten's Kingdom from Wrecking Ball Press

The People of the Abyss by Jack London from Tangerine Press

Wide Asleep/Fast Awake by Adrian Manning & Janne Karlson from Bottle of Smoke
 

7 Ways to Support Your Favorite Small Presses & Authors (#3 & #7 will shock you!!!)

Okay...okay...apologies for the clickbait headline. I'm not proud of it. But, hell, it's hard out there for the small presses of the world. They get squeezed on all sides, and most small press ventures lose money. But I truly believe that the small press is where the stakes allow for real risk-taking, and that makes them a vital part of publishing. So here's some things you can do (many from the comforts of your own homes) to support them.

1) Buy Their Books
Okay, that's obvious enough. But maybe you didn't know that buying directly from a small press website is the best kind of sale for them? Cutting out the middlemen helps the bottom line, no two ways about it. But buying their books, in whatever ways they've dreamed up to sell them, is what keeps them going.

2) Connect with Small Presses Across Social Networks
It's a quick, easy way to let the folks know their hard work is reaching people. If you're into retweeting and sharing and liking, and posting, then brag up your favorite presses and our favorite books there. Maybe someone new will check them out.

3) Review Their Books on Goodreads and Amazon
Yep...it matters. A lot, as it turns out. It's how algorithms for those sites decide a book is worth promoting. And, basically, it's the only way they decide.

4) If you can't review the books, then at least RATE the books.
It helps, for sure, for the same reasons as above. Log in to your accounts, click the # of stars you give it. Done and done.

5) Pass on Small Press Books You Love to the Folks You Love!
Got a friend who'd love the book you just read? Give it to them! Especially if your shelves are splintering under the weight of all your books!

6) Better Still, Just Buy Them a Copy of Their Own!
Oh, who are we Kidding--we're not giving our books to anyone! But it still should be our duty to spread our favorite literature across the cultural divide. And every small press could use an additional sale to a repeat customer!

7) Tattoo Their Logos on Your Body!
Okay...maybe that's not everyone's bottle of sarsaparilla. But it's usually good for some freebies! to the folks who have MY logo tattooed on them, I'll always send them good stuff!