2017: A Different Kind of Year for RMP

In January 2016, we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Rose Metal Press. It's been 10 amazing and busy years of hybrid genre publishing. We've published 29 books and 239 authors, and have organized hundreds of readings and events. We're proud of and humbled by all we've been able to do with donor/subscriber support over the last decade.

As we move into our second decade, we've decided to make 2017 a year of planning and improvements. We will only be publishing one book in 2017, the winner of our 11th annual chapbook contest (submissions are open now and we’re thrilled to have Amelia Gray judging this year), which will publish next summer. In the time we would normally spend editing, designing, publishing, and promoting the fall and spring full-length books, we are going to be:

•  Completely overhauling our website and online book-buying experience, including a redesigned website and shopping cart interface.

•  Creating e-book versions of all our backlist fiction and prose poetry titles to give those books and authors more exposure worldwide and promote classroom use.

•  Working to increase readership and college course adoptions of our backlist titles.

•  Moving our publishing schedules for 2018 and beyond earlier so that we can better promote our authors and their books.

•  Taking a long look at how the literary and hybrid genre fields have changed in the last 10 years and making a plan for how we can continue to best serve our mission and publish books that push new boundaries.

•  Reading new submissions and accepting books for the coming years.

We’re really excited about 2017—we can hardly wait to unveil our new website and we’re looking forward to making upgrades to all aspects of our operations as we also assess the publishing needs of the hybrid genre field. With such a small staff—just the two of us plus our amazing freelance designers, interns, and website help—it’s sometimes essential to take a short break from our regularly scheduled programming to make needed improvements for the future. It's the right thing to do to better serve our authors, readers, and the literary field.

In 2018 we will resume our regular three-books-a-year schedule with Monster Portraits by writer Sofia Samatar and artist Del Samatar in spring 2018; the winner of our 12th annual chapbook contest in summer 2018; and Ghostographs by Maria Romasco Moore in fall 2018. And no, we are not becoming a horror publisher—both Monster Portraits and Ghostographs delightfully subvert the ideas of monsters and ghosts with innovative forms and terrific writing. We look forward to sharing those books with you.

In the meantime, we hope you will continue to support us in 2017 with your donations and subscriptions. Though we will be printing fewer books, the new website and the 6-7 e-book conversions represent large expenses in the 2017 budget year, and your continued support will be crucial to accomplishing those goals. 

Thanks for your support for our mission and our authors! 

Happy reading,

Abby and Kathleen