Through its collections, exhibitions, workshops, and events, the Center for Book Arts (CBA) has sought to uplift and “democratize” all aspects of the art and craft of bookmaking from bookbinding and letterpress printing to illustrating and beyond, since its founding fifty years ago, in 1974. The latest initiative along these lines is its newly established Small Press Incubator fellowship, which launched in October. The fellowship supports BIPOC writers, poets, and textual artists and “equips participants with the essential skills, context, and supportive community needed to start and sustain a small press.”
Camilo Otero, CBA’s artists program manager, and Tyler Roarty, its educational programs manager, say that the Small Press Incubator fellowship is “deeply intertwined” with the center’s mission and goals. The fellowship acknowledges and addresses the huge inequities that have been foundational to mainstream publishing and that disproportionately affect BIPOC creatives; it furthermore recognizes that “book arts have historically served as a powerful medium for marginalized artists to express their ideas outside the restrictive systems of conventional publication and gallery representation.”
The Small Press Incubator fellowship, which concluded its application process in mid-August, is funded in part by support from the Poetry Foundation. Four Small Press Incubator fellows were chosen from applicants to participate in an immersive program spanning eight weeks, from October 21 to December 13, 2024. Otero and Roarty say that the program places “a high value on projects that are deeply connected to the communities the applicants are part of” and that engage “meaningfully with community-specific themes and needs.” While fellows don’t need to have previous experience in publishing, CBA hopes that fellows are interested in sustaining their projects beyond the fellowship period in order to “make a lasting impact.”
Fellows are given a stipend of $2,000 plus an additional $1,000 for materials they can use to plan and launch their respective publishing projects, whether it’s a zine, a chapbook, or visual textual art. Fellows also get paired with mentors with publishing expertise who provide personalized guidance and feedback to help fellows develop and refine their publishing projects. In addition, Small Press Incubator fellows attend lectures by industry experts and participate in workshops that cover all aspects of the publishing process, including designing a chapbook, printing, bookbinding, editorial marketing and communication, editorial production, administration, and small press distribution. “By fostering a strong, supportive relationship,” the fellowship coordinators say, “mentors play a crucial role in helping fellows achieve long-term success and lasting impact in their publishing endeavors.” The program will culminate with the fellows presenting their plans for these projects, and the center’s coordinators hope fellows stay involved in the community beyond the fellowship.
CBA aspires for the Small Press Incubator fellowship to be a “transformative experience” and for “each fellow [to leave] the program with a clearer vision for their work, the confidence to pursue their goals, and the tools to sustain their publishing efforts in the long term,” Otero and Roarty say. “Ultimately we aim to see [the fellows] succeed not just during the fellowship, but as they continue to develop and share their voices in the wider world of publishing.”
On a broader level, CBA’s aim is that fellows spur necessary and enduring change through their projects and demonstrate what is possible when the publishing aspirations of BIPOC writers and artists are meaningfully supported through mentorship and community. “Our goal is for these projects to evolve into sustainable ventures that continue to serve and enrich their communities,” the fellowship coordinators say. “We also hope that these projects will inspire other emerging voices to explore and contribute to the book arts, helping to build a more inclusive and diverse publishing landscape.”
The Center for Book Arts’ half-century commitment to promoting greater access in the book arts space has created a supportive and collaborative bookmaking community. The Small Press Incubator fellowship plants the seeds for a more diverse and equitable vision of publishing and provides a community in which it can grow.
Kavita Das is the author of Poignant Song: The Life and Music of Lakshmi Shankar and Craft and Conscience: How to Write About Social Issues, inspired by the Writing With Conscience workshop she created and teaches.
