Small Press Points

After three-year-old novella publisher Flatmancrooked closed its doors last spring (with editor Elijah Jenkins moving on to pursuits outside the publishing world) senior editor Deena Drewis was determined to carry on the press’s legacy of publishing narrative-driven short fiction by emerging authors. So, with a backlist of Flatmancrooked titles in hand—and with plans to maintain the former press’s so-called launch scheme, which dedicates a specific period of time to the promotion of an individual book—Drewis founded the Sacramento-based independent press Nouvella. Along with assistant editors Jonathan Danielson and Joshua Neely, Drewis hopes to publish three titles a year, one at a time in editions of five hundred copies, beginning each publishing cycle with a one-week promotional period offering readers a chance to invest early in an author. Readers who buy during the launch receive an autographed copy of the book and a letter from the author; once the launch period ends, hard copies are available only at select bookstores. (E-books are sold on the Nouvella website.) “The print books are intended to be collectible, one-of-a-kind mementos that will become dearer and dearer as the author’s career progresses,” Drewis states on the press’s website. Nouvella released its first book, The Last Repatriate by Matthew Salesses, last fall; it will be followed this month by Daniel Torday’s The Sensualist, which launches on March 26. Aside from editorial scouting in journals such as One Story, the Collagist, and Narrative, the editors look for new work in unsolicited submissions. They accept manuscripts of ten thousand to thirty-five thousand words, which may be accompanied by up to three short stories, through the press’s online submission manager. For guidelines, visit the Nouvella website.