Running Wild Press, a female owned and operated, small indie publisher with nearly two dozen titles in its four year publishing history, has produced two books selected by Kirkus Reviews as Indie Books of the Year: 2019.
Los Angeles, Dec 22, 2019 (Issuewire.com) - Upstart Female Owned and Operated Indie Press Gains Recognition As A Breakout Publisher for Stories Readers Crave
Running Wild Press, a female-owned and operated, small indie publisher with nearly two dozen titles in its four-year publishing history has produced two books selected by Kirkus Reviews as Indie Books of the Year: 2019.
"We publish stories that cross genres with great stories and writing that don't fit neatly in a box," says Founder and Executive Editor Lisa Diane Kastner, who is also an author.
One of the two book-of-the-year selections is Frontal Matter: Glue Gone Wild by Suzanne Samples, a moving memoir about the author's struggle to live with terminal brain cancer at age 36. The other is Dark Corners by Reuben "Tihi" Hayslett, a series of explosive essays and narratives written with unsettling illumination that touch upon racism, LGBTQ, and the human condition in a Trumpian world.
"The book marketplace is growing and expanding because publishers like Running Wild Press are wisely filling a void. We target stories that the public craves by lesser pursued authors. Those stories that aren't perceived to be safe to publish," says Kastner.
The book industry publishes over 4,000 titles every single day yet some stories don't see the light of day and that's Running Wild Press's focus.
Some recent local and national accomplishments of Running Wild Press include these:
- Short stories have been nominated for the Horror Writers Association Brahm Stoker Award.
- They have had several stories nominated for Pushcart Prizes, PEN Awards, and the National Book Award.
- Their books have been included in gift bags for presenters and nominees for the SAG Awards and the Grammy Awards and were included in gift bags for VIPs who attended the George Lopez Celebrity Golf Tournament.
- They sponsored a mini-literature festival at Gatsby Books in Long Beach in partnership with the Long Beach Literary Arts Center.
"We started the press because we read too many great stories that never found a readership," adds Kastner. "We wanted to create a platform. We look for unusual tales that mainstream publishing won't pick up because the story is not neatly defined."
Kastner is available to discuss the following:
- The challenges of publishing unique and fresh books in a book marketplace that often rewards the familiar.
- How indie book publishers are reshaping the publishing landscape.
- The increasing prominence of independent presses in finding breakthrough stories and authors.
- The importance of publishing stories by authors who don't fit the mold of what's considered to be a traditional author (white and male).
- The challenge to finding, shaping, and publishing great stories that fail to neatly fit into a box.
"We want the fantastic stories that other houses have rejected so we can help the author make that story shine and get it in the hands of eager readers," says Kastner.
About Lisa Kastner
She is a former journalist and corporate communications consultant and journalist. Lisa is credited in over, 20 publications, including Now What? The Creative Writer's Guide to Success After the MFA and The Resistors by Dwight L. Wilson (edited by Lisa Kastner), which was featured in a Kirkus Reviews story that says the book will "keep you up all night." Lisa, the founder, and executive director of Running Wild Press, has led Pennwriters, Running Wild Writers Community, and the Springfield Writers Group.
She earned an MFA from Fairfield University and her MBA from Pennsylvania State University. Lisa was on Dance Party USA, syndicated on the USA TV network, and appeared on Dancin' on Air, a regional television program, as a teenager. Her step-mother, Violet Smith was the director for the arts in Santa Ana, CA, where a concourse at the Santa Ana Airport is named after her. Lisa's father, Frank Carter, is in the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame, for his service in radio for 50 years. She resides in Los Angeles, California, For more information, please consult www.runningwildpress.com.
Contact: Media Connect
Steven Ramotar 212-593-6467 steven.ramotar@finnpartners.com
Lisa Kastner, Founder
Q&A
Founder of Running Wild Press
- Lisa, what inspired you to launch an indie book publishing company, Running Wild Press?
- What challenges have you been confronting?
- Does the book publishing universe have room, in the marketplace for yet another publisher, given some 4,000 titles are cranked out every day in America?
- You are a writer and editor as well. How does it feel to put on the publisher's thinking cap to determine which books should be published?
- Are you shocked at having two books selected by Kirkus Reviews for Indie Book of the Year in 2019?
- What trends are you seeing in book publishing today?
- Define what you like to green-light for Running Wild Press.
- Why do you believe most publishers ignore publishing the type of books - narrative poems, short stories, essays, niche non-fiction - that you run towards with open arms?
- You say too many books come from whites and males. Why do you think the books published don't reflect the diversity of Americans?
- You say you are a small press that brings great stories from new voices out into the world. How do these specialty stories push boundaries of genre and perspective?
Running Wild Press Titles
Running Wild Stories Anthology, Volume 1
Running Wild Anthology of Novellas, Volume 1
Jersey Diner by Lisa Diane Kastner
The Kidnapped by Dwight L. Wilson
Running Wild Stories Anthology, Volume 2
Running Wild Novella Anthology, Volume 2, Part 1
Running Wild Novella Anthology, Volume 2, Part 2
Running Wild Stories Anthology, Volume 3
Running Wild's Best of 2017, AWP Special Edition
Running Wild's Best of 2018
Build Your Music Career From Scratch, Second Edition by Andrae Alexander
Writers Resist: Anthology 2018 with featured editors Sara Marchant and Kit-Bacon Gressitt
Frontal Matter: Glue Gone Wild by Suzanne Samples
Mickey: The Giveaway Boy by Robert M. Shafer
Dark Corners by Reuben "Tihi" Hayslett
The Resistors by Dwight L. Wilson
Open My Eyes by Tommy Hahn
Legendary by Amelia Kibbie
Christine, Released by E. Burke
Running Wild Novella Anthology, Volume 3, Book 1
Running Wild Novella Anthology, Volume 3, Book 2
Running Wild Novella Anthology, Volume 3, Book 3
Media Contact
Steven Ramotar
steven.ramotar@finnpartners.com
212-593-6467
Source :Running Wild Press
