Indie Presses Provide a Haven for Midlist Authors

Independent literary publishing has a proud tradition of nurturing authors who’ve subsequently moved on to success at larger houses. Take Percival Everett, for instance, who published his fiction with Graywolf Press for decades before bringing his prize-winning breakout hit, James, to Doubleday.

But there’s a reverse trend that’s building steam: authors are moving away from corporate publishing to independent. While some are being turned away by the conglomerates that once published them, others say they are switching because they prefer the care and attention that indie presses provide.

Savvy authors and agents, Europa Editions publisher Michael Reynolds says, have long known that smaller publishers typically only put out books they feel strongly about, with the entire staff invested in their success, rather than books “being championed by one lone, intrepid, but increasingly powerless editor at an anonymous corporate imprint.” Europa, which published Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels in the U.S., is one of many independent publishers who have welcomed the growing group of major house midlisters—and, in some case, marquee names—seeking asylum at smaller presses.

To read the full article on publishersweekly.com, click here