Coffee House Press
Encyclopedia
Coffee House Press is a nonprofit independent press
based in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. The press’s goal is to "produce books that celebrate imagination, innovation in the craft of writing, and the many authentic voices of the American experience." It is widely considered to be among the top five independent presses in the United States and has been called a national treasure. The press publishes literary fiction
, nonfiction, and poetry
.
books. After 10 years of publishing letterpress books, Kornblum closed the press in December 1983; the following year, he moved to Minneapolis, reopened the press as a nonprofit organization, and began printing trade books. Concerned that the press's lighthearted name belied his serious commitment to the press's authors and readers, Kornblum renamed it Coffee House Press.
The press soon began to receive national acclaim. In the early 1990s, books like Donald Duk by Frank Chin
and Through the Arc of the Rainforest by Karen Tei Yamashita
(a 1991 American Book Award
winner) drew national attention and also helped to cement the press's continuing reputation for publishing exceptional works by writers of color. As Kornblum once described it, "Coffee House Press has actively published writers of color as writers, as representatives of the best in contemporary literature, first and foremost—then, only secondly, as representatives of minority communities. That might be one of our most important contributions [to American literature]."
In July 2011, after a two-year leadership transition process, Kornblum stepped down to become the press’s senior editor. Chis Fischbach, who began at the press as an intern in 1994, succeeded him as publisher.
Coffee House has published more than 300 books, with over 250 still in print, and releases 15-20 new titles each year. It has earned a reputation for long-term commitment to the authors it chooses to publish.
The press is currently located in the historic Grain Belt
Bottling House in Northeast Minneapolis.
and National Book Award
finalists Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith
(poetry, 2008), and I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita
(fiction, 2010). Other national award-winning titles include American Book Award
winners The Ocean in the Closet by Yuko Taniguchi
(2008), Somewhere Else by Matthew Shenoda
(2006), American Library Association Notable Book Miniatures by Norah Labiner (2003) and ALA Best First Novels List selection Our Sometime Sister, also by Labiner (2000).
Other award-winning Coffee House Press authors include Ron Padgett
, Anne Waldman
, Frank Chin
, Kao Kalia Yang
, Laird Hunt, and Brian Evenson
.
Small press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
based in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. The press’s goal is to "produce books that celebrate imagination, innovation in the craft of writing, and the many authentic voices of the American experience." It is widely considered to be among the top five independent presses in the United States and has been called a national treasure. The press publishes literary fiction
Literary fiction
Literary fiction is a term that came into common usage during the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish "serious fiction" which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison from genre fiction and popular fiction . In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more upon...
, nonfiction, and poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
.
History
Coffee House began with Toothpaste, a mimeograph magazine founded by Allan Kornblum in Iowa in 1970. After taking a University of Iowa typography course with the acclaimed Harry Duncan, Kornblum was inspired to turn Toothpaste into Toothpaste Press, a small publishing company dedicated to producing poetry pamphlets and letterpressLetterpress printing
Letterpress printing is relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image...
books. After 10 years of publishing letterpress books, Kornblum closed the press in December 1983; the following year, he moved to Minneapolis, reopened the press as a nonprofit organization, and began printing trade books. Concerned that the press's lighthearted name belied his serious commitment to the press's authors and readers, Kornblum renamed it Coffee House Press.
The press soon began to receive national acclaim. In the early 1990s, books like Donald Duk by Frank Chin
Frank Chin
Frank Chin is an American author and playwright.- Life and career :Frank Chin was born in Berkeley, California, but was raised to the age of six by a retired Vaudeville couple in Placerville, California. At six his mother brought him back to the San Francisco Bay Area to live in Oakland Chinatown...
and Through the Arc of the Rainforest by Karen Tei Yamashita
Karen Tei Yamashita
Karen Tei Yamashita is a Japanese American writer and Associate Professor of Literature at University of California, Santa Cruz, where she teaches creative writing and Asian American literature...
(a 1991 American Book Award
American Book Award
The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
winner) drew national attention and also helped to cement the press's continuing reputation for publishing exceptional works by writers of color. As Kornblum once described it, "Coffee House Press has actively published writers of color as writers, as representatives of the best in contemporary literature, first and foremost—then, only secondly, as representatives of minority communities. That might be one of our most important contributions [to American literature]."
In July 2011, after a two-year leadership transition process, Kornblum stepped down to become the press’s senior editor. Chis Fischbach, who began at the press as an intern in 1994, succeeded him as publisher.
Coffee House has published more than 300 books, with over 250 still in print, and releases 15-20 new titles each year. It has earned a reputation for long-term commitment to the authors it chooses to publish.
The press is currently located in the historic Grain Belt
Grain Belt (beer)
Grain Belt is a brand of beer brewed in the American state of Minnesota, by the August Schell Brewing Company. The beer has been produced in Three varieties: Grain Belt Golden, the original style introduced in 1893, and Grain Belt Premium, first introduced in 1947, and the brand new Grain Belt...
Bottling House in Northeast Minneapolis.
Books and Authors
Especially notable books from Coffee House Press include the best-selling Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife by Sam SavageSam Savage
Sam Savage is an American novelist and poet, best known for his 2006 novel Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife. Other published works are The Cry of the Sloth and The Criminal Life of Effie O.-Life and work:...
and National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
finalists Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith
Patricia Smith
Patricia Smith is an American poet, spoken word performer, playwright, author, writing teacher, and former journalist. She has published poems in literary magazines and journals including TriQuarterly, Poetry, The Paris Review, Tin House and in anthologies including American Voices and The Oxford...
(poetry, 2008), and I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita
Karen Tei Yamashita
Karen Tei Yamashita is a Japanese American writer and Associate Professor of Literature at University of California, Santa Cruz, where she teaches creative writing and Asian American literature...
(fiction, 2010). Other national award-winning titles include American Book Award
American Book Award
The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
winners The Ocean in the Closet by Yuko Taniguchi
Yuko Taniguchi
Yuko Taniguchi was is an American poet, and novelist.-Life:She came to the United States, at fifteen, and attended high school in Maryland....
(2008), Somewhere Else by Matthew Shenoda
Matthew Shenoda
-Life:Matthew Shenoda's poems and writings have appeared in a variety of newspapers, journals, radio programs and anthologies.He has taught extensively in the fields of Ethnic Studies and Creative Writing and is currently Assistant Provost for Equity & Diversity and Professor in the School of...
(2006), American Library Association Notable Book Miniatures by Norah Labiner (2003) and ALA Best First Novels List selection Our Sometime Sister, also by Labiner (2000).
Other award-winning Coffee House Press authors include Ron Padgett
Ron Padgett
Ron Padgett is an American poet, essayist, fiction writer, translator, and a member of the New York School. Bean Spasms, Padget's first collection of poems, was published in 1967 and written with Ted Berrigan...
, Anne Waldman
Anne Waldman
Anne Waldman is an American poet.Since the 1960s, Waldman has been an active member of the “Outrider” experimental poetry community as a writer, performer, collaborator, professor, editor, scholar, and cultural/political activist....
, Frank Chin
Frank Chin
Frank Chin is an American author and playwright.- Life and career :Frank Chin was born in Berkeley, California, but was raised to the age of six by a retired Vaudeville couple in Placerville, California. At six his mother brought him back to the San Francisco Bay Area to live in Oakland Chinatown...
, Kao Kalia Yang
Kao Kalia Yang
Kao Kalia Yang , aka Kao Kaliya Yang, is a Hmong American writer and author of The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir from Coffee House Press. On August 6, 2011 she was married to Aaron Hokanson in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her work has appeared in the Paj Ntaub Voice Hmong Literary Journal and...
, Laird Hunt, and Brian Evenson
Brian Evenson
Brian Evenson is an American academic and writer of both literary fiction and popular fiction. He has received degrees from Brigham Young University and the University of Washington . After leaving a teaching position at BYU, he held positions at Oklahoma State University, Syracuse University...
.