Coffee House Press is a nonprofit independent press based in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. 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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and has been called a national treasure. The press publishes

literary fiction Literary fiction, serious fiction, high literature, or artistic literature, and sometimes just literature, encompasses fiction books and writings that are more character-driven rather than plot-driven, that examine the human condition, or that are ...

nonfiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...

, and

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

History

Coffee House began with ''Toothpaste'', a

mimeograph A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator or stencil machine) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a co ...

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

letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable t ...

books.Jessica Powers
"The impulse to publish is the impulse to share enthusiasm"
. After 10 years of publishing letterpress books, Kornblum closed the press in December 1983; the following year, he moved to

, 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 (born February 25, 1940) is an American author and playwright. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Asian-American theatre. Life and career Frank Chin was born in Berkeley, California on February 25, 1940. His grandfather wo ...

and ''Through the Arc of the Rainforest'' by Karen Tei Yamashita (a 1991

American Book Award The American Book Awards are an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "t ...

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 o American literature" In July 2011, after a two-year leadership transition process, Kornblum stepped down to become the press’s senior editor.“Fischbach Named Publisher at Coffee House Press”
, ''Publishers Weekly'', 6/22/11. Chris Fischbach, who began at the press as an intern in 1994, succeeded him as publisher. In 2015, Coffee House partnered with Emily Gould and Ruth Curry on the Emily Books imprint. Anitra Budd succeeded Fischbach as publisher and executive director in August 2021. 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 Northeast is a Neighborhoods of Minneapolis, defined community in the U.S. city of Minneapolis that is composed of 13 smaller neighborhoods whose street addresses end in "NE". Unofficially it also includes the neighborhoods of the University, ...

Books and authors

Especially notable books from Coffee House Press include the best-selling ''Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife'' by Sam Savage and

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

finalists ''Blood Dazzler'' by Patricia Smith (poetry, 2008), and ''I Hotel'' by Karen Tei Yamashita (fiction, 2010). Other national award-winning titles include

winners ''Somewhere Else'' by Matthew Shenoda (2006), ''The Ocean in the Closet'' by Yuko Taniguchi (2008), American Library Association Notable Book ''Miniatures'' by Norah Labiner (2003) and ALA Best First Novels List selection ''Our Sometime Sister'', also by Labiner (2000). In 2011 Coffee House published

Leaving the Atocha Station ''Leaving the Atocha Station'' (2011) is the debut novel by American poet and critic Ben Lerner. It won the 2011 Believer Book Award. Story The first-person narrator of the novel, Adam Gordon, is an American poet in his early 20s participati ...

Ben Lerner Benjamin S. Lerner (born February 4, 1979) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, and critic. The recipient of fellowships from the Fulbright, Guggenheim, and MacArthur Foundations, Lerner has been a finalist for the National Book Award for P ...

, one of the year's most critically acclaimed novels, drawing national and international attention to the press. Other award-winning Coffee House Press authors include

Ron Padgett Ron Padgett (born June 17, 1942) is an American poet, essayist, fiction writer, translator, and a member of the New York School (art), New York School. ''Great Balls of Fire'', Padgett's first full-length collection of poems, was published in 1969 ...

, Anne Waldman,

, Kao Kalia Yang, David Hilton, Laird Hunt, and

Brian Evenson Brian Evenson (born August 12, 1966) is an American academic and writer of both literary fiction and popular fiction, some of the latter being published under B. K. Evenson. His fiction is often described as literary minimalism, but also draws ins ...

Awards

Coffee House Press won the 2017 AWP Small Press Publisher Award given by the

Association of Writers & Writing Programs The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) is a nonprofit literary organization that provides support, advocacy, resources, and community to nearly 50,000 writers, 500 college and university creative writing programs, and 125 writers' c ...

that "acknowledges the hard work, creativity, and innovation" of small presses and "their contributions to the literary landscape" of the US.

References

External links

Coffee House Press Website

Submission Guidelines

Poets & Writers Profile

Consortium Book Sales & Distribution

Special Collections Department, University of Iowa Libraries. {{Authority control Book publishing companies based in Minnesota Culture of Minneapolis Non-profit organizations based in Minnesota Publishing companies established in 1984 Literary publishing companies Poetry publishers Non-profit publishers Companies based in Minneapolis 1984 establishments in Minnesota American companies established in 1984