Coffee House Press is a nonprofit

independent press Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

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 Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

, and poetry.

History

Coffee House began with ''Toothpaste'', a mimeograph magazine founded by

Allan Kornblum Allan Nathaniel Kornblum (March 4, 1938 – February 12, 2010) was a United States federal judge and authored key parts of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. During his career he also served as an adviser to the United States Foreign ...

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 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 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 (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; until the age of s ...

and ''Through the Arc of the Rainforest'' by

Karen Tei Yamashita Karen Tei Yamashita ( ja, 山下てい ; born January 8, 1951) is a Japanese-American writer. Early life Yamashita was born on January 8, 1951, in Oakland, California. Career Yamashita is Professor of Literature at the University of Calif ...

(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

o American literature O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

" In July 2011, after a two-year leadership transition process, Kornblum stepped down to become the press’s senior editor. 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 The Corn Belt is a region of the Midwestern United States that, since the 1850s, has dominated corn production in the United States. In the United States, ''corn'' is the common word for maize. More generally, the concept of the Corn Belt con ...

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 Savage Samuel Phillips Savage (November 9, 1940 – January 17, 2019) was 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'', ''The Criminal L ...

and National Book Award finalists ''Blood Dazzler'' by Patricia Smith (poetry, 2008), and ''I Hotel'' by

(fiction, 2010). Other national award-winning titles include American Book Award winners ''Somewhere Else'' by Matthew Shenoda (2006), ''The Ocean in the Closet'' by Yuko Taniguchi (2008),

American Library Association Notable Book American Library Association Notable lists are announced each year in January by various divisions within the American Library Association (ALA). There are six lists, part of the larger ALA awards structure. * ''ALA Notable Books for Adults'' (est ...

''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 by Ben Lerner, 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, Tulsa, Oklahoma) is an American poet, essayist, fiction writer, translator, and a member of the New York School. ''Great Balls of Fire'', Padgett's first full-length collection of poems, was published in 1969. He ...

, Anne Waldman,

, Kao Kalia Yang, David Hilton,

Laird Hunt Laird Hunt (born April 3, 1968) is an American writer, translator and academic. Life Hunt grew up in Singapore, San Francisco, The Hague, and London before moving to his grandmother's farm in rural Indiana, where he attended Clinton Central Hig ...

, and Brian Evenson.

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