More On Edgework Books

by Lis Jorgens
for EdgeWork Books

EdgeWork Books is dedicated to the publication, promotion, and preservation of work by accomplished women writers and to the growth of communities of women who read and write together. We are an independent press, collectively owned and operated by 12 writers with the fiscal support of outside investors. Our goal is to publish works of high literary caliber and fresh artistic vision from diverse communities of women. All too often, New York publishing houses decline to publish books that they deem "too literary," "too feminist," or "too unusual" to compete for the market share; our dream is to make these works, by women, readily available and accessible. It is also our goal to find, foster, and publish new writers, in particular older women and women of color. EdgeWork will publish a wide variety of genres, including: novels, biographies, translations, poetry, children's books, and critical studies of issues concerning women's lives.

We know from our own experiences that not only is there an audience for the kind of books that EdgeWork will publish, but there is a real and identifiable need for them. One of our founding beliefs is in the healing power of both reading and writing. Most of us, as readers, have been "saved" in one way or another, by a book that spoke to us exactly. By books that told us that we were not alone and that we were not crazy. Books that gave us a vocabulary, that offered us role models. Books that encouraged us, that showed us avenues for change, for growth, and for healing.

Now, too, studies are proving what writers have suspected all along -- that writing is itself a profoundly life changing and healing activity for the writer. The very act of putting experiences into words can actually improve one's psychological and physical health. Significantly, the benefits of meaningful reading and writing are greatest for women and people of color (see, for example, James Pennebaker's Opening Up). In a very real sense, we are formed by and comprised of the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what has happened in our lives. When we begin to tell, hear, and change or modify those stories, at our deepest level, we change who we are. EdgeWork strives to publish books that embody this journey of change, thus encouraging all women to write and publish. We are especially interested in promoting voices that speak to the similarity in women's experiences and the rich diversity across age, racial and ethnic background, sexual orientation, and class. The founding authors of EdgeWork are deeply committed to a balanced, truly collective effort, in which some of the books in each Round of publication are expected to sell well, while other equally valuable books will be "supported" by these bigger sellers, and all will be preserved for future discovery and study.

A vital part of EdgeWork's mission is developing new audiences for small press work by women. One way to do this is to reach out to reading groups, creating an alternative distribution and reading circuit. This is particularly feasible now, perhaps for the first time, because of emerging on- line networking techniques and technologies combined with the recent resurgence of book clubs. In the last four years, television shows, public radio stations, and online magazines have encouraged readers to form new kinds of bonds with one another, often across great geographical and personal distances. Interestingly, women more than men have responded to these virtual reading communities - evidence that there was, specifically for women, a need waiting to be met. The success of Salon.com's now famous "Mothers Who Think" site surprised everyone, spawning not just support groups and advice columns, but writing circles and a published collection of memoirs and essays. Salon's primary focus continues, however, to be on news and politics, leaving an empty space for EdgeWork's unique cultural voice - online, and in print - that is intentionally literary. Most book clubs, too, still tend to focus on bestsellers, for the sake of accessibility. EdgeWork will work to encourage these groups to branch out, making available a wealth of writing that speaks to them, but that is frequently neglected by traditional media reviewing outlets.

EdgeWork also believes that presses and authors must actively support independent and women's bookstores. Without ignoring traditional outlets, we will place particular emphasis on readings and events that promote alternative booksellers. We will develop a strong alliance with the independent booksellers that will draw media attention and business to the benefit of both the Collective and the booksellers.

Another component of our mission is to connect new and long-time writers, using a critical online writing center called the "EdgeWork Incubator." The Incubator would provide a testing ground for the discovery of new writing talent from women around the world when they submit work to the Incubator for review, critique, and comment. This site has the potential to become a leading venue for independent writers once it is known in writing circles that the EdgeWork web site is a place to get your writing "discovered" and possibly published. This Internet presence simply represents the extension of EdgeWork's original mission into a new medium.

The 12 founding authors of EdgeWork have all published extensively. Several of them have published national best-sellers and/or books that were noted as redefining their fields. Collectively, the founders decided that they must create a viable alternative to the New York publishing houses. All the founding authors have stories of both new and experienced editors changing titles, deleting controversial passages, and insisting on changes for the sake of fitting books more neatly into existing marketing niches. One copy-editor sent back a manuscript that mentioned Colette with this note in the margin: "Colette who? Is this a friend? Please identify, and use a last name." A book designer said of Virginia Woolf, "Oh, are there pictures of her? I didn't know they had photography back then." An editor initially rejected a book that later went on to become a national best-seller, stating it was "really too intelligent for women." These examples, while humorous in the telling, are indicative of a very troubling trend. The founders of EdgeWork are concerned about the integrity and presentation of their work, and they are dedicated to creating a publishing vehicle for the work of young and minority authors, who may experience themselves as having even less influence and control in the current climate. Young and minority writers will be discouraged from finding their own voices if there are no venues ready to accept their most original work. Our intention is to clear a path for the next generation of women writers, much as the earlier women's movements opened doors for us, through the creation of EdgeWork, a technologically-savvy, financially-viable, multi- cultural, independent women's press.

EdgeWork's manuscript selection, editorial policies, marketing strategies, and touring priorities are grounded in a grassroots sensibility that has been shaped by generations of advocacy on behalf of women. Without adhering to any one ideology, political stance, or party line, we do embrace a participatory, democratic, creative faith in the intelligence and worth of all women.

We are still evolving EdgeWork and hope that other groups and communities of women will soon join us. The EdgeWork model combines the independence of self-publishing, with the critical sensibilities of an editorial board composed of peers, with community involvement through supporting investors.

Visit EdgeWork's web site.