New Publisher Aims to be Community-Active
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by: jacarpress
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Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 Time: 7:28 PM
A new literary press based in North Carolina has a unique publishing vision. Jacar Press, is the brainchild of award-winning writer Richard Krawiec, who has published novels, story collections, plays, and poetry collection, and won the 2009 Excellence in Teaching Award from UNC Chapel Hill’s Friday Center.
Krawiec wanted to find some way to help writers, while also showing that writing could be a positive force in local communities.
“Too often writers these days writers are demeaned by their publishers, or forced to buy dozens of copies of their own books in order to get them printed,” Krawiec told WCOM’s Audrey Layton in an interview on Bookbeat. “So I decided to start a small press that would treat writers with respect.
“And because I’ve always been active in the community – working in homeless shelters, literacy classes, prisons, with abused women and children – I decided part of the proceeds from all our publications should be returned to the community in some way. I want Jacar Press to be known as a Community Active publisher.”
The Sound of Poets Cooking, the first publication by Jacar Press, features poems by 59 nationally recognzied writers, including former NC Poet Laureates Fred Chappell and Kathryn Stripling Byer, and current Virginia Poet Laureate Kelly Cherry. The poems are at turns sensuous, hilarious, elegant, and playful. Alongside the poems are dozens of eclectic recipes that range from Asian, through European, to Middle Eastern dishes, as well as regional Southern favorites. Proceeds from sales will be used to provide free writing workshops for others in communities across N.C. and the U.S.
The Next Moment,a poetry collection by Mebane native, and former NC Writers Network President Debra Kaufman, deals honestly with the hurt and embarassment of everyday relationships, our groping effots to love, and the search for transcendence that informs our daily lives. Kaufman writes about rebellious firls who seek escape through 'bad boys', her father's slow descent to death, a wife struggling to find meaning in her marriage. Betty Adcock, LSU Press, says this book is "a journey passion, emotional turmoil, loss, and reconfiguration." Proceeds from Kaufman's book will go to support Hospice, and rural ambulance services.
This Fall Jacar Press is soliciting manuscripts for two poetry book competitions, a chapbook and a full length book. Visit their website for more information. www.jacarpress.com
Krawiec hopes to run his press on a break-even basis. "What I really want is to show by example that it's possible to run a publsihing company that treats writers with respect and also serves the needs of local communities."
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About the Author
Jacar Press,
Richard Krawiec
jacarpress@gmail.com
www.jacarpress.com
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