University of Minnesota Libraries - Special Collections and Rare Books

Local Publishers, Organizations, and African American Authors

Local Publishers

Coffee House Press
27 N. 4th Street, #400
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(612) 338-0125
" Coffee House Press is an award-winning, nonprofit literary publisher. We produce books that present the dreams and ambitions of people who have been underrepresented in published literature, books that shape our national consciousness while strengthening a larger sense of community." (from the Coffee House Press web site)

Graywolf Press
2402 University Avenue, Ste. 203
St. Paul, MN 55114
(651) 641-0036
"Graywolf currently produces sixteen books a year, including poetry, novels, essays, literary criticism, and memoir. We have claimed our piece of the literary landscape by introducing and promoting the most exciting and creative writers of our times. We invite you to browse through these pages, share your thoughts, and help keep fine literature off the extinction list."(from the Graywolf Press web site)

Guild Press
P.O. Box 22583
Robbinsdale, MN 55422
"All members of the Guild Press Board of Directors or Publication Board are members of either mixed-race or black families. No member of the 'official' family gets any pay, and the money earned by each book goes to help pay the cost of future publications. The primary goal of Guild Press is to publish high-quality books of poetry and short prose by minority and international authors. We have worked for, and earned, our reputation as 'the leading publisher of minority authors in Minnesota.' Our unofficial motto is 'make it good, make it better, get it out.' Our editors encourage and help develop new writers. We have also earned the respect of our poets as 'editors who actually edit' and are pleased that all of our open-submissions anthologies have included writers being published for the first time. In additional to the publication of books, our 'get it out' goal includes poets going to classrooms to read poetry and giving poetry reading performances in the community. The goal is to give ordinary people the chance to hear good poetry read by the poets themselves. Thus, we try, in the African and American Indian traditions, to make art (poetry) part of ordinary life and not just for the elite. We try to be a 'warm circle,' not a 'cold box.'" (statement submitted by Guild Press)

Milkweed Editions
1011 Washington Avenue South, Ste. 300
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 332-3192
"Milkweed Editions is an award-winning, nonprofit literary publisher of high-quality books that places an emphasis on cultural diversity, environmental stewardship, exceptionally crafted poetry, and insightful literature for adults and children in the middle grades." (from Milkweed Edition's web site)

New Rivers Press at MSUM
1104 7th Avenue South
Moorhead, MN 56563
(218) 477-5870
"New Rivers Press at MSUM is dedicated to publishing new, emerging, and established writers from Minnesota, the Midwest and New York City, from the many Americas, and from elsewhere in the world." (from the New Rivers Press web site)

Selected Writers' Organizations

SASE: The Write Place
2282 Lyndale Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408
(612) 874-2815
"The mission of this organization [is] to provide affordable, quality programming -- developed and administered by a diverse group of people -- for writers of all backgrounds to develop their craft and to present their work. SASE's success comes in part from its community-based programming. Within the Minnesota literary arts community there exists a great diversity of cultural and geographic communities. SASE's programs have excelled at meeting these people in their own backyards. For example, our popular About Town Reading Series currently runs in nearly one dozen venues throughout the Twin Cities. From cafes, watering holes and high schools, to University centers and libraries, SASE's programs are coordinated by practicing writers who know first-hand the communities they serve. In just a few short years, SASE has grown tremendously, yet we have not lost sight of our initial vision. We remain affordable, accessible, easy to find, and dedicated to serving Minnesota's abundant and ever-changing community of readers and writers. And, true to our 'sassy' name, we are high-spirited, energetic and lively!!!!" (From a statement submitted by SASE)

The Loft Literary Center
1011 Washington Avenue South, Ste. 200
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 215-2575
"The Loft is the nation's largest, most comprehensive literary center. Loft programs and services promote the artistic growth of writers and the development of audiences for their work. Both traditional and nontraditional approaches to writing and literary performance are supported, with artists representing a diversity of voices, cultures, literary genres and opinions. The Loft offers a wide range of classes, workshops, grants, mentorship programs and public events featuring writers of local, national and international stature." (from the Loft's web site)

The Carl Brandon Society
"The Carl Brandon Society is dedicated to addressing the representation of people of color in the fantastical genres such as science fiction, fantasy and horror. We aim to foster dialogue about issues of race, ethnicity and culture, raise awareness both inside and outside the fantastical fiction communities, promote inclusivity in publication/production, and celebrate the accomplishments of people of color in science fiction, fantasy and horror." (from the Carl Brandon Society web site)

Selected Minnesota African American Writers

e.g. bailey, poet
Alexs Pate, novelist and poet
Tina Burnside, novelist
Angela Shannon, poet
J. Otis Powell!, poet
Valerie Rose, novelist
sha cage, poet
G.E. Patterson, poet
Sherry Quan Lee, poet
Carolyn Holbrook