Press

EMPHASIS

Publishing should be about quality storytelling.

The publishing industry has developed a culture where there are no points for originality anymore. That's why movements like BookTok have taken off, where readers themselves choose what stories to exalt, as opposed to what top publishers choose as their pet projects -- often based on their derivative properties, as opposed to the quality, intelligence, and resonance of the material.

We're done with that.

We're an independent publisher.
And independent thinkers.

Literature is hugely important, and shouldn't be dictated by whether or not the Big 5 can make Big Money. It should not be driven by the lowest common denominator of appeal, by politics, fad agendas, or by the media.

Literature is about human (or creature?) experiences and thoughts. It's about blood and sweat, imagination and yearning. It's about new worlds and struggles, fresh ideas, weird meanderings, and the renewal of the spirit.

The publication of these stories should be an equitable process, for sure. But it should be a quality-driven equitable process. That's the market we want to serve. People who think quality writing is important. That doesn't necessarily mean high-brow, although that's okay sometimes, too. It means articulate and emotional and honest and deep.

So let's get to it. READ -- we mean it!

What We Publish

We currently publish horror, sci-fi, women's fiction, dystopian, and 20th Century historical (retro) fiction ... although our goal is to expand and apply our quality-driven ideology to additional genres and formats, including anthologies. In fact, we believe anthologies are the new literary magazines, where fresh and interesting stories are finding homes and being read on-demand.

Send us your comments or suggestions: publisher@emphasispress.com

Relaunching late March:
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
Women's Fiction
by Suzanne Mattaboni

In 1984, punk is rampant. Andy Warhol rules. And 20-year-old art student Jessica is sick of all the excitement happening without her. Hungry for a life that’s just beyond her fingertips, she sets her sights on an avant-garde study abroad program in London she can’t afford. Meanwhile, Jess’ hometown boyfriend Drew wants to see other people if he’s not exciting enough to keep her stateside. Jess and her buddies move to a hip riverside town, trolling new wave clubs and waitressing for tuition money. Then Jess meets Whit, a hot, daredevil guitarist who crawls through her window and makes her head spin. The girls deal with cheating waiters, mystics, a military drag queen, a Svengali bouncer, and the specter of AIDS. Before long, Jess has to decide if the men in her life will leave her as damaged as her cracked-glass mosaic art projects—and whether they’ll stand in the way of that dream semester in post-punk London.

ONCE IN A LIFETIME is smart, coming-of-age chick-lit that’s not all about the guy, with a vibrant ‘80s sensibility that contemporary women will love.