Throughout our 20 years in publishing, CavanKerry Press has always stood true to our dual mission by producing quality books of fine art and servicing the community. Our books are always crafted with a general audience in mind where we are committed to expanding the reach of poetry by publishing works that explore the emotional and psychological landscapes of everyday life.
This statement is more important than ever as we are looking to diversify our pool of authors and will be looking for stories like yours more than ever! In CavanKerry’s future we will continue to help foster emerging and established writers alike, with the aim of including more narratives from Trans, Queer, Black, Indigenous, and other Person of Color communities.
So Why Else Should You Publish with CavanKerry Press?
We’ve Published Over 75+ Authors & 100+ Books
Publishing isn’t new to us! We handle your collection from manuscript to book with the utmost care. Once selected, it goes through revisions and editing where appropriate, book design, typesetting, and printing.
We Offer Major Distribution
Aside from our website, our books are also sold through the Chicago Distribution Center which has countless connections with bookstores, libraries, and colleges across the globe. This means your book will be widely distributed and easily available.
We Perpetuate Stewardship & Community
When you sign a book contract with CavanKerry Press, you are also committing to do 3 community outreach events every year for the first 3 years of your book’s release. This can be a free reading, workshop, school visit, and more. This means that within 3 years, all 12 authors we publish per cycle participate in at least 36 public outreach events. This is our way of making sure we give back to the community while expanding our reach.
We Select Books for a Range of Different Reasons
Here are the 5 categories we look to highlight each publishing cycle:
- Emerging Voices, works from early or mid-career poets
- Notable Voices, works of established poets of merit and distinction
- Memoir, memoirs of writers keeping with the theme Lives Brought to Life
- LaurelBooks, collections of poetry and prose that explore the many poignant issues associated with confronting serious physical and/or psychological illness
- Florenz Eisman Memorial Collection, work from a New Jersey writer in honor of CavanKerry’s first Managing Editor
Our Books Have Garnered Various Distinctions
Here are just some of the awards our authors have received with their CavanKerry books:
- AWP Small Press Publisher Award
- LA Times Book Award Nomination
- Florida Book Award
- Tillie Olsen Award
- ForeWord Book of the Year Award Finalist
- Jackson Poetry Prize
- Ruth Stone Poetry Prize Finalist
- Oklahoma Book Award Finalist
- Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award
- Whirling Prize
- Paterson Poetry Prize Finalist
- Eric Hoffer Legacy Award Finalist
Small-But-Mighty
We operate the entire press with only 5 people and we all work in collaboration with one another. Therefore, upon accepting your manuscript, you can count on getting to know each one of us, from the Founder/ Publisher, Joan Cusack Handler, to Elena Neoh, our Marketing Assistant. You can view our entire team here.
