Announcement and call for participants: An upcoming focus on small press historical novels

Last March, I ran a month-long focus on historical novels from small and independent presses in honor of Small Press Month, as a way of bringing more attention to the valuable contributions these presses make to a vibrant and diverse literary marketplace.  The official observance of this occasion no longer exists, but in this era of merger-mania in the publishing world, the roles that small presses play are more important than ever – both for authors and their readers.

So I plan to continue with my observance of Small Press Month this coming March, even if this former national celebration is now quite a bit smaller.

You can help if you like, though – by reading along, spreading the word, reviewing small press historicals on your blogs, and by contributing a guest essay if you so choose.

Here's what I have planned.  During March 2014, I'll be offering reviews, guest posts, and spotlights on historical novels from small and independent presses.  As I mentioned last year, definitions for this term can vary, but I'll be using it to include those publishers outside of the Big Six Five that are independently run and not part of large conglomerates.  These publishers may or may not have large marketing budgets, and I hope to draw attention to worthy historical novels that readers may otherwise miss.

I'll be putting together showcases of small press historical novels, similar to those from last year, in four different categories:  US small presses (no specific focus), historical mysteries, university presses, and international small presses.

In addition, I have some reviews of exciting small press titles to post, and a few guest essays have already been scheduled.  I asked my husband to create a special graphic for my site, and you can see what he came up with above (isn't it purty?).  I'd love to be able to post something new every other day, at least, so here's an opportunity.

If you're an author with a historical novel out from a traditional small press (or if you work at a small press which publishes historical fiction) and you'd like to contribute a guest post during March, drop me a line (sarah at readingthepast dot com) with potential ideas.  If you're curious to read past contributions from guest writers, you can find a long selection of them here.  Giveaway offers are welcome, too, but I prefer to run these in conjunction with guest posts and not on their own.

If you're a blogger interested in reviewing a small press title or two (or more) on your own site during March, it would be great to have some company.  If there's any interest, I'll set up a Mr. Linky where you can link up your reviews later on.

Finally, since my 8th blogiversary is coming up in late March, I'll do as I did last year and offer a contest of some sort.

So, stay tuned – and look out for more on Small Press Month in a month from now!