The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Anyone familiar with this press based in Massachusetts? They’re running a warehouse sale this week up to 94% off titles. They describe themselves this way: “We publish literary fiction, innovative fantastic fiction, and classic authors whom you just may have missed the first time around. In our catalog, you’ll find first novels, collections both satisfying and surreal, critically acclaimed, award-winning writers, and exciting talents whose names you may never have heard, but whose work you’ll never be able to forget. Joan Aiken, John Crowley, Carol Emshwiller, Angelica Gorodischer, Naomi Mitchinson, Sean Stewart, and Kelly Link are among the names on our growing list of innovators.”

No, but if you have access to Hoopla through your library system, it looks like Small Beer Press has over 100 titles there. Scrolling through, I saw they publish Kij Johnson, who has been recommended to me a few times.

Here’s the link to Small Beer Press

https://smallbeerpress.com/

My library used to have Hoopla but their pricing model became unsustainable for us, the daily cost cap we had to set would be reached in a few hours so for most of the day patrons would get a “try again tomorrow” message. No good!

Instead I bought a couple of Argentinian writer Angelica Gorodischer’s books including Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was, translated by Ursula Le Guin (that one wasn’t on sale actually but it makes up for the books I bought for $1.99 each). I’m also very intrigued by Cloud and Ashes: Three Winter's Tales which is written in dense poetic Northern English and seems like one might want to read it with Wiktionary close at hand for all the etymologies.

I’m intrigued by Cloud and Ashes too. I loved The Wake and love the old British myths and folklore.

I am currently reading Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories by Vandana Singh, one of their titles. It's the July pick for my booksta book club basically. Science fiction and fantasy with a very Indian flavour. Really liking it so far.

Fantasy with an Indian flavor sounds very good, but I’m not eager to add more short story collections to my shelves right now,

I saw that Small Beer Press will no longer be releasing new books due to the publisher’s declining health. A shame, they have a really interesting catalog in terms of fantastical literary fiction, I have a stack of their books in a separate tbr pile that, you know, I really will get to. Their last new book is The Privilege of the Happy Ending: S/M/L Stories which of course looks interesting! They’ll be releasing a special limited edition of a new Kelly Link book next year that will be published by Random House so they’re not completely shutting down.

Oh no, that's a shame! They have indeed published some fantastic books. I have really liked all that I have read so far.