Richmond has been introduced to a new publishing company, one that will redefine the marketing of eBooks and what it means to be a local publisher. Meet The Metaphysical Circus Press (MCP).
Richmond has been introduced to a new publishing company, one that will redefine the marketing of eBooks and what it means to be a local publisher. Meet The Metaphysical Circus Press (MCP).
MCP was founded by Mary Boyes, an assistant professor in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Honors Writing program, and Melanie Lamaga. Both of them graduated with Masters from the Creative Writing Program in the Department of English at VCU.
The local company will be focusing on publishing eBooks, mainly because of the recent trend of buying books to read online. According to Publish Green, around 970 million eBook sales were made in 2011, a 117% increase from 2010, and according to MCP’s website, “e-book sales now account for more 50% of the total book market in top-selling fiction genres.” They hope to provide this alternative option to authors who wish to get their work published. “…while anyone can self-publish, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy. We’re looking to provide another option to authors to get their work published,” Lamaga told VCU News. Lamaga is the first author to be published through the company; The Evolution of Reptilian Handbags and Other Stories, available via e-book and in print, was published in January.
MCP advertises themselves as “a press by authors, for authors,” and they describe themselves as “excited about the changing landscape of publishing.” Boyes told VCU News that the company is “hoping to basically create a new window, and a new way of doing things, as much as anything else,” and that she would like to find a “home for writing that often struggles to find a place in the academy and market.” Sounds pretty hipster, and perfect for Richmond.
In addition to the focus on eBooks, Metaphysical Circus Press will also emphasize working face-to-face and locally; they want to bring most of the profits to the writers themselves, compared to larger publishing companies that “takes forever to publish, and then you get 8 percent,” as Boyes told VCU News. Because the authors will receive most of the profits, the company is not offering advances.
The editorial board includes Boyes and Lamaga, along with Dennis Denvers, the author of Wilderness, Time and Time Again, Circuit of Heaven, and more. He has a Ph. D. in literature and an MFA in fiction writing, and currently teaches fiction writing and science fiction and fantasy literature at VCU.
The Metaphysical Circus Press is located on 912 West 49th Street. You can sign up for their mailing list here or contact them at editors@metaphysicalcircus.com.
