Featherproof Books is a small, independent publisher based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. It was founded in 2005 by

Jonathan Messinger Jonathan Messinger is a writer, book critic, and the editor of Public Spend Forum, a public sector procurement blog that is part of Spend Matters Group. He is also the writer and producer of the Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, a children's scienc ...

and Zach Dodson. They publish

perfect bound Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

short story collection A short story collection is a book of short stories and/or novellas by a single author. A short story collection is distinguished from an anthology of fiction, which would contain work by several authors (e.g., ''Les Soirées de Médan''). The s ...

s and other works, and offer "mini-books" of short stories and novellas for free download. The publisher employs "a dose of humor" in their work, the founders stating that they are "dedicated to the small-press ideals of finding fresh, urban voices ignored by the conglomerates." Featherproof Books started in March, 2005 using funds raised from the sale of Zach Dodson's car. Featherproof's first title was ''The Enchanters vs. Sprawlburg Springs'' by Brian Costello, released in December, 2005, with the second, ''Sons of the Rapture'' by Todd Dills having been released in 2006.

Books

Publications have included: * ''The Enchanters vs. Sprawlburg Springs'' by Brian Costello () * ''Degrees of Separation'' edited by Samia Saleem () * ''Hiding Out'' by

() * ''This Will Go Down on Your Permanent Record'' by Susannah Felts () * ''boring boring boring boring boring boring boring'' by Zach Plague () * ''AM/PM'' by Amelia Gray () * ''The Karaoke Singer's Guide to Self-Defense'' by

Tim Kinsella Tim Kinsella is an American musician, author, and film director from Chicago, Illinois. Known for his eccentric singing voice, he first rose to prominence as lead singer and lyricist of the emo band Cap'n Jazz which he co-founded with his brothe ...

() * ''Sons of the Rapture'' by Todd Dills () * ''The Universe in Miniature in Miniature'' by

Patrick Somerville Patrick Somerville (born April 14, 1979) is an American novelist and television writer living in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Career Novels Somerville graduated from Cornell University in 2005. He published his debut novel, ''The Cradle'', i ...

() * ''Daddy's'' by Lindsay Hunter () * ''Scorch Atlas'' by

Blake Butler John David Blake Butler (22 October 1924 – 15 April 1981) was an English actor best known for his role as the lecherous chief librarian Mr. Wainwright during the first and third series of ''Last of the Summer Wine'' in 1973 and 1976 res ...

() * ''The Awful Possibilities'' by Christian TeBordo () * ''

The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic ''The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic'' is a 2015 essay collection by music critic Jessica Hopper. Development and publication The idea of collecting her columns into a book had been suggested to Hopper some years ea ...

'' by

Jessica Hopper Jessica Hopper (born September 5, 1976) is an American writer. She published ''The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic,'' a compilation of her essays, reported pieces, zines, and reviews, in May 2015. In 2018, she publish ...

()

Mini-books

Mini-books are a series of self-contained short stories and

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

s published periodically. These stories are available online, to be downloaded, printed by the reader, and folded into pocket-sized books. The small size makes them suitable for

commuters Commuting is periodically recurring travel between one's place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regul ...

, and the editors aimed to combine both the "free and easy distribution" provided by the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

with their "love of paper" and the physicality of books. The free mini-books allow the publisher to work with authors outside of those they publish traditionally. Featured stories have "navigated such diverse topics as failed love, competitive familial golf games and vampires in graveyards".

Contributors

Contributors have included: Ambrose Austin, Kate Axelrod, Kyle Beachy,

, Tobias Carroll, Pete Coco, Brian Costello, Elizabeth Crane, Mary Cross, Paul Fatturoso, Jeb Gleason-Allured, Abby Glogower, Laura Bramon Good, Amelia Gray, Mary Hamilton, Andrea Johnson, Rana Kelly, Heidi Laus, Ryan Markel,

Anne Elizabeth Moore Anne Elizabeth Moore (born 1971 in Winner, North Dakota) is an American cultural critic, artist, journalist, and editor. She is well known for her books Sweet Little Cunt (2018), Gentrifier: A Memoir (2021), and Body Horror: Capitalism, Fear, Mis ...

, Kerri Mullen, Susan Petrone, Jay Ponteri, Samia Saleem,

Kevin Sampsell Kevin Sampsell (born March 17, 1967) is an American writer living in Portland, Oregon. He has worked at Powell's Book Store since 1998 as an events coordinator and the head of the small press section. His memoir, ''A Common Pornography'', was pu ...

, Fred Sasaki, Timothy Schaffert,

, Zach Stage, and Scott Stealey.

References

{{reflist

External links

Featherproof Books

Featherproof
on Myspace Companies based in Chicago Book publishing companies based in Illinois Small press publishing companies Publishing companies established in 2005