Press 53 is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

located in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. Known for championing the work of short story writers and poets, who face challenges in the publishing industry, Press 53 was launched in the wake of

9-11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

when founder Kevin Morgan Watson lost his job at

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called ...

Notable titles and writers

In 2005, Press 53's first titles were authored by Doug Frelke, a veteran of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. By 2006, the press had reprinted '' The Land Breakers'', an out-of-print classic novel by

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

writer

John Ehle John Marsden Ehle, Jr. (December 13, 1925 – March 24, 2018) was an American writer known best for his fiction set in the Appalachian Mountains of the American South. He has been described as "the father of Appalachian literature". Life and c ...

. In addition, the press has issued books by poets laureate Joseph Bathanti (NC),

Cathy Smith Bowers Cathy Smith Bowers (born 1949) is an American poet and professor. She teaches poetry in an M.F.A. program at Queens University of Charlotte. Bowers was named by Governor Bev Perdue as the sixth North Carolina Poet Laureate, 2010–2012. She has ...

(NC),

Kathryn Stripling Byer Kathryn Stripling Byer (November 25, 1944 – June 5, 2017), also called Kay Byer, was an American poet and teacher. She was named by Governor Mike Easley as the fifth North Carolina Poet Laureate from 2005 to 2009. She was the first woman to ho ...

(NC), Shelby Stephenson (NC), Marjory Heath Wentworth (SC),

Kelly Cherry Kelly Cherry (December 21, 1940 – March 18, 2022) was a novelist, poet, essayist, professor, and literary critic David Bottoms David Bottoms (born 1949 in Canton, Georgia) is an American poet. Biography Bottoms' first book, ''Shooting Rats at the Bibb County Dump'', was selected by Robert Penn Warren as winner of the 1979 Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American ...

(GA). ''What the Zhang Boys Know,'' a novel in stories by

Clifford Garstang Clifford may refer to: People *Clifford (name), an English given name and surname, includes a list of people with that name *William Kingdon Clifford *Baron Clifford *Baron Clifford of Chudleigh *Baron de Clifford *Clifford baronets * Clifford fam ...

published by the press in 2012, won the

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and i ...

Literary Award for Fiction and in 2015 earned Garstang the Indiana Emerging Author Award. The story collection "One Last Good Time" by

Michael Kardos Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

won the 2012 Mississippi Institute of Arts & Letters Award for Fiction. The story collection ''O Monstrous World!'' by

Josh Woods (writer) Josh Woods may refer to: * Josh Woods (American football), American linebacker * Josh Woods (rugby league), English rugby league player *Josh Woods (wrestler), American professional wrestler * Josh Woods (footballer), English footballer * Josh Wood ...

won the 2019 International Book Awards for Fiction: Short Story.

Annual titles

As a

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...

, Press 53 publishes around fifteen books annually.

References

{{Reflist Publishing companies of the United States Winston-Salem, North Carolina Small press publishing companies American companies established in 2005 Publishing companies established in 2005 2005 establishments in North Carolina