Mike Emeny of Books Illustrated Mike Emeny and the team at Books Illustrated run an award-winning press that works with some of the most well-known artisans in the small/fine press world including Ludlow Bookbinders, Nomad Letterpress, Paperwilds and a host of other talented artists. In 2022, after over a decade of producing wonderful versions of classics, they started in a new direction with the production of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, giving more modern works the fine press treatment. Books Illustrated creates beautiful and generously illustrated works of art, giving stories new life and honoring the tradition of fine bookmaking. They are just coming off a very successful British Book Design & Production Awards year where they captured the 2024 Best Fine Press Book award for their deluxe version of The Starless Sea. We are delighted to get this chance to talk to Mike about the history of the press, their commitment to excellence, and what they have in store for the future. Q: We are really excited to finally get to talk to you and would love if you could tell us a little bit about your own journey as a reader and collector and who some of the important figures and inspirations in your life were that helped guide you to this point. Were you always in the book industry in some way, or did that come later in life?   Mike and Hilary Emeny of Books Illustrated I think that most people love books and the adventures that they bring to our lives. My personal love of books can be pin-pointed to my early schooling, where my teacher would gather us all around her at the end of the day and read a chapter of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. I eagerly looked forward to those moments and spent my hard-earned pocket money collecting each book in the series. Those stories not only helped me develop my reading skills but also introduced me to the enchanting words of C.S. Lewis and the exquisite illustrations by Pauline Baynes. This early love for illustrated books eventually inspired me to become a collector of works by illustrators from the 'Golden Age' of illustration, such as Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, William Heath Robinson, and many others.   Q: Books Illustrated was originally founded in 1999 but took on the more current format of producing multiple versions at different levels over the last 10 years or so. What was the path that led you to creating Books Illustrated in the first place and how has it evolved over the years to get to where you are today? In later years, I found myself working in the computer industry as Sales and Marketing Director for a U.S.-based company. During this time, I continued to invest my spare funds into my passion for fine books and illustrations. When I eventually left the company, my wife and I decided to turn our passion into a business. This led to the founding of Books Illustrated, which initially focused on buying and selling fine illustrated books and original artwork by the illustrators I admired, including those from the 'Golden Age.' While exhibiting at a fine art and antiques fair in Olympia, London, I encountered an illustrator who posed an intriguing question: would I be interested in working with a ‘living’ illustrator? That question opened an exciting new chapter for our company. We began collaborating with talented contemporary illustrators like Christian Birmingham, Anne Yvonne Gilbert, and many others. Vellum Edition of Interview with a Vampire from Books Illustrated By 2008, we started hearing from illustrators that publishers were increasingly requesting digital artwork due to its ease of modification and faster production timelines. Recognizing the potential impact this shift could have on our business, we made a pivotal decision: to become publishers of limited-edition illustrated books. This approach allowed us to support illustrators working in traditional mediums while offering collectors beautifully crafted editions. In 2013, we published our first book, Purr & Feather , a collection of poems by Angel Dominguez, including classics like The Owl and the Pussycat  and The Tyger.  Each year, we published several timeless stories, all exquisitely bound by Ludlow Bookbinders.. Another significant milestone came in 2022 when we published a limited edition of Erin Morgenstern's bestselling novel, The Night Circus,  which sold out entirely. Collaborating with celebrated authors such as Erin Morgenstern, Michael Morpurgo, and Cornelia Funke has been both an honour and a privilege that continues to excite us.   Q: From the time you started producing high-quality limited edition books in your current iteration until now, there have been so many other entrants to the market. What do you think have been the biggest factors that have driven the boom in interest in letterpress handmade books over the last ten years? Lettered Edition of Inkheart from Books Illustrated I believe it’s because we live in a world dominated by mass production, where faceless multinational corporations process our orders without any human interaction. In contrast, purchasing from a fine press publisher offers a profoundly different and more personal experience. Every step in the creation of these books involves the dedication and expertise of skilled printers, bookbinders, artists, designers, and craftsmen and women who are committed to producing works that will endure for generations. For many, owning a book crafted in this way—using the highest quality materials—is not just about adding a beautiful edition to their library; it is also a way to support an industry that honours traditional craftsmanship and artistry. Erin Morgenstern beautifully captured this sentiment when she expressed her gratitude, saying we had "dressed her story in fine clothes." Q: Normally, I would ask about the inspiration behind the name of your imprint, but in this case, it seems pretty straightforward! It is clear from the name that you put a lot of emphasis and importance on the books being heavily illustrated, and this was a priority from the start it seems. In what way do you see the illustrations being additive and how do you go about choosing illustrators for a specific project? You are absolutely right—illustration has always been a cornerstone of our company. This commitment requires us to work with long lead times because creating art of this caliber cannot be rushed. While our lives would undoubtedly be simpler if we focused on high-quality books with fewer or no illustrations, I believe we would not be contributing anything truly unique to the world. Alice Cao Interior Illustration from Inkheart Not every story lends itself to illustration, which is why we carefully choose titles we feel will be enriched by the storytelling power of great illustrations. When approaching an author, we typically propose two or three illustrators we believe will complement their story. Once the author selects an illustrator, the collaboration begins. We work closely with the author and illustrator throughout the process, ensuring that every illustration is approved by the author. This close collaboration is one of the most rewarding aspects of our work. It allows us to develop a deeper relationship with the author and gain insight into the backstories and nuances of their novel—insights only the author can provide. No one understands their story better than they do, and this partnership ensures that the illustrations truly capture the essence of their vision. Q: Your first release in the recent modern line of fine press books from Books Illustrated was The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and it came together beautifully. How did the final product resonate with your earliest conceptions of the project and why did you choose this work to kick off this new phase of the imprint? Having published around twelve limited editions of classic works such as Wuthering Heights , and A Midsummer Night’s Dream , we were attending a fair in the North of England when a customer asked if we had read The Night Circus . They remarked that it would make a stunning illustrated book. Intrigued, my wife and I decided to read it during a holiday and were captivated by the story. A few years later, when we began considering a collaboration with a bestselling novelist, we recalled how much we had enjoyed The Night Circus . Reaching out to Erin Morgenstern was a pivotal moment for us. We count ourselves incredibly fortunate to have worked with such a lovely and supportive author who not only embraced our vision but was also charmed by the extraordinary artwork created by our illustrator. The project remains one of the highlights of our publishing journey. All Three States of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Q: What are the biggest factors that determine what the next project is going to be, and what does the evolution of bringing it to life (overall aesthetic, binding material – loving the use of vellum, color, printed letterpress or offset, etc.) look like? This is a great question and one I could easily fill an entire chapter with. Our approach always begins with publishing books we genuinely love, rather than choosing titles purely for their commercial potential. When you love what you do, that passion translates into every aspect of your work. For us, every project becomes a success because it culminates in a high-quality, beautiful, and rare book that enhances our own library and, we hope, the libraries of others. While the design and concept of each book are ultimately our responsibility, we deeply value the collaborative process. We hold planning meetings with experts like Paul Kidson at Ludlow Bookbinders, who helps bring our dreams to life, and Pat Randle at Nomad Letterpress, whose advice on printing, papers, and fonts is invaluable. These open and constructive discussions are vital to creating something truly exceptional. Deluxe Edition of War Horse by Michael Morpurgo The choice between letterpress and offset printing is one we approach with great care and thoughtfulness. Some might wish for us to focus exclusively on one or the other, but we have come to understand that our work serves two distinct market sectors. The first includes collectors of fine books, while the second comprises fans of the title and author, many of whom are new to the world of fine press books. For those in the second group, entering this world requires a shift in perspective. They already love the author and the story but may not yet appreciate the value of investing in a fine press edition. Offset printing, particularly for longer books, enables us to meet this audience where they are by offering an affordable entry with the Artist Edition . At the same time, we continue to satisfy fine book collectors with our Collectors , Deluxe , and Prestige Lettered Editions . We see it as our responsibility to introduce these new readers to the joy of owning a newly illustrated fine edition and to make this experience as smooth as possible. That said, some decisions are more straightforward. For instance, publishing Beowulf  as a full letterpress edition took no time at all.   Q: You collaborate heavily with the wonderful Ludlow Bookbinders, a pillar of our community and a binder that has personally brought me some of my favorite books in my collection. I know you go way back with Paul Kidson, who heads the bindery up, and was curious how you originally met and how that collaboration has grown through the years? Deluxe Edition of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern I wish I had a particularly thrilling tale to tell here, but the reality is more of a journey of persistence and luck. Once we decided to publish these types of books, we set out to find a bookbinder near our base in Salisbury. We visited several bookbinders, describing our vision for the design, quality, and, most importantly, the quantity we required. The looks on their faces quickly told us this was a challenge too far for them. In a   final effort to find a solution, we headed to the London Book Fair—and it was there that we met Paul. Over the many years since that initial meeting, Paul and his wife, Emma, have become not just trusted collaborators but also dear friends. Publishing a high-quality edition involves countless moving parts, any of which could go wrong. It is, without a doubt, not an endeavor for the faint-hearted. However, working with Paul and his exceptional team has been a truly rewarding and creative experience. Most importantly, it has been remarkably free of drama—a rare and invaluable gift in a process as complex as this. Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced keeping this imprint running for all of these years and what would you point to as some of your greatest productions that exemplify what Books Illustrated is at its core? Interior Illustration from The Night Circus by Anne Yvonne Gilbert Embarking on a fine press project presents a number of challenges. The first is the significant initial investment required; however, we are fortunate to be well-funded, allowing us to bring our visions to life. For our illustration-heavy publications, developing relationships with talented illustrators could have been another challenge, but with decades of experience working alongside some truly wonderful artists, this has not posed a major issue for us. The real challenge, particularly in the beginning, was locating the rights holders for the titles we wanted to publish and navigating the complexities of contracts across various territories. Some publications have required as many as four separate contracts to secure legitimate worldwide rights. Immersing ourselves in the intricacies of legal documents has been a steep learning curve—a crash course in rights management and intellectual property law! I am proud of all our illustrated editions, but The Night Circus  and War Horse  hold a special place on our bookshelves. These projects represent the culmination of our passion, dedication, and the collaborative efforts of everyone involved. Q: It was recently announced that your edition of  The Starless Sea  by Erin Morgenstern has been nominated as a finalist in the Fine Binding and Limited-Edition categories at the British Book Design and Production Award this year. There was some fierce competition this year and the quality was extremely high. What does it mean to you being handpicked and to win in such a prestigious competition? Accepting BBD&PA Award We are proud and humbled to be recognized by the judging panel as the winner of this category and as you rightly mention, there were many exceptional books this year, as there are in most years. It is a true pleasure to be in the company of other publishers who are also creating such fine editions. This moment feels very much like its own Golden Age for fine press limited edition publications, and we are honoured to be a part of it. Q: If there was one word or phrase that came to people’s minds when they think of Books Illustrated, what would you hope it would be? "The Fine Art of Illustrated Books" —this phrase has its roots in our early days as dealers in original illustrations at prestigious fine art fairs. At the time, we noticed a certain dismissiveness from some fine art dealers, who often regarded illustration as merely commercial art. Their comments reinforced our belief that this perspective was both narrow and undeserved. We adopted the phrase "The Fine Art of Illustration"  because we firmly believe that the works of artists like Arthur Rackham and his contemporaries deserve recognition as fine art in their own right. Their ability to elevate storytelling through visual artistry is nothing short of remarkable. Publishing fine books, too, is undeniably an art form. It combines the skills of illustrators, designers, printers, and bookbinders, all working in harmony to create something that transcends function. Each book becomes not just a vessel for a story, but a beautiful and lasting piece of art. Q: What can you tell us about future projects coming in 2025-2026? We know you will continue on with some of your current series, but is there anything else that you can share that you are excited about?   We have a number of releases this year that we’re incredibly excited about, each for different reasons: Morris Edition of Beowulf from Books Illustrated Beowulf   illustrated by Alice Cao, is a standout project. This will be a full  letterpress edition, with both text and illustrations printed by Nomad Letterpress. We’re using the William Morris/A.J. Wyatt translation, paired with the Troy font that Morris himself designed for his 1895 edition. While our edition will not be a facsimile, it pays homage to Morris’s vision, featuring 300 Morris Editions and an extremely limited 8-copy Octad Vellum Edition . Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour , the first book in The Mayfair Witches  series, is another exciting venture. It will be illustrated by Bruno Vergauwen, whose distinctive and evocative style is perfectly suited to capturing the atmosphere of this much-loved story. Later in the year, we plan to release Yann Martel’s Life of Pi , illustrated by Anne Yvonne Gilbert. In total, we have over ten titles in various stages of design. As we mentioned earlier, creating the illustrations for these books is a process that cannot be rushed, but the results are always worth the time and care invested. The date the Beowulf pre-order will be offered on the website will be Saturday  15th March at 2pm UK time.  If you want early information and access to the pre-order, you can sign up here . This interview was done in a series of communications back and forth with Mike and we want to thank him for his willingness to be a part of this series with everything he and the team have going on. If you want to see more from Books Illustrated you can check them out at https://www.booksillustrated.com/ . You can also follow them on Facebook   or Youtube  for more details on their work. Interview by: Zach Harney a contributor to the Collectible Book Vault *Since there are often different spellings in American English and British English of the same words, we have chosen to adhere to the spelling of the person who is speaking rather than conform to one convention for the whole interview.

It is time to put a book in the spotlight. This is one of our favorites at CBV. One of the earlier releases of Suntup 3 years ago and only accessible to buyers of Bridges of Madison County by Suntup : Red Dragon by Thomas Harris - Suntup Editions lettered state. It was a hugely popular release and all 3 states demand a high price on the secondary market. You need deep pockets for any state of Red Dragon by Suntup Editions, but the lettered one in particular. If you are a Thomas Harris collector however, then it should tick all your boxes. Unique binding in red hornback crocodile leather, living author signature from an author who has not spammed it at every opportunity, spectacular art, and very rare. Somehow this book even demands a higher price than a signed 1st edition / 1st printing. Only the future will decide if that remains so. It is definitely rare. Only 26 letters exist and some additional publisher copies. No more than 30-35 is my guess. The burgundy red sparkling cloth solander case draws immediate attention. When space allows, I have this case diagonally in my bookcase to let the light play with its cloth. Just the spine out feels like a waste of what this production has to display. Its lovely gold foil lettering on the spine-label is well done so we understand you are satisfied by just seeing the spine every day. Open the solander, and you are welcomed by the scarlet red crocodile leather which rests softly on black velvet. When I first read the description of "hornback" crocodile leather I thought it was referring to the species of crocodile. But I learned it refers to the part of the skin. Here is a useful website explaining the parts of crocodile/alligator leather. So the hornback (had to correct auto-correct 4 times before it accepted that I did not mean horseback) part is the spine which is why we see those beautiful little "horns". If it is alligator or crocodile I couldn't say personally. Here are close ups, but even this doesn't do it justice. It feels awesome. Real supple to the touch and a delight to handle and open up. And open up it does. The indent at the spine makes it open up easily. Not completely like a coptic binding or greater indent would let you, but still far enough to open comfortably without forcing the binding. The endpapers have a nice orange palette. Then you can get to the best part (I'm a paper nut so I'm biased): The paper. Paul Suntup chose to print this on Strathmore pastel paper which reminded me of my numbered copy of I am Legend which is Teton paper. It has that same beautiful textured grain that works really well for print. While Red Dragon was not printed letterpress it still has an added tactile experience because of that texture in the Strathmore paper. Here are pictures from I am Legend numbered printed letterpress on Teton paper (which has even more bonus points for the the deckled fore-edge): And here is Red Dragon lettered printed off-set on Strathmore Pastel: You have to have the right angle of (sun)light to find the difference and make the indent of the letterpress visible on the IAL copy. It is not something I miss on Red Dragon because of the paper that is used. It looks and feels exquisite. Jason Mowry put the cherry on the top for me personally. I did not know his art until Red Dragon was announced. Unfortunately the art pieces I was after that were made for this edition were kept in house (I would have done the same), but it did spur me to buy Jason's work. His dreamlike otherworldly watercolor and gouache paintings that often represent the binding power between humans, animals and nature have been captivating me ever since this first encounter. It is one of those special traits of book collecting from small and fine presses. The amount of stories and art that would have never entered my life without this hobby, is staggering. I guess that's what makes this all a form of art for me and will keep me entertained for life. I think I'll leave this blog entry at that. Enjoy the pretty. Collectible Book Vault Red Dragon pages Suntup Editions Publication Page Jason Mowry Art Blog entry and pictures by Maurice Lutgens from CBV *Since there are often different spellings in American English and British English of the same words, I have probably mixed it all up because I am Dutch. Zach is the better writer here ;)

Rich Tong of Lyra's Books Rich Tong is an award-winning bookbinder at the world-renowned Ludlow's Bookbinders and in 2020 he expanded into new territory and started his own small press under the name of Lyra's Books. Lyra's has two different lines of releases including a contemporary track and one focused on classics (Lyra's Classics). Rich is just coming off the back-to-back release of Coraline by Neil Gaiman and Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens in the last couple months. His willingness to do this interview with us at such a busy time is a testament to his kindness and dedication to those of us that are lucky enough to own his work. We were honored to be able to have this conversation with Rich who has been a friend to all of us at Collectible Book Vault and extremely generous with his valuable time. Q: Through your years at Ludlow Bookbinders, you have had the honor to work underneath, and eventually alongside master binder Brian Settle. In what ways do you feel you are continuing his storied legacy and in what ways are you forging your own path? Stardust Lettered Edition A: From what he told me, Brian had apprenticed as a binder back in the late 1950’s, first working at a large, commercial printer/bindery and then as a hand binder for the Oxford University Press where he worked for over a decade. Back then, things were not quite as relaxed as now and, by all accounts, life as an apprentice could be very hard. Brian brought this strict way of working and teaching with him, and when I was learning from him it could often be… quite tough to say the least. He was a very hard man to please and I guess I learned my craft always with the fear of being taken to task for minor errors. That being said, this meant that I learned quickly and with very particular methods. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have had my training any other way. Brian was indeed a true master of his craft and was a ‘go-to-guy’ for a lot of fine presses, from the 1970’s/80’s onwards, through the Fine Bindery, Smith Settle and later, Ludlow. I think the people that work with me would agree that I sometimes have the same level of grumpiness at the very least (although I hope I’m easier to work with!), but I could only dream of being at Brian’s level of skill. In fact, I’m sure I never will be and wouldn’t dare to even suggest that I could be. I know of a couple of other binders who are from the ‘Brian lineage’ and it is amazing how you recognise your own work in theirs. Certain ways of doing things are passed down and, to me at least, it is very noticeable. He will always be there, certainly in what I produce anyway. I couldn’t have hoped for a better teacher. He was a fierce man who produced great results with his trainees. I don’t think he would disagree with that. Brian was strictly a craftsman and an extremely respected one at that. As far as I know, he wasn’t one for designing his own bindings, or for entering competitions or ever entertaining the idea of publishing his own stuff. He absolutely hated ‘designer binders’ and always saw what they produced as being purely aesthetic rather than thinking about the functionality of a ‘proper’ book. I agree with him to a certain extent but I think this is where we branch away from each other. I think they can be both if done properly. He is long retired now but I did see him at the Ludlow Book Fair last year and I showed him the lettered edition of Stardust . After looking at it critically for a very long minute or two he nodded his head, gave a slight smile and said “That’s not bad. You’re learning” before plonking it back down on the table and wandering off. This is about the maximum praise you could ever expect, so I guess I finally passed the test. It almost brought a tear to my eye (honestly)! He does still joke that I’ve turned to the dark side when occasionally I see him. I’ve become a dreaded designer binder in more ways than he ever worried I might be. Q: Well, I think there are quite a few of us who are glad you turned to the “dark side” and this wonderful synthesis of classic and modern has become your hallmark. While you were working on commissioned projects at Ludlow Bookbinders, you also began to entertain the idea of starting Lyra’s Books. How long had you been ruminating on this idea and how did it evolve over time? A: Lyra’s Books was a total accident. After Brian retired, the managing director (Paul Kidson) gave me a set of keys to the bindery and allowed me to start going in on the weekend to mess around on my own things. Many years before, I had studied Fine Art and had spent a lot of my free time creating all sorts of stuff (mainly drawings). Around the time I started binding in my free time, I’d hit a bit of a creative brick wall with painting and drawing and wanted to try my hand at pushing the boundaries of what I already knew about binding. All of the projects I usually worked on at the bindery were already designed by the publishers and we worked from a ‘job bag’ which usually contains all of the information we need to make the books. Like a blueprint in some ways, I suppose. And then there are hours, weeks and months of seemingly endless, laborious processes to go through until it’s finished. Strictly craft and no design. I never got to work on one-off books and I’d never been trained to do so. We are a ‘craft’ bindery, or ‘edition’ bindery depending on who you ask. We only make large runs of new limited-edition books and now I wanted to try designing and making my own books, one at a time. By this time, I had already made thousands of books and honed my skills to the point where I was confident that I had a good solid base to start creating my own personal work. 1st Edition Rebind of Lord of The Rings In the beginning, I started by just making fancy boxes for books I already owned. Then I started buying old, past their best Arthur Rackham books and rebinding those. I managed to sell one on eBay quite early on and I was ecstatic. So, then I invested that money in a very lucky find – an 1867 copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland which I had somehow managed to get at a bargain price. Then I sold that and kept buying more and more old, damaged books and giving them a new lease of life. Really, it was just a nice little side-line and I had fun doing it so I thought I’d make a Facebook page and see if anyone else was interested. It was somewhere to share the links to my eBay shop more than anything else. Occasionally, I’d sell a book but mostly I was enjoying having the bindery to myself and having free reign over which materials to use. After a while, I started binding the Tolkien books starting with Folio Society rebinds. These books were ideal, as they were inexpensive compared to first editions, yet bound in sewn sections which meant they were a better choice for rebinding than modern ‘perfect bound’ books, which have a tendency to crack at the spine and fall apart. I believe some of these bindings caught the attention of a Folio Society forum and I suddenly found myself getting a few followers. The publishing part of Lyra’s Books came about quite slowly. I’d spent years making books for small publishers and watching how they operated, chatting with them and so on. Finding out a bit about what they do. Most of them publish in quite niche markets – luxury cars, fishing, occult, that kind of thing. Nevertheless, it was all quite enlightening and seemed like a really interesting avenue to explore. I asked Paul what he thought about me trying it for myself one day and he was very supportive. It was never an idea to start a small press but perhaps to just publish one book and see what happened with it. It would be something that I could look back on and be proud of, regardless of how well it sold. I had no idea what that book would be, until I bound American Gods . But more on that later… The response to Stardust was a massive shock to say the least. Stardust Leather Edition Q: Where did the name of your press originate from and what does it mean to you personally? A: Lyra is the name of my cat! I have been a bookbinder for about 13 years and I have had her from almost the first day on the job. You could say that she has been my constant bookbinding companion. She was named after Lyra Belacqua from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials , which is a favourite of mine. In the Lyra’s Books logo, the cat is (obviously) Lyra and she is sitting on three books which are supposed to be the HDM books. I couldn’t get the whole Lyra constellation on there but the star is a nod to that Lyra too. I believe Lyra from the constellation was often depicted as a bird, so it seemed quite apt to have the cat trying to catch it. She does like chasing things. Q: The cat makes a lot more sense now! Clearly you are no stranger to the art of bookbinding, but running your own small press is a new venture. How have you enjoyed and/or been challenged by the new aspects of the business since you have taken on a full-fledged press of your own? A: Running a small press on your own is a very challenging experience, but I also have a full-time job as a binder so this makes it especially tough. For the most part of this year, I have had basically no free time. At all. I work pretty much seven days a week and have rarely had days off this year. Day to day, when I finish work at the bindery, I go home and then work on the publishing side of things. It is extremely tiring, often majorly frustrating, but also a joyful experience. I mean, I get to create stuff all day long so it never really feels like proper work, right?! The admin work is especially hard to keep up with though. I think I mentioned in one earlier social media post that when I’m in binding and designing mode I work with a kind of tunnel vision. My brain has to be 100% focused on the work at hand otherwise the wheels start falling off. This is also the reason why I rarely take time off. Weekends and evenings are quiet times where I can work undisturbed. Over the last year or two, I’ve also had to accommodate the thoughts of other projects that are sloshing around in my brain and all the minute details that they comprise of. One day I’ll hire someone to do the admin stuff for me at least. That’s the dream anyway. Q: You seem to have a unique ability to create designs that have a rich sense of timelessness, but also a modern touch. The designs are never boring, but also seem to never veer into the realm of gimmick. Is this simply your personal style coming through or have you consciously sought to strike that balance as you think about a new project? A: Well, thank you! I suppose the classic edge to the designs comes from my training. For example, The Picture of Dorian Gray (with the raised bands, half-leather etc.) is the kind of binding I was trained to do and the kinds of bindings that are our bread and butter at Ludlow. It’s also more the kind of thing that you will see with the Classics imprint as the style lends itself particularly well to those titles. That’s not to say that they will all always be like that. If the artist and the book steer us down a more contemporary design route then that is always a possibility. I remain flexible. The more modern touches come from all sorts of places, although often it is just flashes of inspiration based on what I know will work with certain materials. Mostly, it’s just what I think looks good personally, nothing deeper than that. But I do tend to bash out mountains of test pieces until it feels right. I very much like to physically work on a design and develop the ideas that way rather than doing it on a computer. I also like to work with the artist on the cover designs if I can. After all, it is their work inside the book, so it should be reflected in some way on the outside too. What the artist gives me will influence the overall look of the book in a big way. The Picture of Dorian Gray Numbered Edition I’m not really into gimmicky stuff. I know some people like it but it’s not really for me. I mean, I won’t even put my logo on the cover as I think it can draw the eye away from the design of the book. The company name and all relevant information is inside the book, preferably at the back and out of the way, so I don’t see why it needs to be outside too. I know that absolutely everyone else does it, in all walks of publishing but, personally, I’ve always thought it cheapens the thing a bit. I don’t think the design of a binding should be disrupted by a bit of company advertising, especially on high-end books. It’s about as jarring to me as banging a barcode on the back cover. But that’s just my opinion! Q: I’ve never thought about a logo from that perspective, but that makes a lot of sense. You don’t seem like someone who enjoys thinking about marketing, but instead let the quality of the pieces speak for you. Are there any ways you consciously seek to widen your audience or are you just laser focused on the quality and design and let that do the talking? I'm a bit allergic to marketing and I guess I've just lazily allowed things to naturally progress over the last couple of years. Mostly I’ve just been dazzled by the interest I already have. Marcelo berates me frequently on this and so I think we will try and push to widen the audience in some way or other a lot more. He thinks way further ahead than me and about what our reach could be. We are fully aware that we need to keep our current buyers as well as expanding that customer base so that we can continue to make books. A Christmas Carol Lettered Edition The only real drawback of that is that I can't really increase the limitation sizes too much. It's just too much for me to cope with. I am constantly torn between hoping I can accommodate everyone and get books into everyone's hands and the fear of a book not selling very well. At the end of the day, more customers are certainly better than no customers at all! Through Arete Editions, we are starting to push into the fine art world, most especially by using well known and respected fine artists. That means I can work with some incredible contemporary artists on designs and hopefully come up with really innovative and creative looking books. Brave New World will be the first of those, with art by Pop Artist Allen Jones which is very exciting. He said that the only thing he hasn’t done in his long career is work with a bookbinder. Very cool. So, hopefully, through that it's possible we can widen our audience into that market too. But, even with all of these amazingly exciting things on the horizon, fundamentally I’m focused on quality in the craftsmanship and the design. I want to make books that people want to own and take pleasure in reading. Q: When you choose a new title and start thinking about all the aspects of bringing it to life (overall aesthetic, binding material, color, artist, typeface, etc.), where do you begin and what does that process look like for you? A: Since Stardust, it now starts with a very long call with Marcelo Anciano of Arete Editions. He and I have been working together since about September 2020, while I was still in production of Stardust. We have long calls about potential titles and artists all of the time. Daily. We will mull over multiple ideas for a title until one forms itself into something with potential. The artist comes next. We need to know what the overall mood of the book will be before we can go about choosing bindings and typefaces. Marcelo and I will chat with the artist and give them an outline of what we’re looking for while staying entirely flexible. Marcelo will then go and create a rough layout for the book while working out where all the art should go. Once we have some semi-finished artwork, I can start thinking about binding designs. The whole process takes a very, very long time. Q: From my perspective, you seem to hold a uniquely high level of respect in the small press community. I think this comes from the fact that you are not just a press owner and artist, but a bookbinder as well, following the process from start to finish. When you started as an apprentice under Brian, how did you see your career going, and did it ever include anything like what you are experiencing today? A: If that is true then it is very kind, but it’s a little peculiar to me as I haven’t really published very much yet! But yes, I suppose being the binder and the publisher is not a normal occurrence. Printer and publisher maybe, but not binder. When I first began my career, I had no aspirations to be anything other than a competent binder. I was told at my interview “you’ll never earn a lot of money being a bookbinder,” which is still true, but I didn’t and don’t really care all that much about that. I just wanted a job where I could be creative and where I didn’t dread going in to work every day. I certainly never thought I would be one of the customers of the bindery too. I’m busier than ever but happier than ever with how things are going. A Christmas Carol Illustration by Gary Gianni Q: From the outside, it looks like you might be one of the busiest people in the small press world. How do you strike the balance between your own projects, collaborative work with other imprints and commission jobs? Do you prefer one over the other or do they all provide rewarding experiences? A: Yes, there is a lot going on at the moment. The only other publisher I am really working with full-time is Arete Editions. In fact, between Marcelo, Phil Abel and myself, it is exactly the same team of people who work on both Arete and Lyra’s projects. Essentially, we are one and the same, it’s just that I own Lyra’s and those guys own Arete. We all do the same jobs for each press. So, an Arete book is a Lyra’s book and vice versa. I think between us we have about 10 or 12 projects on the go right now at different stages. I have also done some work with Curious King recently on their Ready Player One rebind project and The Blade Itself prototypes. It is very hard to balance everything – everything is pressing and everybody always wants everything immediately (including myself). Unfortunately, hand binding isn’t something that can be done at the flick of a switch. Sometimes things go wrong, or things take even longer than expected, even with vast experience behind you. There are so many binding processes and delays in any of them can have massive knock-on effects. It’s not a job that can be hurried and, quite frankly, sometimes it just takes as long as it takes. From my own point of view, I have to not only do the all of the production binding but also juggle all of the admin work, the designing, the project development, the prototype making, liaising with suppliers and publishers… Some days there’s so much back and forth between different projects that I don’t really feel like I’ve achieved much and that is incredibly frustrating to me. The process of hand bookbinding is very slow and methodical so working to such tight deadlines across multiple projects and in such large numbers is always a struggle and a bit of a moving target. Thankfully, in the last several months, I have been given the helping hands and fine skills of two wonderful young binders who are now working with me exclusively in the bindery. The core Lyra team so to speak. The Picture of Dorian Gray Lettered Edition I would just like to take a moment to namecheck them as they deserve praise for what they do and they help to lessen the load on me. Firstly, there is Sam who has been working for Ludlow for around 6 years. She is an incredibly capable binder and will go on to do great things, I have no doubt of that whatsoever. And also, Meriel, who only started with us at the beginning of this year with no prior experience. She is a natural and has already become an invaluable member of the team. She has progressed more in her first few months than I did in my first couple of years. Sam was responsible for the CK Ready Player One Atari cases and both of them were involved for large parts of the construction of The Case of Death and Honey and Dorian Gray . I am also well supported by the bindery manager (and master binder) Phil Parkins who will give me advice if I’m at a loss from a technical point of view, and by the managing director Paul Kidson, who has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to suppliers, materials and the financial side of things. I don’t really do commission work anymore as I just don’t have the time. In fact, I rarely did it even when I had the time. Mostly, I made books that I wanted to make and then just sold them to whoever wanted them! I have a few outstanding jobs to do so, if you’re one of the people waiting, don’t worry! I’ll get to them as soon as I can! I think the most enjoyment these days comes from experimentation and this occurs mostly in the prototype making sessions. That moment when something appears after months of dead ends and seemingly wasted time. Perfection. Q: That’s great to hear that you are raising up new talent, can’t wait to see what they do in the future as well! In 2018, you won the Elizabeth Soutar Award for a rebind of American Gods that now sits in the National Library of Scotland. How did that design develop and where does it fall among your proudest works? What has been the most interesting and challenging commission you have taken on? Rich working on American Gods rebind A: Oh, this has to be one of the proudest for sure. This was the first proper design binding I ever really attempted and I was blown away that it was chosen as the winner of such a prestigious competition. I originally started it for another competition but it took so long to develop that it ended up in this one instead. I think it probably took me about a year to make. Maybe a little more. A lot of this time was me blindly trying to come up with a design and forcing myself to think in a way that I hadn’t done since I was at art school. I created a whole lot of junk in the process. But, the binding itself still took a couple of solid months to make. This book is also important in that it was what kickstarted the publishing part of Lyra’s Books. I made two copies of this binding (the first being to test every process as I bound the final version, in case of errors) and I sent the spare one to Neil Gaiman’s assistant hoping that it would get to him and that he might at least look at it. He did more than that and sent me the most wonderful thank you note which absolutely made me walk on air. So, I forced more re-bound copies of his books on him before getting up the courage to ask if I could publish a limited edition of one of them. Thankfully he said yes. Probably the most interesting and hair-raising commission I took on was a re-bind of a 1937 first edition of The Hobbit. I did this for a private customer along with his second printing at the same time. All’s well that ends well. It looked beautiful when it was finished but it gave me palpitations working on a book that rare and valuable. Awhile back I made a couple of first edition rebinds of The Exorcist. I was particularly pleased with these. They were fairly simple but I thought they looked so slick. Q: From afar, it seems like you not only have a strong affinity for his works, but also a close friendship with Neil Gaiman. What is it about his works that inspire you and why do you think you collaborate so well together? Who are some other authors that you hold in high regard? Coraline Illustration by Rovina Cai A: I think it would be misleading to say I have a close friendship with Neil and I wouldn’t want him to think I go around saying we do! I have only met him once. But he has always been extremely gracious and unbelievably kind to me and I’m still not sure what I did to deserve it. He is one of those genuinely lovely souls who just gives and gives and I know he does the same for many others too. The worlds he creates are so rich and dreamy and he writes such visual books. From a designing point of view and most definitely from an artist’s point of view, they are perfect. Lyra’s Books would not exist as it does without Neil. He took a chance on a random bookbinder and let me do God knows what with his precious book. And then he allowed me to do another. In the future, I think I am going to send him a copy of every single title I publish as a thank you. Whether he likes it or not. As for other authors, I have a quite wide-ranging taste. At the moment I’m reading a lot of Daphne Du Maurier and John Wyndham which I’m enjoying immensely. I suppose my go-to genres are magical realism and fantasy and I especially love Mervyn Peake, Haruki Murakami, Ursula Le Guin, Alan Garner, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams etc. Tolkien of course. I like a bit of horror too as well as historical fiction. But really, I’ll read pretty much anything. I listen to a lot of audio books at work but it has to be quite lightweight, background stuff so I can still concentrate on what I’m doing. So, I read a lot of rubbish too. I love a cheap throwaway thriller as much as a literary classic. Q: I would imagine there are a lot of authors out there who would love to see their books get the Lyra's treatment. Do you see Lyra’s Books continuing on with more of Gaiman’s catalog or are there plans in the works to expand out to other contemporary authors? A: I think we will leave it at that for the Gaiman books for the time being. I will definitely be branching out into other contemporary authors for the Lyra’s Press imprint, although these titles won’t be released very often. Maybe every 18 months or so. It depends on the title, the art and how difficult it is to deal with the publishers! The long process of accessing rights is one of the main reasons why I branched off into public domain titles. Coraline Lettered Edition Q: I want to give you a chance to nerd out for a second on the intricate detail in which press owners think about designing new projects. What are some of your favorite binding materials, paper selections and bookbinding techniques that you can’t get enough of? A: I trained primarily as a leather working hand bookbinder so the favourite binding material would be leather, hands down. Cow, goat, lamb, pig… I’ve even bound with toad skin. Also, snake, stingray, fish, ostrich. They are all so different. And each and every skin from each and every supplier is different. A different grain, a different softness, often a slightly different shade within the same batch. Some leathers have coatings on them, some are hand polished, some are totally natural. Each and every piece of leather you work with can react differently to the last one so, when making large scale binding projects like we do, you have to be alert to the inconsistencies and you are kept on your toes from moment to moment. It’s very difficult and it takes a very long time to learn how to tool, foil block, pare and manipulate various types of leathers but that’s what makes it so satisfying when you do it correctly. I absolutely love foil blocking. It was something I REALLY struggled with when I first started training and I hated it with a passion back then. I just couldn’t get my head around how it worked and why I wasn’t getting the results I should have been. Now I can see it for the beautiful process it is. But it is still a test from day to day. To get it right, it’s a lot more complicated than you might imagine. Another love is marbled paper. I have always used it on my bindings. The process is such a beautiful thing and I was lucky to strike up a friendship with the very talented Freya Scott some years ago, before enticing her to join us at Ludlow. She is without a doubt, one of the top marblers operating in the world today so having her working so closely with us now is amazing. Q: Who are some of the other modern artisans (binders, printers, artists, etc.) in your field that inspire and challenge you to keep pushing yourself? There are so many talented people keeping the book craft alive. Instagram is full of it. There are lots of binders who I really admire and who create things that absolutely blow me away on a regular basis. Louise Bescond, Luigi Castiglioni, Dominic Riley, Kate Holland, to name just a few. These guys are really pushing the boundaries and I often find myself looking at their work and scratching my head as I try to work out how they do what they do. But, the world of one-off bindings is quite different from the world of limited edition binding. With limited editions we can't spend weeks or months working away on one book at a time and so the approach to design and construction has to be quite different. My pal Roger Grech who has a bindery in West Yorkshire, UK, is someone who creates stuff like me and often in similar quantities. That man is a hard working beast of a binder so hats off to him! For printing - as well as Phil Abel at Hand and Eye, there is also Pat Randle of Nomad whose father created the Whittington Press. He is keeping the family business very much alive and you will see his work in forthcoming projects from Curious King and Conversation Tree Press. I recently went to visit Pat and also Stan Lane of Gloucester Typesetting and I was really impressed with their setups. Stan has been at it for over 50 years and he has amassed a mind boggling amount of stuff over the years. It's like an Aladdin's cave of print equipment in his studio. It has to be seen to be believed. Stan is a bit of a legend and, although he is now close to retirement, I'd love to squeeze a project in with him at some point before he calls it a day. We will see. Stardust Illustration by Charles Vess Q: If there was one word or phrase that came to people’s minds when they think of Lyra's Books , what would you hope that it would be? A: I would wish for “quality.” But I suffer from a not insignificant amount of imposter syndrome so I’d never allow myself to fully believe that even if it was said. “Those are nice looking books” will do! Q: What should we expect next from Lyra’s Books ? We know that the goal is for Christmas Carol to be ready for pre-order and shipped by Christmas and Coraline will be shipping at some point in the future, but is there anything further out on the horizon that you would like to or can share? A: Yes, Christmas Carol is on the way. Coraline is currently at the printers and Phil Abel and the guys at Hurtwood Press are working out the complexities of that one at the moment. The books will be out some time in the first half of next year. As for other projects… hmm… OK then. I had to mention it somewhere and sometime soon so why not here?! For the Classics, the next couple of titles will likely be – The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. We chose Wizard because Greg Manchess really wanted to paint it. In fact, he’s been wanting to do it for many years and he has a huge number of ideas just spilling out of his head for it. After Dorian , we just unleashed him on it. I think that one is going to be spectacular. Definitely a much darker and grown-up version than we’ve seen before. Most likely, this will be the next Classics title. For the Press – the next title which I have just signed the contracts for is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Again, this is a title that our artist has been unbelievably keen to do for years. That artist is, again, Gary Gianni. Like with Greg, after Christmas Carol we just let him go wild on that. It was just chance (and luck) that I wanted to publish these titles, and these guys had been wishing for someone to hire them to do them for years. The Lost World will have an artist we have not used before but I won’t reveal the name until we’re a little further down the road. This year has been a rude awakening as to how much work I can reasonably pile on myself. Right now, I’m at the point of complete exhaustion. It has been very intense and has almost broken me a few times, so next year will be very quiet on the Lyra front. We will finish Coraline and then I will be concentrating on Arete projects for the large part of 2023. I may release something next year (towards the end) but I’m not sure yet. This interview was done in a series of communications back and forth and we want to thank Rich for his willingness to be a part of this series amidst his busy schedule. If you want to see more from Lyra's Books you can check them out at https://www.lyrasbooks.com/ and sign up for their mailing list to get periodic updates. You can also follow them on Facebook or Twitter for more info. Interview by: Zach Harney a contributor to the Collectible Book Vault *Since there are often different spellings in American English and British English of the same words, we have chosen to adhere to the spelling of the person who is speaking rather than conform to one convention for the whole interview.

Jerad Walters of Centipede Press Centipede Press is a long-standing pillar of the small press world and the fierce loyalty it has gained over the last two decades falls squarely on the shoulders of the man working tirelessly behind the scenes. Jerad has earned a devoutness from collectors through consistency of his craft and service to the Centipede community. There are very few presses operating today that offer the same volume, depth, commitment to quality and affordability that Centipede does. His humility shines through in conversation with him and his genuine interest in others. We were fortunate enough to spend some time in conversation with him and learn more about the evolution of the press, as well as what personally drives him to continue this incredible work after all this time. Q: Since the founding of what we now know as Centipede Press, there have been a few different iterations. In 2001, you started as Cocytus Press and then took on the name Millipede Press, but the bulk of your work has been produced under the current imprint. Can you give us a little history lesson on these different iterations and why you rebranded as the press evolved? Cocytus Press was easy to change. I loved the Greeks, but we already had another press named after a Greek underworld river, Tartarus Press, so I thought it best to change. Millipede Press was conceived as the trade paperback arm and Centipede Press as the limited-edition arm: trade paperbacks have print runs in the thousands; limited editions in the hundreds. Then I stopped doing the paperbacks for the most part, and it just seemed easier to have one imprint only. Q: You have mentioned previously that your inspirations for getting into the world of small press were Arkham House and the typography of Alfred A. Knopf books of the 50s and 60s. How do you feel like your work with Centipede Press is an extension of what you loved about that time period and how do you see yourself continuing to try and elevate what was being done by Arkham House and others? Deluxe Edition of The Haunting of Hill House With Alfred A. Knopf, and a lot of other hardcover publishers at the time, there was just such attention to typographic detail. Those books are so readable with good ink coverage and decent margins. There was nothing fancy about them, just good solid typesetting. So, I try to do that with Centipede Press books for sure. And then with Arkham House, even though, to me, the books were not outstanding typographically, they had such good dust jacket illustrations. Later, during the Jim Turner years, the books became great examples of affordable books with a good format, wonderful title pages for the stories, excellent dustjacket and interior illustrations, and top-notch editorial work. They were such good value for the money. Q: I would say if those were your goals you have definitely achieved all of them! Some of the press owners of more recently created small presses have fairly high visibility and engagement online and, at least on a surface level, are relatively well known to their fanbase through that medium. You seem to stay off of social media and focus on running the press (with incredible output might I add). Tell us a little bit more about your background and what drives you to continue with the hard work of running a modern small press. I try to give a lot of personal responses to emails and keep people informed of work through the newsletter. So, I think, with all the emails I answer, that I am pretty engaged with the customer base. I’m front and center; at least, that is how I feel about it. But I don’t do a lot of social media stuff. I get really anxious when I am on the computer too long and would rather just go out and take a walk, or have a cup of tea and sit outside. When I have down time, I want to spend time with my wife and son. My son and I used to do a lot of bike rides but that has really dropped off over the last few years. He has his own friends and college life and he is doing his thing now. As for my background, I’ve always been a homebody. I’ve lived in the same neighborhood since about 1976. I’ve always loved monster movies, horror film directors, horror paperbacks, and The Rolling Stones. I’m driven to do this because that is all I ever wanted to do when I was growing up, and now the drive is especially strong as there are bills to pay, kids to help put through college, etc. Q: That is such a beautiful perspective and I can say personally I have found that to be true with you in terms of engagement and your desire to connect with individual followers of Centipede. I would venture a guess that plays an important role in why you have such a fiercely loyal base. Compared to the lifespan of most of the presses we have featured in this series, you are a seasoned veteran. You have been doing this over two decades and have seen other imprints come and go. How have you seen the small press industry change since you began this journey? How do you think it has changed for the good and is there anything you worry is being lost over time? The field has changed somewhat, but not a huge amount. It’s still a limited-edition field with a mixture of old and new books. The bar for quality product has definitely gone up, and customers directly benefit. There’s such a good mixture of career retrospectives, illustrated books, new authors, and special editions that I can’t really see any bad trends. Perhaps people could know more about the history of the movement: Fantasy Press, Arkham House, Gnome Press, Shasta Press, and so many others. Some collectors might find it interesting, but it won’t appeal to everyone. For those that dig a little deeper and want to get into the past, it’s all waiting there to be discovered. But some people just might go after illustrated editions of their favorites, or signed copies, or just the best general hardcover that they can find of a classic. Some people just like deluxe editions where it’s not so much about the novel and more about the bookmaker’s craft that went into the making of the book. Everyone has their own interest in the field and I think it is wonderful that there’s a little something for everyone out there. Q: That's a wonderful perspective. The number of books you produce on the average year is remarkable, especially considering the modest size of your staff and operation! When you are averaging over twenty projects a year, what is your process for staying organized and balancing current projects with future acquisitions? This is a good question. The thousand and one details involved with even a modestly sized book are enough to drive me up a wall sometimes. I have checklists for each title, developed over the years and continually refined for each title, such refinements being rather painful and embarrassing lessons to learn. Organization comes with a to-do list organizer (I use BusyCal) and, for more complex projects, various instances of the program “Notational Velocity” which I have found is indispensable. Acquisitions are a major problem for me as I have a lot in the hopper with no realistic way to get them all published before their contracts expire! But mostly I work on about 20-25 different titles a day. It might be going over the proofreader’s marks, hiring an artist, working on the copyright page, any number of different tasks. In my experience it makes more sense to do a little work on many different books in one day. But sometimes there’s something pressing and everything else has to be swept out of the way to make time for one book to be worked on all day. Q: It still baffles me, and I think most fans of Centipede Press, how you manage it all! Many of your earliest works were in the genre of weird fiction and you have produced multiple books highlighting some of the biggest names as well as some lesser published authors in this space. Since the inception of Centipede Press, there have been other presses that have expanded on offerings in this genre like Pegana, Zagava and most recently announced, Conversation Tree Press. Does it excite you that weird fiction continues to attract new readers and what would you say to people who are hesitant to take the plunge into the genre? For sure this is all good news. There’s no shortage of good material to read from the classic writers. It’s like diving into the 60s and 70s catalogs of major bands or singers. There’s so much there, and of such high quality, you quickly learn why this music is played all of the time. It’s the same thing with weird fiction. There’s a reason it sticks around. Some novels and stories have become horribly dated, of course, but most readers recognize that so much of what is done is a product of its time. Who knows how dated or out of touch a lot of our modern fiction will seem in 80 years! Q: Your catalog weaves back and forth, oscillating between weird fiction, sword and sorcery fantasy, science fiction and horror, among others. Do you have any process for which genres you will focus on in a given year or is it simply a matter of what rights you are able to acquire? It’s mostly rights issues. There are a number of people who want more crime titles, which is kind of under-represented in my catalog. There’s no real rhyme or reason to it. Ideally, I’d like one each of my series books— Library of Weird Fiction , Masters of the Weird Tale , Masters of Science Fiction —to come out per year. I’d like to do more Studies in the Horror Film but those are kind of the slowest sellers of the list, even though they have dedicated fan bases. Same with the oversize Gothic books, which I have not done for some time. Q: In addition to the genres mentioned above, you have also published art books and critical studies of various horror films. What drew you to add these to your overall catalog? With the horror films, I am a big fan of the BFI series of certain horror films. But they just seemed so slight, and a bit too focused on the academic. I like a mix of academic stuff, and then serious reviews, interviews, behind the scenes articles, straight-up fanboy articles, things like that. Art books are a different animal. I love art books but Titan Books has a good lock on these, but they don’t do certain artists. Lately my books in this series have become smaller, but I have four in the works: Rodney Matthews, Frank Kelly Freas, Gervasio Gallardo and Bruce Pennington. They’ll be pretty large, whenever they get done. Art books are probably the most difficult and time consuming to do because of all the color correction and cleaning of files I do. The layouts are also particularly challenging. Q: What are some of your favorite horror films of all time? Some of my favorite horror films are the ones that I have done Studies in the Horror Film titles for, or are working on them: The Shining, Salem’s Lot, Nosferatu, Mulholland Drive, The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, The Howling , and definitely Don’t Look Now . Deluxe Version of Elric Saga Q: Quite an epic list! You have released some incredible productions since you started Centipede. Projects like Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun , The Elric Saga , The Haunting of Hill House and most recently, Dune , are really incredible productions of highly influential works. What are some of your favorite projects you have worked on while running Centipede Press? My favorite projects are the ones that strike the most personal chords with me. Nosferatu , The Shining , and Salem’s Lot in the Studies in the Horror Film series are probably my favorites. Maybe the Hannes Bok book, too. The Giant Size Elric books look pretty good. The Anubis Gates , the two Falling Angel books, lately, The Search for Joseph Tully as that is one of my favorite horror novels. Oh! And probably Weird Fiction Review . I have more fun working on that than anything else. Q: Centipede Press is one of the few small presses that I rarely hear critiqued for their pricing. You seem to be able to bring unique and beautiful pieces of art to your fans at an affordable price point. What allows you to continue to produce such sought-after works at reasonable prices and is there anything specific you do that helps keep costs within the budget of the average collector? Dune by Centipede Press Personally, sometimes I think I am charging too much money. Sometimes the issue is that by the time a book finally comes out, I’ve been staring at it and dealing with it for a long period, sometimes years. Certain titles can make me nauseous just thinking of them. Dune is one of them. I still have not even seen the movie. I was just so turned off by the time I was done with Dune . So maybe it is just the overall tiredness that I have when a book is done that makes me devalue it. That being said, on occasion I do get blowback on pricing if a price is too high. Q: You recently released your first book printed entirely letterpress. You chose Children of the Kingdom by T.E.D. Klein for your first project and Zimakov’s art was stunning. What made you want to take the plunge into letterpress at this moment in time and will we see more projects in the future in a similar vein? If so, will these be available in larger print runs? Children of the Kingdom was a test run for the larger project of At the Mountains of Madness which is still in the works and will be letterpress. The print run will probably still be pretty small. You don’t get much of a cost break, at least not that I have seen, on a larger print run. Letterpress printing is a difficult and expensive process. I don’t know how places like Arion and Suntup do it all the time. But my introduction into the fine press was letterpress books: Yolla Bolly, Rampant Lion, the guys that do Matrix, Foolscap Press and a couple of others. I always wanted to do those as I love the paper and the texture of the type. Children of the Kingdom by Centipede Press Q: If there was one word or phrase that came to people’s minds when they think of Centipede Press, what would you hope that it would be? Maybe just this: “good quality books at a range of prices, from reasonable to absurd, covering a wide range of topics in the genre, including novels, collections, anthologies, horror films, and art books.” Q: Well, I think that about sums it up! Are there any grail projects that have evaded you over the years? What are these titles and why have they proved to be difficult to nail down? Oh yeah. There are a ton. I just saw Suntup is doing The Magus by John Fowles. I wanted to do that one for years: the original 1960s edition and the revised in one boxed set. Maybe one day! Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. Lord of the Rings for sure! The Shining by Stephen King, but that one has by now seen some pretty fine editions (Subterranean Press and Folio Society both did handsome versions). I’d love to do some Kurt Vonnegut but keep getting turned down by his Estate. Q: What should we be looking forward to next from Centipede? Is there anything you can share about what you may be most excited about in 2023? At the Mountains of Madness should be done late this year. I’m not going to hold my breath though. Just thinking about it gives me the shakes and late 2024 is probably more reasonable. All the books are fun and exciting. That is why I acquired the rights to them. It’s just that, by the time I’m done with them, I’m kind of tired of them! Interior of Letterpress Printed Children of the Kingdom This interview was done in a series of communications back and forth and we want to thank Jerad for his commitment to the process and generosity of time. If you want to see more from Centipede Press you can check them out at https://www.centipedepress.com/ and sign up for their mailing list to get periodic updates. You can also follow the Centipede Fan Page on Facebook for more info. Photography by: Yegor Malinovskii at Art of Collectible Books (excluding photos of Children of the Kingdom) Interview by: Zach Harney a contributor to the Collectible Book Vault

Paul Suntup of Suntup Editions Suntup Editions is one of the biggest names in the small/fine press community and Paul has created an almost inconceivably well-oiled machine that typically releases three unique states of every monthly title with a level of detail and quality that are hard to believe considering the pace. He has one of the most loyal customer bases and regularly interacts with them through a series of livestreams that have become a standard monthly appointment for many collectors. Most importantly though, he is a lover of the craft and puts immense thought into every aspect of his books, guiding them from start to finish into beautiful pieces of art. He was generous enough to participate in our series and give us an in-depth look inside of Suntup Editions. Suntup Editions began in 2016, but I would imagine it was ruminating in your mind well before that. When did you begin formulating the idea for Suntup and how did you start making concrete steps to making it a reality? Were there any other important people or inspirations that helped you make the leap into full-time fine press printing? I wish there were a short answer to this question. I would say that the seed was planted several years before I started publishing. At that time, I was collecting books by one of my favorite poets, James Tate. I discovered that he’d had several titles published in fine editions, so the collector in me went hunting for them. One of the books I purchased was a fine press edition called Hints to Pilgrims . It was published in 1971 by Halty Ferguson, and is the signed numbered edition of 150 copies. The text is printed letterpress on a Fabriano laid paper. I remember opening it up and when I saw the printing and the paper, it really had a significant impact on me. I connected with it in ways I couldn’t fully understand. The Road by Cormac McCarthy - Lettered Edition As to when I began formulating the idea for publishing; around the end of 2015 I decided to rebind first edition copies of The Eyes of the Dragon , a novel by Stephen King. I was a member of an online forum for book collectors and King fans, namely TheDarkTower.org. I was really attracted to the idea of creating these custom binding designs. I remember going through some mental hurdles to get that project off the ground. I constantly second-guessed myself and talked myself out of it a few times. But ultimately, I went ahead and posted about my plans on the forum. People went nuts for it, and I sold all the copies I was having made. I never expected the sort of response I received, and I was completely overwhelmed and intimidated by it. I was enjoying the creative process and coming up with unique binding designs, but it was really while I was working on the second rebind, Firestarter , that I realized I wanted more control over the edition. What I mean is, I was rebinding a book that was previously published, therefore I had no control over the type design, the paper, or the printing process. I realized that to really do what I wanted with books, I had to become a publisher. By that time, I had expanded my collection of Tate books and my interest in fine press had evolved. I knew that I wanted to make books like that. Printed letterpress on beautiful paper with skillfully designed typography. Once I made the decision, not much happened for months. I remember being frustrated, not knowing how to start or what to do. Then one day I was having lunch with the artist David Palladini who I had been working with on that first rebound book, and I came up with the idea of publishing an art portfolio of his illustrations from the King novel. I won’t get into the details, but my first publication was that art portfolio. I spent a year working on it and I learned a lot throughout the process. The Collector by John Fowles - Lettered Edition By this time, I was pretty much broke. I had put what money I had into the portfolio, and although it sold a fair number of copies, I was left with a bunch that didn’t sell, and I really needed it to sell out. This was early 2017, and it was around that time when I got the idea to publish an edition of a Stephen King novel. You asked whether there were other people who helped me make the leap into publishing. Before I started, I had reached out with some questions to two other publishers who were generous with their time, and I am grateful to them. That was David Pascoe and Paul Miller. My first letterpress printer, Norman Clayton was very patient with me, and I am grateful for his time and expertise. Also, I must acknowledge Jerome Smith who owns and runs TheDarkTower.org. That space played a big part in not only helping with the launch of the press, but when I originally found it, I wasn’t in the best place in my life and the community really helped carry me through those times. Although I can’t list the names, I am very grateful to the members of that forum who supported the rebound projects in those pre-publishing days, and continued to do so with the art portfolio, and beyond. I will always be grateful to them. And of course, my tireless comrades who were there from the outset, Rebecca Dornsife and Jason Sechrest. Also, I am grateful to Jerry Kelly who really guided me in those early days, and I learned a lot from him and Bradley Hutchinson who printed my first book which kicked things off. Finally, my friend Alec Smith who was my guardian angel. You grew up in South Africa and had various jobs including opening a comic book store. After these early years, you moved to the United States and had a hard time finding passion and purpose in your work. What was it that helped push you through this period to find inspiration again? Was it the dream of Suntup specifically that gave you the drive to overcome this or simply the natural evolution of your growth and finding what you were actually passionate about? It’s the latter for sure. Suntup was the product of 20+ years of failing forward, making mistakes and learning lessons. I can’t say what pushed me through those years to eventually arrive here, other than the constant desire to reach for the stars. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson - Interior of Numbered Edition You’re right that I spent a lot of years trying to find something which inspired me and that I truly enjoyed doing. After selling the comic store, and moving to California, nothing ever came close to the experience I had running the store. I worked at a company as an employee for 11 years, tried several business opportunities during and after that, then started and ran a fairly successful web design and development business which ultimately went out of business. Each time I thought I’d found what I was looking for, but that was never the case. Each of those experiences were steps along the way, leading me to where I am now, and I learned a lot of great lessons from all of those experiences. I discovered this quote from Nietzsche which goes like this, “You must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame; how could you rise anew if you have not first become ashes.” The last part of that quote really gets me because it’s my story. I won’t go into the details, but Suntup was born out of the ashes, and it found me and saved me, and I could not have done any of it without first going through that process. In the past, you have referenced Suntup Editions being rooted in the fine press movement, started by William Morris and his imprint Kelmscott Press, and how you were seeking to recapture the handmade craftsmanship of early printed books. What do you think it is that draws followers of the modern fine press movement to try and recapture this lost art in our tech-driven day and age? Going back to when I first experienced that Tate book, I felt a deep connection to the way it was made. The letterpress printing, the typography, the paper and binding. Years later when I decided to become a publisher, there was no question as to the type of books I wanted to make. I knew that I wanted to print the books letterpress on beautiful paper and make sure they were expertly designed. I read as much as I could about fine press, and the history of the movement. That reading continues to this day. Everything I learned resonated with me. The philosophies and principles spoke to me, and I connected not only with the physical attributes of a fine edition, but also with the motivations which were driving the early pioneers. War of the World by H.G. Wells - Lettered Edition I’ve ruminated for years on what it is that draws us toward books, and in particular, fine press. You look at Morris and others like Emery Walker and Cobden-Sanderson (and many more in the history of fine bookmaking too numerous to mention). Morris wanted to bring back the beauty found in medieval manuscripts and early printed books. That’s where he operated out of. He was totally dissatisfied with the abundance of poorly made, mass-produced books of the time, so he devoted the rest of his life to recapturing the beauty of well-made books. He focused on the details such as typeface and typographic design, as well as eliminating cheap ink and poor-quality paper. No matter where you stand regarding the Kelmscott style, Morris ushered in a book design renaissance, and created some of the most beautiful books in the history of fine bookmaking. William S. Peterson, one of the greatest authorities of the Kelmscott Press writes that lending order to the printed page is, for Morris, ultimately one way of lending meaning to human existence. I feel this concept plays a large part in why we are drawn to these books. They speak to an ancient part of us that longs for a simpler, purer time in our history when the art and craft of the book mattered. It’s easy to feel that you are drowning in technology today, with all of the rapid advances that have taken place over the past 25 years, and which continue to march on at incredible speed. The way I see it, these books ground us. They are so utterly real and true and honest. We look at them, experience them and we feel safe and nurtured and we lose ourselves in the paper and the printing, and the stories. It makes me think of a line from the Neruda poem; “I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.” Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy - Interior of Lettered Edition One of the things I’ve been most impressed by is the typographic detail and interior design of books like Blood Meridian numbered (my first Suntup), especially when housed in such a gorgeous binding. Your first traditional published release was a beautifully executed version of Misery by Stephen King, and you were even able to obtain the elusive Stephen King signature as the cherry on top. Could you tell us a little bit more about the process that was involved to secure this? How did the final product resonate with your earliest visions of the piece and why did you choose this work specifically? I had to silence the negative voices in my head telling me that this would never happen. That it’s an impossible dream. Why would Stephen King, one of the most famous and legendary authors in the world, allow a nobody like me to publish an edition of his novel when I had never published a book in my life? And also agree to sign it. What a preposterous idea. But it’s the pursuit of your preposterous ideas which aid in moving you closer to your dreams. I spent months talking myself out of it. Coming up with all the reasons it would never happen. But one day, something changed in my state of being which I cannot explain, but I know that it had to do with the last part of that Nietzsche quote. Once I made the decision, nothing would stop me. I put everything I had into it and took massive action. I worked on myself as well because for some time I had been in a bad place physically and mentally. I remember running on the treadmill a lot and I would recite a series of affirmations every day, throughout the day. “I approve of myself”, “I love and accept myself exactly as I am”, “I let go of the past and I am free”, things like that. I considered myself a total failure, and had for years. When I’d say those affirmations, it felt like I was lying to myself. But that’s how it goes. You keep saying it until you believe it, and that changes your state which aids in your transformation. Misery by Stephen King - Lettered Edition I also burned the ships financially and there was no escape plan. I depleted my checking and savings accounts, maxed out credit cards, took out several high-interest loans, and withdrew all the money I had in my retirement account. I even had to sell some books and comics from my collection so that I could buy the plane ticket to get to some meetings related to the project and have spending money for necessities. But none of this mattered because I had a big dream, and for the first time in my life, I was going to follow it despite the obstacles. Then on December 12, 2017, I received the call letting me know that the deal was approved. If I wasn’t already sitting down, I might have dropped to the ground. You asked why that title? I have a vague memory of running a poll asking which book people would like to see published as a limited edition, but it’s also the title that came to me when I was considering it. And yes, I was very pleased with the end result of the published editions. Misery Lettered Interior That’s an incredible story of perseverance and grit, now seeing all that you have produced since, I think the Suntup community is very happy you followed through! You are also personally a Stephen King collector and his books have meant a lot to you throughout your life. What are your top three Stephen King works and your most prized piece in your collection? I don’t really collect Stephen King books anymore or do much collecting in general. I have a collection of books about books, and in particular fine press, and I enjoy those a lot. But yes, his books played a key role in my life. Heck, Misery changed my life. I mean, Changed. My. Life. This affinity with the author began in 1987 and came full circle in 2018 when I published Misery . My top three? It’s hard to choose, but what comes to mind right now are 11/22/63 , The Dead Zone and Roadwork . Can I choose another three on par with those? I was really taken by Blaze , and of course The Eyes of the Dragon & Misery . I enjoyed The Dark Tower novels immensely. Most prized pieces, I’d say my matching set of The Dark Tower novels. I couldn’t agree more, I am a huge Dark Tower fan as well. Your title selection is fairly hard to predict as you regularly rotate between science fiction, horror, classic fiction and contemporary works. Other than the simple logistics of acquiring rights and the schedules of your collaborators, are there any other factors that govern the cadence of different genres and titles? A lot of the titles we have published were chosen by our customers through the surveys. Some I selected myself because I loved the books, and others seemed like an obvious choice due to popularity or place in popular culture or literature. What I publish does not always fit into a specific genre or family of genres. I’m not pigeonholed into anything specific, but I suppose because of my roots, there is a pull toward horror, science fiction and fantasy. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl - Roman Numeral Edition There are few imprints out there that can claim as relentless of a release pace, while still keeping quality very high (especially when factoring in the work that goes into a typical lettered or numbered edition). Considering the fact that with monthly releases you will have easily more than twenty projects in the works at any given time, how do you keep everything separated and track progress for all releases simultaneously? What does your team look like behind the scenes that keeps this machine running smoothly? Well, this is where the path has taken me. At first, it was 2-4 titles a year, but when the market evolved and grew, and we started to experience great demand for our editions, I felt that I had to rise to the occasion. It’s an immense amount of work. I work 7 days a week. I do take time off some weekends to visit my family. There are publishers out there in this space who put out more titles than we do in a year, but the fact that we have up to three editions per title, all with different production elements, different binding designs, and all made with the principles of fine press in mind, this makes it that much more complex. Especially with the attention we put toward the “art of the book.” At first, I was only really interested in Numbered- and Lettered-type editions. Limited runs which would allow me to use mold made or handmade paper, letterpress printing, etc. But we began to get many requests for a lower-priced option, so we got into the AE/Classic book. Although most of these are not printed letterpress, the key elements that were important to Morris are present. Careful selection of type and typographic design, print quality, premium papers, etc. The Godfather by Mario Puzo - Title Page of Lettered Edition Something that helped is that I put systems in place soon after getting started. If you’re a small team or even a one-person show, you have to get creative when it comes to leverage. You can’t just hire someone for every operational aspect of running the business. That will eat up your profits. And no matter what, you’re going to wear many hats and work really long hours. As to the team, it’s still pretty small. It’s basically three of us who keep the wheels turning on a day-to-day basis. There is myself, and I wear many hats; Jason who does many things but mostly production management, and Rebecca who also does many things but mostly heads up the whole art space, managing artists, general art direction, etc. There’s also an extended team who are more part-time and whose contribution is no less valuable. Simon Mason, software engineer par excellence and Tim Harding, researcher extraordinaire and editor on some books. I have an assistant (my great-niece) who comes in 3 days a week to help me with the administrative burden. You would be surprised at the mountain of paperwork that flows through here. And although I’m hands-on when it comes to fulfillment, I do have some folks who assist with that. I imagined the team was much bigger than that, it’s unbelievable the output you have with such a small team. Some of the smaller fine presses use the same bookbinders and printers for almost every release they come out with, but you have so many projects in the works that you are forced to collaborate with a lot of different shops simultaneously and work alongside different binders and printers. How do you decide what titles and designs are best fits for particular collaborators? How does this compare to your process for selecting artists? You’re right, we really have to spread the workload. We have multiple bookbinders, printers and designers working on our books at any given time. Right now, there are seven letterpress printers who are involved with printing books for us, some with multiple titles. Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Numbered Edition Aside from the logistics and practicalities of making these books, what I really like about collaborating with multiple artisans is that I get to spotlight and support these talented craftspeople who work tirelessly in the book arts and keep the craft alive. They have my respect and support. When it comes to bookbinders, for the Artist/Classic editions, it has been a challenge finding machine binders for these larger print-run editions in the USA who meet my standard of quality, but thankfully we have our binders now through trial and error, and they have been working out well. When it comes to the handbound volumes and looking for a binder for a specific title, I will look at their past work and in particular their style and capabilities. From that, I can make the determination if they are a good fit for the aesthetic and/or structure we’re going for. As for artists, it’s a little more complex than you would think but fortunately there is so much great talent out there. We look at the artist’s portfolio and consider their style, etc. A common refrain I have heard among Suntup followers is that they have actually discovered many of their favorite new works through your releases. Now that you have a more established following do you feel more confident releasing titles that may not have that initial author or title buzz, but you know are quality works that should have broader exposure? How do you decide what these titles will be and how often to release them? I’ve never let the level of buzz or popularity be the only factor in determining whether I publish a book or not. In the early years, I didn’t think twice about publishing something like The World Doesn’t End by Charles Simic, knowing full well that it was so far outside the tastes of our target audience. But things are a little different now, and I have to be more selective. The market has changed from the blockbuster years of 2020 and 2021. That doesn’t mean I won’t continue to push the envelope and announce a title which no one would have expected. There’s one that comes to mind at the moment, which I feel is an important story and it screams out for a fine edition. So, I’m doing it, even with the risk of it not being fully embraced. I’m actually excited about this one because it allows me total freedom in terms of paper, printing process, method of illustration, etc., given that it’s a very short work. Imajica by Clive Barker - Interior of Numbered Edition In addition, during your monthly video updates, you will often say that a particular title “deserves” or “doesn’t call for” a fine press or letterpress treatment. In your mind, what factors play into this decision? Is it size, content, genre, prestige or other factors that determine the quality of materials and printing process? That’s a good question, and a complex one given the way it’s worded because it begs the question, what is fine press? This topic is open for much debate, and something I feel I should get out of the way before I can answer the question more directly. I don’t believe that I ever said a title doesn’t call for the “fine press” treatment. But yes, I would have said some editions don’t call for letterpress printing. I can understand how these two terms can fuse to become one concept, but in the context of your question, we should separate “letterpress treatment” from “fine press”. Depending on who you ask, you would likely get multiple definitions for fine press ranging from the very broad to the very specific. At a basic level, the way I see it is that I cannot write off an edition as not being a “fine press” book simply because it is not printed letterpress. If we go back to the source; William Morris, and in particular Emery Walker who found in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century printing an answer to the question which had been weighing on Morris for years. What was wrong with the books of their time? He decided that the failure was in improper margin proportions, in excessive space between lines and words, in poor type design, and in the use of cheap ink and poor-quality paper. It was primarily about the typography and the arrangement of type on the page, and of course the paper and ink. It was not about the printing process. Sure, the print technology of the day was letterpress, but our dominant print technology today is offset lithography or digital, to which one can apply the same core principles of type design. Replay by Ken Grimwood - Lettered Edition If the only qualifier for a fine press book is whether it’s printed letterpress or not, then that would completely negate the importance which Morris and others placed on those elements which played a crucial role in producing a book which had what he referred to as “a definite claim to beauty.” He went so far as to say that a “machine-made book could be a work of art if the type was rightly designed, and due attention given to its arrangement on the page.” My point is that there is more to a fine press book than the printing process alone. In our case, we go to great lengths and great expense to make sure we’re hitting the important aspects of what the founders of the movement considered to be fundamental principles of good book design. This is evidenced by the caliber of fine press designers who work on our editions. We care about the reading experience, we print only on premium papers, we use the finest bookbinding materials, and when it comes to offset, we use fine art and museum printers. The concept of fine press can be very personal to those who appreciate the craft of fine bookmaking, and it can mean different things to different people. I could spend more time peeling away the layers because there is more to be said on this topic, but ultimately, I feel that we have to acknowledge that it is possible to make beautiful books by other, more recent technologies. Having said this, there is no denying the great beauty in fine letterpress printing on handmade or mold made papers. That is what spoke to me when I discovered the Tate book, and those were the books I wanted to make, and I do feel that it elevates the experience. But I do not see it as the last and only word on a fine edition. The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells - Interior of Lettered Edition So, what I’m saying is that all of our books are given the fine press treatment, but not all are printed letterpress. It’s the spirit of fine press, the core principles and philosophies that guide our editions, no matter the printing process. To answer your question as to why some books are printed letterpress and others not, it comes down to several factors, some of which you mentioned. Page count is one reason. For better or worse, we publish a fair number of lengthy novels. These are very challenging. On the one hand, I’d love to print them all letterpress, but on the other, it would become far too costly and burdensome. Therefore, page count is definitely a factor, and a good reason to print offset. Another consideration is the fact that we currently announce twelve titles a year, mostly in three editions each. To print all of those letterpress is not feasible. I mentioned earlier that we are currently working with no less than seven letterpress printers who are all printing books for us. We publish a lot of letterpress editions, but we cannot publish 36 letterpress editions a year. Price is another factor. Our letterpress printed books cost more to produce, and I would not want to bombard our customers with higher-priced editions every month. And of course, the title can play a part too, as well as the workload of our printers at any given time. Rights structures have become a contentious issue among the community of fine press collectors. There are so many different rights systems and there seems to be increasingly complicated nuances introduced with each new press. How did you decide on your own system and have you felt like it has functioned to produce the outcomes you set out to achieve initially when developing it? It's really not as considered as you might think. In fact, I did not set out to achieve anything with the rights system. I didn’t even know what a “rights system” was! All I was interested in was making books. The rights system was born out of requests from customers who wanted to be guaranteed matching numbers. So, I gave previous owners an opportunity to purchase the next book, and it evolved from there, and we adapted to it. The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe - Interior The rights system went mostly unnoticed until our books started to sell out almost instantly. In the early days, we struggled to sell out of some Numbered editions. But all of a sudden, demand became far greater than supply. There was no way I could have predicted the demand that hit us like a tidal wave in 2020, and which continued throughout most of 2021. I could not increase print runs on a dime because we work on these books years in advance. So, we managed it as best we could, and took certain steps like imposing order limits, and even going back on some titles which were still at a 250 limitation, and re-negotiating to increase those to 350 if it wasn’t too late. The market has cooled now, and if someone wants a Numbered book, it’s generally quite easy to buy one. Lettered, less so because there are so few of them. Ultimately, regardless of whether there is a subscription system, or a rights system, or something else, when you are dealing with highly limited editions with a high level of desirability, the demand will always exceed supply. When that happens, people will miss out, and it becomes impossible to make everyone happy. Different press owners seem to have varying levels of engagement with their followers. You are certainly on the more engaged end of the spectrum and have even created a space once a month when you stream live with Suntup collectors. Why is this type of connection and level of transparency important to you? Was this something you always wanted to do or a decision made in honor of those who have faithfully purchased your books? I’m not sure actually. At the beginning, I don’t believe it was something I wanted to do, or was even part of the plan. It just happened this way and evolved. If you would have told me 7 years ago that I would be doing live broadcasts, I would say you’re crazy. The years leading up to Suntup Editions were very solitary for me. I was very reserved and introverted (still am but perhaps not as much) and would never dream of broadcasting on video. Now it has become a tradition, and I really like connecting with the community in that way. Working on these books, there are frustrations that I deal with almost daily. It goes with the territory though. So, I look forward to the broadcasts because it allows me to take a step back, and remind myself why I am doing this. Replay by Ken Grimwood - Roman Numeral Edition It’s not only for the love of the game, the love of making fine editions; it’s really about the people. I like to connect with the community. From the kids who would come into the comic store in the early 90s, to the community of Suntup fans today, they are my kind of people. You know what I mean? I know them because I am them. We are book lovers. We obsess over which way to place the slipcase on the shelf, or which order they should appear. We share pictures of our bookshelves, and we are rattled by imperfections; we love to read and collect books. My people. And when I see the pleasure these editions bring to them, well that is the overarching reason for doing this. I know I really appreciate the update streams and it seems like many other people do as well! Putting aside right acquisition and logistical issues, are there any authors or titles that would be dream releases for you and the team at Suntup Editions and what are the pieces of literature that have made the biggest impact on your life? Well, it’s no secret that I want to publish an edition of The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I still believe that someday I will. But my vision for it would make it a very costly production. Years ago, I had a few sample pages designed and printed letterpress on handmade paper and it’s really something. Aside from that, there are no specific titles or authors I can think of right now. There are just so many books that I want to publish. As for literature which had a big impact on my life, it’s hard to say. I mean, poetry had the biggest impact on me. I think when others were reading literature, I was being carried away by poetry. When it comes to literature though, I like to be entertained and I don’t want to have to think too much. But I also like to be astonished by the work and the use of language. Cormac McCarthy comes to mind. He can write a few short lines which take your breath away. Then you read them over again, and each time they hit you even harder. The Exorcist William Peter Blatty - Roman Numeral Edition Q: In the past you have hidden puzzles within your productions that you leave for astute and observant collectors to find, attaching valuable prizes to the first person who teases out the solution. What made you want to add this element into your productions and are there any currently going on that have not been discovered yet? I’m not sure how or why this sort of thing started. I’m personally not much into puzzles and brainteasers, mostly because I’m completely useless with things like that. But there are some amazingly astute people out there who figure things out. Maybe it started with the first five books where I had the idea to spell out my father’s name in each of them, one letter at a time. It's also fun, and I tend to like doing things for our customers which are fun. I think what’s at the heart of it is the desire to create positive distractions from the harsh realities of life. Anything I can do to create some excitement in someone’s day is something that matters to me. It’s things like this which can lift you up and put you in a positive state, because for me one of the most important things we can do in our lives is to lift people up, as opposed to bringing them down. And you see a lot of that (the bringing down part), especially on social media. There is no currency in that, and it reflects poorly on the person dishing it out, let alone the harm it could do to those on the receiving end. In the first few years, I did these teaser videos to create excitement. It wasn’t really about selling books, but rather more about creating an atmosphere which would assist in taking you away from something that might be weighing on you, and bringing you around to a difference place. As we became busier and the production schedule increased, I found that I had less time to make these videos; or even to create new “puzzles”. I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past few months, and I’ve wanted to do something new, but I struggle to find time for it. So, to answer that part of your question, no there is nothing out there currently which has not been discovered. Animal Farm by George Orwell - Artist Edition If there was one word or phrase that came to people’s minds when they think of Suntup Editions, what would you hope that it would be? Happiness. That’s wonderful. A few months back you announced a very exciting collaboration with Neil Gaiman on American Gods . There are also some other titles that have been discussed like The Hellbound Heart , but is there anything coming further out on the horizon that you would like to share? Well, for better or worse, you know our model. We never reveal titles either by email, phone or interview. Well, I say never, but that isn’t quite right, is it? I let out that we’ll be doing The Hellbound Heart on one of the broadcasts, and I even slipped about Poe. But in appreciation for you taking the time to ask me these questions, and for those of you who have labored through it all…I will reveal a title that is in the pipeline. We are working on The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle with art by Tom Kidd. It’s a letterpress edition and incorporates some hand calligraphy with the text. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - Roman Numeral Version This interview was done in a series of communications back and forth and we want to thank Paul for his willingness to be a part of this series and his dedication to the process. If you want to stay up to date on what Paul is up to with Suntup Editions then you can follow them at https://suntup.press/ and sign up for their mailing list to get updates on production, future projects and information on artists and binders they work with. You can also follow them on Facebook to stay up with the monthly releases coming from this groundbreaking press. Interview by: Zach Harney a contributor to the Collectible Book Vault Photography by: Yegor Malinovskii

James Freemantle of St James Park Press James Freemantle is the mind behind the highly-respected St James Park Press, tucked into the heart of London. First and foremost, he is a letterpress printer, but he also has worked alongside some wonderful bookbinders and artists to bring his entire artistic vision to reality through his imprint. He is a unique kind of artisan that doesn't budge an inch from his vision and has been committed to the most traditional forms of printing and illustrations in all his productions. Digital printing and cylinder presses are generally foreign concepts to a St James Park Press production, as James hand presses and uses relief forms of printing for illustrations in all his works. The sense of pride he has in his work is well earned and he seems to somehow be continuously pushing himself further with each production. We truly appreciate the generosity of time and hope you enjoy this fascinating look into the genius mind behind St James Park Press. Q: When did the idea for St James Park Press first enter your mind and what were some of the pivotal moments and influences in your life that made you realize this could be your full-time occupation? Was there a particular project that confirmed that this was the right path for your life? King Arthur: Excalibur - Special Edition Bearing witness to individuals who were making books in the manner of the early private presses, from Kelmscott onwards, combined with a love and awe for those same presses, prompted a foray into letterpress printing. By incredible fortune, becoming acquainted to Ian Mortimer, a master of printing on the hand press, gave me my first opportunity to print on a Columbian and then Albion Press, under his watchful eye. Immersed into the small world of letterpress publishers provided invaluable osmotic counsel, and taking full advantage of a newly acquired Albion Press, every day thereafter became a self-learning experience. Having decided in 2014 to print and publish handmade illustrated letterpress editions, in 2021 the love of letterpress led to a decision for it to become a full-time enterprise. The early private presses had a tendency to name their imprint after closely connected locations: Kelmscott after Kelmscott Manor, Doves after the Doves Pub in Hammersmith, and Ashendene after the family’s estate in Ashendene. This trend continued and for that reason, my home near St James’s Park, London, became my imprint. Typographically, however, disliking a possessive apostrophe, this was shortened under the guise of emulating the same local Tube station name given in the first London Underground map famously designed by Harry Beck in 1933: St James Park. Interior of Hercules Going further back, books have been a constant in my life ever since childhood. I grew up surrounded by books because my mother was and still is a voracious reader. It was also the one type of purchase that had no boundaries as a young adult, as my mother would allow me to buy as many books as I wanted when out shopping, so our family home was always bulging with books and papers. My parents also exposed me to the arts generally, as we regularly visited museums, galleries and sights of interest here and abroad. All this, combined with a creative streak manifested in acting, film and literature during my further studies, would have factored into the passion I have for printing and publishing. The reality of being a printer-publisher financially, however, is that it is no substitute for a traditional occupation; so there is no moment and will likely never be a moment where I could realise that the St James Park Press could be my full-time occupation. It is solely the unbridled desire to do so, and a stubbornness not to accept that it is impossible, that sees me through. The generosity of those who subscribe to and support the Press is, like any small artistic enterprise, the only way it does work from year to year and although it is not immediately obvious, the sincere appreciation I have for those individuals and institutions is deeply felt. Q: I love what your mother did to encourage your love for books, I think that might just become a tradition with my two boys. Tell us a little bit about your background as an artist, did you apprentice under anyone or has it mostly been self-taught? Where does your current inspiration come from and are there areas outside of fine press publishing that inform the way you think about your artistic endeavor with St James Park Press? My sister is really the artist in the family and is a very talented painter. I actually commissioned her for a painting used as a repeat pattern design for one aspect of my Nineteen Eighty-Four edition. Interestingly, although I have no artistic ability in that regard, hence why I commission artists used in my editions, I have a sufficiently adequate eye for design and capable hand for the craft involved in letterpress printing. Robin Mackenzie Linocut Illustration from 1984 My introduction into letterpress printing and printing on an iron hand-press was, as mentioned earlier, the one-to-one time spent with Ian Mortimer, the only man alive who was awarded an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) for printing, and founded his own imprint, I M Imprimit, in the 1960s. However, brief this period was, it was an invaluable grounding in how to print. Beyond this, my printing essentially falls into the category of self-taught, but this term does make light of the community of designers, printers, artists, papermakers, binders, type-casters and book collectors who all in their own way have an effect. The inspiration behind all my projects is nothing more complicated than a sudden moment of realization, based on that which has taken my greatest interest at any time in my life. This is the entire influence behind every title. Q: It is clear that you are an artist respected not only by your customers but also by your peers and fellow artisans. Though a large amount of your time is spent on your own projects, you do a fair bit of work for other fine presses and institutions as well on the printing side. You have had works purchased by institutions such as the Yale University Library, the National Library of Wales, Bodleian and many other bibliophilic institutions. Do these achievements feel any different than finding an audience with the general public or do they each hold their own type of charm and fulfillment? Printing for institutions or other bodies, which to a greater extent forms the largest output of my ephemeral printing, is a great treat as I feel no particular desire to print such items otherwise, my primary focus being on publishing works in book form. Printing books for others adds another layer to this, as it allows me to either print editions which I would not necessarily wish to publish under my own imprint but would like to see in print anyway under my own influence or hand, or it simply pushes the range of styles of printing that I may not otherwise plan to do under my own imprint. In one sense, this all highlights the care I take in curating my own list of St James Park Press titles, but also how keen I am to explore beyond this nonetheless. 1984 - First Look at Binding My Press is very much an embodiment of me, with my hand on every aspect of the production. Having my works purchased by anyone is therefore greatly rewarding on a personal level, and the positive feedback I receive is even more so, as it represents at its most basic level an indication for me of my own value. This is especially so as I am fully aware that subscribing to the books I publish is an expensive luxury for those who do. Having my works purchased by institutions holds a different type of reward, as it secures a legacy and permanency which is a great part of my own vision for the Press and if one takes the analysis above to a deeper level, this provides for me a life beyond the grave. I gain exceptional pleasure knowing that to date, every title under my imprint has been purchased by one or more institutions around the world. Both, therefore, provide a sense of fulfilment but for different reasons. Q: At this point, you have created multiple personal projects under your imprint and also regularly collaborate and take commissions for other work. I’m sure you are proud of everything you have done, but were there any that were particularly rewarding or ones that you are especially proud of? If someone was completely new to St James Park, where would you recommend they start with your work? I would not necessarily claim to be proud of everything I have done. Like any artist, I suppose, I am deeply critical of my own work and see the failings in everything I do. I console myself in the knowledge or hope that those who subscribe will not see that which I consider a flaw or concession and for the most part, they don’t, because there is a great disparity between what the producer hopes to produce and what the recipient considers appealing. Nevertheless, I have a general guiding principle when working, which is that if I am ultimately content with any particular printing, that is when I am happy for it to be considered done. If I look at something I print and have an inkling that it is not right, then I know at that point I have to do something different. To that extent, I am proud of what I have done. This way of thinking may all stem from a sense of British modesty, so the best anyone may hear from me to indicate all this would be a low-level muttering as I hold up a freshly printed sheet, of: “That looks quite nice actually. Yes, I like that.”. It seems impracticable to recommend where anyone new to my press should start out, as this implies an ease in sourcing the same from an abundance of availability, where the opposite is true. I suppose the simplest answer to this, however, would be the latest title still available and I say this because every book is a learning experience for different reasons, so to some extent every edition relies on what came before it. An Albion in the Antarctic - Interior Q: It is common, if not nearly a requirement by definition, for a fine press to engage in letterpress printing at some level. However, letterpress printing takes different forms and can be done on something less manual like a cylinder press, or can be done on a traditional hand press. Based on your own methodology, it is clear that you have a preference for the more manual forms of letterpress printing. Since this clearly takes much longer and creates an imposed limit on the magnitude of work that can be produced, why is it important to you to stay true to this method and do you ever see yourself using a cylinder press for future releases? The definition of a private or fine press has been long debated and numerous writers have dissected it, albeit without resolution, so although I have my own thoughts on this, that is for another time. What I do find interesting within this debate, however, is that whereas private press collectors are keen on letterpress (and rightly so), the means by which that letterpress was achieved is of less concern. Although it sounds critical to say, it is by no means so as I am no different in this regard than any other, but there is a vast difference within the method of letterpress printing between printing on a hand press or printing on a cylinder press, or printing from metal type and wood engravings to printing with digital plates and from line blocks (although this does not mean any of it is simple); but when one holds a letterpress printed book in one’s hand, beyond the fact that letterpress was used, the holder finds little reason to concern himself or herself with such questions. As I say, for the most part, I am no different in this regard, as I equally wish to simply find an edition appealing, so what does it matter whether it was printed on a hand press from handset foundry type? I think that for subscribers the term “letterpress” is really just an embodiment of that third dimension of being truly handmade. Albion Press made in 1861 - Printing October Country for 1984 This then brings it full circle to the reality, which is that however a book is made, the primary draw is how a book makes you feel and to what extent it appeals to the head and the heart. In that regard, the importance to stay true to hand-press printing is lessened, meaning the importance is to my own personal interest. Of greater importance is producing the best edition possible, which means I am not averse in any way to printing on other presses and by any means necessary. Although, it should go without saying that letterpress generally is at the heart of everything I do. The interest in printing on a hand press really stems from two things. The first is that it is without a doubt the symbol of the fine press and embodies private press printing, so it gives me a greater feeling of connection with that historicity. A cylinder press, by contrast, is far more akin to a commercial publisher. The second is from my own innate thinking, which is best summed up in another experience from my life. I learned some years ago to scuba dive. Now a lot of people choose to do so when travelling abroad to a warm climate with crystal clear waters in a wet suit. I, on the other hand, chose to learn in the middle of winter, in the rain, in a dank stagnant pool of water with no visibility, in a dry suit, in England. My reasoning was that if I was capable of scuba diving in that environment in that way, then anywhere else would be effortless. The same seemed true to me for printing on a hand press. Q: The level of thought, skill and quality of materials are consistent across all of your releases, however, the content meanders through many different time periods and genres. You’ve published books on Greek and British myths, a report on a municipal art college, the story behind the production of Aurora Australis and are currently working on 1984 and Animal Farm by Orwell. When you start planning on your next title and design, how does an idea usually start to formulate? Do you find yourself thinking more about the design elements or the content itself? King Arthur: Excalibur - Special Edition Interior The content is of course the very first element decided upon. As I said earlier, it has to have interested and appealed to me first and foremost. Whether I then pursue it is entirely dependent on the vision I have for its production. An interesting example for this is Moby Dick . It is a novel which I would be keen to publish, but as yet I have been unable to consider a means by which to do so which would surpass a number of editions which have come before. To me, there seems little point in producing an edition that has been done before if you do not consider your own will be more worthwhile than all others. The same conundrum confronted me when wishing to print Paradise Lost , but I believe I have overcome that now. Although my editions appear quite disparate, I believe at present they can be categorized into three: myths and legends, the art of the book, and classic literature. There is one essential ingredient beyond all others, aside from letterpress, and that is the inclusion of illustration within the edition. I cannot envisage printing without illustration and particularly illustration that is not digitally printed. Q: That commitment is certainly appreciated by those of us who own your work! Since your productions are focused heavily on the personal process and materials, I want to give you a chance to talk a little bit about the intricate detail that goes into every piece. Can you walk us through your shop, the letterpress setup, your favorite tools of the trade and the materials you are most commonly working with on any given day? My print room is a characterful converted brick barn, with soaring oak beams and plenty of space. St James Park Press Workshop There are now seven presses. Of my iron hand presses, there is a Super Royal Columbian Press made in 1854, capable of printing a sheet 22” x 28”, a Crown Broadside Albion Press made in 1861, which prints half that size, and my first Albion Press, a Half Sheet Post made in 1869, which again prints half the size of the 1861 Albion. Smaller still is a table-top Albion. All of these need hand-inking. For self-inking, I have a platen press, Crown Folio Arab, made in 1906, as well as a large more modern proofing press, made by Stephenson & Blake. There is also a Farley tabletop press for quick proofing. There is a substantial collection of metal and wood types, as well as borders and ornaments. The majority are foundry types, dating from the Victorian period to the present. Of course, beyond this, I have the usual paraphernalia one needs to print, from shooting sticks to precision aids. One of the hardest aspects of starting a printshop is in fact sourcing all of these items, without which it is almost impossible to print properly. As none of these things are being made anymore, one expends a great deal of their time at the outset finding them on the secondary market. There is nothing more I now need in this regard, although it’s hard to break the habit of running to buy another of the same thing, just in case something breaks or is somehow lost. Certainly, one of the greatest barriers to anyone being a letterpress printer is the quantity of printing equipment needed and where to find it. All of my editions are predominantly printed on hand presses, although for portions of each edition, I may utilize one of the other presses, for the sake of expediency or ease. Setting for Illustration from 1984 My print room really is a home away from home. This wasn’t always the case, as starting out I occupied much less inviting spaces. My first studio was actually an underground storage unit, which was less expensive than a conventional space, but lacked any conveniences save for round-the-clock access. The lack of a bathroom was a particular compromise, but so too was the cold. The room had a concrete floor, and the units were all separated by thin metal sheeting only. No one expected them to be used for anything but storage, although I had special permission to do so. Having secured the use of a power socket outside the unit, lighting was by way of clip-on bulbs on the metal grating above my head that acted as a ceiling. I remember printing my Albion in the Antarctic edition at the height of winter, and after every couple of prints, I would need to move across to a portable fan heater and warm up my hands before printing again, repeating this exercise throughout the day. None of this, however, dimmed by enthusiasm for the task and the whole affair held its own charm for me. Even when one has all the conveniences needed, printing is itself a learned skill, no matter what press one prints on, but even then, it isn’t straightforward. I have had many occasions where absolutely nothing will be printing as intended and there seems no logical solution. One ends up giving up for the day, returning the next to find that despite changing nothing it all appears to work perfectly. Printing is after all not really an exact science, as you are dealing with organic materials ranging from inks to paper to wood engravings, all of which can react differently on any given day. It is this challenge, though, that makes the craft even more appealing, and when one overcomes it, it becomes all the more rewarding. Hand-Painted End-Papers from the Special Edition of 1984 Some of the most fun, in fact, is inventing ways to produce a desired outcome that is not possible through any conventional route. The most recent example of this was during the production of Nineteen Eighty-Four , where I wanted part of one of the illustrations to maintain the embossed effect of the image, but without the requisite ink transferring to the page for that portion, and a very specific portion in a very specific way. The illustration was of a face, from a block that mimicked a newspaper print with its hundreds of dots to produce the tone (a half-tone image). I wanted to make it appear that part of the individual’s face where her eyes were, had been ripped out from across the newspaper page. Now with careful hand-inking, this would be straightforward if one were producing a single print, as you would simply ink around that portion. However, when one needs to produce a set of prints, all appearing at least roughly the same, this is simply not possible. It would also preclude the required appearance of ragged edges from a torn newspaper. The solution was a system of masking, where the image was inked in full, but the portion needed to be printed in emboss only was masked by a thin sliver of torn paper, used repeatedly, which prevented the ink from transferring on the printed sheet, but able to allow for the emboss of the image to transfer through. Even with this method, numerous problems could arise, so nothing is ever foolproof and you are at the mercy of the Gods to see you through to the end. The most interesting aspect of all this, though, is that the painstaking effort you go through to work on some small effect like this may well or is almost certain to go completely unnoticed by the reader, except perhaps through some unconscious appreciation, as the eye tends to see things that aren’t immediately communicated through the brain. Thinking on it, there is a great deal of work in Nineteen Eighty-Four that almost relies upon this sense of unconscious appreciation. So far as the materials I most commonly work with, funnily enough, part of the ethos of the press since inception is to try and use as many different materials as I can. So, for example, in my editions I have used: a range of types, from foundry, monotype, linotype and wood, from hand set to freshly cast, from Victorian to now; I have printed on papers ranging from mould-made to hand-made, antique to present day (I even printed on a handmade paper made in someone’s garden, which I had to shake the dirt off just to be able to use it); I have utilized printing presses from iron hand-presses to cylinder presses; I have printed from wood-engravings, woodcuts, linocuts, line blocks, three-dimensional objects. With the Beauty of Byrne specials, I currently have in mind to employ pop-up pages. Eventually, I will likely settle into something more standardized in the way I approach an edition, but right now my own personal interest is in exploration. 1984 - Interior Illustration Q: You just mentioned Nineteen Eighty-Four and it is clearly your most ambitious project to date, likely to become the definitive fine print version of this text for the foreseeable future. How involved were you with aspects of this production like the art and binding? I always find it amusing that I believe I am entirely relaxed about the way I commission artists for the illustrations in my editions, and for the most part, the artists themselves believe it at the outset. I seem to follow the same approach many times. To begin, I will provide the artist with a vague notion of what I am looking for, and usually end with some impression that whatever the artist decides will, I am sure, be as desired. The artist will return with an idea or sketch, and I will then proceed to explain in absolute detail what the illustration needs to look like, providing a detailed brief as to any character’s appearance, the mise-en-scene or focal elements. In that sense, I am quite Hitchcockian in my style of instruction. The artist will have been chosen because their style fits with the illustration I have in mind, so an artist is chosen to fulfil a stylistic requirement, rather than exert creative control. None of which diminishes the huge value each artist’s talent brings to an edition, because without them the vision I have for an illustration cannot be realized. I believe I am the bane of my binder’s life, as I tend to produce books that require something out of the ordinary. For On the Birmingham School of Art, 1940 , by example, I used engraved bamboo boards for the covers and in order to ensure there was a flush finish between the board and the leather spine, each edge had to be individually routed by hand, taking care not to snap the thin wood. For An Albion in the Antarctic as well as Nineteen Eighty-Four , I had individual pages which had fold-out edges, which meant the binder wasn’t able to simply put the whole edition into the guillotine to shave the edges as this would have cut the fold. My binder, Roger Grech – a wonderful talent – was particularly vocal about the nuisance of the latter edition, as I needed the individual posters on varying weights of handmade papers, to be sewn into the edition with a thin sliver of wraparound paper. None of this is straightforward, which for an edition binder is a particular bother. My edition of Beauty of Byrne takes all of this one step beyond, as the special edition has a complex mechanical engineering system for the covers to expand outwards. Prototype Binding for Beauty of Byrne So far as the design of the bindings are concerned, these are done entirely under my direction. Most often, I will simply brief a binder on the final design, and print the covers and provide the endpapers. The skill of the binder in these instances is putting into practice what I have briefed. Although I bound my edition of Hercules myself, the task of bookbinding is not something I have the inclination to engage with, as it is exceptionally time-consuming and requires as much skill as printing itself. I am therefore extremely grateful to have fantastic artists and binders who can make my publications even better. Q: What are some of your favorite publications from other peers and what fine presses do you look to for inspiration and to push you to continue getting better at your craft? Wishing to print editions unlike any other press makes it difficult to take specific inspiration, but the world of letterpress publishers is a small one and I am always rejuvenated when I visit another press. Indeed, it is a great pleasure being friends with so many in the fine press and book-collecting sphere (even those who print on cylinder presses!). If I were to pick two inspiring titles from recent years, they would be: Color Proof (Makoto Yamada, 2018) and Ornata (Evergreen Press, 2016), both fantastic for their own reasons. The printer and press I rate most highly would be Pat Randle at Nomad Letterpress (who despite my joshing, does primarily print on a Heidelberg cylinder press). The designer I rate most highly would be Mark Askam of the Chestnut Press. A special mention should also go to the paper merchant, John Purcell, of John Purcell Paper. I cannot imagine the fine press community without these good friends in it and I can well imagine a great number of other people would second that. Animal Farm - Linocut Illustrations I would also say that although Suntup Editions is quite a different publishing model to my own, I cannot think of another publisher who has by his mere existence done more for bringing the private presses and letterpress printing to wider attention, which in turn benefits all of us. So, kudos to him. Q: If there was one word or phrase that came to people’s minds when they think of St James Park Press, what would you hope that it would be? There is a well-known phrase, which is “the art of the book”. I would add to this, “the art and feel of the book”, as I want my books to be experienced as much as appreciated for their art or design. Q: What should we expect to see coming in the future from St James Park Press? You have announced that you are currently working on Animal Farm and The Beauty of Byrne , but are there any future projects you can share that may be coming further down the line beyond that? Forthcoming titles are announced quite soon after I make a final decision to pursue them, so there is no need to mention these. One title, however, that is in the far distance, as it will be a huge undertaking, is Milton’s Paradise Lost. As I mentioned earlier, I was always reticent to print this title, because of the wonderful editions printed before me. I even curated an exhibition and wrote an accompanying monograph on the private press editions of Paradise Lost . It has always been on my wish list, however, to print, since my Press was born. I now have a plan for how it will work where it won’t (hopefully) be overshadowed by others before it. Oh, and you may well see me with a cylinder press one of these days too. Hercules - First Release from St James Park Press This interview was done in a series of communications back and forth and we want to thank James for his generosity to be a part of this series and his thoughtful answers. If you want to keep up with the latest from St James Park Press then you can check them out at https://www.stjamesparkpress.com/ to see some of their past and current productions. You can also follow them on Facebook or Twitter to stay up with all of the incredible things coming from this press. Interview by: Zach Harney a contributor to the Collectible Book Vault Photography by: Yegor Malinovskii (King Arthur) and James Freemantle *Since there are often different spellings in American English and British English of the same words, we have chosen to adhere to the spelling of the person who is speaking rather than conform to one convention for the whole interview.

Jacek Tylkowski - Bookbinder Jacek Tylkowski has been running his family business, Introligatornia Tylkowski, for over 30 years just outside of Poznan, Poland. Many of you will recognize his bookbinding prowess from the number of Suntup Edition Lettered productions he has been tasked with including Blood Meridian, The Handmaid's Tale, The Silence of the Lambs, Hex, The Godfather, The Outsiders as well as the recently announced Legion and Amityville Horror. If Paul Suntup's high level of trust and confidence in him was not enough, it only takes a couple minutes browsing Jacek's work to see that he is a master artisan who has honed his craft and defined his style over the years. He has lived and breathed bookbinding for decades and we are honored to have him kick off our new Art of the Book series that will highlight the many contributors that make small and fine press books truly special. Q: You are part of a multi-generation bookbinding business started by your father in 1980. Tell us a little bit about how your father started as a bookbinder and how your transition into the business evolved. What kind of training did you go through? How have you continued what your father started and in what ways are you trying to expand on this legacy? Blood Meridian Lettered from Suntup Editions Well, it was definitely harder for my father, as he was born during World War II, and then practically all his life he had to work and live in a country behind the Iron Curtain. It was a different reality. He worked in an industrial bindery for almost 20 years. He worked hard and I usually only saw him on weekends. When the opportunity to start a bindery under his own name arose, he took advantage of it. It was 1980 and he started in a difficult period. Preparations for huge protests organized by the SOLIDARITY trade union were already underway in Poland. The whole next decade was very unstable, and when the processes of change started in earnest after the communists lost power, my father suddenly fell ill with cancer and died in 1991. From the very beginning, my mother also participated in the project, and after school, instead of going home, I often visited my parents. I did not plan a professional career as a bookbinder, nor did my father put any pressure on me, although I heard him say that he still hoped that one of his sons would become interested in this craft (my older brother chose a different profession). I found that I liked working with books very quickly, already as a teenager. So, I chose a high school with a bookbinding profile, and for three years I continued to grow my bookbinding skills in a reputable bookbindery in Poznan. I was 23 when my father died. Since 1991, I have been responsible for the Tylkowski Bindery and I try to do it as best as I can. For the next decade, I performed traditional bookbinding services, receiving mainly orders from state administration offices and law firms. Individual customers were in the minority. The transition from a centrally planned economy to free market rules brings certain turbulences, and the experience of running a small family business was never dull, but again difficult at times. Upper Left: In front of Jan Sobota's House in Loket - Upper Right: Atmospheric Streets in Loket, Czech Republic I survived these changes and managed to adapt to the changing economic rules in my country, amidst new emerging opportunities and threats, and then I made one of the best professional decisions in my life so far. Maintaining the family business was a priority for me and I worked hard at guaranteeing a future for it, although I had little job satisfaction and felt as if my skills were stagnating. I no longer had the same level of joy in my profession like I had at the beginning and more and more often I was looking for the right stimulus that would restore what I once had. This is how I ended up at Studio Sobota, in the charming small town of Loket, in the neighboring Czech Republic. For the next few years, I went to Jan Sobota (Czech master of artistic bookbinding) for training in techniques that were unknown to me. I have very emotional memories of those times. Jan quickly drew me into the fold of the Association of Czech Bookbinders, invited me to further training sessions with the equally famous Belgian bookbinder Edgard Claes and made me rediscover this craft. Q: What an amazing thing that you found a mentor and kindred spirit to push and encourage you on. Walk us through a typical day (if such a thing exists) at Tylkowski Introligatornia and what it looks like for you. Do you like to work on multiple projects in a given day or stay more focused on a specific project and how do you prioritize your time? What do you like to do outside of your craft? It happens that I tend to work on several projects simultaneously, but I definitely prefer to focus on one order and finish it. Bookbinding has its own specificity and haste is never recommended. There is also rarely monotony, because the work is diverse, but my satisfaction often depends on the results achieved. When unexpected problems arise, I try to find solutions, and this has an impact on whether I consider my day at work successful or whether I leave the studio disappointed. In my spare time, I usually deal with… bookbinding. It's a little crazy, I know, but there's nothing I can do about it. I have a lot of different industry publications that I constantly look at. Our dogs mobilize us (my wife and me) for daily, longer walks. We live in the vicinity of the National Park, so we are happy to use every opportunity to spend a moment in the forest. Contact with nature is beneficial for me and during such walks, I recharge my batteries. Q: If you decide to do more of your occupation with your free time, then it sounds like you probably picked the right profession! You have done some incredible rebinds over the last decade and have been recognized for a handful of them (one example would be Ubik by Phillip K. Dick), what are a couple of the individually commissioned rebinds you are most proud of and why? Rebind of Ubik by Philip K. Dick Yes, Ubik is definitely my best achievement from the bindings that I sent to various competitions. I am happy with every, even the smallest success, but I admit that there were not too many of them. However, this has never stopped me from participating in such events. It is always associated with a certain dose of positive emotions and it is always a fascinating adventure. In addition to Philip K. Dick's book, I would also highlight Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano and William Shakespeare's Hamlet . Of course, there were more of them, but I rate these three titles a little higher than the others. Why? I made them in the technique that Jan Sobota taught me and I often think that if it wasn't for him, everything would have turned out completely differently for me. Q: Suntup Editions has become a repeat collaborator of yours and I think I can be fairly confident saying you are one of their most respected binders to be given charge of so many lettered editions. How did you first get connected with Paul Suntup and how has that relationship evolved? What have been some of your favorite projects with them? Suntup Editions is another twist in my bookbinding career and another fascinating adventure. But I have to say that it was Paul's determination that made me bind books for his clients. Perhaps you will find it strange, but I still have in my archive the content of an email from him from 2018 with a proposal for cooperation. At the time I refused. My negative answer was mainly due to my fear of not being able to cope. I often say in my mind that if I don't try something, I won't know. Unfortunately, in that situation, the fears were greater than the desire to discover something new. Fortunately, Paul repeated the offer of cooperation two years later. This time I nipped my fears in the bud and decided to take up the challenge. I don't remember how long I worked on the project, but in the end, I was really happy with the result. All I had to do was pack and send the book to the other end of the world, and then wait for a comment. It was Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian . As you can guess, Paul appreciated my effort and execution, and the aftermath of that event is now this interview. My favorite projects for Suntup Editions? Definitely Blood Meridian , but it's easy to explain. It's the beginning of something new, a new adventure and everything that comes with it. And no matter how long it takes, the lasting mark will remain forever. Q: Well my favorite is Blood Meridian as well, but each new one has been exciting to see and I hope Paul uses you even more! As your career has grown and the breadth of your work expanded, how do you go about choosing your future projects? Are you having to be more selective with what you are taking on and how do you make these determinations? Cooperation with Suntup Editions has changed a lot in the implementation of other projects. Honestly, I had to make the difficult, but necessary, decision to stop taking orders from other customers. More precisely, to significantly reduce them. Bookbinding is generally a slow craft; individual production processes must take a certain amount of time and it is impossible to change these rules without compromising quality. It just has to go on. My production capacity remained at the same level as before. I still do most of the work myself. My personal books suffer the most, the pile of titles waiting to be bound is growing and for now, it does not seem that this will change soon. Lettered Suntup Editions: Silence of the Lambs, Amityville Horror, The Handmaids Tale, and Hex Q: When you decide to accept a particular commission for a fine press or individual project, what are your first steps as you try to wrap your head around a piece of work and capture it? Do you try and isolate yourself with the written work or is it a more collaborative project with other individuals involved in the project and accomplishing a combined vision? I'm looking for a golden mean. It's no secret that I like ascetic designs, but I'm always open to recommendations from clients. I pay attention to typography, illustrations (if the item is illustrated) and I look for summaries for titles I don't know. I do not always follow the principle that the design must be related to the content, although I know that this option has many supporters. I am also happy to use the help of graphic designers if my project idea requires it. Transferring the vision of the binding from the head to the computer screen or a sheet of paper helps a lot to decide whether the final effect will be in line with my expectations or whether I should look for other solutions. Q: You seem to be consistently pushing yourself to try new things, whether it be creating interesting forms of bradel binding, using heated pigment foils in interesting ways or other techniques that give a unique feel to each individual project. Where do you look for new ideas and what are some of the ways you strive to keep your work fresh and original without resorting to novelty for the sake of novelty? Commissioned Rebind - Niki by Tibor Dery Often it is a coincidence, testing different things I unexpectedly discover something completely new. The failure of the airbrush made me think about how to decorate the edge of the book in a different way, achieving a similar effect. Necessity is the mother of invention. That's how I discovered that the heated silicone roller and colored pigment foils bring interesting results. Currently, I also successfully use the technique to decorate/dye leather. I remember Jan's answer to the question I asked, where does he get his ideas for his bindings from? "Just look around,” he replied…and he was right. He always carried a notebook and a pen with him because he said that the best ideas came to him when he least expected it. He jotted down these thoughts quickly so as not to forget. Last year I made a binding design for the book NIKI by Tibor Dery, inspired by the entrance gate to the neighbor's property. Where did this idea come from, since the story is about the psychology of a dog, and its behavior towards a human? The story of NIKI is woven into the story of a young married couple in post-war, communist Hungary. I thought of the Iron Curtain and the hardships of everyday life associated with the societies that had to live in these conditions. The fascinating thing is that everyone sees it in their own way. Q: That is a wonderful perspective, that inspiration is literally right in front of our eyes at all times. Who are some of your peers in the industry that you have a high level of respect for and why? Do you draw inspiration from other areas outside of bookbinding, if so, how do you try to incorporate this into your designs? Roman Numeral Edition of The Exorcist by Suntup Editions There are many such people and I could go on forever. I am happy that they share their work in various places on the Internet, so that we can all see and admire their artistry. It's important to this craft and everything that touches books. My greatest fears are related to my concern that one day we may completely disappear as a professional group and there will be no successors willing to deal with this beautiful profession. In many countries, there are no schools educating new generations of bookbinders, which is why it is so important to promote this profession. And Paul Suntup has a hand in that as well. Note that it offers cooperation to people from different parts of the globe, thus supporting their current activities. As I mentioned, I find inspiration everywhere. Not just by looking at other people's work. Wanting to give my binding a certain look, I visit, for example, a DIY store. I find there are many interesting solutions, also useful in my industry. Observing the nature around us is a mine of ready-to-use ideas and countless colors and textures. I try to take full advantage. Q: If you could choose one piece of literature to create an original binding for, in collaboration with a fine press, what would that be? Why would that be of interest to you specifically? It's hard for me to answer this question unequivocally, but I think I would choose war literature. Books on war literature are often a very good description of the most difficult events and are a warning for the future, reminding what war is associated with. I closely follow what is happening in the neighboring country (Ukraine) and I cannot understand why people still do such things in the 21st century. Lettered Prototype of Silence of the Lambs by Suntup Editions Q: I hope that you get to do something in this genre at some point, I have no doubt it would be a moving and thoughtful design. What would you recommend to someone who wants to be a professional bookbinder themselves and what do you wish someone would have told you when you first started out? Where would you start and what would be the most essential techniques and tools that someone would need to begin? If I could turn back time, I would certainly continue my education at an art school. The death of my father forced me to re-prioritize, but yes, now in hindsight I would choose this direction. However, I can't complain, I took over a working family-owned craft bindery with a whole package of clients and already stocked with basic equipment. This is very important because beginnings are the hardest in any industry. I recommend my students be patient and make sure that they put quality first. We are human and we make mistakes, but it is important to learn from each failure and not dwell on it for long. Everything else is in our hands and head. Each binder should start by answering the question of which aesthetic fits them best. This choice will determine their needs and allow them to make sensible investments in the right tools from the beginning. Collection of Various Commissioned Rebinds Q: If you could describe your personal bookbinding aesthetic in a simple phrase, what would that be? “I like simple, minimalist designs and I believe that less is better. I focus on details that are often invisible in the foreground. I try to combine traditional craftsmanship with a contemporary approach to design.” This is a quote from my website description that best describes my aesthetic. Always up to date. The binding can also be a compromise of two different visions. Mine and the client's vision. Q: We know you are working on the Lettered editions of Hex and The Godfather right now for Suntup Editions, but is there anything else exciting on the horizon? Are there any personal or commissioned projects you can talk about in their earlier stages? You know the rules of this game and I would prefer it to be from Paul who will announce what title will be announced in the near future. Work on Hex has been completed and all copies will be sent to customers soon. The rest of the year promises to be a time of intensive work and it is no longer a secret which titles will be realized with my participation. The Outsiders , The Godfather , Legion and The Amityville Horror are all lined up, the former being on my table for a few weeks in production. I will be able to complete a few smaller orders this year, but I have to make sure that Suntup Editions customers receive their books in accordance with the announced schedule. Commissioned Rebind - Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky I will humbly accept everything that will happen to me in the future. Thank you very much Zach for this interview. This interview was done in a series of communications back and forth and we want to give our deepest thanks to Jacek for his willingness to start off this new series. If you want to keep up to date with what Jacek is currently working on you can check out his website or follow him on Instagram to stay on top of his latest binding work for Suntup and other individual customers. Interview by: Zach Harney a contributor to the Collectible Book Vault Photos by: Jacek Tylkowski

Marko Matijašević of Amaranthine Books This Croatia-based press was founded in 2015 by Marko Matijašević and began simply as a dream to take classic pieces of literature and give them new life with lavish illustrations and fresh designs. Starting with classics like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, and Frankenstein, Amaranthine is now expanding into uncharted new territory with more recent works like Catch-22 and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Marko exudes the kind of enthusiasm and genuine passion that wins you over immediately, you can't help but want him to succeed. Amaranthine recently added a new Heidelberg Press to their facility and an in-house marbler to give their productions even more consistency, efficiency, and proper letterpress treatment going forward. The process of interviewing him has been delightful and we are so excited for you to get to hear a little bit more about his vision for Amaranthine Books. Q: Amaranthine Books has been around for eight years now, but there was a time when it was nothing more than an aspiration. Can you describe what first inspired you to consider such an undertaking? Were there any moments that required a high level of perseverance? Who were the people in your life who pushed you to be where you are today? It all started some ten years ago when I was looking for some special editions of the books I loved. Frustrated by the fact that I couldn’t find everything I wanted, a thought crossed my mind—why don’t I make them? Mind you, at that time I had no experience making books. I was working at an advertising agency as a copywriter, so print ads and billboards were the closest thing to printed work that I had come in contact with at the time. But I knew two things: that I didn’t want to stay in advertising and that I loved books. This odd combination drove me over the years. Ironically, working in a creative department of an ad agency taught me a lot about graphic design, typography, paper, desktop publishing and more. All this knowledge was quite handy when I finally made up my mind and decided to officially start the company two years later. It was still merely a hobby then and it wasn’t until 2018 that I started to work in Amaranthine full time. For the first couple of years, I had to freelance as a copywriter to cover expenses, which led to a lot of stress and little to no sleep. So, over the years there were quite a few moments that required high levels of perseverance, as you put it so aptly. The "Clue Edition" of the Sherlock Collection When the Kickstarter campaign failed, when I took out a loan to make Jekyll & Hyde but I couldn’t sell a copy for months, when I was making Dracula in batches since I couldn’t fund the full print run at once… And those were just a few of many hard moments I had to push through. A couple of times I even thought about calling it quits. All the while everyone around me (in Croatia) thought it could never be more than a glorified hobby. Not that anyone actively discouraged me, they simply couldn’t see it. And I understand them completely, because more often than not, I couldn’t either. The dream was too big. Even to this day, when I run into some people who haven’t seen me in a long while, they ask me “So what do you actually do?” But once I explain that there actually is a whole community who love fine press books, then they kind of start to get it. I do have to say that I did have one email that meant a lot to me, because one of the greats liked my work. When Dracula was published, Jerad from Centipede sent me an email saying he loves what I’m doing with the press, that it’s gorgeous work, and that he just wanted to voice his support. That’s it, just a short email admiring my work. I was so happy! Someone who is considered one of the titans in this community actually knew about my work and liked it. It felt great and it certainly motivated me to keep working. Thanks, Jerad! Q: That's incredible, one of the most encouraging things that I've seen within the small/fine press community is their support for each other's endeavors. Tell us a little bit more about the name. In addition to just sounding nice phonetically, Amaranthine means, “unfading; everlasting; eternally beautiful.” Was there a particular instance where you saw this word and realized it was the perfect name for your press? How do you continue to try and live up to the meaning behind the name? Thanks! I have been in search of a name for six months since the moment I decided to start the press. I was plagued by the notion of working in advertising, which by its very nature is ephemeral, and I wanted to do something that would last. I suppose that’s the thing about books that attracted me in the first place; they are echoes of people (sometimes) long gone. So, by making these special editions, I could attempt to at least hide in the monumental shadow of these great writers and my name could live on even after I am gone. Then I realised that a collection of one’s books could tell a lot about the person even when they are no longer with us. Our personal libraries are like fingerprints, each unique and shining a light on our character. All of the books we collect during our lives can be passed on to those who come after us—and they should be—and in that way, we can reach many generations long after we are gone. Marko Matijašević Driven by all these thoughts, I began to research words and phrases, finally landing on Amaranthine. The logo came quickly after, because the letters “a” and “b” formed a kind of infinity sign which I deliberately chose to break, because nothing really lasts forever. But then again, we certainly wish that some things could. As you can probably tell, I have a thing with immortality and leaving a legacy. I suppose Amaranthine is an amalgamation of all these thoughts and ideas, so I try to funnel them through the books. Therefore, each project needs to challenge me, surpassing what I made before in some way, all in hopes that the end result will live up to the name Amaranthine. Q: What process did you go through when determining your first book? All of the books you have produced so far have been public domain titles, but you have announced future projects that require obtaining rights to be able to use them. How have you found the process of working with publishers and estates to be able to produce more recent titles? I liked Jekyll and Hyde as a story, which was probably the biggest inspiration for the Incredible Hulk , who is arguably one of my favourite comic book characters (see: Planet Hulk comic). It was also quite short, which was also a plus, since if I was about to make a book, I might as well start modestly. But the plan was always to do licensed work as well, it just took some time to get there. As for the process, we’re still getting there, but we’re starting to get a hang of things. It’s a long and often tedious process, which results in either ignored emails or ones containing a negative answer more often than I would like, but I suppose we’re still that new kid on the block. Q: There are very few presses that have jumped straight into licensed work, so you are in good company there. You are a fine press publisher based in Croatia, publishing books in English and serving a client base mainly located in North America and Western Europe, competing in a space with some of the best small/fine press publishers in the United States, Canada, U.K. and the rest of Europe. What were some of the unique challenges that you had to overcome in production, shipping, and finding your audience as you started this business? Well, shipping and audience were the big ones, I’d say. Costs of shipping to the USA are steep, especially if you are a new company with no track record. Even then, the courier companies frown upon not having a certain number of packages daily or monthly. Since we ship when the production is over, we basically have two or three big shipping lumps within a year, so they started to track us on a yearly basis. But then COVID happened and the shipping fees doubled and have not come down since. Despite all of this, we still provide free shipping, including insurance, no matter where it has to go. I’m always annoyed when I want to order something online and the shipping fee shocks me at the very last step, so I wanted none of that on our web shop. It keeps things transparent and clear. We did charge shipping at the very beginning, but it annoyed me to no end, so I eliminated it. The "Hyde Edition" of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Finding the audience was another big hurdle. The road to the first book sold was bumpy, including a failed Kickstarter campaign and a website that was revamped about half a dozen times. In the end, I made the website we have today myself, which is incidentally also my first website ever (and hopefully last). In 2017 I managed to save enough money to make 50 books: 30 Hyde Editions and 20 Jekyll Editions, all at a horrible rate because of the low volume. But make them I did and they were gorgeous. They also sold really well and really fast. Someone posted them on some collector’s forum and I was shipping them at a blazing speed during the night, then sleeping a few hours before going to my (literal) day job. I was very motivated by this and I took out a huge loan to make about 600 Hyde Editions and 300 Jekyll Editions in total. It took months to get them made and I was scared that the hype would die down. Once I placed them back in stock, there were a few sales before it all went to a standstill which lasted for months sometimes. Then there was a local competition here in Croatia which had a category for culture and they had financial awards. I applied with a concept for Dracula and didn’t make it to the top 10, but I shrugged it off because I didn’t really expect it could win. Then they called me about a month later and informed me that one applicant gave up and since I was 11th in the line, that pushed me to the finals. In the end Dracula won 3rd place. I was beside myself, because that money was just enough to get about 80 copies of Dracula made. I just wanted to get the ball rolling. Dracula was good, but it wasn’t enough, so I did online ads, sent hundreds of emails, everything I could think of and it slowly pulled us through. It was particularly stressful because my private life was in shambles due to my own illness at the time and my mother being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It was definitely a new low. Not sure how, but I pushed through, taking it day by day. Slowly, but steadily, the sales rose and we even got a few major resellers interested. The "Scholomance Edition" of Dracula By the end of 2019, I even had a first employee: Mia Pantić. Three years later, she is our production director, making sometimes impossible things happen. Production was also tough, but more because I was almost a nuisance for the big printers and binderies here. My volume order was low and it came with my perfectionism, which meant that I had to wait for gaps in their schedule where they might fit me. Over time, my appetite grew and about two years ago I realised that soon even the best printers and binderies in the region won’t be able to match it, so that’s why we started to slowly shift everything in-house. Q: I don’t think you have ever made a book that people would call boring, there are always tons of unique elements to every production. You have done things like adding glow-in-the-dark elements to illustrations and using ink that changes when heat is applied, as well as selling editions encased in a chess board or picture frame. As you think about the elements of a new project, do you try to determine where the line is between adding creative pieces that enhance the overall work or components that may detract from the work itself or is it just about having fun with it and doing what you enjoy with the design? It’s a bit hard to explain, so bear with me please. Essentially, I know what I have read so far and what I liked about it, but I’m also always on the lookout for interesting techniques, be it printing or otherwise. Then, when it’s all jumbled up in my head, I “forget” about it until my mind makes a connection and an idea springs into mind. By then, I know there is some deeper connection there, because I hate doing things “just because”. For Jekyll & Hyde , it was the play between black and white papers, which evolved into double-sided illustrations to represent the protagonist’s and the antagonist’s point of view; for Dracula it was the fact that he was sensitive to (sun)light and that it didn’t, in fact, kill him, which evolved into 50 crates of Scholomance edition filled with soil—the exact same number of crates he shipped to London, and so on; for Frankenstein it was about how the monster just wanted a human connection, which evolved into use of thermochromic ink and so on. Each of them were based on an insight which allowed for the creative concept to evolve from it. That is why I always strive to have an underlying theme in all our editions and if you look close enough, you’ll find many details that support this thinking. The "Monster Edition" of Frankenstein Back when it all first started, I was thinking about what kind of books Amaranthine should do. Especially since there were already quite a few publishers who do exquisite bindings and marvelous art, and printed letterpress to boot. I felt that the world didn’t really need yet another publisher like that. I’d just be trying to squeeze into a well-established space, trying to take customers from those excellent publishers. So, I’ve decided that I want to do my own thing, where boundaries will be pushed and concepts could be freely explored. Sometimes it means going into some obscure printing technique or building something around the book, but it’s all established in the creative concept and has a clear reason why it is there. I’m well aware that this is sometimes quite polarising, but I’m fine with that. This deep dive into the conceptual also means that I have to give each title a lot of attention, so I’m pretty much the bottleneck of the whole operation. On the other hand, 3-4 books per year seems like a good pace to me. Maybe one day we’ll be able to make 5, but I’d rather we have fun doing it than rush anything. Q: There have been some very ambitious projects in the past including the Bandersnatch edition of Alice in Wonderland and the lettered version of The Picture of Dorian Gray . Were there any versions of past projects where you came up with an idea and realized after trying to create it that it wasn’t going to work? What other projects did you have the most trouble bringing to fruition when it came down to the logistics of realizing what was in your head? I’m fortunate enough that I can say that pretty much everything I have ever conceived for our books we were also able to make. I’m a pretty persistent person by nature and once an idea takes hold in my head, I will rack my brain trying to figure out how to get it made. That being said, Bandersnatch definitely takes the throne. There were so many iterations of that, always resulting in a lesson and a pivot. Needless to say, the first idea wasn’t even remotely like the one we ended up with. It was far less ambitious. But there was a creative concept and I couldn’t ignore it so we worked around it until it finally got made. We had to restart the whole production at one moment, which was a huge blow to us. But in the end, we persisted and the end result was definitely worth it. The "Bandersnatch Edition" of Alice in Wonderland This whole experience made us realise that there are two phases to our work: R&D and production. In R&D phase, I am like a kid at a gas station during a road trip with hundred bucks in his hands— anything goes. But once we reach the final prototype, I hand over the reins to Mia and can no longer intervene and complicate things. This results in a more streamlined process with the least amount of headaches for everyone involved. Q: That's the first time I've heard of the idea being split into two completely distinct phases, but it makes sense with the scope of some of your productions. You recently moved into a new space, hired new staff, acquired a Heidelberg Press (Heidi) and announced you will be doing marbling in-house moving forward. Obviously, all of these decisions point to being more self-sufficient as a press and having less reliance on third-party collaborators. Tell us a little bit about what went into this decision. What do you see as the benefits of giving you more control in your own process and timeline and do you see any drawbacks in terms of less potential inspiration from artists outside of your own influence? We still collaborate outside of the company for work that requires specialists, like illustrators or some kind of metalwork. My goal isn’t to move absolutely everything in-house, but to create a workflow that could do rapid prototyping so we could go through iterations faster. That’s why we hired Filip Majcen, who does all of the prototyping, i.e. special cases, mechanisms, bindings etc. At first, he was just a contractor for us, but then we figured that we had a certain synergy and that this could result in book production happening completely in-house eventually, and so we asked him to join our little team. Heidi on delivery day With this in mind, I wanted to reduce the production time, while increasing the quality of our work, which in turn should allow us to introduce more special features. The purchase of Heidelberg Cylinder was just the first (big) step toward that goal. That’s why my old friend Danko Đuašin joined us as printer and currently, we’re over halfway done printing Sherlock , and we’ll probably be completely done printing by the time it is published. This still feels unreal because somehow, we are ahead of schedule. Truth be told, I always tend to err on the side of caution, but I was still surprised just how fast everything is going. The marbling is a special case, which we honestly didn’t plan for at first. We always had scheduling issues with it, especially since we are so remote from the rest of the fine press world, so when the opportunity presented to hire the young artist by the name of Tana Marčeta, we jumped the gun. Suddenly there were so many of us and there was so much admin work, quality control and overall logistics, that I just couldn’t keep up. So, I asked another old friend of mine, Sunčica Valdec, to join our team and now she makes sure that everything is running smoothly and acts as kind of a conduit between all of us. My hope is that this approach will still yield us outside inspiration from others, but also help us to run a tighter ship. We always did things our way, so to speak, this is just the evolution of that. Q: So many small/fine presses have been limited by one or two particular facets of their production, so it makes sense to try and have control over whatever parts you can. You seem to be very in tune with some of the quirks and needs of the average collector. For example, you upgraded Sherlock to letterpress at the last moment, because you wanted future Sherlock volumes to match not only in style, but also quality. How do you balance the specific desires of your followers with the practicalities of running a business? Would you consider yourself a collector of books as well and if so, what was your experience before starting Amaranthine Books? Hah, to be honest, letterpress was primarily my personal goal and I was so impatient about it that I wanted to introduce it as soon as possible. Fortunately, my own goals seem to overlap by quite a lot with the quirks and needs of an average collector, as you said so yourself. Sherlock was just the tipping point because it would annoy me to no end if one book in the collection was not printed letterpress. So, all this created a perfect storm of sorts which nudged us to do it. Again, everyone here told us not to do it, that it’s a dying technique; that there is absolutely no reason to do it. But I did the math and it checked out. Marko examining letterpress printed sheets for Sherlock Sure, it’s more expensive for us and it certainly affected our profits to a degree, but I can’t run Amaranthine purely from a business perspective, just as I can’t run it from a purely artistic perspective. It has to be a happy marriage of the two. There is a lot of stuff we want to introduce in the future, but it takes time to get there. At the risk of sounding like a cliché: it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Funny enough, I didn’t know that much about the fine press world when the idea for Amaranthine came. I only knew of Folio Society and bought a couple of books from them, but I wanted some titles that I liked and I had my own visions of them, so it kind of served as an inkling for Amaranthine. Nowadays, I’m fortunate enough that I’m literally creating my own collection. I do, however, purchase books from other small presses if I like them and they happen to have the book in stock. It’s a pretty amazing community altogether and I for one am happy to be part of it. Q: Tell us a little bit more about what life looks like for you outside of Amaranthine Books? Where do you draw inspiration from outside of the world of small/fine press publishing and what do you enjoy doing when you aren’t working on the imprint? This is going to sound so dull, but here we go. During the work week, I get up fairly early, usually around 6am. This is the only way that I can do something for myself before going to the office. I use this time for writing, because it helps me to escape into my own world. I have never published anything, I merely share it with friends, but who knows, maybe one day I’ll give it a whirl… After that, I usually do some kind of training to keep me energised throughout the rest of the day. Then it’s pretty much Amaranthine all the way until the end of the day, sometimes literally. The "Portrait Edition" of The Picture of Dorian Gray We’re still getting adjusted to the fact that we moved to the new space, that the team is bigger, and that we now have in-house production as well. On top of that, we’re planning to renovate the space, so at one point we’ll have to move temporarily, which is yet another hurdle to jump. All of this is causing me to do quite a bit of juggling during the day as I try to organise current affairs and future plans. If I have time in the evening and I’m not completely beaten, I will either read a book or a comic, or catch about 20 minutes of a movie I started to watch a couple of days ago (usually I don’t have time to watch movies in one sitting, unless it’s a non-working weekend). Occasionally, I’ll even play a game on a console, but overall, my week tends to be pretty boring from the outside, when actually I’m having a lot of (stressful) fun. All these small activities outside of work actually bring a lot of new ideas into my mind. In the end, it’s all about stories and that’s what Amaranthine does as well, after all; we build our own stories on top of other people’s stories. Recently I made a decision that I’ll try to avoid work during weekends because it was starting to get unhealthy. So, on those days I’ll try to either tend to my plants (I have a lot of big plants in my apartment) and relax on my terrace with my friends. This is usually accompanied by a BBQ or cooking some food. But what I really like to do in my free time is travel. Unfortunately, in the past couple of years, I have only been able to do short stints, sometimes not even that. There was simply too much work and I couldn’t be away for too long. Interior Illustration from Alice in Wonderland But travel is what influences my work the most because it completely unhinges me from my routine. Sometimes I even travelled solo, just to get out of my comfort zone and see how I’ll handle it. I travelled through the whole of Argentina (and a bit of Chile) like that, as well as through Thailand and Cuba. My #1 on the bucket list is a road trip through the USA. It has been for as long as I can remember and I have the whole itinerary planned out and somehow it still keeps growing. Hopefully, it’ll happen in the next couple of years. Q: I resonate with that a lot, sometimes a new setting with new people seems to open up your mind to ideas you haven't had time to think about in your daily routine. Anytime I meet someone who has devoted their life to creating books, it was makes me wonder what inspired them early on in life. What were the most formative stories of your early years and what authors do you enjoy currently? This question caused a really nice stroll down memory lane. As a kid, when I was about 8 or 9, I used to spend my summers mostly in the public library of my small hometown Orahovica. At first, I read books from the kid’s section, but soon I discovered Jules Verne. My mind was blown. I read through everything they had. By some stroke of luck, I read The Mysterious Island last and it was my first experience of a crossover in, well, anything and I was blown away by that. Since I went through pretty much anything interesting in the kid’s section, the librarian kindly offered me to give the adult’s section a go. Little did she know, I was still picking books out by the looks of their covers. I picked up a book with a shiny red toy car on the front. It was the Regulators by Richard Bachman (or rather, Stephen King). I’ll say right away that I absolutely loved the book, but it did leave a mark. It was my first real horror book and I was both thrilled by and scared of Tak. The "Mission Edition" of Catch-22 A few years later when I realised there is a “sister” book called Desperation , I immediately went to read it. Again, amazing, but probably should have waited a couple of years before reading it. Or perhaps not; perhaps it was good that I was exposed to such work so early and without any censorship. They are still probably my favourite King books, along with Needful Things . Other than these, back then I read 2001: A Space Odyssey , Starship Troopers , Childhood’s End and similar works. Anything that was science fiction, was fine in my book (hah!). Q: If there were no limitations in terms of acquisition and rights, what would be a few of your dream books/series to try and adapt? What excites you about these particular titles and how they could be realized? In the past couple of years, my favourite books were already adapted or are in the process of being adapted, which is kind of fortunate, because it eases the pressure on me and I have at least a couple of years before I can give them a go, probably even longer. I already mentioned Regulators and Desperation , which I would like to make in some manner of books that are somehow part of the series but still separate. As I explained earlier, they represent a really important step in my life and I would like to tackle that and see what comes on the other end. Needless to say, I would also try the other favourite from King, Needful Things . So far, I’ve been declined for all three, but I’ll keep trying. Handmade Marbled Endpapers in The "Monster Edition" of Frankenstein Other than that, my favourite series is First Law , so I’m really excited to see what Anthony at Curious King does with that. Library at Mount Char is another favourite, as well as The Black Company , so I suppose Travis from MidWorld Press and I have pretty similar taste! But other than that, I would really like to tackle the Three-Body Problem , even the whole series. Those books really blew my mind with the ideas and scope of the whole thing. I know it has its flaws, but things it does right, it does right indeed. I already have a concept in mind, so it’s just a matter of working out the rights. If I would like to dream really big, it would be going after The Dark Tower novels, doing the whole crazy thing. Loved all the tie-ins and crossovers. The whole thing is an absolute masterpiece. Q: I believe you are the third press owner I've interviewed who has specifically mentioned The Dark Tower at the top of your list, I do really hope someone can acquire rights at some point, it really deserves a fine press treatment. If there was one word or phrase that came to mind when people think of Amaranthine Books, what would you hope that it would be? For the ages. Or if it has to be one word: Legacy. Q: We know that Catch-22 and 2001: A Space Odyssey are on deck as the next two projects as well as potentially more Sherlock down the way, but is there anything else in the future that you can tease or give us hints about? Where do you see Amaranthine Books going from here? I would tease if I had rights secured, but we’re still negotiating a couple of titles, so can’t say anything that will happen for sure, sorry. Our fans often suggest titles so we made a shortlist and then created a poll with a couple of misdirections. It was recently sent through our newsletter, so we will see in which direction it goes and how it coincides with my ideas. I think we will stick with the mix of horror and sci-fi, with a little bit of fantasy sprinkled on top. Possibly some other random genres here and there. We also have a huge roadmap full of ideas on how to further improve our future books and keep things interesting. We’ll get there, it will just take some time. Check out the new video preview of their Heidelberg Press (Heidi) here: Video Sherlock and Catch-22 are currently up for sale at https://amaranthinebooks.com/ This interview was done in a series of communications back and forth between Zach and Marko and we would like to heartily thank Marko for his time. If you want to see more from Amaranthine Books you can check them out at their website (link above) and sign up for their mailing list to get periodic updates. You can also follow Amaranthine on Facebook and Instagram . Interview by: Zach Harney a contributor to the Collectible Book Vault Photography by: Danijel Berković & Dino Šertović *Since there are often different spellings in American English and British English of the same words, we have chosen to adhere to the spelling of the person who is speaking rather than conform to one convention for the whole interview.

Luke Ives Pontifell of Thornwillow Luke Ives Pontifell is the creative mind that nurtured a personal and familial appreciation for the written word and art to the multi-faceted press that Thornwillow is today. He is part press owner, historian, curator and artist rolled into one and has a passion not just for his own work, but the survival of the processes and machines that make it possible. Anchored in a complex of 19th-century brick factory buildings in the historic city of Newburgh, his vision and footprint has slowly been growing and striving to incorporate more of Thornwillow with the life of the city and surrounding area. Thornwillow is quickly approaching their 40-year anniversary and after you hear more about Luke's drive and personal passion behind the art of bookmaking, you will see why he has stood the test of time. We are truly thankful for his generosity of time and hope you all enjoy this in-depth look into the mind of the man who is at the heart and soul of this wonderful press. Q: You come from a family of artisans and writers and grew up in a surrounding that bred a love for the historical and the character of physical things. With these early influences, you began publishing books already at the age of 16. What would you say were the biggest contributors to you devoting your life to this craft and was there a pivotal moment as a child where you knew you wanted to do this for the rest of your life? I was born in New York City and grew up there and in Western Massachusetts. My father was a writer and creative director at an advertising agency. He was passionate about the theater and had an extensive reading library. He wasn’t a book collector per se , but our home was full of books, some very beautiful and interesting, some not. He had had a correspondence with the Irish writer Sean O’Casey and I remember when I was in high school taking a class in Irish drama and pulling an O’Casey book off the shelf and seeing that it was inscribed to my father by the author. This was one of those moments that made me think about books differently. Full-Leather DEDALUS edition of Ulysses Books are objects, each one a unique object that will have its own journey traveling through time, through people’s lives, being touched, read, written in, passed on and living into the future. As objects, they are more than a means to perform a commodity function. Today, there are many ways to preserve and communicate ideas, many faster, more economical, and compact ways to disburse information that from a commodity standpoint, are certainly more efficient. But books, unlike these technological efficiencies, are touched by the people who interact with them and thus are changed themselves by those interactions and in turn take on their own individual qualities and have their own journeys. As objects they become a physical part of the relationship between the reader and the written word. My mother is a sculptor and from my earliest memories I watched her make things out of wood, wool, ceramics, and all kinds of found objects from fossils to beads, and tin cans. She was always busy in her studio working on projects, making things with her hands. When I was little we would make toys. We made a whole mouse village consisting of buildings, gardens, furniture and stuffed felt mice. The whole family would get in on it. My grandfather, for example, would make things out of metal and he made an extensive collection of miniature copper furniture for the mouse village. My grandmother would sew the little mice. There was a king and queen mouse, a letter carrier mouse, a grandma mouse, and a printer mouse. So, from my earliest memories, craft was an integral part of life. It’s just what one did. Together my parents restored an 18th-century farmhouse in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is really like a museum. Many would find it uncomfortable and not set up for “the way we live now.” It is furnished with 18th and early 19th-century furniture. There are giant fireplaces that really work to keep the house warm even in the cold Berkshire winters. There is not a lot of technological innovation in the kitchen. This house was standing much as it is today long before us and will be there long after we are gone. I’m sure that the act of living with things and in a place that is rooted in history, and being taught to see oneself as a caretaker of these places and things, influenced my interest in becoming a maker of books, books that will be here long after we are gone and will be, in their way, caretakers of the ideas in them for readers yet unborn. Q: Thornwillow took a roundabout path to get to where it is today. At one point, you were living in Prague and working with companies like Montblanc, Cartier and Ralph Lauren doing custom printing, when a corrupt manager caused a collapse of the company in that iteration. Seeing where you are now and the success and impact of Thornwillow, how do you reflect back on what must have been a very difficult time? Luke Ives Pontifell reviewing proofs I started Thornwillow after taking a course in letterpress printing when I was 16 at The Center for Book Arts in New York. You can take basically the same course today. The first book was a children’s book written by a family friend for her grandchildren. I set the type and printed it at the CFBA, then sewed the pages on the kitchen table with help from my mother. It was a short, one signature book about the sun, moon and stars. I packed each volume up in glad sandwich bags and carried them to bookstores to see if they would sell them. At first, they all said no. But with persistence, I was able to persuade a bookstore in New York and two in Massachusetts to sell the books. A family friend, the historian and World War II correspondent William L. Shirer, joked that I should print something of his. I said absolutely and next thing I realized he handed me an envelope with a manuscript recounting how the world changed in an instant after the dropping of the atomic bomb. It was the 40th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and he thought this monograph would be timely. This time, I had the type set in Monotype and rented access to a Vandercook at Michael McCurdy’s Penmaen Press in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Michael was extremely generous and supportive to let this young teenager work in his shop. After printing, I sewed the paper wrapper copies again on the kitchen table, but this time there were also a few hardcover copies that were bound by Peter Geraty with hand-marbled endpapers made by Iris Nevins. This time, when I took the finished books to stores, I got a better reception. At this point there were about 10 stores that took the books including Rizzoli’s in New York which, at the time, was my favorite bookstore, so I really felt I had “arrived”. Their offices were in the old Scribner’s building on Fifth Avenue where they also ran the Scribner’s bookstore on the ground floor. I remember being brought by the head buyer on a tour of the Scribner offices, which had been abandoned at that point. The paneled rooms with glass dividers were all still there, but the furniture was long gone. The buyer, Cynthia Conigliaro, showed me one office and said “this was Max Perkin's office.” And down the hall she pointed, “and this was Charles Scribner’s.” I thought I had reached the Elysian Fields, walking in the rooms where so much great literature was born. Half leather version of Song of Solomon At this point, Thornwillow was off and running. Every year during college I made one book. I concentrated in History and Literature at Harvard and spent much of my time at Houghton Library, the rare book library. I studied with Roger Stoddard, Rodney Dennis, Eleanor Garvey, and Richard Wendorf, all of whom introduced me to books, ancient and new. In every way, the books I make today are rooted in being able to engage with the historic volumes in the Houghton collection. To study up close editions of the Nuremberg Chronicle, Aldus Manutius, John Baskerville, the Cranach Press, Doves, Ashendene, Kelmscott, and the work of Bruce Rogers, D.B. Updike, William Addison Dwiggins, Fritz Kredel, Jan Tschichold, Frans Masereel, Rockwell Kent, and bindings of Paul Bonnet, Sangorski and Sutcliffe, and many more were fundamental inspirations for the work I do today. Basically, the way things evolved was organic. I wrote letters to authors who I hoped might work with me, and sometimes they said yes. Each time I would send a copy of a previous work to show what I had in mind and asked if they might let me do the same for a work of theirs. I wrote a blind letter to Arthur Schlesinger to see if he might have something he would let me print to commemorate the 20th anniversary of JFK's assassination. He sent a manuscript back in the mail. I wrote to Walter Cronkite, knowing that he was particularly interested in space exploration and asked if he might be willing to work with me on a project to mark the 20th anniversary of the first moon landing. He didn’t say yes at first, but agreed to meet at his office in New York. After the meeting (and my first martini) we worked out a plan to print the CBS transcripts of the broadcasts from space and his interviews with the astronauts along with a new essay he would write to contextualize the events on the occasion of the anniversary. By senior year, what had started as a hobby had become a little business and after graduation, the question was how could I continue this enterprise. It was about a year after graduating that a friend sent a letter with samples of handmade paper from the Czech Republic. At that time, communism was crashing and the beginning of the privatization period was beginning as much of Eastern Europe was moving from a planned economy to a market economy. I first went to Prague to explore buying handmade paper for my books. But it turned out to be one of those crazy stories where I found that it was not possible to buy the paper, but it was possible to set up a mill. The communists had done terrible things in the Czech Republic, but one positive thing they did do was to preserve historic crafts. I had been doing some design work for Montblanc after graduation and when I told them about the opportunities for making handmade paper, they agreed to give me a contract for writing paper as well as logistical support if I could set up the mill. After a great deal of trial, error, and navigating a barrage of Kafkaesque bureaucracy, we got the mill going. And before too long found myself making paper not just for our books and Montblanc, but also for Cartier, Cranes, Ralph Lauren, as well as watercolor and printmaking papers. By modern standards, it was a tiny operation, but by 18th-century standards, it would have been considered a big mill. At its peak we had 70 employees making paper, letterpress printing, and engraving. The Great Gatsby in leather, half-leather, cloth and paper bindings It was while in Prague that I got to know my wife Savine who was working there after completing her MBA at Columbia. A few years later we were married and she became increasingly involved in the company, managing operations, planning strategic developments, and growing the enterprise. For both of us, it was about the pursuit of craft and artisanal excellence. Parallel to the operation in the Czech Republic, we started to work with binders in England and set up a third operation in Florida to do engraving projects. In each of these cases, it was about following amazing craftspeople, true masters in their arts. While on one hand this chapter in Thornwillow’s history was inspiring and resulted in our making some of my favorite books, it was also increasingly unrealistic to manage our artisanal operation as a global enterprise. Also, as the years passed, it became increasingly clear that everything I had been warned about doing business in Eastern Europe, the corruption and the lack of legal protection for foreign owners, was true. Ultimately, it was impossible to continue working there. It turned out to be quite a disastrous period. We lost everything we had invested and built up in the Czech Republic. We had to start over completely. That said, the difficulties we had to navigate through, became the catalyst for charting a new trajectory for the press. Q: You have said that your wife Savine was instrumental in finding your new location and regrouping from the situation in the Czech Republic. Tell us a little bit about the search for a new facility and what your first impressions were of the locale and buildings that now make up the Thornwillow facility. Did you foresee the scope of what it would become? After following master craftspeople literally all over the world, learning from them, and creating books that we are immensely proud of, Savine and I now sought to start the next chapter of Thornwillow with consolidated operations in one place. Our dream was to bring the related arts and crafts of the written word together under one roof. To that end, Savine put a compass on the map and drew a one-hour radius around our apartment in New York City and that’s how we landed in Newburgh. In Newburgh we found a 19th-century brick factory building which we were able to buy and bring the equipment we still had (including my first Vandercook which I bought when I was 18 from the proceeds of the early books). Heidelberg Press at Thornwillow Facility We then proceeded to hunt down additional equipment to outfit the operation. Again, the evolution was organic. We never quite knew where we would find the next press or piece of equipment for the bindery. But gradually over time we have assembled an unusual collection of historic equipment that we use in our work. This wonderful equipment includes: Three Heidelberg flatbed cylinder presses, a Heidelberg windmill, two Vandercooks, three Chandler and Price platen presses, two Thompson die cutting presses, ten die stamping presses, two folding machines, three envelope making machines, a very rare envelope lining machine, three book sewing machines, several Jacques shears, edge gilding equipment, book presses, nipping presses, and (still to be set up) a Hollander Beater to make paper pulp. It is indeed a living museum. Q: There are very few outfits that have the ability to do as much as Thornwillow does within your own four walls. From manufacturing paper, engraving, letterpress printing and binding, you really do have the capability to do it all. Did you envision having this scope from the beginning or was it a slow evolution over the years? If I look back to the beginning, Thornwillow has always had an organic trajectory. I did not start out almost 40 years ago with the clear vision to develop it into exactly what it has become. The evolution of the press has gone through many chapters: The early stages when I was first starting and developing it while in college. Then the 14-year period in which we were following craftspeople around the world, setting up remote operations, learning, building, falling down, and getting up again. And then the consolidation phase in Newburgh which we have been working at for 18 years. I think we are now starting the next chapter. Q: Two more recent additions to the Thornwillow family are the Thornwillow Institute and Thornwillow Maker’s Village. These parts of the company show an even further commitment to not only to the craft of making books, but the dedication to education and preservation of the art. Where are you currently at in developing these and where do you see them ten years down the road from now? When we first set out to bring the operations together at one location, we were advised by many friends that we would never be able to do it in America, that it would be impossible to find the master craftspeople here to do the work. Faced with this legitimate concern, we established the Thornwillow Institute with the mission of teaching and perpetuating the related arts and crafts of the written word. We realized that it was essential to train interested people not only in order to have the skilled talent necessary for us to pursue our dreams, but also to ensure that these crafts survive. Furthermore, in order to make it possible for people to dedicate the essential time needed to learn these crafts, we set out to create affordable housing and build out a community so that interested people can come to Thornwillow not just to work, but to learn, share, engage with each other, live, and play. Building the Thornwillow Makers Village is the chapter in which we are currently embedded. We are working through the Institute, which is a 501(c)3 public charity, to raise money to restore the long-neglected and dilapidated buildings that we have acquired to be part of our campus. Mockup of future plans for Thornwillow These buildings will provide not only affordable housing for ongoing employees, fellows, interns, and trainees, but also provide studio spaces for other artisanal entrepreneurs to pursue their work. We are also currently completing the buildout of a bookstore café (the first bookstore in Newburgh in more than 50 years) as well as a gallery and event space and an indoor/outdoor marketplace. Newburgh is an amazing city with incredible history and historic architecture. Sadly, it fell on hard times in the 1960’s from which it has long struggled to recover. Our goal is to help restore our community and make it financially independent and a vital and vibrant place to be. Ten years from now, our dream is to have the village fully realized and running itself as an economically self-sufficient enterprise that has the solid resources to grow and thrive beyond where we have gotten it today. We will not be able to do this alone. We need to map out a plan that will take the enterprise forward even after we are gone. Q: Looking back across some of your earliest works and running through to the present day, there has been a remarkable level of consistency in quality and aesthetic, while being eclectic in title. Each press puts specific emphasis on different aspects of their books (printing, interior design, illustrations, materials, binding design, ornamentation, paper and many others). How did you decide what would be the most important characteristics of your publications and what would matter to you as a press? My hope is when you look at a wall of Thornwillow books that together they are more than the sum of their parts. Editorially they are extremely diverse. We do not set out to publish in one subject area. Over the years we have published history, new and classic fiction and poetry, facsimiles and new original artwork. Whether it’s a dystopian fantasy, Pride and Prejudice , a new collection of John Updike stories, or a volume of Louise Glück poems, each book stands alone, but at the same time becomes part of the Thornwillow tapestry of titles that together become a kind of time capsule celebrating and preserving ideas that inspire and we hope will endure. The books themselves are custodians of the ideas printed on their pages. Edgar Allen Poe in half-leather, cloth, and paper bindings Aesthetically, each book is meant to be different. My great hope is that no one will ever find the design repetitive. Each publication should be beautiful and the design and craftsmanship should enhance the relationship between the reader and text. That said, the goal is for them all to look like Thornwillow books. When you pick up a Thornwillow volume, the hope is that you will know it by the look and feel. A Thornwillow book should have a unique and identifiable hand. There are certain design elements that have been consistent from the beginning. For example, we have used handmade paste paper for our half-cloth and half-leather bindings since the beginning. There is also limited ornamentation. I believe in clean typography and an aesthetically simple page with generous margins and classical proportions. The goal is for the elegance and sumptuousness of an edition to be conveyed through simple design, beautiful printing, careful binding, and exceptional materials. We are also committed to making our editions accessible. To this end, we now bring out our books in a variety of different versions from copies bound in paper wrappers, to cloth, half leather and full leather. The materials and work that go into the different editions vary quite considerably, as do the edition limitations, but our intention is for every book, regardless of the edition, to be beautifully and meticulously crafted. Q: Thornwillow has famously produced stationery for the White House for years and it seems that Thornwillow Makers is just as pivotal to your business as the press arm. How do you see this part of the business differently and what are some of the aspects of Thornwillow Makers that you enjoy as a different kind of artistic expression than the publications? The Thornwillow Makers collection consists of the things we make at the press that, though they are made using the same equipment and involve the same meticulous attention to detail and hand craftsmanship as our publications, do not have editorial content. Often the amount of work that goes into making an engraved custom wedding invitation is more elaborate than the work that goes into publishing a portfolio of prints. Thornwillow Makers stationary The number of print runs, the registration, and the engraving process can all be quite extensive. For years we have made an engraved calendar that features original designs for every month (often drawn from our publications, so a careful Thornwillow collector would likely identify the iconography). We make two engraved plates for each month and each card is hand fed through the press four times and the edges are hand stained in gold. Same for custom correspondence papers and our engraved motifs. Over the years we have built up an enormous collection of hand engraved motif dies that we offer on note cards. These dies are literally hand cut into steel. They are miniature bas relief sculptures in steel that form the motif when stamped into the paper. In addition to the stationery, invitations, and announcements we also do custom bindings as well as commissioned editions for private distribution when time permits. Q: One of the most unique things about your imprint is the monthly Thornwillow Dispatch and that you have a tiered subscription of shorter works that come out on a predictable basis. How did this idea evolve and how do you decide what your next few projects are going to be? With such a blistering pace of publication, what do you do to stay ahead in planning out the many aspects of future releases (overall aesthetic, binding material, color, artist, typeface, etc.)? The Thornwillow Dispatch is a kind of Harry’s Shave Club for fine printing. Every month subscribers receive a box containing a short publication along with a curated assortment of finely printed ephemera (like broadsides, bookmarks, and note cards). Like Thornwillow’s anchor publications, these little books are very eclectic editorially, but united in the hope that together the collection will add up to more than the sum of its parts. The series grew out of our desire to do more and to find a way to engage with our community on a steady, regular basis. Because of the pace, we need to plan far ahead with the titles. Some months are classic texts that we think are relevant today (like Hemingway’s short story Hills Like White Elephants or Abraham Lincoln’s Inaugural Addresses), and others are works by established current voices (like Anthony Doerr, Haruki Murakami, and Louise Glück). Also, a few times a year we feature the work of a new emerging writer through the Thornwillow Patrons’ Prize which we have been awarding in collaboration with NYFA for the last four years. Patron Edition dispatch monthly box The Dispatch is a gateway into the world of Thornwillow. Subscribing not only gives you something interesting to read and puts a beautiful book on your shelf every month, it also steadily provides support for the mission of the press. Our model is itself very old. In fact, it is the same model that John Baskerville used 250 years ago. Like Baskerville, we sign up our core subscribers before going to press. Like Baskerville, we print a Subscription Register so that now, and years from now, one will know who made our editions possible. Thornwillow’s collectors are directly involved in the enterprise. They are a blend between patron, investor, partner, and co-conspirator. They are integral to the mission of the press and share our belief in the importance of preserving the crafts of bookmaking. But for all that what we do involves physically making things and the intense pursuit of handcrafts, and follows a very old business model, we are an ecommerce business. Through the internet, we unite a truly global community of collectors who support our work. Books ship from New York to London, New Zealand, Singapore, and Tokyo. Q: One of the most interesting concepts I have heard you talk about is the idea of a book having a soul. What did you mean by this and what do you think is required of the artist to imbue a piece with this level of connection between creator and their art? I believe that objects, inanimate objects, can have a soul. They have a soul when a few things come together. An object has a soul when: Interior of Song of Solomon It is made by a person who has dedicated their life to the pursuit of their craft. Whether you are a painter, a pianist, a baker, or a bookbinder it takes years to be good at your craft. It does not happen instantly, overnight, without effort. The commitment to pursue an art form with the goal of getting better at it every day and with the notion that you are never done, that there is always something new to learn animates the objects that are made by the hands of this kind of artisan with soul. The object is integral to the experience of an idea. It is a vessel for ideas and inspirations. It is the gateway for the engagement. The object exists between the creator of an idea and the experiencer of the idea. A violin, for example, exists between the composer, the musician, and the audience. A beautiful instrument is integral to the experience of the artform. A book is like a violin. If beautifully designed and carefully crafted to last, it is integral to the relationship between the reader and the author. It is a vessel that will perpetuate that relationship through time and space. It is the vehicle through which it is communicated, preserved and passed down. The object is the caretaker, the custodian of ideas and inspirations. The object memorializes ideas that matter. The object changes from being a commodity to being a way that we define our identity. When people identify with an object and define their own identity by association with it, that object develops a soul. Q: From everything I have read, you seem to be just as passionate about the preservation of the art, the tools and the education of your craft as you do about actually running the business and publishing books. It appears that you view Thornwillow as much more than a press that makes beautiful products, but a legacy meant to preserve and grow the culture and community of artisan work. Where does this passion come from and is it ever difficult to separate this from the day-to-day aspects of running a successful business? Yes, these two are entirely intertwined. Making the objects and perpetuating the craft that makes the creation of the objects possible is one and the same mission. It is a bit of a utopian notion of finding the place where craft, culture, and community intersect. William Morris was very concerned about this at the turn of the last century and I think it is essential for us to think intensely today about not just what we make, but how we make it and who makes it and what it’s made of. Smyth Europea book sewing machine In this age of disposable and intangible communications, virtual relationships, and AI, something made by real people who have dedicated themselves to the pursuit of excellence and craft matters more than ever before. In 1800, there was a reaction to urbanization. In 1900, there was a reaction to industrialization. In 2000, there was a reaction to technology exacerbated further by the COVID epidemic. Whenever people are confronted with dehumanizing forces, there is a counterforce to celebrate and appreciate what is human. In this age where you can literally turn a book on and off with a switch, when AI makes it possible for a book to be written by a machine, now more than ever, something made beautifully by human beings matters. It is the foundation for a modern-day arts and crafts movement that is essential to our identity. Craft is at the root of what makes us human. It gives livelihood, spirituality, and purpose. Some of the challenges come when new people come into the craft and do not have the experience or practiced skill needed for the quality of work, we are committed to creating. This can be frustrating for the artisan in training and for the products that themselves will never be “perfect”. What is important to remember is that the journey is the destination. Where we are today is not where we will be tomorrow and when tomorrow comes, we will not be done. Q: If there was one word or phrase that came to people’s minds when they think of Thornwillow, what would you hope that it would be? I still think that the Thornwillow motto, which has been with the press almost since the beginning, is at the root of our mission: Ars omnia tuetur. Art teaches and protects all. Q: You recently announced another anchor title and I for one am very excited about the release of Charlotte’s Web . We also know you will continue with the monthly dispatches as you always do, but is there anything else coming up that we should be getting excited about that you can share? There must be some surprise in the delight. So all I will say here is that the best is truly yet to come. We have a very exciting new anchor book to announce this fall if all goes well and on schedule. It is a project I have wanted to do for years and it is finally coming together. Q: It must feel very surreal, but you are quickly approaching the 40th anniversary of Thornwillow. Do you have any specific plans yet for celebrating this incredible milestone? It definitely does not feel like almost forty years have passed since first starting on this adventure. There are still many projects I would like to do, more than I will be able to do in this lifetime. The goal must be to fortify the infrastructure around Thornwillow so that it cannot only continue to realize the projects that Savine and I still hope to bring to life, but so that it also will be able to continue long after we are gone. For the fortieth anniversary, I think we will definitely need to have a party. To check out the new preview of their most recent release, Charlotte's Web: Kickstarter This interview was done in a series of communications back and forth between Zach and Luke and we want to say a huge thanks to Luke for spending time on this interview and answering so eloquently and thoroughly. If you want to see more from Thornwillow and stay up on all of their new productions and expansions of the business, you can check them out at their website and sign up for the Thornwillow Chronicle to get periodic updates. You can also follow Thornwillow on Facebook and Instagram . Interview by: Zach Harney a contributor to the Collectible Book Vault.

Isaac Stewart - Head of Creative Development at Dragonsteel One of the projects of Brandon Sanderson's company Dragonsteel is producing special editions of Brandon's published books for his millions of fans. Isaac Stewart, VP of Creative Development at Dragonsteel and long-time friend of Brandon's has led the way with many of the projects that Brandon has released over the last decade. Dragonsteel produces beautiful special editions with original art and materials that last, but doing it as affordably as possible so a large portion of fans can enjoy it. What they are doing now is only the tip of the iceberg, as they are continuing to publish more editions of Brandon's works, including a line of unpublished past work in their "curiosities" line, and expanding their scope by recently announcing they will also be doing special editions of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. We hope you enjoy this conversation with one of the creative minds at Dragonsteel. Q: Let’s start at the beginning, when did you first meet Brandon and what were some of the pivotal moments where you knew that he was someone you wanted to align yourself with personally and professionally? I’m not sure if there was ever a singular moment or any intentionality behind how it all started, but I first took his writing class at BYU in spring of 2005. I had already taken the class before from David Wolverton, who was the teacher who taught the creative writing class before Brandon. Brandon took it around 2000, and then I took it after that in 2001 and 2002, so we never really overlapped. We had a lot of the same friends at the Leading Edge (a speculative fiction magazine) and I was aware of him and that he was an aspiring writer, and I knew he was one of the editors at the Leading Edge, but I didn't see him a whole lot. At the time, I knew him as the guy who was passing around books for people to read and that he was really serious about being an author. I think that I even ran into him in the grocery store once in his early days of writing and talked about how things were progressing with his career, and if I remember correctly, at the time he was writing what we now know as Dragonsteel Prime . Head of Creative Development Isaac Steward at Dragonsteel and Author Brandon Sanderson  We didn't really know each other until I came back to BYU after I'd already graduated and worked in 3D animation for a couple of years. I came back to school thinking I was going to be an optometrist and was pretty much planning on leaving the art business for good. I wound up taking the writing class again as an elective during a semester that was going to be really heavy with science classes.   This time around the class was being taught by Brandon. I found out he had a book coming out called Elantris , and Orson Scott Card had given it a really good review prior to publication, so I was interested in reading it. Once I found that review, I went to the BYU library and looked up Brandon’s name thinking that maybe he would have an honors thesis in the archives there, and it turns out that he did. That thesis was Dragonsteel Prime,  and I was able to check it out of the library and read through it. I believe I was actually the first one to check it out. I read it, thought it was quite good, and that Brandon was a good writer. I continued on with the class, and he and I wound up becoming friends. Eventually, he asked me to do maps for Mistborn . I never thought I was going to make mapmaking a career, but it was something that I had done as a hobby for a while prior to that. In fact, when he first asked me to contribute a map, I don’t think he fully knew the extent to which it had been a hobby of mine.   Later, it wasn't until he asked my wife Kara and me if we wanted to work full-time for Dragonsteel that I had to make the big decision about throwing myself behind Brandon and his books. I already was doing a lot of work with him in my spare time, but up to that point, it was a hobby for me. I enjoyed being part of the books because I loved his work and I enjoyed supporting my friend, but with each book, he seemed to get a little more of a following. I never thought too hard about how big things were going to get or how famous Brandon might turn out to be, I guess I'm just oblivious. I simply saw it as being able to do fun things with my good friends, and it has turned out to be one of the most rewarding things I have been a part of. I look at things a little bit differently now because I know that we're trying to steer a company trying to maintain a high level of quality with the books and our other projects. After all these years and changes, I’m glad to report that I still love what I do.   Q: Tell us about the journey of Brandon going from a traditional author with conventional relationships with publishers to wanting to start his own personal press. When did he first start having an initial idea for this separate company and when did you come into the picture with Dragonsteel?   Leatherbound Mistborn Era 2 from Dragonsteel I don't want to put words in Brandon's mouth, so I can only give my opinion. I think that at first it happened organically as opportunities came Brandon's way. Each new opportunity was a good stepping stone to new opportunities. Once you’ve seen that pattern play out enough times, you start to get a good feel for what types of things are going to be good for your career and for the company. But in the end, I think what he really wants to do is just write stories and share them with other people in hopes that his stories might make people’s lives a little bit better.   I think there were a couple of things that influenced Brandon to create Dragonsteel. Dave Wolverton was very big on the idea that an author should create an LLC,. which is really a good practice for anybody who is running a small business.   Another important shift came when Brandon started talking to Kevin J. Anderson, who shared that having an assistant helped with a lot of the non-writing aspects of being an author.  That seemed to really appeal to Brandon. I believe it was shortly after that when he hired Peter Ahlstrom to help him free up more time to focus more on the writing. I remember talking to Peter during that time period and thinking, “Lucky guy! He gets to work with Brandon! What are the chances that Brandon's ever going to need another person to help him?”   Brandon’s work continued to gain more traction, and eventually he hired Kara (my wife) to start running the online sales and fulfillment of signed books. At some point he started looking further ahead and realized if the popularity of his books kept growing at the same pace, he would need a bigger team.   Q: The first major publication from Dragonsteel was a 10-year anniversary edition of Elantris  that set the tone for what the press would be about moving forward. How have you tried to keep things consistent over time with your special editions and how have you tried to improve upon what you started eight years ago?   Map of Roshar by Isaac Stewart Brandon and I both knew that Tor had been doing leatherbound editions of the Robert Jordan books for a while. These were commemorative editions designed to celebrate the release of the book rather than something created for readers to have an accessible edition. The Tor leatherbound editions upgraded the standard edition to bonded leather and added a slipcase. But they were somewhat out of reach for the average book buyer’s budget. For our editions, we ask ourselves, “How nice can we make these while still making them affordable?”   I was always intrigued by leatherbound books early on, well before I was working for Brandon. At one point I was trying to figure out a special gift to give him. I got the idea of remaking some of his old books, ones that were never published--what we call “Sanderson Curiosities” these days. I would lay them out in a book format and then make it look like a fake leatherbound, meaning I printed the covers to look like leather just to get an idea of what it could look like. I had been designing books for a publisher in New York prior to working at Dragonsteel, so I had learned the business of laying out books, and it made sense at that point for us to try the leatherbound editions ourselves. I don't know if we knew it was going to be as successful as it has been and continues to be. With so many readers moving to audiobooks and ebooks, I think that a lot of people had become hungry again to have a tangible object, especially when it was well designed and printed and bound with nicer materials. It became a special item to commemorate a reader’s own journey through the books and the worlds within them. It seems like we were a little ahead of the curve of authors creating their own special editions, but at the time it was much less prevalent.   Q: For those who don’t know, Brandon finished five secret projects during the pandemic, above and beyond his normal publication schedule, and decided to release a package of four of these as a Kickstarter initially. It was quickly clear that this campaign was going to be enormous and within days became the biggest Kickstarter of all time. What were those first 2-3 days like at Dragonsteel as this was ramping up and how quickly did you start adjusting to the new reality?   Four Secret Project Books from Dragonsteel When I found out about the secret projects, my first reaction was surprise and delight. Then my second reaction was, “Wait. How fast do we have to get these out?” There was still the whole editorial aspect that needed to happen before we could even think about making a beautiful physical product. Of course, at that point, all of the departments in the company had to be involved with helping run the Kickstarter, making sure there was a final product, coordinating a marketing campaign, etc. and that amidst all of these details, we had to make sure that the quality remained high.   I can’t say that we really had an accurate idea of how popular it would be. It truly did blow up more than any of us thought. We had certainly done big projects before, like The Way of Kings   leatherbound Kickstarter. There was also the added curveball this time around that these were new stories, so people were taking a larger leap of faith than a special edition for a book that they already loved. Of course, we knew that people would be interested in new Brandon Sanderson books, but we didn’t know the extent. The Way of Kings  was a known thing--for many, it is their favorite Sanderson book. Regarding the secret projects, internally there were conversations about how awesome it would be if we could beat our previous record of 7 million and maybe hit 10. But then the Secret Project campaign blew past that within the first day. I think it did raise some awareness and paved the way for other authors to be able to do some direct bookselling to their fans, which was an added benefit.   One thing to mention is that I think sometimes people who don't know how the industry works will see that giant number and assume that a huge amount of that is profit in the author’s pocket. First of all, a huge amount goes to shipping, another portion to taxes, and a very large margin goes to the actual people producing the books, as well as materials. One of the most important aspects for us is providing good jobs for the people we work with. That was probably the thing that we were most excited about when we saw that number growing, because we want Dragonsteel to be a great place to work. We take our company and the creation of these books very seriously—so, yes, a lot of money goes into the production of them, but we are always looking for opportunities to improve things for our employees and collaborators as well.   Leatherbound Way of Kings from Dragonsteel I personally take it as a responsibility to the fans who supported the Kickstarter to produce something that they’ll love and get excited about. We are definitely not sitting here going “What's the cheapest thing we can make and get by with the biggest margins?” Our main concerns at the end of the day are quality and trying to figure out what the fans are going to enjoy. We are all fans here as well, which is one of the coolest things about this job. We try to make something we would love ourselves and then share it with everybody, and of course, we can’t make it without the support of all of Brandon’s wonderful readers!   Q: Artist selection seems to be something you and Brandon are very passionate about and a lot of time goes into it. How do you balance the different priorities of choosing an artist? Do you look at the notoriety that Brandon has gained as a chance to highlight lesser-known artists and give them more exposure or an opportunity to try and bring more well-known artists into projects? How did this influence who you used for the Secret Projects?   Yeah, this is definitely one of the most important aspects and there are a lot of things we weigh in on for the decision. It's not an accident that for the first two books, we chose artists we'd worked with before, because it was such a new process that we wanted as few new variables as possible. Not only do we think that Howard Lyon’s style was perfect for Tress and the Emerald Sea , but we also know what to expect from Howard. We knew that he was going to be able to deliver art on time and create something beautiful. That was the same thing with Steve Argyle (artist for Frugal Wizard ). It was a huge help to work with reliable artists and have one less complication to deal with. As we were getting into those two books and felt like we had learned the process, that's when we started to branch out and decided to work with some artists that we hadn’t worked with before. Interior Art from Yumi and the Nightmare Painter  One of the things we often do at Dragonsteel is open up ourselves to suggestions from lots of different people within the company. My assistant is really aware of what the fans of Brandon’s books are looking for and she brought Aliya Chen’s (artist on Yumi and the Nightmare Painter ) name to my attention, and I instantly thought her style and aesthetic would be perfect for this book. We do think it is important to look for some artists who may benefit at a professional level from the exposure that comes with a project of this size and scope, but the artist needs to be a good fit for the book too.   We thought that The Sunlit Man  was a little bit on the fun and pulpy side, so we decided to put a team together with Nabetse Zitro from Paraguay, who does really great art, and Ernanda Souza from Brazil, because we loved her color pieces. Their art paired really well together, and we are happy with how we were able to offer two different styles of art in that project. We’re also working with Esther Hi’ilani Candari for the fifth Secret Project, which will release in 2025.   I have a network of existing artists that I can reach out to, like Steve Argyle and Howard Lyon, to see who they think might be a good match for the content. We also do some of our own research internally to see who might be a good fit for future projects. Over time, we whittle it down to a very small list of names and then bring this to Brandon to discuss and decide who we are going to make a formal offer to.   Endpapers from Tress and the Emerald Sea Q: When I first received my copy of Tress and the Emerald Sea , my first thought was, “How was this so affordable?” Our readers are very used to identifying the quality of a publication and deciding whether they got their money’s worth. If anyone questioned that the quality of the secret projects was worth the price, I would seriously question their judgment. How were you able to create a limited edition with multiple hits of foil, original illustrations and just a wonderful overall package while keeping it within a very reasonable budget?   It is important to start by acknowledging that this ended up being a project of massive scale, which allowed us to do things that wouldn’t have been as cost-effective in a smaller print run.   Another major part of the reason we can do this is we're our own distributor.   You definitely seem to be in tune with the collector mindset as you understand the need for very high-level quality control, consistency in design and are interested in the finer details of your production, like the leather color consistency with the second printings of the first era Mistborn books. Are you and Brandon collectors at any level or is this just something you have paid attention to with feedback over the years?   We are both collectors, maybe not at the level that some people are, but I know that Brandon and I and others at the company enjoy beautiful books and have talked about them and shared them around. If we see a new special edition online that's for sale, we get excited, especially if it's a title we love. At the end of the day, we love beautiful books and we want to make sure that our books are the best we can make them.   It seems that there is a huge demand for the versions that you are creating currently. And every time you release a new book, the demand seems to be growing. Case in point, the Words of Radiance Leatherbound raised 23 million.   Have you or Brandon considered doing even more limited versions with things like higher-quality paper, fine materials and letterpress printing, or does this go against your overall idea of what you're trying to accomplish with Dragonsteel?   Leatherbound Words of Radiance from Dragonsteel I'm not exactly sure how we could get higher quality paper than what we are doing within the range we are trying to come in at. We spend a lot of time finding the paper that we use and we are trying to use it as often as we can so that the manufacturer will keep making it. You start getting into having to bind the books by hand to get much nicer than what we make. Now I know that there are some highly limited editions out there that are larger format books with clamshell boxes with lots of extras included. As of right now though, we're not planning to go that route. Mostly we want to be able to keep things accessible to the average reader. I'm not saying that we wouldn't ever do a more limited version of the books, but right now that's not our plan.   With the massive success of the last couple of releases, has there ever been any conversation about using the Dragonsteel platform to sell other authors' work? Or would this become too complicated and go beyond the scope of what it was created for?     We just announced that Dragonsteel, in cooperation with Tor and Bandersnatch, will be publishing a leatherbound edition of  The Eye of the World  by Robert Jordan. We're extremely excited to have been entrusted with this responsibility, and we're doing everything in our power to make this edition as beautiful as possible.   Digital Mockup of the Leatherbound for The Eye of the World Flash forward thirty years into the future, do you think we will have a full set of all the leatherbound Cosmere books?   Well, I hope so. I hope that we will have a complete Cosmere leatherbound set someday. That’s one of our goals. Whether we add other leatherbound books of Brandon's outside of the Cosmere, is yet to be seen. Currently, we're focusing only on Cosmere books.   As you've probably seen, we have expanded to allow for other writers in Brandon’s worlds. It's been announced that Dan Wells is writing a book, and I'm writing a book and Janci's books in the Skyward  universe with Brandon have all started to come out as well. Looking at the future, we hope to continue to expand the Cosmere, and ideally, all of those will be available in leatherbound someday. __________________ This interview was done over a video call between Zach and Isaac and then transcribed into written format. If you want to follow what is coming in the future from Dragonsteel, check them out at https://www.dragonsteelbooks.com/ . Brandon Sanderson is famously known for keeping his readers and fans up to date on his writing progress and plans for the future. You can also follow Brandon and Dragonsteel on Instagram , Facebook , and YouTube for more content. Interview by: Zach Harney, co-founder of the Collectible Book Vault