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<h4><a href="/">cd ~</a></h4>
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<h2>Vibrant Margins</h2>
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<blockquote>
<strong>vibrant</strong> [adjective]: <em>pulsing or throbbing with energy or activity</em><br/><br/>
<strong>margin</strong> [noun]: <em>an area, state, or condition excluded from or existing outside the mainstream</em>
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From late 2016 to late 2017, I worked on a project called <strong>Vibrant Margins</strong>, whose goal it was to locate and promote small presses and authors. I featured a single novel per month published by a small press (which I defined as publishing less than 10 books per year), promoting it via an in-depth interview with the author. I also sold each book I promoted, either as an individual sale or as part of a subscription.
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From a business perspective, the venture was an abject failure. However, in all aspects besides monetary, the project was an incredible experience -- I got to meet and engage with so many publishers and authors whose passion for literature knew no bound, and got exposed to <em>a lot</em> of books that I may never have come across in a bookstore, let alone picked out among the infinite shelves of books to choose from. It also made me think critically about the books I do read -- does this topic/genre challenge my current worldview? Does the author's personal experiences (perhaps as a person of marginalized background, such as race, sexual preference, or gender identity) provide a newer and fuller viewpoint of a subject that I've not been exposed to?
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I found the interviews with authors particularly enlightening, and have linked their content below (the original domain has been relegated to the dustbin of internet history). I heartily recommend all of the books and authors below; if you're interested in reading any of these books, but are having a hard time getting your hands on a copy, please reach out -- I should be able to hook you up!
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<ul>
<li><a href="salamanders"><strong>Salamanders of the Silk Road</strong> by Christopher Smith</a></li>
<li><a href="charmed-particles"><strong>Charmed Particles</strong> by Chrissy Kolaya</a></li>
<li><a href="country-life"><strong>Country Life</strong> by Ken Edwards</a></li>
<li><strong>The Underground</strong> by Hamid Ismailov<ul>
<li><a href="underground-author">author interview</a></li>
<li><a href="underground-translator">translator interview</a></li></ul>
<li><a href="waveland"><strong>Waveland</strong> by Simone Zelitch</a></li>
<li><a href="mr-boardwalk"><strong>Mr. Boardwalk</strong> by Louis Greenstein</a></li>
<li><a href="summer-under-water"><strong>The Summer She Was Under Water</strong> by Jen Michalski</a></li>
<li><a href="lower-quarter"><strong>The Lower Quarter</strong> by Elise Blackwell</a></li>
<li><a href="small-lights"><strong>Under the Small Lights</strong> by John Cotter</a></li>
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