Open Letter Books, based at the University of Rochester in New York, has partnered with Deep Vellum Publishing of Dallas. Under the new arrangement with the URochester, Deep Vellum will assume publishing, distribution, and marketing responsibilities for the press, while editorial direction remains with founder Chad W. Post. The two companies had been collaborating less formally for several years, with Post advising on and guiding Deep Vellum's acquisition of Dalkey Archive Press in 2020.
Open Letter, founded in 2007 by Post, has built a catalog of approximately 200 titles of international literature in translation over the past 18 years, publishing ten titles annually. The press has introduced English-language readers to works by Nobel Prize contenders including the late Dubravka Ugrešić and authors of such National Book Award–winning translations as Elisa Shua Dusapin's Winter in Sokcho.
"This partnership will provide an excellent opportunity to continue to grow the audience for Open Letter's books, which directly grew out of my time as associate director of Dalkey Archive Press," Post said. "Joining forces in this way is a boon both for readers everywhere and the field of nonprofit publishing as a whole."
Post will maintain his dual roles as publisher of Open Letter Books and editorial director of Dalkey Archive Press. He will continue teaching in URochester's Master of Arts in Literary Translation program and producing content for Three Percent and Mining the Dalkey Archive e-newsletters, along with the Two Month Review and Three Percent podcasts.
"Chad W. Post—inspiration, mentor, friend—is the reason I got into publishing and founded this press as an impact-oriented literary nonprofit," said Will Evans, publisher and CEO of Deep Vellum Publishing, in a statement. "His work as publisher at Open Letter and as outspoken writer through Three Percent has changed the world, and inspired and empowered so many of us readers, translators, and publishers to become champions of literature without borders."
With this addition, Deep Vellum, which was established in 2013, now encompasses six imprints beyond its namesake: Dalkey Archive Press, Fum d'Estampa, Open Letter, Phoneme Media, La Reunion, and A Strange Object. To date, the publisher and its imprints have put out more than 1,200 books from over 80 languages and 100 countries.
Open Letter's current and backlist titles include Rodrigo Fresán's Melvill, recently shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award and Republic of Consciousness Prize, and Can Xue's Mother River. Consortium will continue to distribute for the press in North America, while Turnaround will continue to distribute its international orders.
"The full catalog of 207 titles, counting hardcover and paperback editions of books that had both, will remain with Consortium," Nadine Santoro, publicity director of Deep Vellum and Dalkey Archive, clarified. "We'll just be the ones managing the metadata, sales conference, and other distribution aspects now rather than Chad. He will no longer have to worry about overseeing typesetting, coordinating with the printer, or pitching the books to media, and can focus on his editorial vision and teaching workload."
