Looking for some local color?" That's what Small Press Distribution, Poets & Writers and the California Arts Council asked the state's booksellers. Together these organizations created Underground California, a program that brings independent publishers and independent booksellers together.
Through Underground California, now in its second year, 39 booksellers up and down the state featured posters and shelf-talkers and held events celebrating the work of small presses in their own backyards. Most of the events were held the first week of April, but many booksellers used the materials to promote independent California presses all month.
Ryan Tranquilla, director of California programs at Poets & Writers, told PW that the program came out of several discussions with small presses sponsored by the California Arts Council. "One of the things we heard from the small presses is that visibility was a problem," he said. "We wanted to link them more closely with booksellers in the state."
Of course many independent booksellers already had their own ways of celebrating local publishers, and they were only happy to combine Underground California with their efforts. Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland holds its own Small Press Extravaganza events several times a year. "We've been doing it prior to Underground California and we are glad to do it with them now," said co-owner John Evans. "I think it is a really good thing and I am pleased by the response of our customers."
At Modern Times in San Francisco, events coordinator Amanda Davidson said having the backing of the Arts Council made sense, "because a lot of what the independent presses do is art." It is also no coincidence that the organizers of Underground California moved this year's event to coincide with National Poetry Month, since a large number of California presses publish poetry.
The Modern Times event spotlighted five local poets and drew over 40 people. "I feel that for a poetry event, that is a stunning success," said Davidson.
"What we are trying to say to the communities through the program is that there are writers and presses publishing books right down the street from you," said Tranquilla. Underground California doubled the number of booksellers involved in its second annual event and hopes to do the same next year.
