When Small Press Distribution abruptly shut down in late March, hundreds of independent, mostly literary publishers were left scrambling. Into the void stepped Mary Gannon, executive director of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses, who quickly turned the association into a go-to resource for news, updates, and guidance. “Helping publishers navigate SPD’s closure was especially challenging because of how abruptly it happened,” Gannon says, “and how little information was available.”

Job one, Gannon recalls, was getting a handle on where the individual presses’ books were located, for which Gannon enlisted the help of Lauren Rosemary Hook, formerly of the Feminist Press, as a project director. Gannon and CLMP also spearheaded efforts to clarify the many outstanding financial questions—including information on how to file claims to recover funds—and to register complaints with the California attorney general’s office.

Gannon, a published poet who has served in various capacities in the literary world, joined CLMP in 2018, and under her guidance, the organization’s membership and its budget have more than doubled. Her deep experience in the literary world has also enabled her to help SPD client publishers find new distributors, and in some cases to raise funds to cope with the fallout of SPD’s demise. The Small Press Future Fund, for example, offered SPD publishers a chance to apply for grants of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000. Funds will be distributed in January.

Beyond its one-time SPD funding initiative, a significant part of CLMP’s work is to advocate for funding to support independent literary publishers. “We believe wholeheartedly in the essential role these publishers play in ensuring a vibrant, diverse literary ecosystem,” Gannon says.

Gannon’s efforts are deeply appreciated by in the literary community. “Without CLMP, with Mary Gannon at the helm, publishers affected by SPD’s sudden and shocking closure would have been completely adrift,” says Diane Goettel, executive editor at Black Lawrence Press. “To this day, CLMP is working tirelessly to help us move forward.”

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