ABOUT...Catalyst Book Press publishes 1-2 literary non-fiction books each year. The books we publish explore personal, social, and historical transformation. For more detailed information, please read our mission statement or go to our blog. |
MISSION STATEMENT
THE LOFTY VISION The definition of “catalyst” is “something that causes an important event to happen.” The best literature is a force for change. Catalyst Book Press will publish books that follow the human journey through life, paying special attention to those moments of individual and group transformation, revolution, and change. While it is a worthy goal to try to transform society, that means trying to change bureaucracies, which is sort of like trying to stop the earth from turning. Societies are changed when individuals change and so Catalyst focuses on the ground up, at the personal level. We hope to publish books that increase knowledge about the world and work to transform individual hearts and minds. |
THE NUTS AND BOLTS...
First of all, with but a few exceptions, Catalyst Book Press will exclusively publish non-fiction. This non-fiction should strive for the best journalistic and literary standards. We are not interested in scholarly works though we are interested in works that have been thoroughly researched and investigated. |
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WHO WE ARE & WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO Catalyst Book Press has a staff of one. All editorial, submission, marketing, ordering, and other inquiries go to the same person: Jessica. That would be me. I am a writer and publisher because there is no other way I want to spend my life. It is as simple as that. Whether I feast with kings or scavenge for scraps with rats, a life spent reading and writing is a life well lived. So here I am. |
A SHORT BIO
In her other life, Jessica Powers is a young adult author and publishes under the name J.L. Powers. Her first novel, The Confessional, was published by Knopf in 2007 and can be purchased in many bookstores or on Amazon by clicking:
She was conceived in Africa, raised on the U.S.-Mexico Border, and now lives in the Bay Area. Her personal blog can be read at her website...
Her thoughts on publishing can be read at Catalyst's blog....
or at the following great literary resource...
She is absolutely, certifiably a workaholic.
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| TRAVEL NOTES Like people, places have a personality–that personality is influenced by geography, culture, religion, history and politics. Catalyst is interested in publishing books about strange or unique places, perhaps books written by people who have either travelled somewhere or lived somewhere interesting, travelogues, old travel diaries, books that illuminate the world for us. |
| FERTILITY AND FAMILY Catalyst will be publishing a series of literary anthologies exploring people’s personal and spiritual transformations related to the topic of fertility and family. From time to time, we will send out calls for submissions for these anthologies. We may also on occasion publish books within this category that don’t fit the defintiion of “anthology”—e.g., memoirs or creative nonfiction. Current calls for submissions are here:
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Coming Soon: Links to our Fertility and Family ezine
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| FAITH, RELIGION, AND THE SPIRIT WORLD All religions can be a force for both good and evil. Catalyst is interested in exploring individual and group spiritual experiences, books that explore religious movements or depict religious people, spiritual memoirs, biographies, popular histories. |
AFRICA In the next two-three years, Catalyst will begin publishing books by Africans and about Africa.
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SUBMISSIONS POLICY
We are a very small press and publish primarily literary and journalistic non-fiction, with occasional quirky side-projects. Our current main focus is on fertility and family related literary anthologies. We are accepting submissions for the following anthologies, to be published in late 2009 or early 2010: an anthology on the adoption triad, focused on birth parents, and an anthology on miscarriage. Please read submission guidelines here:
If you’re interested in submitting an essay, address questions and submissions to Jessica at the following email: info at catalystbookpress.com. |
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