Enter your email Address

ENTROPY
  • About
    • About
    • Masthead
    • Advertising
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Info on Book Reviews
  • Essays
    • All Introspection
      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      The Birds: Rare Birds

      February 22, 2019

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      The Wheel Maker: How My Daughter Learned to See Like a Colonizer in the Classroom

      February 22, 2019

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      Literacy Narrative: On Air Quoting Artistic Labor

      February 21, 2019

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      WOVEN: on spilling open

      February 20, 2019

      Introspection

      A Review of My New Yorker Subscription

      October 10, 2018

      Introspection

      Mausoleum

      July 24, 2018

      Introspection

      On Weather: Creeping Cedar

      July 1, 2018

      Introspection

      Life Writing: A Visit From My Nancy

      June 1, 2018

  • Fiction
    • Fiction

      BLACKCACKLE: Clap Hands

      February 22, 2019

      Fiction

      THE GREENING

      February 20, 2019

      Fiction

      BLACKCACKLE: Serious Inquiries Only, Please!

      February 15, 2019

      Fiction

      Mourning Morning

      February 13, 2019

      Fiction

      The Birds: Baby Bird

      February 13, 2019

  • Reviews
    • All Collaborative Review Video Review
      Review

      Review: After the Death of Shostakovich Père by Maya Sonenberg

      February 21, 2019

      Review

      Review: Born Again by Ivy Johnson

      February 18, 2019

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      Meanness Tints the World Inhuman

      February 15, 2019

      Review

      What Mishima Teaches Us About Love

      February 14, 2019

      Collaborative Review

      A Street Car Named Whatever

      February 22, 2016

      Collaborative Review

      Black Gum: A Conversational Review

      August 7, 2015

      Collaborative Review

      Lords of Waterdeep in Conversation

      February 25, 2015

      Collaborative Review

      MOUTH: EATS COLOR and the Devoration of Languages

      January 12, 2015

      Video Review

      Entropy’s Super Mario Level

      September 15, 2015

      Video Review

      Flash Portraits of Link: Part 7 – In Weakness, Find Strength

      January 2, 2015

      Video Review

      Basal Ganglia by Matthew Revert

      March 31, 2014

      Video Review

      The Desert Places by Amber Sparks and Robert Kloss, Illustrated by Matt Kish

      March 21, 2014

  • Small Press
    • Small Press

      Stubborn Mule Press

      February 12, 2019

      Small Press

      Thirty West Publishing House

      January 29, 2019

      Small Press

      Arte Público Press

      January 15, 2019

      Small Press

      FutureCycle Press

      January 3, 2019

      Small Press

      Green Linden Press

      December 17, 2018

  • Where to Submit
  • More
    • Poetry
    • Interviews
    • Games
      • All Board Games Video Games
        Featured

        Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the Spirit of Generosity

        December 31, 2018

        Games

        Best of 2018: Video Games

        December 17, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 12 (Once in a Lifetime)

        November 10, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 11 (Karma Police)

        November 3, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 12 (Once in a Lifetime)

        November 10, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 11 (Karma Police)

        November 3, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 10 (Pretty Vacant)

        October 27, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 9 (Savoy Truffle)

        October 20, 2018

        Video Games

        Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the Spirit of Generosity

        December 31, 2018

        Video Games

        Best of 2018: Video Games

        December 17, 2018

        Video Games

        Silent Hill Shattered Memories: Biography of a Place

        September 3, 2018

        Video Games

        Silent Hill Downpour: Biography of a Place

        August 3, 2018

    • Food
    • Small Press Releases
    • Film
    • Music
    • Paranormal
    • Travel
    • Art
    • Graphic Novels
    • Comics
    • Current Events
    • Astrology
    • Random
  • RESOURCES
  • The Accomplices
    • THE ACCOMPLICES
    • Enclave
    • Trumpwatch

ENTROPY

  • About
    • About
    • Masthead
    • Advertising
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Info on Book Reviews
  • Essays
    • All Introspection
      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      The Birds: Rare Birds

      February 22, 2019

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      The Wheel Maker: How My Daughter Learned to See Like a Colonizer in the Classroom

      February 22, 2019

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      Literacy Narrative: On Air Quoting Artistic Labor

      February 21, 2019

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      WOVEN: on spilling open

      February 20, 2019

      Introspection

      A Review of My New Yorker Subscription

      October 10, 2018

      Introspection

      Mausoleum

      July 24, 2018

      Introspection

      On Weather: Creeping Cedar

      July 1, 2018

      Introspection

      Life Writing: A Visit From My Nancy

      June 1, 2018

  • Fiction
    • Fiction

      BLACKCACKLE: Clap Hands

      February 22, 2019

      Fiction

      THE GREENING

      February 20, 2019

      Fiction

      BLACKCACKLE: Serious Inquiries Only, Please!

      February 15, 2019

      Fiction

      Mourning Morning

      February 13, 2019

      Fiction

      The Birds: Baby Bird

      February 13, 2019

  • Reviews
    • All Collaborative Review Video Review
      Review

      Review: After the Death of Shostakovich Père by Maya Sonenberg

      February 21, 2019

      Review

      Review: Born Again by Ivy Johnson

      February 18, 2019

      Creative Nonfiction / Essay

      Meanness Tints the World Inhuman

      February 15, 2019

      Review

      What Mishima Teaches Us About Love

      February 14, 2019

      Collaborative Review

      A Street Car Named Whatever

      February 22, 2016

      Collaborative Review

      Black Gum: A Conversational Review

      August 7, 2015

      Collaborative Review

      Lords of Waterdeep in Conversation

      February 25, 2015

      Collaborative Review

      MOUTH: EATS COLOR and the Devoration of Languages

      January 12, 2015

      Video Review

      Entropy’s Super Mario Level

      September 15, 2015

      Video Review

      Flash Portraits of Link: Part 7 – In Weakness, Find Strength

      January 2, 2015

      Video Review

      Basal Ganglia by Matthew Revert

      March 31, 2014

      Video Review

      The Desert Places by Amber Sparks and Robert Kloss, Illustrated by Matt Kish

      March 21, 2014

  • Small Press
    • Small Press

      Stubborn Mule Press

      February 12, 2019

      Small Press

      Thirty West Publishing House

      January 29, 2019

      Small Press

      Arte Público Press

      January 15, 2019

      Small Press

      FutureCycle Press

      January 3, 2019

      Small Press

      Green Linden Press

      December 17, 2018

  • Where to Submit
  • More
    • Poetry
    • Interviews
    • Games
      • All Board Games Video Games
        Featured

        Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the Spirit of Generosity

        December 31, 2018

        Games

        Best of 2018: Video Games

        December 17, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 12 (Once in a Lifetime)

        November 10, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 11 (Karma Police)

        November 3, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 12 (Once in a Lifetime)

        November 10, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 11 (Karma Police)

        November 3, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 10 (Pretty Vacant)

        October 27, 2018

        Board Games

        Ludic Writing: The Real Leeds Part 9 (Savoy Truffle)

        October 20, 2018

        Video Games

        Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the Spirit of Generosity

        December 31, 2018

        Video Games

        Best of 2018: Video Games

        December 17, 2018

        Video Games

        Silent Hill Shattered Memories: Biography of a Place

        September 3, 2018

        Video Games

        Silent Hill Downpour: Biography of a Place

        August 3, 2018

    • Food
    • Small Press Releases
    • Film
    • Music
    • Paranormal
    • Travel
    • Art
    • Graphic Novels
    • Comics
    • Current Events
    • Astrology
    • Random
  • RESOURCES
  • The Accomplices
    • THE ACCOMPLICES
    • Enclave
    • Trumpwatch
Small Press

Damaged Goods Press

written by Entropy May 9, 2017

Website
Submission Guidelines


Interview with Caseyrenée Lopez, Founding Editor

How did Damaged Goods Press start?

I started Damaged Goods because I saw an outpouring of amazing work after working with Crab Fat Magazine. I initially started Crab Fat specifically for queer writers, but at the time my place in the lit/poetry/writing community was very limited and I felt it was necessary to expand the scope and allow for a wider audience/scope of submissions. After a while, I started to feel like I’d betrayed myself and queer/trans writers, so I wanted to create a space for those voices specifically. I have been publishing chapbooks for almost 2 years now and have not deviated from that course—I continue to seek out and publish the work that I want to see in the world, and by offering this platform I have created something that I truly believe in and love. I was moved to action because I love this work and love getting emerging voices out into the world.

Tell us a bit about Damaged Goods Press. What are your influences, your aesthetic, your mission? 

It’s simple really: I look for queer/trans writers who are making beautiful, powerful work. I love the weird, experimental, avant-garde work that is coming from the margins, and I want to center that work as best as I can. To tack down exactly what I’m after at Damaged Goods is something I haven’t done yet. I’m just publishing work that speaks the loudest to me. So far our catalog has a variety of writers, and the one thing that holds it all together is the beauty of the works.

Can you give us a preview of what’s current and/or forthcoming from your catalog, as well as what you’re hoping to publish in the future?

This past December (2016) we published Jesse Rice-Evans’ Soft Switch, which is a really cool prose poetry collection that centers queer femme identity, and this February we published Mariama J. Lockington’s The Lucky Daughter (absolutely incredible!). It’s hard to say more because we’re a very small press and only publish around 3-4 books a year, but I’m always reading and looking for the next collection of beautiful queer words to add to the Damaged Goods catalog.

We used to ask, “What about small/independent press publishing is particularly exciting to you right now?” We’re still interested in the answer to that, but we’re even more interested to know what you think needs to change.

All the good stuff is coming out of small presses. It’s where all the best writers are getting their starts and leaping into the world—so that’s super exciting to see so many wonderful voices getting their due—but as with so many others, I’d like to see more feminism and queer representation.

How do you cope? There’s been a lot of conversation lately about charging reading fees, printing costs, rising book costs, who should pay for what, etc. Do you have any opinions on this, and would you be willing to share any insights about the numbers at Damaged Goods Press?

I want to see the bigger guys open their doors to writers by getting rid of or lowering reading/submission fees. It’s really hard to claim you want to publish underrepresented writers and add diversity to your catalog, while charging $25, $35, $45 (!!) just to read someone’s submission. It makes publishing so inaccessible for poor/low-income writers to submit anywhere. Damaged Goods is a very small endeavor, and we pay for almost everything out of pocket. After our first year we decided to make sure that 70% of our book sales go back to the writers, and the remaining 30% partially covers book printing/shipping/mailing supplies/etc. If you can’t publish books or read submissions without charging absurd fees maybe it’s time to rethink publishing strategies? Maybe I’m wrong here, but it feels like there should be a higher level of transparency for presses that charge large fees, and saying “the money goes to pay writers and back into the press” doesn’t seem like enough: let people know how those $35-$45 fees pay for press expenses and how much of those fees actually make it into the pockets of writers. It just feels dirty to make writers pay for submissions when they’re the reason presses exist. Everyone who writes for, or runs a small press, knows that money is very limited here, most folks don’t get into doing this with dreams of striking it rich, and if money is the biggest concern—well, you know how that goes.

Can you tell us a little about what the press’s name means to you?

Damaged goods is a phrase I’ve always used to describe myself, as someone who doesn’t fit in with a lot of scenes, as someone who is a survivor of physical and sexual abuse, as someone whose gender identity and sexual orientation doesn’t align with a lot of labels. It’s never been a bad thing either, just a weird way of coping for me. It seemed to fit the kind of work I want to publish as well because for a lot of us, queer and trans folks, we’re often seen as damaged in some way—we go against social norms in one way or another—but really, it’s beautiful, and adds so much depth to the literary world.


Recent releases from Damaged Goods Press:

Damaged Goods Press was last modified: March 2nd, 2017 by Entropy
avant-gardefeministFlash fictionhybridpoetryqueerTrans
0 comment
0
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Entropy

A new website featuring literary & non-literary content. A website that seeks to engage with the literary community, that becomes its own community, and creates a space for literary & non-literary ideas. About Entropy

previous post
The Birds: Aira
next post
WEEK VII, INPUT: YEAR XXXIX

You may also like

Tavern Books

March 28, 2017

FutureCycle Press

January 3, 2019

Hyacinth Girl Press

November 17, 2015

BLF Press

January 17, 2017
Facebook Twitter

Recent Comments

  • adelaidedupont Gurba's memoir of Mean is so spot-on, especially this part:
    Gurba argues that even though someone is mean they don’t deserve to be dehumanized. This is shown by the way her younger,...

    Meanness Tints the World Inhuman ·  February 17, 2019

  • Wizard Jaislin I had a really weird dream. i was taking a walk in terrace when on the moon i saw eye of horus. as i moved the eye moved . the moon was red and i was scared,but i felt like it was trying to tell me...

    GOTHIDEAS: Dream Interpretation ·  February 10, 2019

  • 4859 Heh. Snowed in and started playing shattered memories again. Surprised to see such a recent article on the game. It really was a great game. Still ranks of one of the best uses of videogames as a...

    Silent Hill Shattered Memories: Biography of a Place ·  February 8, 2019

Featured Columns & Series

  • The Birds
  • Sunday Entropy List
  • Dinnerview
  • Variations on a Theme
  • Their Days Are Numbered
  • Disarticulations
  • On Weather
  • Mini-Syllabus
  • Birdwolf
  • Session Report series
  • Literacy Narrative
  • Comics I've Been Geeking Out On
  • BLACKCACKLE
  • WOVEN
  • Small Press Releases
  • The Poetics of Spaces
  • Notes On Motherhood
  • 30 Years of Ghibli
  • Tales From the End of the Bus Line
  • YOU MAKE ME FEEL
  • Ludic Writing
  • Best of 2018
  • The Weird Interview
  • DRAGONS ARE REAL OR THEY ARE DEAD
  • Pop Talks
  • The Concept World is No Longer Operational
  • Splendid Grub
  • LEAKY CULTURE
  • Jem and the Holographic Feminisms
  • Foster Care
  • The Talking Cure
  • D&D with Entropy
  • Stars to Stories

Tweets

  • Splendid Grub: I Ate it on a Thursday - https://t.co/f9XNgbAylL

    21-Feb-2019

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • Review: After the Death of Shostakovich Père by Maya Sonenberg - @AdamACrittenden @MzzS36019 @pankmagazine - https://t.co/uvqiOOFvdh

    21-Feb-2019

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • The New Comics: Nick Francis Potter, "Regarding" - https://t.co/q2hJgMgB4s

    21-Feb-2019

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • Literacy Narrative: On Air Quoting Artistic Labor - https://t.co/VnzXE2uo4v

    21-Feb-2019

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • Telluric Guerilla Visions and Effervescence: Will Alexander and Cecilia Vicuña - https://t.co/cUUbTz4ELP

    20-Feb-2019

    Reply Retweet Favorite

Find Us On Facebook

Entropy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

©2019 The Accomplices LLC. All Rights Reserved.


Back To Top