Mary Austin Speaker
Mary Austin Speaker is the Creative Director of Milkweed Editions. Before joining Milkweed’s staff in 2017, Mary worked in New York trade publishing for ten years, managing the Ecco and Smithsonian imprints for HarperCollins Publishers and designing for Simon & Schuster. She co-founded and curated the Triptych Poetry Series in the East Village, and while studying for her MFA in poetry at Indiana University, she taught creative writing and edited the Indiana Review. She has published two collections of poetry—Ceremony (Slope Editions, 2013) and The Bridge (Shearsman Books, 2016).
I work at Milkweed because their list celebrates poetry, ecology…
Fireside Reading Series: Chris Santiago, Lara Mimosa Montes, Sun Yung Shin
The series annually highlights the work of some of Minnesota’s finest writers who have published a new work in the previous year. Featuring Lara Mimosa Montes, Chris Santiago, and Sun Yung Shin, these gifted poets explore language, meaning, and identity in new and compelling ways with their new work.
Events
Milkweed at #AWP17
Join Milkweed Editions at #AWP17 in Washington, DC from February 8–11! At the largest annual conference for writers and publishers in the U.S., join us for author signings, special discounts and giveaways, over 25 panels featuring Milkweed staff and authors, and to talk submissions, internships, and more. Don’t miss our full schedule of activities»
Book Lovers Extravaganza!
Milkweed Books is teaming up with Reading Group Choices, an organization that recommends books for reading group discussion, for a celebration of reading groups. All are welcome to this evening of fun giveaways, drinks and snacks, and rounds of author speed-dating with Hala Alyan, Emily Fridlund, Marina Benjamin, Ashley Shelby, Heather Harpham, Deepak Unnikrishnan, Jamie Harrison, and Milkweed author Beth Dooley. After snacking and chatting, authors will be available to sign copies of published books as well as galleys of forthcoming titles. Milkweed Books always offers discounts for books…
It Starts With Hope: A Poetry Benefit for the Center for Victims of Torture
To begin the new year with hope, action, and poetry, Milkweed Books is hosting a reading in support of the Center for Victims of Torture. Headquartered in St. Paul, the Center for Victims of Torture is an international nonprofit dedicated to healing survivors of torture and violent conflict. The CVT works toward a future where torture ceases to exist and its victims have hope for a new life. Milkweed Books is honoring the CVT’s work with an evening of readings on the theme of hope from poets Patricia Kirkpatrick, James P. Lenfestey, Wang Ping, Chris Santiago, and Katrina Vandenberg. Gather…
Editors
THANK YOU for being part of our 2016
“Gratitude compels the recognition that we exist because of the gifts of others, that we are all connected. And gratitude reminds you that you already have everything you need, and is thus a restraint on consumption. Practicing gratitude in a consumer society is a powerful act of resistance.” —ROBIN WALL KIMMERER
In many respects, 2016 feels like a year that has mostly taken: from the notable artists we’ve lost—including two of our own, Max Ritvo and Phebe Hanson—to the countless assaults on the bodies and fundamental rights of our brothers and sisters, our environment, and our democracy. At this moment, when the losses are so tangible and when consumerism is at its height, we offer our deepest gratitude for all you have given in 2016.
Editors
What We Believe
We believe that independent publishers and booksellers serve an invaluable role in America today. We provide a means by which readers discover different perspectives and new points of view, encouraging empathy and a sense of common humanity. As a nonprofit organization, we are empowered to make decisions about the books we publish based on our mission, not a bottom line.
If you believe, as we do, that the authors we support and books we publish are more essential than ever, please consider giving a year-end gift to Milkweed Editions today to help us continue to create beautiful, meaningful books. Click HERE to donate now.
Bookstore / Roundup
Milkweed Books: Our Favorite Books to Give in 2016
Most bookstores do year-end lists and highlight the titles their booksellers have enjoyed selling over the past year. But given the fact that we (as Milkweed Books booksellers) have only been here for the past ten or so weeks, we’ve taken a slightly different approach. I’m happy to present this baker’s dozen of books as a fair offering from us as a brand-new bookselling team. We have a shared love of quirky and well-done YA and science fiction. We’re into food and plants as both filling and illuminating. A mix of fiction and nonfiction and poetry.
As our stock grows and…
Submissions / Awards & Prizes
Srikanth Reddy to Judge 2017 Lindquist & Vennum Prize for Poetry
One of the largest annual regional poetry prizes, the Lindquist & Vennum Prize for Poetry celebrates a region rich with poetic heritage and seeks to support poets residing in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Srikanth Reddy has been named as the 2017 judge. Submissions for the prize, now in its sixth year, will be open from January 2–February 15. There is no fee to submit.