After awarding a total of $35,000 to small presses in its successful first year, the Republic of Consciousness Prize returns for its second year in the US and Canada. The prize, first founded in 2017 in the UK by author Neil Griffiths, was brought across the ocean by critic, podcaster and owner of the Dallas, Texas store, Interabang Books, Lori Feathers.

The Republic of Consciousness prize is an annual award given to independent small presses to celebrate and support these presses that are the beating heart of the publishing industry. Why?   Despite facing greater financial challenges than commercial publishers, small presses are often the ones taking the biggest creative risks to uphold their commitment to producing original and exemplary literary works. Their ambition alone is something that Feathers believes is deserving of widespread praise. 

An eligible small press is one that has an average net revenue of US $750,000 per year or less and is dedicated to literary fiction as its main creative aim. In order to be considered for the award the small press must submit one novel or short story that has been physically published by the press during the same year as the prize. Last year’s Republic of Consciousness Prize US & Canada was awarded to the press A Public Space Books for the story collection God’s Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu.

The goal of the Republic of Consciousness prize is not only to uplift the singular winning press but to distribute support across the entire community of small presses and authors alike. Those who make it onto both the longlist and shortlist receive a share of the prize fund, with the winner gaining additional “bragging rights.”  

Lori Feathers discusses the bravery and importance of small presses with Edith Matthias for The National Book Review.

Q: Why did you choose to bring the Republic of Consciousness prize to North America? In the current world of publishing what is the importance of this prize?   

A: I wanted to bring the prize to the United States and Canada because I really feel that the work of small publishers is something that we need to be fostering. With the consolidations in the North American publishing industry of late, it seems that we're getting fewer and fewer editorial voices that are deciding which books get out into the public sphere. I think it is important that readers have more of a choice in the types of books that they have access to. I believe that the work of small publishers demonstrates some of the most creative and innovative literary fiction that is happening right now therefore, I want to do anything I can to heighten and enlarge the profile of those presses.    

Q: Do you think that there is a big difference between the kind of books that are being published by small presses in comparison to the larger more commercial presses?

A: I do, I see that the smaller publishers are oftentimes less concerned about the commercial profitability of a book. They're not so focused on what peg they're going to put a book into. I think that for the for the smaller publishers they just see good writing and a good voice that has something to share and they're willing to take the risk without worrying about how they're going to market the book.  

Q: What qualities were you looking for in your judging panel?

A: Starting the prize, it was a priority for me that most of the judges each year be booksellers in independent bookstores. I feel like those are the very people that really hold a lot of influence in placing small publishers’ books into the hands of customers. I think that discovering a small press is almost like discovering your favourite author because you will love almost everything that they release! Many small publishers prioritize specific voices like women’s voices or trans voices and I think that independent booksellers do well to showcase these works.  

Q: What kind of impact have you seen this prize have in the UK that you would like to replicate in North America?

A: As someone who has followed the UK prize for several years and loved the books that were being highlighted, I think that the prize has been very important in the UK. One of the things that Neil Griffiths, the founder of the UK prize, has been so instrumental in fostering, is a culture where people appreciate small presses and encourage small presses to communicate with one another. One of things that Neal does, which I have adopted for the US and Canada prize, is a Zoom party that is open to the public after the announcement of the longlisted books. This allows the judges, authors, translators, editors and interested members of the public to discuss the long-listed titles. It has been exciting to see how this event is building a support network and enthusiasm around small presses.  

Q: What are some books that you are proud to award from these small presses? 

A: Last year New Vessel Press submitted a great novel called Pollack’s Arm by Hans Von Trotha which was translated from German by Elisabeth Lauffer. An interesting historical novel was released by the Canadian publisher Coach House Press called The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr. And of course, I don't want to fail to mention Transit Books’ ‘A New Name’ by Jon Fosse - that was an extraordinary title as well. We were very lucky to have a lot of really good books submitted in our first year of the Republic of Consciousness Prize, and we hope to have even more titles to choose from this year.

Q:  Is it often that books released by small presses become widely recognized?

A. Yes! Sometimes they do get big in very unexpected ways. A good example is a book called Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann that was published by the small UK press Galley Beggar. I think in the UK and here in North America it has become a cult classic – I always carry it in my bookstore, and I’ve put it in lots of people’s hands. The book is just over 1000 pages long which reads as one non-ending sentence, making it an extraordinary piece of fiction but also an improbable success story. It was a very courageous decision for a press of this size to publish such a daring book, but it paid off.

The Republic of Consciousness Prize US and Canada is currently open for submissions until August 31st, 2023.

Guidelines here.

Edith Matthias is an associate editor at the National Book Review and former reporter at the Daily Californian. She is a recent graduate from University of East Anglia with a background in radio, creative writing and arts and culture journalism.