word west press: Innovative New Indie Publishing House Launches Debut Books

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Dec. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Origins:

Back in 2017, 'word west' founder David Queen was living in Brooklyn, NY, and working a steady job as an advertising copywriter. Everything changed when he was offered a fellowship through the Truman Capote Foundation, and a chance to attend the University of Montana's renowned MFA writing program. There was one catch—he had never set foot in the state before packing up his car and driving across the country to the small, idyllic mountain town of Missoula. "I knew absolutely nothing about Montana," says Queen. His friends and colleagues in New York weren't much help either. "When I first told my boss I was moving to Missoula, she replied, 'oh, well, I've been to the Milwaukee airport!' That was about it."

Outside of his time on campus, Queen traveled every chance he could. All around Montana, up to British Columbia and Alberta, down to Wyoming, and across Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. "I fell in love with the country out there," says Queen, "the mountains, the trees—something in my brain just clicked."

The idea for the business came to Queen during one of those trips, while hiking along the coast of Washington. What if there was a way to pull all his varied interests together? To combine the rugged, adventurous spirit of the Northwest, with the prestige of a boutique Brooklyn publisher? "It's funny," says Queen, "it took moving 2,500 miles away from the center of the publishing industry, to realize this was something I felt able to do. Maybe it took being that far away to finally see it."

word west, which has just released its first run of books—two wild story collections by Dustin M. Hoffman (No Good For Digging & Secrets of the Wild), with another, by Chloe N. Clark (Collective Gravities), set to release next year—has found inspiration in the Mountain West: from the eccentric individualism of its residents ("people out there live by their own rules—it's something I admire," says Queen), to the area's rich literary tradition, home to such acclaimed writers as Rick Bass, Annie Proulx, and Thomas McGuane, to UM's Kevin Canty, Deirdre McNamer, and Debra Magpie Earling.

These eccentricities range from conceptual, online PR strategies, to an enthusiastic embrace of outdoor adventure. This fall, Queen took the company on the road, running it out of his car—from Montana, to New York (where word west is now based—although they intend to maintain a presence in Montana), to California, and back again, tracking the journey on word west's popular Twitter account. "Why adhere to the same old rules of publishing? Anything's possible—that's what the west is all about."

About the Company:

word west is an independent book publisher and full-service writing consultancy based in Missoula, MT & Brooklyn, New York. wordwest.co // Twitter / Instagram: @wordwestpress

About the Books:

No Good For Digging: Stories

A strongman grapples with his shrinking body; a couple recalls the metamorphic stages of their love; a deck salesman makes a long-winded sales pitch; a magician guards a deadly secret. These are the lives that populate the stories of Dustin M. Hoffman—a vibrant, eccentric dream of America, one that deconstructs the blue-collar experience, and expands the possibilities of short fiction itself. Satirical and heartfelt, poignant and loopily funny, NO GOOD FOR DIGGING cements the arrival of a singular literary talent.

Praise for No Good For Digging:

"Few writers working today care as deeply for their characters as Dustin M. Hoffman."
    — Matt Bell, author of A Tree or a Person or a Wall

"No Good for Digging is further proof that Dustin M. Hoffman is a writer who deserves our attention."
    — Donald Ray Pollack, author of The Devil All The Time & The Heavenly Table

"Hoffman's collection is at once humorous, poetic, poignant and wistful, and an ardent love letter to the Midwest."
    — Anne Valente, author of The Desert Sky Before Us

Secrets of the Wild:

In this triptych of linked stories, a working-class family goes about seemingly ordinary lives—on a camping trip, or participating in "take your family to work day." In the hands of Dustin M. Hoffman, however, things are not quite as ordinary as they seem. Quickly, these scenarios are flung down a surreal rabbit hole filled with bizarre taxidermy museums, and an outrageous relationship involving a silverback gorilla. Yet, amid all of its convention-smashing glee, SECRETS OF THE WILD reveals a generous and moving portrait of a family, a family doing their best to keep it together—to play-act at normalcy, even sanity—in an American landscape slipping into madness.

Praise for Secrets of the Wild:

"With Hoffman behind the wheel, these excursions are surreal, funny, and terrifically endearing."
    — Michelle Ross, author of There's So Much They Haven't Told You

"Hoffman doesn't just bend genres, he twists them into balloon animals, creating blue-collar surrealism that melds strangeness with soul, gallows humor with heart."
    — Adam Schuitema, author of Haymaker

No Good For Digging and Secrets of the Wild are available to purchase at amazon.com, barnesandnobles.com, powells.com, & many other online retailers.

Or, you can order them from your nearest indie bookseller: indiebound.org

ISBN: 978-1-7334663-0-1 (No Good For Digging)

ISBN: 978-1-7334663-2-5 (Secrets of the Wild)

You can also purchase direct from word west's website (wordwest.co).

For more information, review copies, or to request an interview with word west's authors or founder, contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Word West LLC