Small Press Points

A couple of years ago Geoffrey Gatza was in Buffalo, attending a conference devoted to the work of Charles Olson, when he had a chance to talk with poet Anne Waldman. Gatza, who launched the online journal BlazeVOX in 2000, and four years later, the small press BlazeVOX Books in Buffalo, was lamenting the fact that the press wasn't attracting more women writers. By that point, BlazeVOX Books had published about thirty titles—only three of which were written by women. "Even though that included two books nominated for Lambda Literary Awards, I wanted to be a more responsible editor," Gatza says. "So Anne offered the wonderful advice to place a note [on the Web site] to let women know in advance that their voices are appreciated." Evidently it worked. Among the press's new and forthcoming books are titles by Marcia Roberts, Amy King, Celia Gilbert, Sarah Sarai, Florine Melnyk, Jessica Baron, Sally Ashton, Elizabeth Hatmaker, and others. BlazeVOX Books is currently accepting submissions of poetry and fiction; guidelines are available on the Web site.