Out of this world
Interstellar Flight Press is a new indie publisher of speculative books (science fiction, fantasy, horror).
‘Our flight plan includes focusing on the most rare and beautiful of books and ideas,’ said managing editor Holly Lyn Walrath. ‘We feature underrepresented genres and authors with a focus on writers from marginalised backgrounds. Our press publishes novellas, short story collections, poetry collections, and books that wouldn’t otherwise find a home. We also publish Interstellar Flight Magazine, an online zine dedicated to nonfiction reviews, interviews, and articles about speculative pop culture.
Interstellar Flight Press was launched in 2019. ‘I wanted to fill a gap in small press publishing,’ said Holly. ‘The press name is inspired by my father, who was an avid fan of flight and airplanes. My father passed away in 2018. He suffered from Parkinson’s disease and near the end of his life was unable to communicate. His death spurred me to finally chase my dream of publishing – because words matter.’
Interstellar Flight Press is a pandemic baby of sorts. ‘We started publishing right before the pandemic and have had to learn fast through the challenges that brought,’ said Holly. ‘Our goals include increasing our pay to writers and reach as we are able to attend conferences and conventions again. I don’t think the press will ever be large – but we do have a lot of exciting plans in the works for the future. To that end, we’re always looking for volunteers who want to slush read or just learn how indie publishing works. We have a huge team of over thirty volunteers and we are so grateful for the help they give us.’
Interstallar Flight Press’s books explore the speculative through a lens of social issues. ‘For example, we published
Twelve by Andrea Blythe, a poetic feminist retelling of the Brothers
Grimm fairy tale The Twelve
Dancing Princesses. Can You Sign My Tentacle? by Caribbean author Brandon O’Brien is a book of Lovecraftian-inspired poems that explores racism and sexism. And Local Star by Aimee Ogden is a polyamorous space opera. We’re interested in working with authors from a wide variety of backgrounds but ultimately our goal is to uplift underrepresented voices.’
Interstellar Flight Press currently publishes three to five titles a year and its goal is to publish between five and ten books annually.
Submission calls are targeted. ‘Our latest call is for short story collections – it ends January 1, 2022,’ said Holly. ‘In the past we have run calls for novellas and poetry collections. We usually feature a guest editor who assists in making final choices. For example, in 2021, we accepted submissions from BIPOC writers with guest editor Premee Mohamed.’
Submissions are always open for Interstellar Flight Press’s online magazine of essays, reviews, interviews, and other commentary on speculative pop culture (books, film, comics, games). ‘Our magazine is anthologied each year in a “best of” anthology available in print and ebook formats,’ said Holly.
Interested writers should check the online submissions page for upcoming calls. ‘We’re always open to submissions from agents for novellas, short story collections, poetry collections, and other books that don’t fit into the standard publishing platforms.’
Interstellar Flight Press publishes in paperback, ebook and sometimes audio formats, and depending on the title, pays a small advance and royalties.
Website: www.interstellarflightpress.com