Small Business Spotlight: Folkways Press

This month, we spoke to Hannah Fields, founder of Folkways Press about their debut anthology, ‘We Are Not Shadows’.

Folkways Press is an independent publishing company dedicated to giving a voice to the unconventional, the extraordinary, and the voices who’ve been too long unheard.

Why did you start Folkways Press?

The path to Folkways Press is complicated when I really dig into it. The idea to start my own publishing company was put into my head by my mother. I’ve always loved books and one day she asked me, ‘Well, why not start a company and publish them?’ From there I pursued a MLitt in Publishing at the University of Stirling and my resolve to start my own company grew, but I wasn’t sure what ‘my’ company should look like. After a lot of thought about what I’d like to change in publishing through my contributions as a publisher, I decided that I wanted Folkways Press to be a platform for those who go unheard. The industry overlooks marginalised voices and I want to be a positive change within the industry, even if my contribution is small. Folkways Press will forever be dedicated to the unconventional, the extraordinary, and the voices of those who’ve been buried within the margins for far too long.

“Despite living in a time where more women are speaking up and speaking out about inequality, political issues, and the realities of their everyday lives, many still go unheard. ”

‘We Are Not Shadows’ is your first book – what’s it all about?

‘We Are Not Shadows’ is a feminist anthology featuring poetry, prose, and essays from 34 women writers from around the globe. Despite living in a time where more women are speaking up and speaking out about inequality, political issues, and the realities of their everyday lives, many still go unheard. So I wanted to take these issues and give women from all ages and backgrounds a platform to speak about their own experiences or observations. The anthology covers issues of race, gender, sexuality, trauma, adversity, disability, and more. It is my hope that readers are both inspired and moved by the words within and feel empowered to speak up about their own experiences.

What are your future plans for Folkways Press – are there other books you’re in the process of publishing further down the line? Or has the pandemic put a halt on that at the moment?

I’m currently brainstorming new books from Folkways. The mission of the press is to represent all people, especially those who have been treated unjustly for decades. Their lives and backgrounds are important and should be treated as so. I’d love to publish some poetry collections along with essay and/or short story collections from solo authors, but that may come later in the year. My goal is a series that focuses on one topic per book, such as mental health or race or folklore. These would also be anthologies, but that remains to be seen. My biggest challenge is funding. I work full-time and run Folkways in my free time. I’d love to get to the point where I’m focusing on Folkways fulltime, but I don’t see that happening any time soon, especially with this pandemic going on. Despite that, I remain hopeful for the future of the press!

What do you think is the biggest issue the publishing industry is facing today?

It’s difficult to pick just one when the publishing industry has quite a few things to improve. Its inability to stop doing things the way they’ve always been done would be my first choice. You still have companies expecting publishing hopefuls to live in expensive cities for a salary that barely covers the cost of living. These are the same companies who only address diversity

like a fad rather than institutional change. Sometimes it’s as if the industry still wants to live in the days when you needed large bank accounts and connections to be considered rather than opening its doors to new people who deserve to be considered for their skills and not who they’re connected to.

“Letters have played such a major role in our history, especially their role in radical changes in our society.”

When you think of letters, what do you think?

Letters make me think of two things: intimacy and radical change. We write letters to another person to tell them we’re thinking about them; to express our love for someone; to update someone about the goings-on in our lives; or to just extend a small greeting for a holiday. There’s something special about opening a letter and having the words enclosed belong only to you and the sender. I wish letters were still commonplace. However, letters have played such a major role in our history, especially their role in radical changes in our society. My mind goes directly to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. If you’re not familiar with this letter, Dr. King wrote it in the Birmingham Jail in 1963 after being arrested, along with nearly 50 other protestors and civil rights leaders, for leading a Good Friday demonstration as part of the Birmingham Campaign, designed to bring national attention to the brutal, racist treatment suffered by Blacks in one of the most segregated cities in America: Birmingham, Alabama. In this letter, Dr. King addressed an open letter written by 8 local religious leaders which criticised both the demonstrations and King himself. In his letter, Dr. King turned the criticism back upon both the nation’s religious leaders and more moderate-minded white Americans, castigating them for sitting on the sidelines while King and others risked everything agitating for change. In this letter, King writes: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ In 7,000 words, Dr. King dismantles his critics and stands up for his work to achieve justice, which is an example of how powerful letters can be and how loudly they can speak. It’s an example we can follow with books because they are our own letters for justice and so much more.

Find out more about Folkways Press on Twitter (@FolkwaysPress), Instagram (@FolkwaysPress), and their website.

Interview by Grace Balfour-Harle