About the Press
A great house, built on the courage to say no.
Our Story
Earnest Press is a new independent publisher built on a simple conviction: that a short list, fiercely chosen, is worth more than a crowded shelf. Based in the United States, we are starting fresh — with restraint, care, and the long view in mind.
Our discipline is selectivity. We publish only a handful of titles each year, each acquired by a full editorial board and given the design, the marketing, and the lifetime of stewardship that a great book deserves.
We are also happy to collaborate with other publishers on distribution and acquisition of rights. We want to ensure the author is widely heard — and will work with partners across the world to extend the reach of every voice we publish.
We remain selective on purpose. A short list, defended fiercely, read everywhere. That is the whole of the plan.
“We do not publish for the market. We publish for the shelf that will hold these books fifty years from now.”
Principles
We acquire with rigour
We consider work only through established literary agents, and every submission is weighed by a full editorial board. A short list, fiercely chosen, is the whole of the plan.
We publish for the shelf
We do not publish for the market. We publish for the shelf that will still hold these books fifty years from now — and for the reader who will need them then.
We make objects, not products
Hand-set type, Smyth-sewn binding, FSC-certified stock. The physical book is an argument that some things are worth keeping.