Going Global, Going Local: Milkweed Books
Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 7:57PMStory and photos by Julie Craven
According to Dan Slager, you can have it both ways. His plans for Milkweed Editions, where he is publisher and CEO, are to go both local and global: the local aspect includes a new retail space on the street level of Washington Avenue. Globally, they will continue to be a publisher of English content on a website with international reach.
The space at Open Book where Milkweed Books will be located was a bookstore years ago, but it was perhaps before its time. When Slager and his team began polling other publishers and bookstores about what makes a successful bookstore concept, themes began to emerge. Three features consistently made the list: coffee, food service and an event space. The event space helps to create a public dialogue and build community. That line up makes the Open Book building tailor made for an independent bookstore. The architect for the Milkweed Books project was Christian Dean, who also designed the Humboldt Lofts. The retail designer was Martha Dayton. Slager is excited about the collaboration. His prediction? “This is going to be beautiful and welcoming space.”
Open Book was originally three separate buildings that were connected when the founding partners launched the cooperative in 2000. The founding organizations were the Minnesota Council for Book Arts, The Loft Literary Center and Milkweed Editions. One of the remnants of the original buildings is the ghost advertising on what was an exterior wall in Milkweed Editions offices on the third floor. Slager added, “Open Book is the largest literary book center in America and it's an incredible story. It was a $10 million investment in 2000 to purchase and renovate the three buildings and approximately 175,000 visitors came to Open Book last year, so we are an asset to the neighborhood, to Minneapolis and to the region - there's really nothing else like it.”
Milkweed Editions was founded here 36 years ago. “We embrace our Minnesota roots and a tradition of publishing in the region.” There are three great, independent book publishers in Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, Graywolf Press and Coffee House Press. That attracted Slager and his family to make the move to Minneapolis in 2005 from New York where he had been an editor at Harcourt Publishing.
What it means to be a book publisher has changed according to Slager. “Books used to be limited by access. In 2016, that's all changed. We will publish 18 new editions this year from authors all over the United States, China and Portugal. Many of these are a debut and emerging writers - we were known for a long time for that part of our mission. We publish approximately one third each, poetry, fiction and nonfiction.”
Hosting book launch events is just one of the programming items in the works for the new space. Look for more events at the new bookstore, where about one quarter of the books will be Milkweed Edition publications. The balance will be selections published by houses from across America.
Milkweed offices will remain on the third floor and the eight employees will rotate through the bookstore. “We are committed to the neighborhood," Dan said. "Knowledgeable staff who build relationships make us better publishers.” The independent bookstores all over Minnesota are a tribute to keeping it local. “It's important to remember, Slager emphasized, that for a nonprofit every dollar goes back into publishing more great books.”
They recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to help complete the project. Learn more about their mission, the store and great rewards for supporters (including lifetime memberships at the store). We'll keep you posted on the official Grand Opening details.
Location: 1011 Washington Avenue South
Website: https://milkweed.org/
Julie Craven can be reached at julie@millcitymedia.org
