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Photos by Asia Morris.<\/em><\/p>\n Game changers Wendy Thomas Russell and Jennifer Volland have graced Long Beach, and potentially the world, with a small, albeit profound operation. The two entrepreneurs acquired a business license for their new small publishing house Brown Paper Press in 2014 and are less than a day away from launching their second and third books by two critically acclaimed writers with local ties. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Russell is a former Long Beach Press Telegram<\/em> reporter and an award-winning journalist, while Volland is co-author of Edward A. Killingsworth: An Architect\u2019s Life<\/em> and Long Beach Architecture: The Unexpected Metropolis<\/em>. The two met through their daughters at a birthday party and immediately hit it off as two writers living in Long Beach. They met some time afterward at La Palapa, and a few whiskeys later, the dreamers decided to start a mission-driven press with limitless potential, unrestricted by genre but grounded in relevance to current events.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were influenced by the\u2014and I would say disillusioned\u2014by the mainstream publishing machine, but we also saw a great opportunity to create something new,\u201d said Russell.<\/p>\n Their mission is not to put out a big hit, sell thousands of copies in a week then call it a day. Their goal is to enjoy and be conscious of the process, develop a sustained public interest in the material and increase the typical \u201cshelf-life\u201d of the book. Relax, It\u2019s Just God: How and Why to Talk to Your Kids About Religion When You\u2019re Not Religious<\/em> was the local publishing house\u2019s guinea pig, so to speak. Authored by Russell herself, the book has sold thousands of copies, which by small press standards, is an absolute success.<\/p>\n \u201cWith small presses in general, the opportunity is there to continue to promote the book,\u201d Russell explained. \u201cAnd so it\u2019s not like this big push and then that just declines. It\u2019s harder to [ask] now, \u2018How many books have sold?\u2019 because, well, it\u2019s still selling. We\u2019re not done yet and we\u2019re not even at the year mark.\u201d<\/p>\n But the numbers aren\u2019t what matter to the two insightful entrepreneurs. Brown Paper Press is looking forward to mining not only Long Beach\u2019s local literary talent, as the only small publishing house of full-length books, according to Russell, but are open to any work they find truly compelling in this day and age.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d both been published before so we understood the whole cycle of writing, design and promoting books, so like Wendy said, we saw gaps in the process and then opportunities that we thought we could make better or even more enjoyable,\u201d said Volland. \u201cIt\u2019s not a hierarchical relationship between the publisher and the authors. We have a collaborative type environment that we want to foster and I think we can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Brown Paper Press\u2019 next two books to be launched at Fingerprints on Saturday are Long Beach Press-Telegram<\/em> columnist Tim Grobaty\u2019s I\u2019m Dyin\u2019 Here: A Life in the Paper<\/em> and acclaimed essayist and Cal State Long Beach creative writing professor Alan Rifkin\u2019s Burdens by Water: An Unintended Memoir.<\/em> Grobaty\u2019s Long Beach legacy as a columnist precedes this significant work, while Rifkin has been a writer and editor for several magazines and literary journals, including Details<\/em>, Premier<\/em>, L.A. Weekly<\/em>, Los Angeles Times<\/em> and Black Clock<\/em> and wrote Signal Hill: Stories<\/em> in 2003, published by City Lights.<\/p>\n Russell describes Grobaty\u2019s book as his most autobiographical to date. He writes the story of his four decades as a columnist at the Press- Telegram<\/em>, back when the profession was a coveted job, \u201coffering readers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a dying breed: the local newspaper columnist,\u201d as stated in the description.<\/p>\n \u201cIt tells the story of him, of his experience in this newspaper and the collapse of the newspaper around him,\u201d said Russell. \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting story and it\u2019s a story that is happening everywhere in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n Grobaty, whose first three books were published by The History Press in South Carolina, said he previously didn’t interact much with the editors of the publishing house. However, working with Brown Paper Press was a completely different experience. It became clear that Russell and Volland were not about to let their dear friend skip by solely submitting a compilation of already written columns.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a fairly grueling experience for me, rummaging around in my past and writing about things that were sometimes disturbing,\u201d Grobaty told the Post<\/em>. \u201cJen and Wendy pushed me beyond anything I would have attempted without them.\u201d<\/p>\n Rifkin\u2019s Burdens by Water: An Unintended Memoir<\/em> is a collection of 12 essays set against the backdrop of the shimmering Southern California dream and written over the course of the essayist\u2019s 30-year career. When placed in a certain order, they create a string of stories, an \u201cunintended memoir,\u201d from Rifkin\u2019s time living with monks in a Santa Barbara monastery to facing his mother\u2019s last months in his hometown in San Fernando Valley.<\/p>\n \u201cFinding them was really an answered prayer,\u201d said Rifkin. \u201cI\u2019ve had kind of a love\/hate relationship with literary Long Beach and was always hoping that things would… that some pipeline for writing talents in Long Beach would take form.\u201d<\/p>\n While these soon-to-be-launched books are both nonfiction, Russell and Volland are not close-minded to other genres, as long as the words retain relevance to contemporary life. Whether through fiction, nonfiction, poetry or by way of the graphic novel, Brown Paper Press \u201cstrives to deliver socially relevant works that advise, guide, inspire and amuse,\u201d not just through content, but also tasteful design.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to really combine, for lack of a better term, the hype machine of a big publisher and the commercial savvy of a big publisher with the kind of editorial sensitivity that big publishers maybe had once-upon-a-time,\u201d said Rifkin. \u201cAnd so I think the kind of voices that need to be heard today are going to be heard through a publishing house like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Russell and Volland have worked out the details to the nth degree, from working closely with Rifkin and Grobaty in an effort to meet Brown Paper Press\u2019 vision, to working with local and international designers for each book\u2019s cover as well as the house\u2019s overall branding. It\u2019s minimal, symbolic, eye-catching and draws the potential reader in to let the content speak for itself.<\/p>\n When asked how they see the business evolving in five years, both vocalized the laid back approach that well, whatever happens, happens. If that means putting out two books a year until they feel the need to grow, then so be it. As long as Volland and Russell are making meaningful connections with their writers and aspiring to bring relevance to their readers through building a community of poignant thinkers, there\u2019s only knowledge to gain and stories to share.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us it\u2019s not a matter of having a set number of books that we\u2019re going to put out, it\u2019s finding the right books, the best books and the ones that tell the stories that are really going to be impactful, that are important to us,\u201d said Russell.<\/p>\n \u201c[Brown Paper Press is] emerging at a time when so many writers have given up on big publishing or even indie publishing, so they\u2019re publishing themselves and that\u2019s not working out well,\u201d said Rifkin. \u201cI\u2019m hoping that this could be a model for others to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n And although Brown Paper Press was proudly founded in Long Beach and seeks to reap the wealth of talent apparent in the city\u2019s residents and students, the publishing house also seeks to represent good writers and designers everywhere, whether they reside in this seaside city or a far off place. Although a small operation, Brown Paper Press represents a big idea, an improved method for sharing literary works that \u201cthe rest of the country would never know about otherwise,\u201d in Rifkin\u2019s words. For Volland and Russell, only the sky (and contemporary culture, of course) is the limit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to be successful, but there are a lot of ways of measuring success that have nothing to do with the bottom line,\u201d said Russell. “We want to find and develop and publish great books, we want to provide a positive experience for authors and we want to add value to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n To learn more about Brown Paper Press, visit the website here<\/a> and for regular updates, follow the Facebook page here<\/a>. For details regarding the double book launch and meet n’ greet with the authors, click here<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Founded by author and former Long Beach Press-Telegram<\/em> reporter Wendy Thomas Russell and author and writer Jennifer Volland,\u00a0Brown Paper Press is\u00a0a mission-driven publishing house with limitless potential, unrestricted by genre but grounded in relevance to current events.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":67418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[991,992],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-brown-paper-press","tag-small-business-owners","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2048"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=2048"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"DSC](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/DSC_0280.JPG\")
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