Welcome to Bona Fide Books!
bona fide (from Webster’s): made in good faith without fraud or deceit;
made with earnest intent; sincere; authentic
Bona Fide Books is a small press on a mountaintop publishing meaningful literature in a variety of formats. We aim to promote bold, unsung writers and connect them with their readers. In an alleged age of declining readership, Bona Fide wants to give everyone a reason to read.
Does the world need another small press? In our opinion, the more of us there are doing good work in the service of literature, the better. Our mission largely rests on the idea of building community and forging connections. In addition to an ether-based community, we also have a bona fide bricks and mortar office, the Center for Wayward Writers. If you find yourself in South Lake Tahoe, drop in to check out the latest lit journal, talk about your query letter, and have a cup of tea or something stronger.
Inspired by artist and friend Melissa Lanitis Gregory -- see Our Story below -- we try each day to be brave and unapologetic about the significance of literature and community. Join us!
Kim Wyatt, Publisher & Editor
editor@bonafidebooks.com
530-573-1513
Kim Wyatt, Publisher
Kim Wyatt has worked in most facets of publishing, including journalism, textbook development, manuscript evaluation, and as managing editor at print and online publications. Other bona fides include a stint as a bunny girl in Tokyo, a deckhand in Alaska, and over ten years working in Yosemite National Park. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and is managing editor of literary journal EDGE. Bona Fide Books is the natural convergence of her lifelong love of literature and commitment to community. She is also a fungophile, Francophile, and amateur naturalist.
Erin Bechtol, Editorial Assistant
Erin is very mysterious ... more to come.
Barbara Curtis, Sales Manager
Barbara has had a long and diverse career in publishing. Starting at Simon and Schuster in 1987, she worked as a publisher’s rep in Northern California, Hawaii, and Nevada for several years. She was then the sales and marketing manager for the wonderfully quirky and now defunct Bay Area book wholesaler, Bookpeople. Following that she began her own business selling a select group of small press publishers internationally. Ten years later she was forced to quit this business due to huge fluctuations in foreign currency value in, particularly, South Africa. She then consulted for a time with Book Publishing Company and followed that with several years of publishing and marketing her own book authored by her sister, Mary Olsen Kelly, #1 Best Tools and Tips from the Trenches of Breast Cancer. After a successful run in print, the book is now available as an ebook and she’s working on an audio book edition. Her career has turned a new and exciting corner with her association with the Lake Tahoe-based publisher Bona Fide Books. She sees huge potential in the Permanent Vacation franchise and is thrilled to work with this publisher to support and broaden sales of their growing list of books practically from their inception.
Our Story
On February 24, 2009, friend and artist Melissa Lanitis Gregory died; she was only 47. I had talked to her earlier that day, and she was going down to Reno for a blood transfusion. She didn’t make it back. We had spent the past few months talking about art v. commerce – I was feeling particularly crappy about writing lightweight articles for pay, editing books I felt little connection to, and neglecting my novel. I also felt that the state of publishing was a mess; it seemed great writing was being overlooked for celebrity advances. Mel was feeling bad about not making jewelry she could sell; instead she was drawn to creating giant papier-mâché hearts. One cold January night, after an inspiring visit with Truckee artist Carole Sesko, we drove home along the west shore of Lake Tahoe. It was one of those fantastical moonlit nights—granite peaks and snow aglow, the lake shimmering a thousand feet below—and it seemed impossibly beautiful. Right then and there, in Mel’s car, we made a pinkie pact that 2009 was the year we would be brave and unapologetic about our true work. And then she was gone. A week after she died, I decided to start a small press: I would have to be brave and unapologetic on my own.
But I'm not alone. First, artist Shelley Zentner helped with design. Erin Bechtol soon came on board to assist in all things editorial. I also belong to two writing groups that are part of the Tahoe basin’s incredible literary community, Tahoe Writers Works and the Wordy Girls. Despite the odds and inclement weather, week after week, year after year, we workshop and hold open mics and produce plays and readings. We wrestle with carving out time to write. And we write the kind of work we want to read. Exciting, distinctive, and relevant. And there are writers like this everywhere, in the woods and in cities and tucked away in cubes or turrets, who just need someone to believe in them. We will take on writers we love and promote the hell out of them.
Bona Fide Books operates online and out of an office near Lake Tahoe, which will also serve as a drop-in center for writers who can’t afford literary journals or want query advice or a tasty beverage. The fellowship of other writers is the lifeblood of Bona Fide. It’s a place where writers and readers are taken seriously; we’ll also have a lot of fun and make great books.
Thanks for reading,
Kim
Melissa Lanitis Gregory
1961-2009