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Favorite Presses > Deep Vellum

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message 1: by Antonomasia, Admin only (last edited Aug 04, 2019 01:55AM) (new)

Antonomasia | 2668 comments Mod
It's surprised me that Deep Vellum don't have a thread on here already. They are probably my favourite of the current crop of new/ fashionable independent presses. I didn't think I'd read enough of their books for it to be my place to start a thread, but counting them up, I've read nine, which is a fair number for someone who can't really afford subscriptions, and it's still a ratio of more than one per year. (They were founded in 2013.)

Deep Vellum are based in Dallas and specialise in translated fiction and literary memoir. (In 2020 they will start publishing some works originally in English.) They also have great cover designs, often using geometric shapes.

They have books available on Scribd USA, though sadly no longer on Scribd UK (I would be delighted if they re-started the latter). Of interest to those in, or visiting, the South West US, there is a Deep Vellum bookshop in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas (the area from which they took their name).

Deep Vellum very recently (July 2019) took over two other small US presses, Phoneme Media and A Strange Object. These imprints' back catalogue is currently intermingled with Deep Vellum's own titles on the website. https://deepvellum.org

Personal favourites include:
Sphinx by Anne Garréta
Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila
and their two novels by Alisa Ganieva, The Mountain and the Wall and Bride and Groom.


message 2: by Antonomasia, Admin only (new)

Antonomasia | 2668 comments Mod
(I also posted about them in the Galley Beggar thread here :
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
and here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


message 3: by WndyJW (new)

WndyJW That’s great, I wanted to find a US indie press to support.


message 4: by Paul (new)

Paul Fulcher (fulcherkim) | 13396 comments They publish a good amount of Korean literature as well, which is what I normally buy from them - think I've read 9 of their books as well, although some possibly in UK publisher versions.


message 5: by Antonomasia, Admin only (new)

Antonomasia | 2668 comments Mod
Goodreads list of the Deep Vellum imprint books here: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

Seems to be fairly up to date, as the articles from this year mention 40 books


message 6: by Paul (new)

Paul Fulcher (fulcherkim) | 13396 comments Seems Deep Vellum are going to open a UK office and publish books here which will make it easier to get them and make them International Booker eligible

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...

(Not sure actually on the RofC Prize)


message 7: by WndyJW (new)

WndyJW Nice! I wish some UK indie presses would open offices here!


message 8: by Paul (new)

Paul Fulcher (fulcherkim) | 13396 comments Some distribute in US (so were eligible for the BTBA) like a Charco. Although they seem to use distributors - hence bookshops can get the books - but don’t have a retail arm for direct purchases.


message 9: by WndyJW (new)

WndyJW I’ve been pleased to find a much better variety of publishers available on Barnes & Nobel website in the last year.


message 10: by Paul (new)

Paul Fulcher (fulcherkim) | 13396 comments Interesting article about the press and Will Evans who founded it

https://www.dmagazine.com/publication...


message 11: by Lark (new)

Lark Benobi (larkbenobi) | 568 comments Paul wrote: "Interesting article about the press and Will Evans who founded it

https://www.dmagazine.com/publication..."


Paul, thanks for posting this link. It was wonderful to read about Deep Vellum's founder. Deep Vellum has always reminded me of Open Letter in its book choices and marketing and approaches so it was also interesting to read that Chad Post was Will Evans's mentor.


message 12: by WndyJW (new)

WndyJW The Mookse and Gripes podcast was about Open Letter press and they said something Open Lettee having a father-son relationship with Deep Vellum, that there would probably be no Deep Vellum without Open Letter, but I couldn’t play close attention so I don’t remember why that was, but it’s interesting that you make that connection, Lark.


message 13: by WndyJW (new)

WndyJW Great article and it tells is in what way Open Letter is father to Deep Vellum.
That’s an interesting claim, that DV published more books in translation than any other publisher in history!


message 14: by Paul (new)

Paul Fulcher (fulcherkim) | 13396 comments News from Deep Vellum which makes me shudder

They have teamed up with Andrei from the Untranslated Blog to commission translations of some of the behemoths of world literature

https://www.deepvellum.org/news/big-b...


message 15: by Lark (new)

Lark Benobi (larkbenobi) | 568 comments Paul, tell me more about why it makes you shudder. I got this news via email and it was too much for me to absorb so I left it to read later.


message 16: by Marc (new)

Marc (monkeelino) | 501 comments He fears the big books and these are the big big ones, but they also sound a bit irresistible...


message 17: by Paul (new)

Paul Fulcher (fulcherkim) | 13396 comments Yes they seem to have deliberately targeted the longest books they can find as if that is somehow a sign of literary quality.


message 18: by Lark (new)

Lark Benobi (larkbenobi) | 568 comments Oh. Well even the email was too long for me!


message 19: by Marc (new)

Marc (monkeelino) | 501 comments I think their size makes them unlikely to be translated and costly/riskier, but they are already heralded/established works (just ones not available as of yet in English). We do still seem to almost fetishize the larger works. (I don't mind a big book, but it does make me delay starting because I know it's going to take up a lot of time.)


message 20: by Sam (new)

Sam | 2249 comments I am very much llooking forward to the release of more Moresco.. The claim has been he is untranslatable. It will be good to see if this is true.


message 21: by endrju (new)

endrju | 357 comments Incredible news. I've been salivating over The Untranslated Blog for years. Dreams come true, apparently.


message 22: by Nicholas (new)

Nicholas (vonlicorice) | 104 comments The name of this press rang a bell and I realized I’ve been to their shop in Dallas! Bought a few of their books but don’t think I ever read them… will have to bump them up the list.


message 23: by Marc (new)

Marc (monkeelino) | 501 comments endrju wrote: "Incredible news. I've been salivating over The Untranslated Blog for years. Dreams come true, apparently."

Love (and relate to) this description!


message 24: by Ruben (new)

Ruben | 431 comments Very exciting! One BIG book I have been wondering for ages why it hasn´t been translated is: ´Max, Mischa and the Tet Offensive´ Max, Mischa & Tetoffensiven by Johan Harstad


message 25: by endrju (last edited Jul 26, 2024 10:07AM) (new)

endrju | 357 comments That one's surprisingly going to get a Serbian translation next year
so hip-hip-hooray for me.

Marc wrote: "endrju wrote: "Incredible news. I've been salivating over The Untranslated Blog for years. Dreams come true, apparently."

Love (and relate to) this description!"


I felt and still feel so envious of the person running the blog for their ability to teach themselves so many different languages just to read all those magnificently-sounding novels. But thankfully we slow learners now get a chance to get some of them all served up for our enjoyment.


message 26: by endrju (new)

endrju | 357 comments Another massive book that Max is going to translate should be announced in the next few weeks… Stay tuned and expect a heady maritime stench!

Horcynus Orca?


message 28: by Paul (new)

Paul Fulcher (fulcherkim) | 13396 comments Hoping no UK publishers pick these slabs up so no risk of them making the Booker list. The Untranslated blog works for me as a list of books to avoid - sorry!


message 29: by endrju (new)

endrju | 357 comments Who cares about the Booker anyways.


message 30: by Paul (new)

Paul Fulcher (fulcherkim) | 13396 comments Well I do in that I have an unbroken record of reading every longlisted book.

But if any of these slabs make it, then I would break my streak.


message 31: by endrju (last edited Oct 04, 2024 10:02AM) (new)

endrju | 357 comments You're done for then as I suspect at least one of those will make it. Translation of any of those is quite an event.

But the awards scene played dead upon publication of Bottom's Dream back in the day, so there's that.


message 32: by Paul (new)

Paul Fulcher (fulcherkim) | 13396 comments Fortunately they won't as I'm hoping no UK publisher will hate trees enough to pick them up


message 33: by Stewart (new)

Stewart (thebookstopshere) | 58 comments Deep Vellum have acquired Fum d’Estampa.


message 34: by Stewart (new)

Stewart (thebookstopshere) | 58 comments Here’s the press release.

https://www.deepvellum.org/news/deep-...


message 35: by Marc (new)

Marc (monkeelino) | 501 comments Did we ever talk about Deep Vellum having acquired/relaunched Dalkey Archive?
https://www.dalkeyarchive.com/2021/11...

(Maybe the pandemic sort of sidelined that whole process... )


message 36: by Paul (new)

Paul Fulcher (fulcherkim) | 13396 comments Open Letter and Deep Vellum have made a more formal arrangement.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...


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