Mention Hoosier writers and Kurt Vonnegut or Etheridge Knight might spring to mind.
A new generation of Hoosier novelists and poets are busy building reputations. And a resilient group of Indianapolis-based independent publishers and nonprofits are helping amplify their literary voices.
Indie publishers in Indianapolis like Paige Wyatt and Matt Norris, who co-founded Dogwood Alchemy, want to give a voice to newer writers and artists from the region.
“We’re looking for a fresh approach to hopefully help people feel more included,” Wyatt, who is also a teacher, said.
Indie book publishers face headwinds in 2024 — according to a study on publishingstate.com, including traditional concerns about financing and getting noticed as well as challenges posed by self-publishing and artificial intelligence. A push for more diversity in the industry may offer new opportunities, the study says, because it makes publishing “richer, more equitable, and responsive to human experiences.”
Here’s a closer look at some of Indy’s publishers and organizations offering a place to nurture and publicize local talent.
The Indianapolis Review
Founded by Natalie Solmer in 2017, The Indianapolis Review publishes online every quarter and features poetry, artwork and visual poetry. It promotes regional artists and writers, its website says, but will also showcase other work if it “surprises, sings and makes us think.”
The site is staffed by the most diverse and impressive volunteer masthead in the city, which includes writers Jen Bingham, Mitchell L. H. Douglas, Abby Johnson, Lydia Johnson and artist Nasreen Khan as their art editor.
The Indianapolis Review doesn’t charge to post submissions and doesn’t pay its writers or artists. Its latest issue, for the fall of 2023, includes two poems by George Kalamaras, of Fort Wayne, a former poet laureate of Indiana from 2014-2016.
Quotidian
Based in Indianapolis and headed by Lee Bennett, Quotidian is a multi-volume series dedicated to “exploring beauty and connection in the unexpected places of mundane life.” Volume I of the series, from winter 2021, has nonfiction, poetry, drawing, painting, collage and photography exploring the theme of “layers” and includes a cover photo of a peeling onion.
There are also representations of patterns found inside security envelopes. The more-recent Volume III features 21 writers and artists from across the country exploring the repetition in daily life and cyclical change.
Its website also has a link to an Instagram page to sell used books of a literary bent and includes links to the Yesterday Quarterly, a print publication series featuring long-form interviews.
Booth
Booth debuted in 2009 and now digitally publishes four titles of original literature on the first Friday of every month, as well as two print issues a year.
Its staff of students, faculty and alumni from Butler University’s Master of Fine Arts program handles nearly all of the work, including copy editing, web design and merchandising. The site says at least 95 percent of the work it publishes comes from blind submissions.
The website includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics and idiosyncratic lists, such as one titled “Ten Things I Hid During My Echocardiogram.” It also includes illuminating conversations with world-renowned literary figures, including Joyce Carol Oates, as well as Indiana writers, such as Bloomington poet Ross Gay, an Indiana Authors Awards winner and finalist for the National Book Award.
Booth’s goal is to “find and publish literature that surprises us,” said Jeff Marvel, its managing editor for 2023-24, including work “that encourages us to think or feel something new.” Inclusivity and accessibility is also important, Marvel said. They’ve directly solicited submissions for more diverse curation, he said, and included times where submission fees could be waived for financial hardship and also ensured their events, including open mics and launch parties, are free and open to the public.
Heartland Society of Women Writers
The mission of this mostly online publication is “to support and uplift the voices of all women.”
Launched in 2020, it publishes fiction and nonfiction as well as artwork and currently includes several stories by Anne Green Grammer, an artist and writer who grew up in Indianapolis, as well as a watercolor drawing by local artist Skye Lee Smith entitled “Sunrise Lady Victory” that depicts the iconic statue standing atop the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.
Paige Wyatt, Kaitlynn McShea and Tiffany Shull co-founded the site, which now publishes one anthology a year. Wyatt says they have a local and international following among readers, adding “it’s been really cool to see women and nonbinary people from all over the world supporting us.”
A print copy of their latest anthology, entitled “I Dissent: An Anthology of Writing Women,” is available for purchase on Amazon.
Dogwood Alchemy
An Indiana-based art and literary magazine, Dogwood Alchemy, published its initial issue in February. New submissions will be accepted, starting in July and running until Nov. 1, for its next issue expected to be published in December.
Dogwood features fiction and poetry, interspersed with original artwork and photography, and includes a poem entitled “Essay on Old Hands,” by George Eklund, and a “Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability,” by Anthony David Vernon, which examines mental health and privacy threatened by official forms, such as job applications.
There is also a poem by poet Kushal Poddar and paintings by Aleena Sharif, whose artwork offers arresting, realistic depictions of the female figure.
Both Norris and Wyatt are local public high school teachers, in addition to owners of a publishing business. Norris said they want to help young people get more involved with literary magazines, so that they can share their own unique voices.
An interactive copy of Dogwood’s first issue can be perused on their website and color paperback copies are available to purchase.
Genesis
Genesis is a student-run online literary and art magazine, which publishes work from undergraduate and graduate students at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
It publishes one issue each spring and fall semester but accepts submissions year-round of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, painting, photography, pottery, sculpture and other creative mediums. It also awards $100 scholarship awards for the best submissions in four categories: fiction and screenwriting, nonfiction, poetry, and art and comics.
On their website, digitized issues of Genesis going back to 1973 can be read.
Indiana Humanities
Besides running the biennial Indiana Authors Awards program, Indiana Humanities helps build connections between Hoosier writers and readers through its speakers program, where former and current awards winners and finalists hold readings and discussions for local audiences.
It also curates one-time, interactive writing workshops hosted by Hoosier authors and provides more than 700 free titles from prior Indiana Authors Award winners to reading and discussion groups statewide through the Indiana State Library’s InfoExpress courier system.
Every month, they also publish a new review by a Hoosier writer of new books by Indiana authors. The latest review is of “The Unicorn Legacy: Tangled Magic,” a middle-grade novel by Kamilla Benko. Website visitors also can sign up for a monthly newsletter.
Kim Howard is shown taking part in 2023 in the speakers series part of the Indiana Authors Program, while talking to students at Clear Creek Elementary. Credit: Provided photo/Indiana Humanities 
Ashley Mack Jackson is shown in 2023 conducting a writer’s workshop as part of the Indiana Authors Program, run by Indiana Humanities. Credit: Provided photo/Indiana Humanities
Anna Bowman, communications manager for Indiana Humanities, said the Indiana Authors Awards program received the most nominations ever for the 2024 awards, to be announced in August. She said there are many resources for authors and readers in the city, including those sponsored by Indiana Humanities.
“We’re going through a local renaissance right now,” she said.
Bowman also said the awards program is seeing more self-publishing efforts in its nominations than in the past, which can help authors get their work in front of readers faster, but, admittedly, might also “be a challenge for some of these independent publishers.”
Old Iron Press
This female-led independent publisher had a short but spirited run from 2022 until this spring, which included its publication, “Playing Authors: An Anthology,” a printed collection of literary mashups and other alternative forms celebrating 19 works written by 18 local authors.
Although the limited-run anthology is sold out and Old Iron Press announced its closing, the website is still live with author interviews and other notable Indianapolis personalities.
Looking for inspiration to start your own publishing venture?
The Indianapolis Public Library has a Zine Collection you can browse. It was established in 2021 to expand reading materials for library patrons, especially alternative story collections, artwork and comics created by and for the BIPOC community. Located at the East 38th Street Branch at 5420 E. 38 th St., the collection offers more than 175 zines for in-person checkout, including many created by local artists and poets.
Dwight Adams is a contributor for Mirror Indy. Contact him at hdadams0621@gmail.com.