Our Story
“when a woman tells her own story
she lives forever
all the women i know are perennials—
marigolds, daffodils
soft things that refuse to die”
- Denice Frohman
Perennial Press’ name came from this poem by Denice Frohman. I guess you can say these are the founding words for this press. We believe everyone should be able to tell their own stories, to “[live] forever.” We live vicariously through the authors and poets and artists we work with.
Art by Caitlin Peck
Perennial Press archives truths through fiction, art and poetry. We are committed to highlighting and uplifting voices & perspectives that have traditionally been underrepresented in literature. We center narratives of womxn, people of color, and queer folks. Our published works explore trauma and resilience in our histories, and visions of more just futures.
Our Values
Our authors and artists are #1.
We are here to promote their work as well as we can. We try to pay them as much as possible. All the money we make goes towards paying our authors and printing/distributing our books. We hope to eventually be able to compensate our volunteer staff.
Small press publishing is activism.
We want to publish truths and challenge mainstream dialogues freely. We believe in free speech, but not at the expense of others. As James Baldwin said: “We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.”
Boycott big sellers.
We actively boycott Am*zon. We distribute our books through grass-root means, choosing to support local bookstores. This allows us to keep our products affordable while paying our authors and artists as much as possible.
Our Team
Madi Giovina
Madi writes short stories and poetry with a focus on the fantastical and a nod to more just futures. Her academic background is in Computer Science, but a quarter-life crisis and a desire to amplify emerging voices led her to independent publishing. She has work in fresh.ink, Second Chance Lit, Bewildering Stories, and several zines. A collection of her short fiction is forthcoming on Martian Press.
Instagram: @cyberinsecurity
Tiffany Niles
Tiffany recently obtained her AA in Creative Writing from Long Beach City College. She will be continuing her studies at the University of British Columbia for her BFA in 2020/2021. Tiffany has grown to love all aspects of the writing/publishing community and hopes to help other marginalized writers find their voices and tell their stories. Her story “Secret Admirer” was published in the Charmed Writers Flash Fiction Anthology in 2018; “Father and Son” was published through Perennial Press’ Super/Natural anthology (2019), and her first CNF piece "All My Safe Spaces Are Dead" was published in July 2020 with The Nasiona.
Kelly Rhone
Kelly is an LA based writer/director/actor/singer who loves horror, hates white supremacy, and lives accordingly. An Iowa native, her short plays, "Fight With What You Got" and "Die Hard Is A Christmas Movie" have been performed virtually by her hometown community theatre group, Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Theatre, and she's also written and directed her own plays, "Everybody Is Suicidal!" (Iowa) and "They Don't Even Go To The Party" (Los Angeles). Her band, Honeypot's debut EP "Phrasing" was released in 2018 and is available on Spotify. Kelly does an excellent job of procrastinating by spending way too much time on social media, and is happy to social media manage as an excuse to keep doing exactly that.
Instagram: @thefreshesthell / Twitter: @kellyrhonesdead
Website: www.honeypottheband.com
Friends of Perennial Press
Some other presses who we either have worked with or simply find awesome and draw inspiration from!
Old friends (R.I.P.)
Raincoat Mag
Cold Brood Mag
Wolfman Books
Get involved
Want to help us edit? Want to get college credits? Message us here to learn how you can become part of the team!