Sandorf Passage
Sandorf Passage is the result of two publishing professionals—the South Portland-based Buzz Poole and the Zagreb-based Ivan Sršen—wanting to champion literary fiction and nonfiction, along with poetry, that is inspired by both conflict zones and the dangers of complacency. In 2021, Sandorf Passage released eight books; this year there will be six new books. The following questions have been answered by Buzz Poole.
Can you tell us more about the publishing process?
Our list focuses on translating authors from the former Yugoslavia, though that will expand over time. These books come to us in a fairly traditional manner: through relationships. Whether these are relationships with authors, translators, agents, or book scouts, we have a fairly extensive network of contacts that provides us with manuscripts and projects to consider. We choose to publish books we believe in, books with something to say about how we exist in the globalized world.
Once a title has been acquired, the process is also traditional in terms of the editing of the manuscript, working very closely with both the translators and the authors, coming up with cover concepts, working to get media coverage and sales, and everything else that comes along with book publishing. The biggest difference between what we do and what larger publishers do, I think, is the amount of attention we can give to the titles we’re publishing.
Sandorf Passage has a unique mission to publish writing that is inspired by both conflict zones and the dangers of complacency. Can you tell us more about what you look for in a manuscript?
We are interested in stories that are unfamiliar and how that unfamiliarity—from setting to subject matter—can reveal universal commonalities that remind readers of the through lines of what it means to be human.
Can you talk about Sandorf Passage’s approach to designing an eye-catching book cover that also reflects the author’s story?
The idea of “discoverability” is inescapable in book publishing. Many people work hard to make a book happen. And then it is available. But how do readers discover it? Book covers play a big role in this, both in physical bookstores and online. We very much want our covers to grab anyone who sees them and make that person be curious enough about what the book is about to pick it up or click to learn more. We work with artists and designers who know this material and create images and designs that speak directly to the work while also appealing to readers who know nothing about the former Yugoslavia, or Nigeria. Two of the Spring 2023 titles feature original artwork on the covers: Zvonimir Hans Haramija’s arresting image of a figure being consumed by a larger-than-life monster speaks directly to the plot of Radio Siga; the internationally recognized comics artist Danijel Žeželj conceived a hauntingly evocative scene for the novel in verse Initial Coordinates. For our first book that had nothing to do with the former Yugoslavia, last year’s All Shades of Iberibe by the Nigerian writer Kasimma, we commissioned the stunning cover image from the Nigerian artist Karo Akpokiere, who deftly peppered the piece with references to Igbo traditions, which are an essential part of the stories in this collection. The cover is a reader’s first introduction to a book and the point of entry into the book and we make our choices about the covers to entice potential readers.
You launched in 2021 with the publication of your first few titles. Can you tell us more about the process of launching a nonprofit publishing house? How did you go about the process?
The process of becoming a nonprofit is time consuming. But I’m glad we have gone this route. For one, there are funding opportunities available that are not available to other publishers. But beyond that, we liked the idea of starting something with the aim of it outlasting us. There are not that many publishers in Maine and there certainly isn’t one that champions work “from away” in the way we do. We are very much grounded here in Maine with our eyes to the world, which is important. The board is all Maine-based. And as Sandorf Passage further develops we intend to have more Maine-based projects form part of the list. And while we’re eager to hear from all Mainers, we’re particularly looking forward to reading the work of new Mainers.
Is there an event, publication, or any kind of change happening in the next year that you are particularly excited about and would like to share?
I’m most excited for more people to learn about Sandorf Passage, especially here in Maine. For being a new independent publisher, the books we released in 2021 received some solid media coverage, which is great. But I want to deepen our relationships with bookstores and readers, especially locals. Maine will always be the foundation for Sandorf Passage and there are some ideas in the works to really solidify that.
In 2023, we’ll be releasing an Acadia book by the great photographer John K. Putnam, a year-round Southwest Harbor resident. We’re currently thinking about how to present the subject matter from a fresh perspective. I’m really psyched about this project. Another book that I’m really excited about is A Cat At the Edge of the World by Robert Perišić, which will be out in late October. Robert is how I got involved with the literature from this part of the world, when I published Our Man In Iraq. We published his career-spanning short story collection, Horror and Huge Expenses, at the end of last year. This new book—which shadows the development of human culture from the time of antiquity as seen through the domestication of cats—is a stunner, something genuinely original that I hope gets lots of people talking.
Sandorf Passage
sandorfpassage@gmail.com