On November 16, 2023, Madville Publishing held its first Fall Fundraiser to help with operating costs. Tickets were available with a donation made through Eventbrite. The fundraiser was organized and hosted by Gianna Russo, author of One House Down and All I See Is Your Glinting: 90 Days in the Pandemic. During the event, fourteen Madville authors, including Gianna Russo, read from their work.

Gratitude from Kim Davis, Madville Publishing founder:

Thanks to everyone who attended for your much needed, and much appreciated donations. We received just over $3000. Thank you.

Anyone who watches news of the publishing industry will know that we, as a small independent publisher face hard times right now. Book returns and fees are literally killing us. The business model for the industry has become very difficult to negotiate for the likes of a small press, but we carry on, believing we’re doing a noble thing by publishing really good, thoughtful literature by first-time authors and seasoned authors alike. We welcome voices that may fall outside the mainstream for reasons that have become quite urgent. So we also take delight in hearing from marginalized writers, and we want to share their thoughts, share their voices. For this, we believe there is still a place for us, and we thank all of you who believe that too. Our authors who read on the 16th made us very proud. They were all so good!

We recorded the readings, and we’re making those recordings available as bonuses for our Patreon subscribers. [I’m still working on this… coming soon!]

Warmly, Kim 😉

In attendance, in order of reading, were Dustin Brookshire, Julie E. Bloemeke, Sean D. Carberry, Gerry LaFemina, Wondra Chang, Jeff Hardin, Juan Ochoa, Pauletta Hansel, Brian Petkash, Linda Parsons, Susan O’Dell Underwood, Kate Sweeney, William Woolfitt, and Gianna Russo.

To learn more about these authors and purchase the titles read during the fundraiser, see the list below:

• Dustin Brookshire read “Dolly at the Fox Theatre, 2008.” from Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology and “Learning to Punch at Lunch with Army Veteran Brigg at Residency”.

• Julie E. Bloemeke read “Dolly Would” from Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology and “Birthday Present” (unpublished).

• Sean D. Carberry read from “Chapter 1: November 2007. Khartoum, Sudan.” from Passport Stamps: Searching the World for a War to Call Home.

• Gerry LaFemina read “Gibson LesPaul Double Cutaway” and “How I Learned Cruelty” from The Baby Steps of Doomsday Prepping.

• Wondra Chang read a selection from Sonju.

• Jeff Hardin read “For When the Days Seem Absent Any Answers” from Watermark and “One Word Setting Forth Reverberations” from A Clearing Space in the Middle of Being.

• Juan Ochoa read “Quirina Moreno” from Pa’l Otro Lado.

• Pauletta Hansel read “Dirt,” “So maybe it’s true,” and “To You” from Heartbreak Tree.

• Brian Petkash read from the short story “Dispossessed” from Mistakes by the Lake.

• Linda Parsons read “Travels with my Father,” “Glimmer Trail,” and “Believe” from Valediction.

• Susan O’Dell Underwood read a selection from Genesis Road.

• Kate Sweeney read “Why My Grandmother Reminds Me of Sylvia Plath,” “The Grief Orchard,” and “Advice for a Young Son in April” from Worrisome Creatures.

• William Woolfitt read “What the Beech Tree Knows” from Ring of Earth.

• Gianna Russo read “Thanksgiving Eve at Family Dollar” from One House Down and three untitled November poems from All I See Is Your Glinting: 90 Days in the Pandemic.

To view a recording of the fundraiser, consider joining Madville Publishing’s Patreon, where the recording will be accessible as a benefit.

To learn more about Madville Publishing, visit our About page or our Authors page. To check out what Madville has published and will publish in 2024, take a look at our Catalog.

Madville Publishing currently has one anthology open for submission: Plain Folk: Notes on American Folk Music.

To support Madville Publishing, a non-profit small press, and a community of authors, follow this link to donate.