Dorothy, a publishing project – the independent book publisher co-founded by Danielle Dutton and Martin Riker – has entered into a sales and distribution agreement with the New York Review of Books that will amplify its book promotion and marketing efforts. Dutton, associate professor of English, and Riker, senior lecturer in English, founded the press in 2010.
Dutton and Riker named the award-winning, feminist project after Dutton’s great-aunt Dorothy Traver, who was a librarian and bookmobile driver. The press publishes two new and out-of-print works of fiction and near fiction a year. Under the Dorothy imprint, Dutton and Riker have published landmark editions of authors such as Leonora Carrington, Renee Gladman, Nathalie Léger, and Cristina Rivera Garza.
The press also provides Washington University students with opportunities to gain experience in the literary publishing industry. Each year, Riker and Dutton select two graduate students in the creative writing program to serve as interns. Riker has also recently created “The Business of Books,” a course cross-listed with Olin School of Business which draws upon his work at Dorothy as well as visits from professionals throughout the publishing industry to take students through the book publishing process.
Dorothy books will be part of the NYRBooks catalog and sold to bookstores and libraries through their sales representatives, providing Dutton and Riker with a wider distribution network for their annual releases. Riker and Dutton will maintain control of the editorial selection and production of the press.
“It's great for us because it provides us with a lot of stability and visibility during a volatile moment in the publishing world,” Riker said. “We are great fans of NYRB's work — in fact, we have two authors in common with them, Barbara Comyns and Leonora Carrington. We've worked with them unofficially on promotions in the past, so this move isn't out of nowhere. It's one of those happy coincidences where a decision is good for both our business and our artistic mission.”
Learn more about Dorothy, a publishing project.
