Simon Smith Interviews Acre Publisher Nicola Mason

SS: Over the last twenty-five years you helped establish both The Cincinnati Review and Acre Books, after a decade working as an editor for The Southern Review and then LSU Press. Can you describe how your career unfolded?

NM: In 2003, having moved to Cincinnati the previous year, I was brought in by UC’s Department of English to help establish a literary journal so the PhD Program in Creative Writing, already strong, would be competitive with other programs across the country that offered students hands-on experience in the business and art of literary publishing. We published the first issue of The Cincinnati Review later that year. 

I’d had wonderful training both at Southern Review (as a graduate assistant, then as the Assistant Editor) and later at LSU Press (where I started as a lowly Proofhandler), and I was excited to pass along what I’d learned to the extraordinary students/writers in the program, as well as to work with esteemed genre editors in publishing top-notch work from new and established writers around the world. CR was (and is) incredibly fortunate to have the support of the Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation. Without that, it might well have gone the way of so many wonderful lit mags that struggled, and failed, to survive. The talent and dedication of the grad-student staffers and volunteers were also key to the journal’s success. Many of them have gone on to make their marks in the industry as editors as well as writers. 

I don’t remember exactly when James Schiff—Professor of English and Editor of The John Updike Review—floated the idea of the department establishing a book-publishing house to complement CR, but I was sorely tempted. I knew it would be all-consuming, however, so I waited until my daughter was old enough to fend for herself (could make her own grilled-cheese sandwiches) before taking on the task. In 2017, the magnificent Lisa Ampleman stepped into my shoes at Cincinnati Review, and Acre Books was born. 

Many don’t know that ACRE is an acronym. It stands for A Cincinnati Review Extension. I consider Acre the book-publishing arm of Cincinnati Review. There’s a shared ethos; a mission of mentorship and support of underrepresented writers and new/fresh voices; and passion for imaginative, well-crafted work. I’d say the pandemic threw a wrench in the works, but it was more like an anvil. Those were hard, hard years for the industry, and we’re only just emerging from them. Once again, the Schiff Foundation kept us afloat—as well as the marketing and sales teams at the University of Chicago Press, and the amazing folks at the Chicago Distribution Center, who represent our books across the globe. A couple of years ago we were lucky enough to be taken on as a publishing partner of the influential and inspiring Seagull Books, based in Kolkata, which has for over forty years brought out some of the best works of world literature, nonfiction, and culture studies. 

I’m realizing the summary makes things sound seamless. There have been struggles almost every step of the way, but the rewards of the job—of the profession—have far outweighed the frustrations. The knowledge, the relationships . . . the books! I’m so fortunate to do what I do, and grateful to be part of a community invested in the beauty of the written word.

SS: When deciding whether Acre acquires a prose manuscript, you get the last word; that’s a big responsibility. How do you choose which ones to publish?

NM: As you might imagine, acquisition decisions are complicated. Painful, even. We receive a far, far greater number of publishable manuscripts than we can bring out, so we are always in a position of sending rejections we don’t really want to send. We don’t have the person-power or the budget to accommodate more titles, however. (We did four books this past fall, and . . . wow. I think we all lost our minds for a bit.) I should emphasize that Acre is a nonprofit. Sales rarely come close to matching our investment in our books. I don’t know of a single small press that could stay afloat without fundraising and/or other financial support. No one is getting rich. Working at/for a small press is a labor of love—emphasis on labor, emphasis on love. Both are required to do the job right. 

To circle back around to acquisitions: decisions often come down to the shape/balance of our seasonal lists. We publish one poetry collection (acquired by Poetry Series Editor Lisa Ampleman) per season, which leaves two spots for prose. We want each list to have a kind of energy that springs from variety. Our mission plays a role. We’re mindful of issues of parity. I’m dedicated to short-form prose (as an art form), though generally speaking, it doesn’t sell as well. At a certain point, we look at what manuscripts are in the mix, and we make difficult choices. So vague, I know. Sometimes I go with my gut. I also want to say I refuse to get too far ahead of myself. One of the (few) ways we can compete with bigger presses is by moving more quickly. I may not be able to offer a bigger advance, but I can bring out a book within a year of tendering a contract. That may make the difference for an author/agent of going with Acre instead of going with a press that is promising a release date three years away.

What am I most excited about reading? Works that combine artistry and imagination in arresting ways. Again with the vagueness! But really, if I knew exactly what I was looking for, there’d be no joy in my job. I seek things that surprise me in one way or another, and there’s no set formula for that.

Coming from a long lineage of creators, Simon Smith (he/him) is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies and a certificate in copyediting and publishing. He recently completed a marketing internship with Acre Books.