by Tom Person
Reprinted from Laughing Bear Newsletter #24, Copyright © 1990, 2000 by Laughing Bear Press
Let me say that in 2000, I am very fond of CLMP. They have done more than any other organization at the end of the 20th century for literary small press. But 11 years ago when they were reorganized from CCLM there were questions about why. I went to a press conference of CLMP representatives at the AWP Conference in Denver. I asked the CLMP executive director if I could tape the event and he was displeased, so of course I put the tape recorder under my chair and picked up nothing whatsoever on it anyway. Good thing I took notes.
March 1, 1990, CCLM the Coordinated Council for Literary Magazines, evolved into CLMP, the Council for Literary Magazines and Presses. March 22, at the AWP Conference in Denver, CLMP's executive director, Jim Sitter, held an informal talk and question/answer session for the small press community of Colorado to discuss new directions being taken by CLMP.
For 23 years CCLM was sponsored by the NEA. In 1983 NEA funding went from $490,000 to virtually nothing with the NEA funding presses directly instead of going through CCLM. Last August CCLM was showing a $30,000 deficit, relying on Harper's magazine to help them keep going. CLMP will be aggressively going after corporate and individual funding (sources normally associated with public broadcasting) and depending less on the NEA. If plans work out, CLMP could be dealing in much more money than CCLM ever imagined.
The name change also signals a major new direction in membership. Book publishers will now be eligible to join. That's the good news. Now for the bad news. Since the plan is to get the majority of funding from philanthropic corporations, it will be a virtual necessity to have 501C3 (nonprofit) status to get a piece of the pie. For smaller small presses, that's a process that's usually more trouble than it's worth.
CLMP currently has a staff of two and a half, soon to be three. The staff will peak at six people by 1992 or 1993 and be limited to that. There will be a board of 18 including the head of the ABA, Bernie Raff (excuse my spelling on these names), Father Healy of the New York Public Library, and George Plimpton of The Paris Review.
Father Healy is included, not only for his status in the library community, but as an advocate against the religious right. Bernie Raff represents CLMP's new emphasis on working with booksellers. Jim Sitter believes, and I agree, that the way to approach booksellers is to look at their concerns about displaying and selling small press books and try to offer solutions. CLMP will consider programs of co-op advertising, small press writers tours, etc. Only one third of the board will be literary people.
A poll was taken recently of CCLM membership, and two primary areas of concern they would like addressed are funding and distribution. CLMP will be working on those within their five part overall plan of providing technical assistance, awards, service, research & development, and advocacy.
Ron Sukenick (American Book Review) expressed concern that if grants go to more business-minded presses publishing less controversial work, there would be a loss of outlets for alternative writing. Sitter suggested addressing this through nonprofit status and a professional attitude toward fundraising, if the press wants to make it.
I suggested that since distributors wouldn't have much interest in a small press with a few hundred copies of an inexpensive chapbook, the CLMP booth at the ABA could be expanded and set up like the COSMEP booth to provide low cost display of small press books to get them in front of the booksellers. CCLM booths in the last few years have been very small and look like an ad for Harper's since there is a large sign for Harper's and the staff generally wear the magazine's t-shirts. Sitter said that he will be changing the booth, but that his emphasis will be on talking with booksellers instead of getting into distribution, taking orders, or selling books.
I had a hard time seeing the advantage of CCLM membership to a small, small press. I'm not sure things will be too much different with CLMP.