Publishing
For the Birds Trapped in Airports publishes artists who commit the growth of their careers to the care and well-being of their peers. We work in a model where all published authors share collective book profits, partnerships and resources with one another. Publishing within our studio is structurally designed to foster long-term care and mutual support systems between the artists we work with.
We are a very small start-up business that is entirely run by the labor of a few working class people. Though quite a ways down the road, our long-term goal is to generate payouts that equate to (or surpass) a standard minimum wage salary, so that contributing artists can stop working altogether or, at least, work significantly less. This is what all of our work is building toward. It will take time to get to this point, but the feasibility of this goal is made possible by publishing and producing projects 100% inside our studio.
With our production resources for publishing, we also offer services to institutions and individual artists on a commission (non-published) basis for consultations, presentations, design, printing, binding, and other hand-made artist book production.
We are not currently accepting submissions for publishing.
To commission us to make a project with you, please submit a project here.
PUBLISHING STRUCTURE:
Money
Paid out once per year, all profits from the sales of published work are shared evenly between each publishing cohort—as in, no one makes more money than you, and you don’t make more money than anyone else. Through our studio, it is financially beneficial for each of us to lift up peer collaborators, engage with them in conversation, promote and support their work—just as it would be for them to do so with you. While this is the current structure publishing payouts, it may change if we find more equitable ways to structure it, while taking our limited financial means into consideration.
The creative and physical labor of this studio—a gesture of appreciation and support for the collaborating arts worker(s)—is provided at no cost to collaborators. While each collaborator does not need to pay anything to be published, the expense budget spent by the studio on production must be recouped via product sales or supporting funds (grants, representing gallery support, etc.) before their book sales contributes to the pool of each cohort’s profit funds. When one project moves from break-even to profit, all cohort members share this profit equally. This process is simplified before each production begins, to provide a concrete number of how many books must be sold before this shift occurs, as well as a dollar amount, so the artist can choose their best way forward.
Even if an artist has not yet published their book, but other members of their cohort have published book where the sales have surpassed the production budget(s), all artists in the cohort will share the payouts from those profiting projects.
Artists are welcome to work with outside parties in the development of their project's content and design, however our studio only provides funding for production and final design, and will not pay for any of the labor of roles performed outside of our studio.
Boundaries
Published projects are reviewed by the studio labor team, judged on the basis of if/how the project makes sense for the studio (creatively, physically, financially). A vast majority of the projects happen organically through long-term relationships where mutual trust has been built over time.
Published projects are onboarded collectively in cohorts of authors and artists. Each cohort of artists attend an orientation together to introduce themselves, their projects, learn about the studio’s structure and offerings, as well as receive and collectively amend contracts that are agreed upon by the entire cohort.
Project timelines will be based on producing quality products, respecting the creative and physical labor put forth from all parties. Projects will not be rushed for public events or award submission deadlines.
This studio will not be financially supporting established institutions that are structurally white supremacist (majority-white leadership, board, staff, gallery/publishing roster, etc.). This studio will not be financially supporting white arts workers whose work/presence communicates antiracism as optional or not relevant to their life/work.
Any harmful language or action expressed toward any person involved with a project will result in the project being cancelled.
Design
So as not to create false expectations about the publishing process or what is physically possible, the design of each project is led by the studio laborer(s) producing those editions. The global pandemic has provided a great opportunity for monopolies to hoard materials like cardboard, allowing billionaires to control new markets, and by consequence of this, cost and access to production materials, such as paper, has changed dramatically.
Design in this studio will be creative and experimental, but realistic to the changing conditions that this industry/world faces.
Content
So as to not to influence or conflict with the intentions of the arts worker(s), any book content is always chosen by the published author(s). They retain all rights to the content at all times.
This studio is interested in publishing people and projects working to restore humanity in themselves, as well as working to support the well-being of their peers.