Making amends: A joint statement from Microcosm Publishing and Pioneers Press

When I first got to know Microcosm, it was largely run by two good people: Jessie Duke and Adam Gnade. I never got to know them very well, as they moved to eastern Kansas shortly afterward, with Jessie opening a Microcosm office there. At some point after that things went sideways. The company split in half, names changed, sharp words were committed to the Internet. The details are out there for all who care to google, and Joe Biel wrote about the events leading up to this in his memoir, Good Trouble, which came out earlier this year. The important thing is that we’ve resolved our differences and have returned to focusing on the work that brought us together originally: publishing books that change lives.

Here is our joint statement:

“Microcosm Publishing and Pioneers Press are pleased to announce that we have reached a settlement regarding our past disagreements and the division of debt between our companies. No money will change hands, and neither company will pursue further legal action against one another with respect to past events. We wish to take back all of the hurtful, disparaging, and damaging things that were said by both sides. Microcosm Publishing and Pioneers Press both strongly encourage you to support each other in every way possible in the interest of independent publishing.”

We mean every word. The work we both do is too important to get lost in the shuffle of personal and professional differences. The world would be a worse place without our colleagues at Pioneers, the work they produce, and the community of authors and readers they have built.