Lupins Press is a go!

Whenever someone asked me “what would you do if you won the lottery”, I was always hesitant to answer. Not because I didn’t know, but because I was worried about being thought insincere or worse, cringe.

The truth is, I have always wanted to start a publishing company. As a writer myself, I always felt the prospect of getting a new submission onto an editor’s desk to be a daunting one. Compounded by the fact that I live in Iceland but write in English, I saw my chances as slim to none.

Moreover, I would rapidly learn that I was not alone. Attending events hosted by RVKPoetics, for example, I heard so many great writers, people who had poems, short stories, entire novels that were exciting, challenging, and brilliant, but didn’t have a home for them. So many great writers, I thought, and yet no platform to bring these amazing works into the hands of readers.

Thanks in part to a working class Catholic upbringing, I always hewed to the idea that if you want something to happen, you can’t wait around for others to do it. So I decided I wouldn’t wait to win the lottery. I’d found a publishing company.

Naturally, this isn’t something I could do on my own. I needed a team, and who better to contact than the people I had already worked with before: all of them writers, all of them whipsmart, creative and generally great to get along with.

I’ve worked with Josie the longest, so I was very familiar with her keen eye and sharp wit, her ability to build a story that captures the imagination as well as having the seemingly endless reservoir of energy to edit and organize the works of others. Her being editor was a natural choice.

Shruthi, our CEO, is best described as a wordsmith. I have literally never read restaurant reviews that made my crave with such depth, in the pit of my stomach, the meals she wrote about with a signature flourish that she made all her own. She also has an incredibly sharp mind for business, working through the brass tacks of keeping a company running with a grace and energy that frankly amazes me.

Iryna and I only worked together for about a year or two, but in that time, I watched her writing develop into a vivid eye for detail that brings any setting, any person to life. It doesn’t hurt that she also has extensive, simply mind-boggling experience in marketing. The ideas she has already brought to the table make me fully confident that writers and readers alike will be well cared for under her auspices as marketing director.

Ish, I actually never personally worked with. I knew so little about them personally that for years, I thought they were Canadian. All I knew about them was from their articles, and the things they chose to write about. There I saw what can only be described as a natural talent. A unique voice, a knack for hooking the reader in from Sentence One, and a heart that is well reflected in the issues they chose for their beat. A perfect fit for creative director.

Beyond all this, there are the people I talked to about this idea, who helped me flesh it out and become viable. Sadie Cook, for one, a great friend who has taken the only good photo of me (seriously); Agnar, who has lent his graphic design talents to giving Lupins Press its face, its look; and people too numerous to name who patiently listened to me think out loud and offered their frank and helpful advice.

I know lupins are somewhat of a controversial subject in Iceland. But I always found them beautiful. And I tend to feel for the underdog. So the name, I felt, fit our vision well: to bring writers on the fringes into the light of day, and into the hands and eyeballs of readers looking to be inspired, challenged, and delighted.

Each and every one of you made this happen, and my gratitude is boundless. Much love to you all. Enjoy!

- Andie Sophia