MOIST
MOIST exists both to put a dampener on the mainstream 'literary' gatekeepers and to juice up the tentative fumblings that occur on the fringes. Art school, state school, and resolutely European (in a style that includes the British but not the Bloomsbury) MOIST is always aroused and arousing and not always polite...
MOIST’s Director, Paul Finlay, founded the press in 2020. Family friend, Sarah Smith, assists him with MOIST’s publicity. From time to time, his next-door neighbour, Maggie Panikkar, lends her skills as proofreader. Paul’s daughter, Susan, also a MOIST author, deals with everything design related as well as editing MOIST’s third season. The press is a non-profit and all staff work for free.
Inspired by the North American DIY publishing traditions that grew out of art, music, and LGBTQI+ scenes, the press publishes works of literary and/or creative non-fiction and/or poetry in series of threes. Each of these ‘seasons’, which are loosely based around a common theme, acknowledge a diverse range of lived experiences, educational backgrounds, and cultural reference points. This shouldn’t be read as a euphemism for poverty porn or ‘bake-off blandness’ however, but as a preference for formally innovative, emotionally immediate books, and a vibe that is as much global as it is local.
MOIST’s Director, Paul Finlay, founded the press in 2020. Family friend, Sarah Smith, assists him with MOIST’s publicity. From time to time, his next-door neighbour, Maggie Panikkar, lends her skills as proofreader. Paul’s daughter, Susan, also a MOIST author, deals with everything design related as well as editing MOIST’s third season. The press is a non-profit and all staff work for free.
Inspired by the North American DIY publishing traditions that grew out of art, music, and LGBTQI+ scenes, the press publishes works of literary and/or creative non-fiction and/or poetry in series of threes. Each of these ‘seasons’, which are loosely based around a common theme, acknowledge a diverse range of lived experiences, educational backgrounds, and cultural reference points. This shouldn’t be read as a euphemism for poverty porn or ‘bake-off blandness’ however, but as a preference for formally innovative, emotionally immediate books, and a vibe that is as much global as it is local.
