We caught up with the brilliant and insightful James Keith Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, James Keith thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

At Sand and Gravel Press we publish small, 4.75 x 5.5 inch chapbooks of short stories and essays. It’s definitely a niche market, and there are lot of other great literary journals out there. I think what makes us different is that the chapbooks are very small—you can fit them in your coat pocket or glovebox—and we focus on one author at a time. The chapbooks are like little samplers of the author’s work. In many ways, the people we publish are just beginning their writing careers. We give them our full attention. We post interviews, arrange readings, and try and get reviews—which can be hard for 30 to 50 page chapbook.

The origin of Sand and Gravel was pretty organic. I was in a writing group and, reading one of the other member’s work, I thought, ‘this story is cool. I like this. It should be published.’ And so I published it. It was the first thing she had published. I don’t even think her friends knew she was a writer. She was thrilled. And we had a great time putting it all together. It turned out to be a bit of a misstep, though. She was too modest to make a big deal about it. And she was hesitant to try and get it out there. I think some of it was a lack of confidence. But we sold very few copies.

I learned a lesson there. It has to be more than just good writing. Back in the day, long before Sand and Gravel, I was in a band. I played guitar, wrote songs, and performed regularly. I always thought that a metric of success for us would be for an independent record label to release our albums, but it didn’t happen. It was later that it realized that it wasn’t because our music wasn’t good enough—the music was good—it was because nobody would have bought our records. We played in Seattle for years, but we weren’t well known enough. We weren’t involved in the community in a way that helped to organically build an audience.

So for Sand and Gravel, there will always be an element of commerce. I’d hesitate to publish another chapbook where the writer didn’t at least have small following—even if I loved the writing. I need to sell a certain number of them in order for the press to continue on. It’s not a lot. We work with a local printer and costs are reasonable. But the author needs to have a least a little bit of an audience they’ve built on their own.

In the end, we care deeply about the quality of the work and the authors happiness. We spend time on the covers. We use nice paper. We’d love to work with more local (and beyond) photographers and artists for covers design. Hit us up! We’re always looking talent.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Like every writer, I’d love to find a large audience, but being grounded is just as important. Being a writer is a lonely road. I’ve written famous authors before, telling them how much I love a story of theirs, and they’ve always been so gracious. They say I’ve made their day. I imagine it might not be much different than a friend telling me how much they loved a story of mine, how much it meant to them. Small successes.

At the same time, I do have goals and dreams. Some of them might be lofty, others are certainly achievable. Nothing in this life is guaranteed, but I think pursuing art is always a worthy endeavor, especially if you’re enjoying yourself. I

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There is nothing like that moment when the writing is flowing, when a story just happens. Those moments are fleeting. Not every seed you plant is going to grow. As a writer, I think as long as i’m planting seeds I’ll be happy.

A lot of times I think of that White Stripes song ‘Little Room.’ The song talks about how, when you’re in your little room working, and you know what you’re making is going to be good, you’re going to need a bigger room. But then when you get to the bigger room you might feel like you don’t know what to do. You have to think back to what it was like in that little room where it all began.

I’m in my little room right now. Maybe I’ll need a big room, but I’m happy where I am, too.

I feel proud of my modest accomplishments both as a writer and as a small press publisher. But I think the most rewarding aspect is meeting other writers and artists. That mutual appreciation and sense of community is everything to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sandandgravel.com jameskeithsmith.com
• Instagram: @sand_and_gravelpress @james_keith_smith
• Twitter: @jameskeithsm1th (the last ‘i’ is a ‘1’