Many of you have heard that we've launched a new imprint, Broken Levee Books, to focus on literature emanating from New Orleans. Well, here's the press release we've been sending out for the past two weeks, just in case you're interested about what we have in store. Let me just add one point that -- in hindsight -- probably needs making: Broken Levee Books will not be a line of books devoted to rehashing the horrors of Katrina. While that has its place, we'll be looking for stories that surprise, illuminate and entertain us. -- Bruce

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chin Music Press Launches Broken Levee Books Imprint
Seattle publisher reissues popular New Orleans book in beautifully redesigned hardback edition

SEATTLE — Chin Music Press announced today that it has started a new imprint called Broken Levee Books dedicated to preserving the unique literary heritage of New Orleans and discovering its most compelling voices.

The Seattle publisher also has released this month a redesigned and refreshed version of its hit 2006 anthology of essays and art, Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? Chin Music Press took the unusual step of reissuing the book as a hardback edition because it wanted to offer a more aesthetically stunning version of the book, which was made during the chaos after Hurricane Katrina and released before Mardi Gras in 2006.

“When we published the anthology after the levees broke, speed was critical. We were one of the first publishers to respond to the debacle in New Orleans because we felt the urgency of our mission,” says Chin Music Press publisher Bruce Rutledge. “We haven’t changed a word because the writers need to be read in context: They wrote their essays without knowing if their city would be saved. But the art and the design and the paper quality have all been refurbished and refreshed. We rebuilt the book while the Gulf Coast struggled to rebuild itself.”

The book was designed by Chin Music Press art director Craig Mod. The cover, in keeping with the starry theme of the first edition, features a photograph of the night sky from NASA’s Hubble Heritage Team. The new edition was printed in Japan by Yushin Printing. “As a designer with a strong perfectionist streak, it’s gratifying to get a second chance to design this book. I think the illustrations from the 1885 Historical Sketch Book and Guide to New Orleans really pop off the page now,” Mod said.

Broken Levee Books will be operated by David Rutledge, a professor of literature at the University of New Orleans. “We’re looking for writers and artists with unique stories to tell. We’re open to pitches, so please seek us out,” he said. Those interested are encouraged to participate in Broken Levee’s Voices of New Orleans blog, a community of writers and artists passionately concerned about the unfolding of the new New Orleans.

Chin Music Press publishes three or four new titles a year, according to Bruce Rutledge, and one or two of those will be under the Broken Levee Books imprint. The next title, a young adult novel called Buddy Zooka: In the French Quarter and Beyond by Tracey Tangerine, will be out in April. Tracey Tangerine is the pen name of Tracey Davis, an Edna Karr High School art teacher. She wrote the fabulous and magical story of Buddy Zooka while in exile in Hillsboro, OR, after the levees broke in her hometown of New Orleans. The book will feature photographs of famous New Orleanians posing as characters in the book.

Chin Music Press, founded in 2002 by Bruce Rutledge, publishes books and blogs. “Our blogs satisfy that need for instant information and quick commentary,” Rutledge says, “and our books strive for a timeless quality. We want our readers to enjoy every part of our books, from the stories and art inside to the attention to detail, the feel and smell of the paper and the hidden treasures within.”