Long ago, some people thought it might be a nice idea to start a publishing company that focused on fiction created by conservatives, libertarians, and other people who are largely shut out of the mainstream publishing world due to their political beliefs and the way those beliefs invariably creep into their writing. It was, we thought, time for other ideas, often very old ideas, to come back to the forefront of the writing world.

Since that day, a few other publishers have risen. Some have fallen. And most recently, that original company, Liberty Island Media, is preparing to shut down operations. But the vision has not died.

Instead, it will continue in the form of Conservatarian Press, a multi-genre small press that hopes to continue the successes of Liberty Island and learn from its mistakes.

I am Jamie K. Wilson, and I am the primary owner and executive editor of Conservatarian Press. My husband, Clark Wilson, will be handling the marketing, and a team of talented editors working on commission will be providing support. Last but not least, we have a large and growing community of writers and readers who cheer us on.

What We Are Doing

After examining Liberty Island and other conservative-leaning publishers, we think we have identified some key factors that will lead to our, and our writers’, success.

• Put Writers First. We need to remember that we are here not to publish individual books, but rather to develop great writers who will create many good books that get our voice and our story out into the public.
• Fiscal Responsibility. In pursuit of that goal, writers must be paid, paid well, and paid in a timely fashion. We will NEVER request a writer pay for any part of his or her publishing or marketing package once we have designed it and all parties have signed off on it. (Writers are always welcome to go over and above, and we are happy to provide advice and support in those situations.) Money should always flow from us to the writer, not the other way around.
• Focus on Commercial Fiction. It’s nice to think of art as pure and whole without money being involved, but the reality is, money makes the world go round. As a result, we are choosing to focus on commercial fiction, with occasional forays into nonfiction. That means genre fiction focused on storytelling, not preaching – stories people want to read, reread, and share with their friends.
• Marketing and Editing. We can only offer two services writers can’t easily manage themselves: marketing and specialized editing from editors who understand your world view and what you are trying to communicate. For that reason, we will work hard to make both of these the best in the business.

What Else?

Beyond this, there are several other things we want to do. Even if you don’t decide to publish with us, we want conservative-leaning writers to succeed, and we will be developing tools to help you do so, like a digital mailer to notify our subscribers when good books in our field are on sale and reviews of good books on our house blog.

In mid-2022, we will start a short-form online magazine to promote shorter works and help develop new writers, as well as provide an outlet for our novelists to publish short stories. We do not want to limit ourselves to fiction in this format; we plan to publish poetry, essays, reviews, cartoons, and other products that our readers are looking for.

And in 2024 we will introduce a version of Liberty Island’s Open Road, a free-for-all medium for writers and others to post short stories, essays, and other short-form writings that for one reason or another did not make the cut for the magazine. Using this lively and unstructured tool, we hope to help develop new writers, discover fresh ideas, and keep our press and community vibrant.

What You Can Do

Read. Comment. Review. Query. Submit. Participate. Without writers, editors, and readers, we have a dead website and books that no one is reading. We eagerly seek out feedback from you, our community and our allies, to make us better and to ensure we create the types of books you want to read.

Also, because my husband is enlisted military and I’m a homeschooling mom, we don’t have tons of money – only enthusiasm, expertise, intelligence, and passion for this mission. So we’re going to be running an initial fundraiser to try to take some of the edge off the financial burden – paying for covers, marketing, and other necessities that we can’t provide ourselves. Those who are willing to contribute just a little bit toward our goal will gain not only the prizes listed in the fundraiser, but also our undying gratitude. And in a few years, you’ll be able to brag that you helped get Conservatarian Press started, and look at it now!

So.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for taking this trip with us. With your help, God’s blessing, and the talents of dozens of people dedicated to this project, we can make literature in America and the English-speaking world worth reading again.