Until I published Appalachian Gateway: An anthology of Contemporary Appalachian Stories and Poetry, I had no idea of the practicalities of publishing an anthology. Since then I've talked with several prospective editors of failed anthologies and now realize that such an enterprise depends absolutely on personal relationships. Publishers want money for the rights to reprint stories they have published, but they also don't want to piss off their authors. So, if you KNOW the author, and the author respects your vision of your anthology, you are set. Your author friends can prevail on their publishers to either let you reprint free or for a nominal change. Otherwise, your anthology is doomed. In the case of this anthology, Degrees of Elevation, Page Seay is the son of Lee Smith, one of the most beloved Appalachian authors, and Charles Dodd White is also well-liked and active in regional writing communities. Furthermore their vision for this anthology was to print the stories of the up-and-coming regional authors, not the most well-established. As a result, they got pretty much what they wanted, and this anthology is really excellent.
Paperback
Huron, OH: Bottom Dog Press, 2010. 183 pages. Trade paperback.