About Cooperative Press

For customer service, please email us at: info@cooperativepress.com

You can also reach us most hours 10 a.m.–10 p.m. (Eastern US time zone) by clicking the small icon at the lower right corner of the screen, which will send a message to Shannon. If she's near her phone, she'll reply ASAP!

 

CP's founder Shannon Okey had been working on the fringes of the publishing business for several years. After selling a dozen of her own books to several major national publishers, she started to do freelance acquisitions representing other authors whose work she enjoyed.

Shannon went on to edit a monthly magazine based in the UK, and continued to run a business she’d founded in 2004 that sold handcrafted items by artisans from all over the U.S. and Canada, a sort of proto-Etsy. Its fresh style and design aesthetic attracted not only a devoted clientele, but also the attentions of television producers and yet more publishers. Shannon appeared on shows such as Knitty Gritty, Uncommon Threads and Crafters Coast to Coast. Even more of the artisans from her shop soon landed their own book and TV deals (see? we know how to pick ‘em!)

But why Cooperative Press? It began with a book.

(Specifically, The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design, the first book of its kind targeted toward indie knitwear designers).

Although working with traditional, large publishers can be very rewarding, there are some books that fly under their radar. They’re too avant-garde, or the marketing department doesn’t know how to sell them, or they don’t think they’ll sell 50,000 copies in a year.

5,000 or 50,000. Does the book matter to that 5,000? Then it should be published.

More than once now a publisher has come back to Shannon after dismissing a title because they suddenly realized there was a market for it after all.

We lead, we don’t follow. We also believe in sharing the proceeds of everyone's hard work. CP authors enjoy much more creative control and higher royalties than they would at any other publisher. We're more like a family, and we take care of each other. We're also fortunate to enjoy some really dedicated customers, and we love bringing them the best books we can make.

Over the past decade since our founding we have published over seventy five books that we are incredibly proud of, with authors we love, and we've gotten to work with people we enjoy all while interacting with wonderful knitters and readers both online and off. Shannon has given talks about niche publishing at South by Southwest and at O'Reilly's Tools of Change digital publishing conference. She's served two terms on the Independent Book Publishing Association's board and is currently serving on the Craft Industry Association's board. We are making the difference we wanted to see in the creative business world and you are all a part of that change. Thank you so much. Here's to the next decade ahead!

It’s precisely because you’re an indie and more of the proceeds go to the designers that I enjoy your services. You’re smallish, personal and offer so many neat projects. Got to love it!

– Allyson D., a customer