Milkweed Editions, and others, Score Grants from Amazon.com

Milkweed Editions announced yesterday that Amazon.com will be underwriting two of their books this year, Fancy Beasts, by Alex Lemon, and Extra Indians, by Eric Gansworth.

The Minneapolis-based indepedent press received a $15,000 grant from Amazon, said Milkweed’s Jessica Deutsch. Fancy Beasts (pictured) is a collection of poetry; Extra Indians, a novel, is Gansworth’s eighth book.

Milkweed is just one of a couple dozen publishers and organizations that will receive funding from Amazon.com this year. Others include 826 Seattle, Cooper Canyon Press, Poets & Writers, the PEN America Center and The Moth reading series. The online retailer has a nomination process set up to help narrow down the organizations it might underwrite.

Amazon.com announced yesterday that its profits are way up this quarter, so it’s nice to hear that they’re using some of it to benefit independent publishing.

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