Year of growth is only the first step for different kind of publisher
Mount Vernon, VA – aois21 publishing, LLC celebrated its first birthday on May 8th and looked back at the accomplishments of the past year. The independent publishing company’s first year included these accomplishments:
- Released the aois21 annual. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, a month of sifting through submissions from around the world, editing and production, and printing by Global Printing of Alexandria, VA, the first edition was available October 1st.
- Signed five new Creatives. Within weeks of launching, aois21 welcomed poet Bianca Palmisano and children’s author Joshua M. Morgan. They were later followed by new authors Paul Dickinson Russell and Aylin Vega, and poet and short fiction writer Deepan Chatterjee, Ph.D.
- Released new titles. We expanded beyond our base quickly, with eight books coming to market since our launch. These include three books of poetry, a children’s book, two non-fiction collections, a historical biography, and a romance novel.
- Rebranded with a new logo design. Five designers were chosen, and then we opened it to the public to choose from the seven logos created. The winning design was by Updraft Designs.
- Launched two podcast series. Starting at the end of February, Passion on the Page features poetry as read by aois21 Creatives and guest poets and is released every 21 days. On the 7th of each month, the process podcast Publish Me! is released, featuring Russell and his work on his novel The Will of the Magi.
- Set up new retail partners. Books and Other Found Things in Leesburg, VA hosted aois21 Creatives and became the first outlet for the aois21 annual. Battlefield Books & Beyond of Gettysburg, PA was next to add the annual to its shelves. aois21 Creatives were also welcomed to DC’s newest bookstore, Upshur St. Books in Petworth.
- Organized and participated in many events. We started with our launch party at Busboys & Poets in DC on Memorial Day weekend, and since then our Creatives have displayed their books in Leesburg, Petworth, Charlottesville, VA, and Kensington, MD.
- Hired new staff. Our management team grew to include Chief of Development Camie Rodan and Webmaster Joshua Silberman.
- Launched a YouTube series featuring our Creatives. In order to give our readers the chance to learn more about our titles, directly from the authors, we launched Creative Speaking in August, featuring segments of author interviews, released monthly.
- Built a new website. Officially launching today after months of design, creation, and polishing, the new aois21.com runs on SquareSpace and improves the web capabilities of the company.
"When I sat down and planned out the goals and expectations for our first year, I tried to keep them all in reach,” said Keith F. Shovlin, aois21’s executive officer. "Little did I imagine that we would surpass many of them by doubling our catalog with a diverse array of talent and genre. I am anxious to get started on year 2 and take us all to the next level."