1. HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
It was late 2004 and I incorrectly envisioned the world of books and literature as one filled with purity, devoted souls, and soft music played on a harp. I am a writer and I viewed the craft as more than a trade and more like a vocation: art created in solitude, drinking reheated coffee, pounding on the keys in order to connect with a reader sitting on an easy chair in a dimly-lit room drinking reheated coffee. The concept that someone's perception of a book was merely a number in a column on a spreadsheet made me sizzle.

After reading The Business of Books by Andre Schiffrin, we were inspired to start our own new idealistic book publishing company, following the footprints left by the likes of John Martin and Barney Rosset.

We filed as an LLC in January 2005. We all had (have) full-time jobs and worked (really, really hard) on growing Two Dollar Radio.


2. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR NAME, THE TWO DOLLAR RADIO MOVEMENT?
While I was bartending in downtown San Diego, before Two Dollar Radio’s inception, an old-timer at the bar was becoming belligerent. I was annoyed, bidding my time 'til I would be forced to cut him off, imagining how this encounter might transpire, and doing my best to ignore him. It was hard to do. He must have realized this because he said, “Don’t mind me, I make more noise than a $2 radio.”

It stuck in my mind because our goal as a book publisher has been to make a sonic and aggressive impact. We settled on the Movement part of our name because we didn’t want to rule out future endeavors into music, film, and the visual arts.


3. WHAT SETS YOU APART FROM OTHER PUBLISHERS?
We publish books that if I stumbled upon as a reader I would push onto others, saying 'you've gotta read this.' Each and every book we publish we endorse without limitation. (No jokebooks or bathroom readers found 'round these parts.) Above all, we value ambition, and believe that none of our books crimp to convention when it comes to storytelling or voice. Ideally, that contributes to a liberating reading experience.

In addition, we place a high value on quality and production. Just because we cherish our independent label, we don’t feel that our books should appear cheap, or the writing abrasive.

We feel confident that any of the books we publish challenge anything put out by the corporate houses, in terms of substance, style, and vision.


4. WHAT TYPES OF BOOKS DO YOU PUBLISH?
Our interest primarily lies with what we would characterize as bold literary fiction: subversive, original, and highly creative.

BRIAN OBENAUF - Publicist
If you have any questions regarding advertising, book reviews, or would like to schedule an author for a reading or interview, please contact Brian at brian[at]twodollarradio.com.

ELIZA JANE WOOD - Editor / Art Director
Eliza graduated from New York University with a Fine Arts Education degree. She has taught in the New York City public school system, and was a literacy tutor with Literacy*AmeriCorps.

ERIC OBENAUF - Editor in Chief / Publisher
Eric has received the Venable Herndon Award for Screenwriting. His writing has appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, The Rumpus, and on The Huffington Post. Punk Planet described his writing as "insightful, beautiful, and a little bewildering." He hasn't played golf in fifteen years.

RIO - Heiress to the Empire
Born April 15, 2006, to international acclaim, Rio's pediatrician described her as "the poster-child for breast-fed babies."

She plans on growing, and, eventually, speaking in full sentences.

UPDATE: She now speaks in full sentences!