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Because we make more noise than a $2 radio.


[This is a nice introductory article into who we are as a press, from Publishers Weekly.]

TWO DOLLAR RADIO'S FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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. IS BOOK PUBLISHING ALL YOU DO?
No, although it is our main focus. We want to promote what we consider to be quality art, and we have sections of our website devoted entirely to spot-lighting (with no financial benefits) visual artists that we adore.


4. WHAT SETS YOU APART FROM OTHER PUBLISHERS?
We feel that it is the artist’s role in society to spark social change. One aspect of this is awareness. We require (in contract) that each of our authors donate a certain percentage of their profits to a charitable organization of their choosing, matched by us, the publishers. The chosen organization also gets the opportunity to state their mission and ways readers can get involved, and a mention on our website.

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, vision, and voice.


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


6. WHO THE HECK ARE YOU GUYS, ANYWAY?


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
Eric graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in Dramatic Writing, where he earned the Venable Herndon Award for Screenwriting.

He taught writing at a homeless shelter in San Diego, tended bar in Brooklyn, and served for a short tenure as a one-armed bellman in Snowmass Village, Colorado. In January 2005, he founded Two Dollar Radio with his wife and brother.

Punk Planet describes his writing as "insightful, beautiful, and a little bewildering."




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.