Our Mission
Responding to the fact that conventional book publishing is dominated by an antiquated business model, biased in favor of publishers, literary agents, distributers and bookstores, Calumet Editions built a mission around providing a fresh business model—changing some of the rules—in which authors can operate together as equal partners with their publisher; in other words, author and publisher enter into a joint venture and share risk and reward.
Our Story
Calumet Editions began in 2014.
Amazon bestselling author Gary Lindberg and literary consultant / radio host Ian Graham Leask launch Calumet Editions, the world’s first hybrid publishing company, offering a breakthrough business model for authors.
The year began with a milestone—645K Twitter followers, on the way eventually to over 4 million.
Calumet establishes Wisdom Editions, an imprint to distinguish its growing list of impressive nonfiction titles.
Calumet moves to its permanent headquarters in Edina, Minnesota and expands its staff.
At a big event at Barnes and Noble, Calumet launches the highly controversial book Letters from Elvis, which had been in legal limbo for over 30 years.
Calumet receives its first death threats and organized disinformation campaigns related to the publication of Letters from Elvis.
Undaunted by threats, Calumet reaches another milestone by surpassing over 100 authors with books actively for sale internationally.
Calumet takes over management of the respected nonprofit publishing firm Afton Press, which had previously published scores of books on Minnesota history and arts.
Calumet begins to serve the community of poets with special arrangements for producing books of poetry. Its first book of verse is A Breviary for the Lost by Loren Niemi.
To reach a wider audience for its authors, Calumet begins to publish each of its books in three separate editions—a printed version specifically for Amazon, a printed edition for other booksellers, and an ebook.
Calumet expands its market presence and surpasses 200 books published. Joshua Weber acquires an ownership position in Calumet Editions.
Calumet begins to support its authors with professional audiobook production.
With its nonprofit entity, Afton Press, Calumet surpasses 300 books in print.
When Gary Met Ian: A New Publishing Model
Calumet Editions LLC was founded by Ian Graham Leask and Gary R. Lindberg, both long-time lovers of great writing, in response to the recent economic and digital transformations in the publishing industry.
Gary launched Calumet in 2011 as a tool to publish his own writing after suffering the obdurate gate-keeping present in the traditional publishing system. He focused his research expertise on learning the details of online marketing and devised innovations for the successful promotion of eBooks. He soon started helping other writers, many of whom had been Ian’s clients in his life as a literary consultant and writing teacher.
When Gary met Ian, an experienced publisher, literary consultant, and writer, he immediately discovered a fellow traveler. Together they saw opportunities for a new kind of publishing entity and fused their operations into Calumet Editions, LLC—a fresh kind of publishing company, one dedicated to helping hardworking authors who want to develop a strong presence in publishing.
For more information about our publishing models and submission process, visit our SUBMISSIONS page.
