Jennifer Worick

Last September, author Junot Diaz spoke to a standing-room-only audience at Town Hall in Seattle. Within the first few minutes, he gave the city props for approving a $122 million library levy the previous month. That’s how Seattle rolls.

It’s a book town and proud of it. Seattle always ranks at the top of the list of the most literary cities, dueling with Minneapolis and Washington, DC. Amazon and Costco are headquartered here. We thought we’d head to the Pacific Northwest and see what the publishing scene is all about. And what we found was a vibrant literary community with a lot of publishing options. It just doesn’t look like what you’d expect.

Our country is in the midst of a growing "shop local" movement, urging folks to support their neighborhood stores, eat locally grown produce, and, in general, make staying close to home with their dollars a lifestyle choice.

As publishers, we can take this local movement to heart. You're part of a local scene, wherever you're based. Do you know your nearby colleagues? Get together with them? Attend or even create events that provide opportunities for networking? I urge you to talk to your local colleagues, talk them up, and support them by buying what they write or publish!

A few blocks from Philadelphia's famous Colonial-era buildings—buildings in which the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and drafted the U.S. Constitution—is an old restored brownstone. Away from the throngs of roving tourists, this quaint, historic building houses a contemporary publishing company that turns out some of the most creative and innovative book projects on the market today. Running Press, an independent trade publishing house, specializes in highly designed adult non-fiction books, children's titles and most especially book-plus projects. Bestsellers have included Sisters, a compilation of pictures and compelling stories about the special bond of female siblings, and I Feel Great, And