Dalkey Archive Press records, 1972-2018, bulk 1990-2011
Collection context
- Creator:
- Dalkey Archive Press
- Abstract:
- The Dalkey Archive Press publishes Review of Contemporary Fiction, Context, and a wide range of contemporary fiction by both American and foreign writers. While the records consist primarily of editorial and production files, they also include correspondence, financial reports, strategic plans, and printed materials such as the Press' books, brochures, catalogs, and literary journals. Digital materials are currently being processed and are not yet available to researchers.
- Extent:
- 220.75 linear feet 173 record cartons, 1 document box, 2 cassette boxes, 1 disk box, and 7 flat boxes
- Language:
- The majority of the material is in English, but there is some material in Croatian, French, Dutch, Russian, and Spanish.
- Scope and content:
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The Dalkey Archive Press publishes Review of Contemporary Fiction, Context, and a wide range of contemporary fiction by both American and foreign writers. While the records consist primarily of editorial and production files, they also include author files, business files, correspondence, financial reports, strategic plans, and printed materials such as the Press' books, brochures, catalogs, and literary publications.
The majority of the Press' records are related to the production of books. These records include correspondence, camera-ready copies, original manuscripts, proofer corrections, proofs, and reader's reports. The type and amount of materials available differ from title to title; some titles have a full range of records from uncorrected manuscripts to page proofs, while others, particularly reprints, may only have a small corrections file. Many projects have no related correspondence; where correspondence is available, it is noted in the container list.
There are also substantial files related to the production of the Review of Contemporary Fiction and Context in the collection. The files include correspondence, general files and planning materials, manuscripts, proofs, proofer's corrections, and subscription records. The files contain both chronological and subject files related to the production of issues. Files related to the production of Context are much smaller in size, but there are correspondence, manuscripts, proofs, and proofer's corrections related to its publication in the collection.
The Press routinely filed correspondence in context with related projects rather than maintaining a separate set of correspondence files. There is some additional correspondence filed in Series I: Author Files and general correspondence and unfiled author correspondence has been arranged in Series VI: Correspondence.
The collection lacks both administrative and business records. There is no distinct set of business files of records related to John O'Brien, the founder of Dalkey Archive Press, in the records. The records do include a few of O'Brien's correspondence files, particularly relating to Gilbert Sorrentino. The collection also contains a set of his teaching files from Benedictine University and a few manuscripts relating to Gilbert Sorrentino, but these files are not related to O'Brien's work at Dalkey Archive Press. In addition, there no board records in the collection. The other business records in the collection are also incomplete, and the overall volume of such material in the collection is small. Series V: Business Files does include financial reports, distribution, and sales reports, but few tax records or audited financial statements, as well as records related to consultants, development, fundraising, grants, publicity, and strategic planning.
There is very little audiovisual material in the collection. There are a few photograph files in Series IX: Audiovisual Materials, as well as a few other photographs in other files scattered throughout the collection. In addition, there are several audiocassettes in the collection. Several are related to authors published by the Dalkey Archive Press, but it is unclear if the audiocassettes' content is related to the Press' work. There are also three audiocassettes that contain broadcasts related to new published works, and these are filed with the publicity materials in Series V: Business Files.
Terminology, particularly for production material, was standardized using the Rare Book & Manuscript Section (RBMS): Printing and Publishing Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloging and the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) where possible; additional dictionaries of printing and publishing terms and the Press' own terminology were used to fill in gaps in these standards. Researchers should particularly note that in standard thesauri the use of term page proof is preferred to the American usage of the term galley proof; where the Press uses the term galley (as it does for uncorrected bound proofs that are cut into pages) it is noted in the container list in parentheses.
The records of the Dalkey Archive Press have been split between two repositories. Although there are some records from 1990 and earlier in this collection, the majority of records from 1980-1990 are in the Review of Contemporary Fiction/Dalkey Archive Press: records, 1980-1990, at Stanford University.
- Biographical / historical:
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Dalkey Archive Press publishes and promotes contemporary fiction that is commonly described as avant-garde, experimental, innovative, and highly literary. The Press seeks to publish materials that challenge both readers and literary conventions. Among the authors published by the Dalkey Archive Press are Djuna Barnes, Robert Coover, David Markson, Carole Maso, Nicholas Mosley, Flann O'Brien, Gilbert Sorrentino, Gertrude Stein, and Louis Zukovsky. The Press's objective is to keep all of its books in print in the interest of maintaining the availability of works that it deems culturally and educationally valuable, regardless of their commercial viability.
The Review of Contemporary Fiction was founded in 1981 to provide a forum for the discussion of significant contemporary authors whose work was largely neglected in mainstream circles. The Review has developed into a primary English-language source for the discussion of serious contemporary fiction and serves to introduce readers to writers and new works through in-depth criticism, book reviews, and coverage that is not available through most commercial media sources.
Dalkey Archive Press was founded in 1984 to address problems exposed by the Review of Contemporary Fiction. In particular, it was noted that works discussed in the journal were going out of print and difficult to get published by commercial publishers. In addition, there was concern regarding the decrease in the amount of foreign-language works being translated into English. Initially, the Press focused on reprinting out of print works that had been featured in the Review of Contemporary Fiction, but within a few years it expanded to include the publication of original works that were considered to be too risky for commercial publishers.
In 1999, Dalkey Archive Press began publishing a free newsprint and web magazine, Context. Context aims to create an understanding of the literary, historical, and cultural contexts in which to read modern and contemporary literature, especially for students and younger readers of contemporary literature.
The Press received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Critics Circle in 2011, and its authors and translators have been recipients of awards including the Nobel Prize, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, and the Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
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This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions, however, digital materials are still being processed and are currently inaccessible to researchers.
- Terms of access:
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Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
- Preferred citation:
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Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Dalkey Press records; Box and Folder (if known); Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
- Location of this collection:
- Before you visit:
- Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
- Contact:
- rbml@library.columbia.edu