RED HEN PRESS INC

PUBLISHING WORKS OF LITERARY EXCELLENCE: RED HEN PRESS PUBLISHES 25-30 BOOKS EACH YEAR IN HOPES OF BUILDING A MORE VIBRANT, INCLUSIVE, AND DIVERSE LITERARY COMMUNITY. THE PRESS PUBLISHES WORKS OF LITERARY FICTION, CREATIVE NONFICTION, AND POETRY, HELPING TO SPREAD THE VOICE OF PERSPECTIVES OFTEN OVERLOOKED BY MAINSTREAM COMMERCIAL PUBLISHERS. RED HEN PRESS SUPPORTS EMERGING AUTHORS AND USES LITERARY AWARDS TO PUBLISH AND SPOTLIGHT AUTHORS FROM HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. THIS WORK INCLUDES OUR LETRAS LATINAS PUBLISHING SERIES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME'S INSTITUTE FOR LATINO STUDIES, AS WELL AS THE ANN PETRY AWARD FOR BLACK PROSE AUTHORS, THE CAI EMMONS FICTION AWARD, THE BENJAMIN SALTMAN POETRY AWARD, RED HEN PRESS'S WOMEN'S PROSE PRIZE, AND THE QUILL PROSE AWARD FOR QUEER LITERATURE. THIS YEAR RED HEN PRESS CELEBRATED ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUBLISHING EXCEPTIONAL LITERATURE AND HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY MANY PUBLICATIONS FOR ITS ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THESE INCLUDE PUBLISHERS WEEKLY AND PASADENA NOW, BOTH OF WHOM ACKNOWLEDGED ITS ANNIVERSARY IN THEIR COVERAGE. RED HEN AUTHORS HAVE ALSO RECEIVED MANY RECOGNITIONS THIS YEAR. RED HEN POET AFAA M. WEAVER WON THE WALLACE STEVENS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AND WAS NAMED CHANCELLOR OF THE ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS. YOU WERE WATCHING FROM THE SAND BY JULIANA LAMY WAS A CLMP FIRECRACKER AWARD WINNER. DEBUT AUTHOR DENISE FROST LANDED RED HEN PRESS'S FIRST NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW IN YEARS, FOR HER CAMPUS MYSTERY A PUNISHING BREED. OUR PRESS HAS ALSO ENJOYED ITS HIGHEST SALES IN OUR HISTORY THIS YEAR, THANKS TO THE DEDICATION OF OUR SALES TEAM.

STUDENT POETRY WORKSHOPS: FOR OVER 20 YEARS, RED HEN PRESS HAS BROUGHT POETRY EDUCATION TO UNDERSERVED STUDENTS IN PASADENA AND LOS ANGELES THROUGH OUR WRITING IN THE SCHOOLS (WITS) PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM SERVES PARTICIPATING STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND SCHOOLS AT NO COST, REACHING APPROXIMATELY 350 STUDENTS ANNUALLY BY BRINGING PUBLISHED AUTHORS DIRECTLY INTO CLASSROOMS TO TEACH THE CRAFT OF WRITING. HOST SCHOOLS ARE TITLE I SCHOOLS, MEANING AT LEAST 40% OF IMPACTED STUDENTS COME FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES. OUR WITS PROGRAM TARGETS UNDERSERVED ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY MADE UP OF THE FOLLOWING DEMOGRAPHICS: 85% LATINX/HISPANIC, 11% AFRICAN AMERICAN, 2% ASIAN AMERICAN, <1% EUROPEAN AMERICAN, <1% NATIVE AMERICAN, AND <1% MIDDLE EASTERN. RED HEN PRESS USES A DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF THE WITS PROGRAM. HOST TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ARE POLLED THROUGH PRE AND POST-WORKSHOP SURVEYS. STUDENT EVALUATIONS INCLUDE QUESTIONS ABOUT CONFIDENCE IN WRITING AND VOCABULARY, AS WELL AS SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT INTEREST IN POETRY, INSTRUCTOR EFFECTIVENESS, AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE COURSE CONTENT. HOST TEACHER SURVEYS INCLUDE SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT STUDENT PERFORMANCE, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CURRICULUM, AND THE ABILITY OF THE INSTRUCTOR TO TAILOR THEIR LESSONS TO THE STUDENTS' LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING AND TO INCORPORATE CALIFORNIA STATE EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS. WE UTILIZE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE SURVEY DATA, ALONG WITH STAFF NOTES, TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PROGRAM.