Publisher Profile: Kinkajou Press
The CBC asks Geoff Habiger, Owner, questions about the publisher.
How did your publishing house start out?
Kinkajou Press is an imprint of Artemesia Publishing. Artemesia started in 2004 and by 2008 we had published one book for early readers with plans to publish more. Kinkajou Press officially launched in 2009 with the publication of The Elephants Tour England. Since then, we have published 28 additional middle grade and YA titles, with four more scheduled for later this year and into 2027.
Where in the country is your house based? What do you love about being based there?
Kinkajou Press is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Land of Enchantment is truly enchanting, from the scenery to the people. What we really love about being here is that we have found so many amazing children’s authors here. From Rosemary Zibart (Forced Journey, True Brit) and Jennifer Bohnhoff (Where Duty Calls, In the Shadow of Sunrise), who write amazing historical fiction, to Anthony Bartley (Freakshow Summer) and Terry Nichols (The Dreaded Cliff and the forthcoming The Turquoise Bead), who write great character-driven stories. The Land of Enchantment has allowed us to work with truly wonderful and creative authors whose stories live up to the state’s nickname.
How many books does your house aim to publish per season/year?
We do not have targets for how many books we will publish. Artemesia Publishing as a whole tries to publish between 10-12 books a year, some of which might be through the Kinkajou Press imprint. Our publishing schedule usually depends on how prolific our authors are in completing new manuscripts.
Which genres does your house prefer to publish?
The genres that we started publishing were mostly middle-grade historical fiction, but that was more happenstance than by choice. In the past few years, we have published more contemporary stories, often focused on characters who are neurodivergent or dealing with trauma or great changes in their life in some way. We started with an interest in only publishing middle grade fiction, however, we’ve now published three YA novels.
Which formats does your house prefer to publish?
Our formats are primarily trade paperback and ebooks. We do not do hardcovers because the costs to manufacture are so high. We have published three audiobooks (The Etiquette of Voles, Paul Weaver and the Soul Reaver, and The Batboy and the Unbreakable Record) and hope to add more audiobooks in the future.
Which title does your house feel deserved more love than it got?
Wow, we think that all of our titles should have gotten more love than they did. Part of the difficulty of being a small independent press is having the budget to get the word out about our books. We do what we can, but it always feels like we could do more. One title that we really think deserves more attention is The Painter’s Butterfly by Rebecca Weber. This book tells the story of a young girl in foster care who is fostered by a man who is a painter, but she discovers that he has secrets and she finds a magical easel that can bring paintings to life. It is a whimsical and poignant story about finding family and dealing with loss. We know that it has the potential for a wide appeal among young readers and we really wish more people knew about it.
Which upcoming titles is your house buzzing about?
We are really excited about two upcoming titles: The Turquoise Bead by Terry Nichols and Forward by Miriam Spitzer Franklin. Both of these books are great character-driven stories that we know will capture young readers’ imaginations. The Turquoise Bead features a young girl with a port-wine birthmark on her face who faces bullying. When she finds a turquoise bead at an Ancient Puebloan site in New Mexico, she believes the bead will give her the power to make new friends and deal with life. But when she realizes that she must return the bead, that decision forces her to face her fears. It is a wonderful story filled with beautiful illustrations by Jeanne Bowman.
Forward is a companion novel to Miriam Spitzer Franklin’s first novel, Extraordinary. That first novel looked at how a young girl faces the great changes in her life after her best friend suffers a traumatic brain injury after contracting meningitis. Forward tells the same story, but this time from the twin brother of the girl who became injured. It is a wonderful exploration of family and friendship and how life’s challenges can really affect how we interact with the people around us.
Which of your frontlist titles would be great for a school or public library, classroom, or bookstore?
Well – all of our titles would be great for a school or public library or bookstore! Many of our backlist titles are historical fiction with stories that resonate no matter when they are read. (And now several of them are part of complete series, so no need to wait for the next book to come along!) Many of our authors are librarians, teachers or retired teachers (Anthony Bartley, Jennifer Bohnhoff, Karen McCoy, Rebecca Weber, and S.C. McMurray) so they know what teachers and librarians need for their libraries and classrooms, and they especially know what children want to read. Many of our frontlist titles focus on problems and challenges that children today are facing, with characters who are BIPOC (In the Shadow of Sunrise, The New Frontier), dealing with life’s struggles and trauma (Death is a Hungry Angel, The Dreaded Cliff, Forced Journey, LEAP), or who are neurodivergent (Forward, John Doe Does Not Suck, Loophole), making these stories very relatable to young readers.
What else would you like to tell us about your house and the amazing work you all do?
Kinkajou Press exists only because of the very talented and super creative authors that we work with. All of them create fun and engaging stories that not only engage the reader but help inform or educate them, even if it is done in a subtle way. We look forward to bringing more amazing stories to readers in the years to come.
Thank you, Kinkajou Press!
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