What Makes the 1455 Books Model Different
Sean Murphy on structure, intention, and sustainability
I joined Jenna Blum—NYT bestselling author and A Mighty Blaze co-founder—to discuss 1455 books, our new publishing imprint. We explored 1455’s origins, the nonprofit journey, and how corporate experience shaped the venture. The big questions: Does art matter in 2026? (More than ever.) Is now the time to publish books? (It’s the worst time, therefore essential.) Publishing books extends 1455’s mission to support authentic voices and build community for storytellers at every level.
The honest answer about how to start 1455 books? I have no idea—but the reality is, technology trends have widened the playing field in ways that make this possible. I get guidance from the music industry and streaming services: yes, I own 3,000 CDs and have money invested in the old system, but I discover new music all the time on Spotify, and I’m inspired by amazingly talented, eccentric musicians who do it because they love it, even if they’ll never make a living at it. Similarly with books—for all the problems with Bezos, he revolutionized print-on-demand, which is a gatekeeper removal system and ecologically friendly since books don’t physically exist until they’re bought.
The mechanisms to start a press, magazine, or record label are there if you’re passingly familiar with the technology. Through 1455’s magazine work, I’m intimate with independent publishing and self-publishing—I’ve got a toolkit and team that have been doing this. We realized we could be doing books: the nuts and bolts of making a book come into the world is shockingly easy. What’s difficult is doing it well, and then once the product exists, everything else has to happen—marketing, PR, promotion, design, distribution, community building. We’ve already covered a lot of those bases, so with this audacity to try something I don’t have a background in, I realized I actually do have a background in it.
Visit 1455litarts.org to find out more, get involved, or help support our mission.