Theatre Communications Group and 53rd State Press Announce Acquisition of Titles from 3 Hole Press and Plays Inverse Press

NEW YORK, NY – Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and 53rd State Press are pleased to announce that 53rd State Press has acquired the catalogs of independent drama publishers 3 Hole Press and Plays Inverse Press. Previously distributed through Small Press Distribution, titles from 3 Hole Press and Plays Inverse Press will be available from 53rd State Press going forward, to be distributed through TCG to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution.

Plays Inverse Press and 3 Hole Press were founded in 2013 and 2016, respectively, to publish new plays and performance texts that pay special focus to the literary and poetic qualities of drama. Like 53rd State Press, both presses were founded by working artists invested in modes of horizontal support for other artists in the theatre ecosystem. All three presses’ scripts and scores exist to be distributed, regardless of whether they have been produced, as artworks worthy of encounter and as books to be read.

In the interest of making their titles more accessible and keeping their books in print for readers and theatre-lovers, their catalogs will be merged with 53rd State Press’s catalog. TCG Books has proudly partnered with 53rd State Press to distribute their titles to the book trade since 2013 and looks forward to making titles from 3 Hole Press and Plays Inverse Press available to the trade via Consortium, as well.

“I am so grateful for the work that Plays Inverse and 3 Hole Press have done to create literary platforms for experimental performance writing and to forge connections across genres and disciplines,” said Kate Kremer, editor of 53rd State Press. “The hybridity, breadth, and adventurousness of their catalogs are unrivaled. I’m thrilled to be able to carry forward their project of expanding the possibilities of the American theater.”

“Plays Inverse Press was founded to better celebrate and circulate theatrical texts, and as a long-time admirer of both 53rd State Press and TCG Books’ editions, I can’t imagine a better steward of the Plays Inverse catalog moving forward,” said Tyler Crumrine, founder and editor of Plays Inverse Press. “This move will not only keep vital, genre-pushing theatre in print, but also expose more readers to contemporary experimental playwriting than ever before. I’m extremely grateful for the impact this will have on our writers’ careers, and even more grateful for the opportunity future playwrights will have to learn from and build upon their work.”

“All three of our presses are artist-run and held together by belief in our authors. The missions of 53rd State, 3 Hole Press, and Plays Inverse are intertwined,” said Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, director of 3 Hole Press. “We already share authors and communities. Joining together under the umbrella of TCG, while maintaining our original books’ designs, will allow all our books to be more accessible and keep these important works in print. Thanks to Kate Kremer’s vision and to everyone at TCG, readers will have a home for discovering literature by artists who are expanding the world of drama and performance.”  

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to distribute the wonderful work published by 3 Hole Press and Plays Inverse Press to the book trade,” said Erin Salvi and Kathy Sova, co-publishers of TCG Books. “These titles add an even greater breadth to 53rd State’s already impressive catalog, and the chance to distribute them allows TCG Books to further advance our conviction that plays are literature and deserve to be read and preserved as much as any other literary form. We look forward to bringing new attention and an even wider audience to these titles for many years to come.”

3 Hole Press’s catalog includes titles by Will Arbery, Agnes Borinksy, and Daaimah Mubashshir. Plays Inverse Press’s catalog includes new releases by Jordan Chesnut and Stephanie Barber as well as books by award-winning playwrights Virginia Grise and Mickle Maher, among others. 

53rd State Press publishes lucid, challenging, and lively new writing for performance. Their catalog includes new plays as well as scores and notations for interdisciplinary performance, graphic adaptations, and essays on theater and dance. The press was founded in 2007 by Karinne Keithley in response to the bounty of new writing in the downtown New York community that was not available except in the occasional reading or short-lived performance, and they remain committed to making more widely available the work of emerging and experimental artists. In 2017, Kate Kremer took on the leadership of the volunteer editorial collective.

3 Hole Press is a home for performance in book form. Their books expand our notions of plays, scripts, and scores, how we engage with them, and how we distribute them. Through publication, commissioned reflections, and events, the Press creates a route for artists working in and around performance to have their work shared in the context of a wider cultural conversation. Founder and director: Rachel Kauder Nalebuff. Publisher: Mary Marge Locker. 3holepress.org

Plays Inverse Press is an independent publisher of dramatic literature, publishing plays and performance texts based on literary merit rather than production records from new, established, and cross-genre writers. In the years since its founding, Plays Inverse has published 19 of the most innovative texts in modern theatre, sold thousands of copies across a dozen countries, and been taught in over 40 colleges and universities. Established by dramaturg and book designer Tyler Crumrine in 2013, more information can be found at www.playsinverse.com 

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Since its founding in 1961, TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 700 Member Theatres and affiliate organizations and over 7,000 Individual Members. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. TCG offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the annual TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG's partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America’s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 20 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. TCG believes its vision of “a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre” can be achieved through individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice. TCG is led by executive director and CEO Teresa Eyring. tcg.org/