Arctic Tern Press is the home of raw, unfiltered Alaskan voices.
Founded by writers, for writers. From manuscript to bound book, we help writers manifest the dream of holding their finished work in their own two hands. You send us your manuscript, and if we like it, we’ll help you publish it. No agents. No gatekeepers. No runaround.
Our Founders
Kristin Knight Pace is the author of a critically acclaimed memoir, This Much Country (Grand Central, 2019). She is a veteran of the thousand-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race, as well as a pilot, park ranger, and mother of two adventurous kiddos.
As I submitted my works of fiction to publishers, I began to realize that most of the people living in the places where these big publishing houses exist just don’t get Alaskans. They want the edges softened. They want the characters to be more relatable and less outsized. Andy and I finally decided that, instead of being subject to the whims of these city-dwellers, we should just publish our books ourselves.
Kristin Knight Pace
AP has been writing for notably small & private audiences (usually of one) for a very long time. He studied poetry at University of Iowa & was the Peter Kaplan Poetry Fellow at Brown University. After completing all coursework for his PhD at the University of Denver, he fled academia, pursuing another childhood dream of homesteading in Alaska & running a dog team. Two Yukon Quests later & back on the road system with his beautiful family, he is ready to turn his attention again to the arts, enthralled by this place & the ethic & pluck of its people. Arctic Tern Press honors the DIY ethos so critical both to Alaskans & to the purveyors of all things punk rock from his youth.
Andrew Pace
Our Home
Arctic Tern Press is located on the flanks of Lazy Mountain in Palmer, Alaska. We reside near the confluence of the Matanuska and Knik Rivers, where the Chugach and Talkeetna Mountains face one another. Our characters are inspired by the landscape and its wonders. Our creative works are shaped by Alaska, just as we have come to be.
Our dream is to house a sprawling non-profit art complex where creators can come to work on their manuscripts, record their audiobooks, paint the landscape, attend writing workshops and go on flightseeing tours with Kristin. (Sigh…someday! We dream and then we do.)
Our Services
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What We Do
We accept manuscripts of any length. Fiction. Nonfiction. Poetry. Essays. Short Stories. If your work rings a bell with us, we’ll accept your manuscript. We’ll do one round of light proofreading/editing. We will not change your voice - we want you to be you! Then we’ll help you with cover design, working with local Alaskan artists and designers. Finally, we’ll do a small print run of your book. Alongside you, we’ll promote your work in our online store, on our social media, and at local bookstores.
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What We Don't Do
We don’t do major manuscript overhauls. We don’t work with agents and other publishers. We don’t do major publicity outreach (there are only two of us, and we’re busy writing, too.) We’re just a mom and pop shop, looking to publish and promote local writers and artists.