in a "pittsburgh post-gazette" poetry feature, bob hoover writes that "michael simms started the operation after he noticed that the 'large traditional commercial presses, had either been bought up or merged and were emphasizing literary titles less. i saw a need for a high-quality poetry press to fill that vacuum.'" launched in 1998, the press publishes books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by such authors as ellery akers, andrew bourelle, george bilgere, cameron barnett, dickson lam, cherene sherrard, kathy anderson, sherrie flick, ruth l. schwartz, gerald stern, chana bloch, ed ochester, anne marie macari, andrea hollander budy, patricia jabbeh wesley, frank gaspar, and sheryl st. germain, as well as a number of comprehensive anthologies including "new america: contemporary literature for a changing society", and "when she named fire: an anthology of contemporary poetry by american women".