“The work, which becomes a new genre itself, will be called…”
Shinichiro Watanabe
COWBOY BEBOP

I suppose an introduction’s in order. 3rd Floor Press - named in honor of one of the high schools I attended - is a miracle of coincidences all stacked on top of one another and the byproduct of a massive community of support. 

A friend who I met because he was my Uber driver. His partner, who we later realized attended the same high school as my husband. The cousin I’d reconnected with after damned near 20 years. And even a friend from way back to our college marching band days. These are the contributors to this volume. Which is to say, without them and their gifts, this entire press wouldn’t exist.

The vast majority of everything I do and write is influenced by other people and the work that’s come before. It’s the gift of being a creator, really. Everything starts out as patches of something else all stitched together into a rough form and then reworked over and over from my own perspective until it feels like something new.

3rd Floor Press began because I wanted to make something with people I love. A test bed as much as a showcase - a place where we could try new things, stretch, learn and grow. “Adult Swim meets old school pulp fiction presses” was the pitch. From there, everyone just sort of ran and did their own thing with that prompt and when it all came together, it felt… alive. 

It’s not just the contributors, though. It’s as much a product of the educators, friends, family, and mentors all of us have had throughout our lives. The whole “it takes a village…” adage is true for any creative endeavor - especially this one. 

As much as this is our space to play around and try new things, it’s also a reflection of a massive community of support that has helped keep us on this track, doing what we love. 

Thanks for taking the time to check it out.

- JP