Independent Tacoma book publisher closes studio, with sale this weekend
Blue Cactus Press, one of the few remaining independent, grassroots publishing houses in Tacoma, will close its community studio space downtown this weekend. A studio book sale will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at 1901 Jefferson Ave., Suite 105.
Upon a visit to the studio Thursday, colorful books of poetry, fiction and nonfiction (many by local authors) sat on layered shelves as plants stretched for sunlight. Publisher, founder and owner Chris Vega, who uses they/them pronouns, has run Blue Cactus Press for about a decade and after more than 2.5 years in the space, they’re pivoting to a new business model.
To be clear: Blue Cactus Press isn’t closing down. Vega said they’ll continue to publish work by authors, designers, editors, illustrators and translators from historically marginalized communities. Books available for sale Saturday include themes of education, theology, anti-racism, therapy and psychology, in addition to short stories, novellas, romance and poetry, they said. Two-thirds of the authors are local to the greater Tacoma area.
“We make books about liberation,” Vega said. “We want our publishing landscape, our books and our creative work to really just reflect the diverse, racial and like ethnographic tapestry that’s here in Tacoma. We’re a port city, we’re a global city, and we think that our books and our creative landscapes and our business landscape should all reflect that.”
Vega said their family’s needs and their own needs have changed, which is why Vega is closing the studio as a bookstore and event space. A new business entering the space will continue to hold various events, they said.
“We have a lot of bookstores in Tacoma, you know, and so it feels like the right time for me to refocus on publishing and kind of step back from the bookstore and event space and let some other folks in community kind of step up and into that role,” Vega said. “Our readers, they can still find our books at all their favorite indie bookstores, and they can now even better support the independent bookstores in town.”
King’s Books for instance (218 St. Helens Ave.) sells Blue Cactus Press’s full catalog, Vega said. You can also browse and order books from Blue Cactus Press online.
“Books are so important these days. Now, more than ever, censorship is up and book banning is up across the nation. We are being surveiled at levels that we have not seen in many decades,” Vega said. “It’s important now for folks not only to exercise their rights, to read and engage with content that they are drawn to, but especially to engage with content that kind of pushes the boundaries of social norms and practices.”
