Common Meter Press is a small, analog-first press from Seattle, WA. Founded in 2023 by Meredith Smith, the press aims to feature poetry, songbooks, and anthologies in paperback and zine format.
History
Meredith Smith is no stranger to the world of small presses and zine distros: in the 2000s, she created Sweet Anthem Press, a catalog of independent poetry books, chapbooks, and personal zines. At the time, she maintained the catalog exclusively with the help of a few friends in the English department at Texas Tech University. It was there where they spent many late nights at the copier in the basement of the English building surreptitiously stapling and collating. Shh. Don’t tell.
After the pandemic, Meredith wanted a reason to leave her house again – and wasn’t sure there was a better one than local zine stores and bookstores. She was delighted to find that the analog days of yore were still alive and well, even without the algorithm.
Books & Distribution
Our books are each designed in house by Meredith, or with the help and guidance of the writer. Paperback books are printed with an on-demand service to aid in expedition of printing and shipping, as well as distribution.
Titles are all available wide, which means they are available on Amazon as well as an major and independent booksellers worldwide. This includes Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, Third Place Books, and more.
Common Meter is also excited to work with local bookstores for shelf space. Our books can be found at Open Books, Charlie’s Queer Books, Powell’s, Antiquated Future, and other retailers around the country. More to come soon!
Retail
If you are interested in carrying our books in person on your shelves, please reach out to commonmeterpress@gmail.com.
Customer Service
At this time, we are no longer shipping books directly to customers. Please use the retailer links on our website to buy books directly from bookstores, and support independent bookstores in your neck of the woods.
If you ordered a book from an independent retailer and have a problem with your order, please reach out to them directly.
Submissions
At this time, submissions are closed. Meredith is available as an editor-for-hire, but is focused on distributing our wonderful titles that we have amassed so far in 2025.