Bamboo Ridge


Bamboo Ridge is a Hawaii-based literary journal and nonprofit press. It was founded in 1978 by Eric Chock and Darrell H.Y. Lum to publish works by and for the people of Hawaii. In the United States, Bamboo Ridge is one of the longest-running small presses, and is one of the oldest in Hawaii. It was named after a popular fishing spot on Oahu. It currently publishes two volumes a year: a literary journal of poetry and fiction featuring work by both emerging and established writers and a book by a single author or an anthology focused on a special theme. Both the journal and book are available singly or by subscription.
Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Lee Cataluna, Rodney Morales, Gary Pak, and Nora Okja Keller are among the writers Bamboo Ridge has published. Yamanaka in particular has credited some of her literary success to the press.

History

Chock and Lum started Bamboo Ridge in 1978 after they noticed that local authors weren't being published in major literary journals. They published four slim volumes every year. They currently only publish two, an anthology and a single-author collection. As the press grew, so did the size of the volumes.
In 2014 the press partnered with the Hawaii Council for the Humanities to offer discounts to middle- and high-school students purchasing their books. This is part of an effort to increase the amount of local literature read in the school system.
That year, Chock and Lum retired as editors. Since then every issue of the journal has been edited by guest editors.

Awards

In 2009 the press received an Outstanding Service Award from the Association for Asian American Studies.

Book publications