Award-Winning Books Since 1999
Literary / Academic / Business / Performing Arts / General Interest
COMING MEMORIAL DAY!
Details coming soon!
RECENT RELEASES
Mac & Irene: A WWII Saga by Margot McMahon
A true story of love, perseverance and the saving power of art. Artist and WWII B-17 navigator Franklin “Mac” McMahon fights to survive captivity behind enemy lines to return home to Chicago and his sweetheart, Irene.
Order Today! AMAZON.COM
Mac survives the Stalag Luft III POW camp and returns home determined to make the world a better place with his art. McMahon will become an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning artist-reporter. He was the courtroom artist for the Emmett Till Trial and the infamous Chicago “Conspiracy” Trial of 1969/70. McMahon was also a Presidential and U.S. Space Program artist. Mac & Irene: A WWII Saga is the first in a trilogy on McMahon’s legendary life and legacy.
BOOK 2 in the Saga: IF TREES COULD TALK
If Trees Could Talk is a hybrid historical fiction/memoir that uncovers family secrets through the clues of Margot’s father’s paintings and her mother’s writings. “This is all they left to follow the breadcrumbs of their life story. The fear of losing my mother and her patterns had already happened, now Dad was ailing and I don’t know my grandparent’s names let alone where I came from. As I discover my Northern Irish Catholic roots, I realize my adventurous life has been a quest to understand my past.”–Margot McMahon
Book 3: RESIST! A Visual History of Protest
The final book in the McMahon family saga, the story behind many of Mac’s social justice illustrations after he returned home from WWII. Mac was an eyewitness to many of America’s most important moments. Pre-order today for the December 13 launch! AquariusPress.myShopify.com
Willow Books Division
NEW!
Black Fire This Time, Volume 2 (2024)
Aquarius Press/Willow Books
Dr. Derrick Harriell Editor. Introduction by Dr. Mona Lisa Saloy, 2021-2023 Louisiana Poet Laureate
979-8-9881655-8-3
358 pages
In this follow-up volume in the Black Fire This Time series, over 75 poets and writers come together on the ongoing theme of “Black is Beautiful, Black is Powerful, Black is Home.” Works ranging from poetry, fiction, essays and drama represent a wide range of black literature. This “continuum” of writing, as coined by Volume 1 editor Dr. Kim McMillon, brings together legends of the Black Arts era with contemporary writers in the tradition. This edition includes a hallmark work from the Black Arts era, We Own the Night by playwright and one of the last living legends Jimmy Garrett. Volume 2 of Black Fire This Time will educate and inspire the next generation.
More on BLACK FIRE THIS TIME
Congrats to Denise Nicholas, writer, actress and activist, whose story excerpt based upon her real life as a Freedom Summer volunteer appears in Black Fire This Time! Nicholas, along with other volunteers from Michigan, will now be recognized every August for their service:
Just Released–A Memoir by Sokunthary Sway and her story of her family’s escape from the Khmer Rouge
CONGRATS to Willow Books Division Poet Lupe Mendez, the 2022 Texas Poet Laureate! Lupe is the author of Why I Am Like Tequila, Winner of the John A. Robertson Award Best First Book of Poetry 2019
Texas Institute of Letters
AQUARIUS PRESS
EST. 1999
Publishing & Digital Production
AQUARIUS PRESS is an industry leader in publishing and digital production. The press is known for its excellence in developing bestselling authors and book-to-screen studio projects.
- BOOKS
- EBOOKS
- AUDIOBOOKS
We have two subdivisions:
Willow Books (www.WillowLit.net) develops, publishes and promotes many of the nation’s top poets and writers of color.
AUXmedia is the “Next-Gen” platform for film, television and podcast productions.
Willow Books Division
I would like to hope that Raising King, my new collection of poems, might offer ways to reflect and act to create a more just America. –From the Author
ORDER Raising King today: Aquarius Press SHOPIFY
Aquarius Press Arts & Business Series
A new line of authors sharing insights and best practices for the public good.
From Jim Crow to CEO: The Willie E. Artis Story
The amazing true story by Willie E. Artis, Flint industrialist, governmental business advisor and friend of blues icon B.B. King.
CONGRATS to Willie E. Artis, Winner, Michigan Business & Professional Association Awards!
PODCASTS
Detroit Stories: A Motor City Podcast
Hosted by Heather Buchanan
Featuring stories about the city of Detroit by those who know and love it best. True stories, short fiction, dramatic readings and so much more, all for your listening pleasure each week. And of course, there is no Detroit without a good Motown story or two.
Tune in, sit back and enjoy every week as we reminisce—and dream—about the future of Detroit.
AUXmedia Broadcasts YouTube Channel
AUDIOBOOKS
Detroit (Maiden Energy) by Carolyn Striho
Nominated for nearly sixty Detroit Music Awards in recent years, Carolyn Striho is a two-time Outstanding Rock/Pop Songwriter of the Year winner. Other big award wins include Outstanding Americana Album of the Year 2014 for Word Attack and Outstanding Rock/Pop Album of the Year for Honesty. Besides her infamously charismatic live shows at many festivals, clubs, and art galleries in the Midwest and Canada, she has five tours of Europe under her belt, as well as a two-month stretch in Japan, opened for Steve Earle in England, and has performed in Detroit, Toronto and London with Patti Smith. Carolyn is best known for her new music and catchy, magically intense live shows and songwriting. Her live performances with her latest band, her legendary shows and writing fronting the well-known Detroit Energy Asylum band, with Patti Smith, and her punk/art rock years with Rough Cut and the Cubes, as well as performing with Don Was and the Was Not Was Band, Iggy Pop, the Ramones and the Slits.
Willow Books proudly launched the double-feature debut of Sokunthary Svay (New York) and Sahar Mustafah (Chicago)!
Congrats to our recent honorees at the Smithsonian!
Lucinda Roy, Bestselling Novelist and Willow Books Poet
The Collected Poems of E. Ethelbert Miller
Literary Activist, Fullbright Fellow & Washington, DC Hall of Famer
The Writers@The Carr Residency Program
Global Reach
To date, Aquarius Press titles have been presented in far-reaching locales, including Manila, Philippines and Rwanda, Africa.
Recent Aquarius Press Releases
All That Glitters: The Ava Cherry Story (2022)
Ava Cherry and Lisa Torem
January 25, 2022
978-1-7379876-6-6
256 pages
SHOPIFY
At long last…Ava Cherry tells her story.
Ava Cherry first emerged in the music industry as a background vocalist for David Bowie. She appeared in his historic 1980 Floor Show and sang back-up with Luther Vandross and Robin Clark on his Young Americans (1975) album. Signing with RSO/Curtom Records, Ava Cherry released her first solo album in 1980, Ripe!!! With production by Curtis Mayfield, Ripe!!! made the disco Top 10 and spawned the Top 40 R&B hit “Love Is Good News.” Renowned music industry executive Bobby Colomby signed Ava Cherry to Capitol Records in 1981 and paired the singer with producer Bob Esty, whose work with artists like Cher, Donna Summer, and Barbra Streisand made him one of the most in-demand producers in LA.
CONGRATS TO CAROLYN STRIHO for making the GRAMMYS FIRST BALLOT for her audio edition!
A Temple for Tomorrows by John Jeffire (2021)
Amazon.com
John Jeffire will release his upcoming collection, A Temple for Tomorrows (2021). John was Aquarius Press’ first “Living Detroit Series” poet and will be our final Detroit poet published after 22 years.
Hustler. Rough beast. Teacher. Right out of the gate John Jeffire’s book shrieks. This puzzle is an homage of blood, family, war—shake downs, masques of shame, rotary phones, doing time. Its pieces are innumerable—chaos, surrender, soul, both penniless and proud; they are abandoned motels, saving face, steel and bone. They whisper Johnny Ace and a Wonder Woman. Detroit, America—eat your heart out. A Temple for Tomorrows kicks ass, takes names. At its core is an inimitable heart.
Jim Reese, author of Bone Chalk
COMING 2023!
Dick Brown’s Kitchen, our first-ever lifestyle series!
Fun Fact: The Story behind the “Dick Brown” Persona
The cookbook’s title is named for McCants’ quasi-alter ego, Dick Brown. McCants received the name from one of the star players of the Bad Boys Pistons®. McCants recalls the humorous naming story within the cookbook.
More About Aquarius Press:
Aquarius Press, founded in 1999 in Detroit, publishes trade, academic, and special interest titles. Key partnerships have been formed with several universities, libraries, governmental agencies, and literary organizations. Several titles are included in numerous library collections, including the University of Michigan Special Collection, Poets House in New York, and the African Libraries Collective. The flagship imprint, Willow Books, was co-founded with Dr. Randall Horton in 2007 with a mission to develop, publish, and promote writers of color. In addition to publishing and providing professional development opportunities, Willow has created a platform for its authors to engage with the public through workshops, conferences, digital streaming broadcasts, and public readings in the U.S. and abroad. Signature events include the annual LitFest (Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, San Antonio, D.C. and New York) and its Literature Awards. The press has active roster of 50+ single-title authors and has published over 10 anthologies and journals containing the works of hundreds of poets and writers. An industry leader, the press is known for its excellence in design, content and development of award-winning authors and fellows.
COLLABORATIONS
Cave Canem Foundation, Inc., NYC
Furious Flower, VA
The Carr Center, Detroit, MI
University of New Haven Readings Series, CT
Springfed Arts, Detroit, MI
PEN/Faulkner, Washington, DC
REGULAR APPEARANCES
Associated Writing Programs (AWP)
Book Expo America (BEA)
Split This Rock, Washington, DC
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Midwest Modern Language Association (M/MLA)
Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature (SSML)
London Book Fair
American Library Association (ALA)
National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE)
Poets House Showcase
About the Owner & Publisher:
Heather Buchanan is an award-winning publisher and producer.
Heather Buchanan is the owner/publisher of Aquarius Press and its flagship imprint, Willow Books. A graduate of Wayne State University and the University of Michigan-Dearborn respectively, Buchanan has taught at several colleges and universities. An arts consultant, Buchanan is a former Poet-in-Residence for the Detroit Public Library system and served on the Board of Governors for UM-Dearborn’s College of Arts & Sciences Affiliate. A musician and playwright, Buchanan served as COO of the Wayne County Council for Arts, History & Humanities in the state of Michigan. She was a 2020 SAM Career Pathways specialist.
Buchanan’s Willow Books authors are many of the nation’s leading poets and writers of color. She is currently publishing Black Fire—This Time Volume 1 (2022), a compendium of Black Arts Movement icons including Nikki Giovanni, Haki R. Madhubuti, Sonia Sanchez, James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, Ron Milner, Dudley Randall and contemporary poets and writers including Ishmael Reed, Quincy Troupe and Denise Nicholas, among many others.
Buchanan is also the founder of AUXmedia, a film studio headquartered in TechTown Detroit. www.AUXmedia.studio
Currently producing a book and film project based on the archives of Flint millionaire CEO and Obama Administration business resource Willie E. Artis, Buchanan is the Executive Producer of the Sundance Institute-supported Solomon (2021) and a producer for Hastings (2022), an audio drama and novel series set in late 1950s Detroit. She is currently producing a family saga trilogy based on the life of WWII hero and Emmett Till Trial artist-reporter Franklin McMahon and developing the story into a feature film.
A Humanities scholar, Buchanan received a Proclamation from the City of Detroit. She serves on the board of LATITUDE CHICAGO.
- 2021 Selection Committee, LATITUDE Chicago Artists-in-Residence
- 2020 Presenter, National Humanities Conference, Indianapolis
- 2020 Career Pathways Committee, Society for American Music (SAM), Minneapolis, MN
- Host, LitFest Broadcast, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., San Antonio, Minneapolis
- 2019 University of Michigan-Dearborn Difference Maker Alumnus of the Year
- 2019 Michigan Humanities Council Champion of the Year Nominee, Lansing, MI
- 2019 Featured Presenter, Association of Black Sociologists Conference, New York City
- 2019 Presenter, National Black History Month Luncheon, Association for the Study of African American Life & History (ASALH), Charlotte, SC
- 2018 Featured Presenter, Southfield Public Library, MI
- 2018 Director, LitFest, East Harlem, NY
- 2017 Fellow, Society for American Music, Montreal, Quebec
- Past COO, Wayne County Council for Arts, History & Humanities
AQUARIUS PRESS
1533 Winder Street (Eastern Market))
Detroit, MI 48207
Correspondence:
AQUARIUS PRESS
20615 Fenkell, #23096
DETROIT, MI 48223
877.979.3639
aquariuspress@gmail.com
aquarius press 