About Purgatory Valley

As book resurrectors, we reprint books by living writers who want to give their work a 2nd life and new works in translations that bring beloved favorites to new audiences.

Purgatory Valley Press is a project created by Emily Hunerwadel. The name is inspired both by our location in Northampton, MA in the Connecticut River Valley and by the concept of purgatory as applied to publishing.

Small presses, which are often publishing the most aesthetically adventurous and politically engaged work, are more vulnerable to the vicissitudes of capitalism than large commercial presses. This means that when presses close, great books can end up in a liminal—dare we say purgatorial—space.

We will also publish works in translation (the commonly cited figure of translated books published in the US is 3%). This genre is often trapped in purgatory as well, and we aspire to help as many as we can to attain a paradise of readers.