History:

Black Star Press began in 1992; the brainchild of Sarah and Mark Fairchild, it takes its name from the black star sapphires in their engagement/wedding rings.

Recognizing that poets needed chapbooks to sell at their readings, we began Black Star’s Echo Poetry Series. 

Our first full-length book was That Other Brightness by Virginia Gilbert, who graduated from the Iowa Writers Workshop and earned a Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

In 1993, we published our first Nebraska Poets Calendar (1994) featuring poetry by Nebraska poets and art by Nebraska artists. Publication of this attractive and popular calendar series continued through 2001. Due to illness and other factors, all publication was suspended for nearly a decade, but we resumed publishing in 2009 with Grand Canyon and Other Poems by Amil Quayle and the 2011 Nebraska Poets Calendar in 2010.

Each calendar features 12 poems by Nebraska poets and 13 artworks by Nebraska artists reproduced in black & white. Free public readings in Lincoln accompany the release of each years calendar.

Other means of encouraging regional poets and artists are being considered. Suggestions are welcome.