( ENSPIRE She Did That ) Vicki DeArmon Creates Opportunities for Underrepresented Female Writers
ENSPIRE Contributor: Gabriela Fernandez
Vicki DeArmon and her team at Sibylline Press are carving a space for female authors over fifty in a literary world dominated almost entirely by men. Named in honor of the ancient Greek oracles the Sibyls and the Sybilline Books, Sibylline Press was born to four women and is operated primarily from Grass Valley, California. The publisher strives to recognize and support female writers often underrepresented in the literary field. Sibylline Press works as a team to promote its writers and give them access to every tool necessary for success.
Sibylline Press is already making waves with some of its newest titles, such as These Broken Roads by Donna Hayes and Maeve Rising by Maeve Duvally. By advocating for their writers, Sibylline Press and Vicki DeArmon are single-handedly making opportunities for women struggling to break out of obscurity. Vicki DeArmon’s mission is to educate her writers about the literary industry so they can work within it and ultimately triumph.
What is it that first prompted your passion for publishing and literature?
Like many readers, I had romantic notions about the book publishing industry. I still see it in the interns who work for us. It probably originates in any industry where a creative act is the central focus. Creating a book is one that many people aspire to, usually either as an author or as an editor. When I entered the book publishing industry in 1985, that creative act was now available to anyone who had a computer and the nerve to start a publishing company, all because of the invention of the personal computer. The evolution of typesetting from a physical process of setting type in blocks to one that happened on a screen provided liberation. When I started my first publishing company in 1985, Foghorn Press was one of many new presses throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. It was a heady era because it felt like anything was possible. I didn’t realize that I was an entrepreneur and would go on to start many other companies during my career. In 1985, at age 25, it just felt possible and something I was excited to try.
How did you deal with fear and doubt when starting your publishing company?
Probably because of my age when I started my first publishing company, I didn’t experience fear and doubt as much as I probably should have. We had little money and almost as little knowledge, but those didn’t seem like obstacles because that defines that age. I always thought hard work and boldness could conquer all. But, when I started Sibylline Press nearly 40 years later, in 2022, I had little fear or doubt either. I attribute this to the wisdom accumulated over a career spent in book publishing as a publisher, a bookseller, a marketer, and an author. But it was also offset because I was doing it with three others who were book industry women, and I felt fortified in knowing we were bringing in a ton of knowledge from the beginning. I was certain that whatever I had achieved at Foghorn 40 years prior, we would arrive at that level of success much sooner at Sibylline. Plus, these women were dear friends, so the trust was immediate.
Where do you hope to see Sibylline Press in five years? Ten?
I see Sibylline Press publishing more work by brilliant women over 50, and those titles are being read in markets worldwide. We publish trade papers and ebook versions and have licensed our audiobook rights to Tantor Media. The next will be foreign rights and movie and television rights. To increase the number of voices this year, we’re launching Sibylline Digital First, featuring ebooks by women over 50 in several categories, from romance to memoir to fiction to business and more. Also, I think the future favors those who collaborate and work together, and at Sibylline, we are all about how we work with our authors to bring their books to the marketplace. Women were born to collaborate. I also see a growing contingent of women over 50 unifying in a community that supports women’s voices. We hope to help facilitate that.
Why do you think it is so essential today to spotlight female authors over fifty?
Despite being made up of many women over 50, both as booksellers and in publishing houses, the book industry hasn’t been as receptive to these voices in years past. I think Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus broke open some doors with the realization that women over 50 can contribute good literature and have their first books published later in life. We believe in that and experienced a fair amount of ghosting ourselves on books we or friends had written before starting the company. One reason for backing younger writers over older ones has always been publishers launching a career in writing where future books are guaranteed. Yet nowadays, there’s no reason to expect that our authors won’t produce more books for us. It’s already happening with the authors we have on contract. They are pulling books from back drawers that have sat there for years, and at Sibylline, we’re thrilled about that. But it’s essential to publish these voices because women of a certain age bring the wisdom of their age, which is evident in the beauty of their fiction, the tenderness of their memoirs, and the joy in their stories. And all of this is a gift to readers of all ages.
Growing up, what was your favorite female-authored book? Why? Has it changed now that you’re an adult?
We have books that mark our journey in life each step of the way. As a child, I favored books like Caddy Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink with rough-and-tumble female protagonists, and I think I went through the whole Nancy Drew series, too. As an English Literature major, I read classic literature like Henry James, Virginia Woolf, and James Joyce in college. Then, I entered the post-modernists in the Creative Writing Master’s program at San Francisco State. Now, even though I have a ton to read in terms of the submissions coming into Sibylline (everyone is part of the acquisitions committee here), I still participate in a book club with old friends, and that lets me enjoy many more recently published fiction like Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce, Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell to name a few I particularly loved.
What is one piece of advice you wish someone had given you before starting Sibylline Press?
It probably would come as me advising my publishing self at age 25 because I am now a woman of a certain age (64 if you are curious) and not as riddled with questions and concerns. I would probably offer advice to let things unfold organically, not to say you don’t have to work hard and smart, just that you don’t have to worry as much. Because decisions that are hard to make might be too early to make or require more information or unfolding. And that’s something life teaches you. Have patience, and all will be made clear.
Consider reading one of Sibylline Press’s titles to support brilliant female writers over fifty. ENSPIRE Magazine believes in its honorable pursuit of inclusivity and opportunity-making. Starting this year, the publisher hopes to produce twelve books annually. Follow the publisher’s Instagram and LinkedIn for more information on upcoming titles. Make sure to check out the Sybilline Press website.
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