The glorious conception of GLORIA

We, Alice and Katie, started GLORIA in 2017 to support our autonomous publishing practices. We both were creating books, of some form, in a way that sat outside the traditional publishing model. Instead of collaborating with the external parties that are typically involved in the publishing process— editors, publishers, distributors, marketers—we were individually orchestrating a multi-disciplinary practice which encompassed the full arch of book-making. 

We identified this process as:

Conception
Editorial Research
Collection
Edit
Curation
Aesthetic Research
Design
Production
Promotion
Distribution

Our first two books, Forty Three and Between Two Strangers were experimentations in a comprehensive undertaking of this self-initiated exercise. The 'artist' (or whatever we call ourselves) is heavily involved in every step, producing objects that are a full expression of their intention. At the time, we weren't sure of the implications of managing the nine steps ourselves—or what gave us the right to assume that we could. This exercise became a project in it's own right, albeit one laced with vulnerability and naïvety.

In GLORIA we created a support system. By uniting our 'self'-publishing pursuits, the questions, the troubles, the celebrations, the solace, could be endured collectively. Although positioned on opposite sides of the world, we are allies in the ambiguous world of art publishing.

In this sense, GLORIA believes in community and collaboration. Even though we do not publish other people’s work, we want to support artists, writers and designers who are self-publishing; and we offer to do this through our Guest of GLORIA initiative. 

Be a Guest of GLORIA

If you are an artist who has a self-published publication or photobook, you can apply to be our next Guest of GLORIA. The artists represented through the Guest of GLORIA scheme embody the GLORIA ethos by embracing the full-arch of bookmaking. We support our Guests by hosting their book on our website, promoting it through our channels and distribution networks, and including it in our canon at art book fairs in New Zealand and Europe.

If you would like to be a Guest of GLORIA, please email us at gloriapublishing@gmail.com with the subject title 'Guest of GLORIA'.

Note that we do not publish other people’s work.