December Press records (Ms. 89.15)

Historical note

Curtis L. Johnson (1928-2008) oversaw December Press, a literary press in Chicago, from 1962 until his death in 2008. The name of his press came from the magazine titled December which was established in 1958 by students at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Johnson continued to publish the magazine and also published several novels, focusing on writers who weren’t being published elsewhere. Among the writers that contributed to the magazine were Blei, John Bennett, Jerry Bumpus, Jay Robert Nash, Joyce Carol Oates, Marge Piercy, and Raymond Carver’s breakthrough Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?, among many others. Johnson discontinued the magazine in the mid-1980's to concentrate on the press.

When Johnson died, the literary rights to December Press were transferred to his executor Craig Sautter who promised to find someone to carry on the legacy of the press. In November 2012, the rights to December Press were purchased by Gianna Jacobson who revived the magazine with a Revival Issue published, naturally, in December, 2014.