Our Mission
Elyssar Press is an independent publishing company that provides a platform for both emerging and established writers and poets from around the world. Our publications span poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, children’s books, and anthologies. With a commitment to championing diverse voices, celebrating individuality, and embracing cultural richness, Elyssar Press believes stories have the power to connect us all.
New Book Release
On Distance by Emily Ahmed
Blending myth and modernity, these poems explore myth-making, love, and the search for home. Ahmed reminds us that stories are life-saving acts of meaning-making, myths we return to for empathy and guidance.
“There are lines that glitter in this collection. This book introduces an exciting new voice to our literary landscape.”
-E. Ethelbert Miller, Writer and literary activist, 2023 Grammy Award Finalist in the category of Spoken Word and Poetry
Order your copy today!
Explore Our Books
On Distance: Myth, Memory, and Belonging
A decade in the making, this debut collection navigates the geography of the human heart and the complexities of the Egyptian American experience.
On Distance by Emily Ahmed is a luminous debut that documents a ten-year evolution of thought, beginning in the formative years of adolescence and culminating in a sophisticated coming-of-age meditation. Ahmed’s work is a deeply introspective project that utilizes language as a tool for "meaning-making," transforming scattered reflections into a cohesive study of self and survival.
Blending Myth and Egyptian American Identity
At the center of this collection is the concept of modern myth-making as it relates to the Arab American diaspora. Ahmed suggests that the stories we tell ourselves, those that are rooted in both ancestral heritage and modern reality, are essential acts of survival. By weaving ancient archetypes into her contemporary settings through poetry, she explores the distance between heritage and home and the search for a permanent "belonging.”
A study of the tension between isolated loneliness and the restorative power of communal solitude, Ahmed’s verse offers a striking clarity, illuminating the literal and figurative distances we live and love through.
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Length: 67 pages
ISBN: 979-8-9898850-2-2
Salt Oracle by Ivonne Gordon is a poignant bilingual (Spanish and English) poetry collection and a masterwork of ecopoetics that delves into the profound connections between the earth, home, and the ancestral memory embedded within the human body.
Through evocative language and vivid imagery, Gordon explores how our physical selves intertwine with the environment—celebrating the body's movement and grace and the dreams that bridge the divide of human existence. This collection serves as a testament to the enduring power of poetry to illuminate the complexities of life and the human spirit.
This book is ideal for readers who appreciate introspective poetry that intertwines personal narrative with broader existential themes, offering both solace and insight.
Format: Paperback
Language: English & Spanish
Length: 103 pages
ISBN: 9798985368666
Discover Gratitude Haiku by Rae Berg, a collection pairing soulful photography of Southern California with haiku reflections on surviving the pandemic.
Written by a retired pastor embracing a "less is more" philosophy, this book is both a poetic sanctuary and an invitation for you to find your own voice.
Explore the healing
power of haiku and learn
to capture life's beauty.
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Length: 210 pages
ISBN: 979-8-9898850-0-8
Alter Alter by Toti O'Brien is a captivating collection of short stories that seamlessly blend the real and the surreal, delving into themes of childhood, displacement, estrangement, and the multifaceted nature of identity.
Structured into seven distinct sections, each narrative navigates altered states of being—ranging from neurodivergence and mental illness to love, death, and sisterhood—offering a profound exploration of otherness and the human experience.
O'Brien's prose invites readers into a world where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur, encouraging introspection and a deeper understanding of the self and others.
This book is ideal for readers who appreciate introspective and experimental fiction that challenges conventional narratives and delves into the complexities of identity and human connection.
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Length: 514 pages
ISBN: 979-8-9853686-8-0
The Beirut Call: Harnessing Creativity for Change is an anthology of essays, poems, artwork, and photographs from over 20 contributors who explore the concepts of devastation and resilience. When the Beirut port exploded on August 4, 2020, it shattered more than buildings and homes: it reopened wounds, grief, and fears that many had experienced during the long and brutal Lebanese civil war. Loss of life reached the hundreds, and injuries numbered in the thousands. More than 300,000 people were left homeless. In addition to this devastation, the people experienced the loss and destruction of parts of its art center, including the Sursock Museum, the Arab Image Foundation, the Sfeir-Semler Gallery, and the Beirut Art Center.
How does the act of witnessing hardship and molding powerful art change the landscape of local and global hardship? In this anthology, over 20 voices come together to explore this question and challenge the notion of resilience itself.
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Length: 236 pages
ISBN: 978-1-7334529-7-7
News & Blog
For readers interested in literature exploring themes of belonging, heritage, and family, we have curated a list of five poetry works by women who challenge us to engage with our current moment in revolutionary ways.
Emily Ahmed's debut poetry collection, On Distance (Elyssar Press, 2026), offers a bridge somewhere between "leaving and being left."
Alter Alter by Toti O'Brien knows that true mysteries require silence more than spectacle, and the metaphysical here is rendered with remarkable restraint.
The book launch for Alter Alter by Toti O'Brien discusses the impossibility of truth, vulnerability, and characters who experience altered states of consciousness.
If you read Black Rootedness or are interested in how poetry can be a bridge, then you’re in luck because Karla Brundage has taken the book on the road.
A Whimsical Conversation Between Poetry and Color.
Beyond Birds & Answers is an invitation to slow down and see the world through a lens of wonder. Born from a "flow of spirit" between poet Alice Pero and artist Vera Campion, this collection is a rhythmic dance of simple verses and vibrant art inspired by the artist’s vivid memories of childhood.
At the core of this volume is ekphrasis—the literary representation of, or response to, visual art.While the genre dates back to antiquity and the elegance of Chinese scrolls, this collection modernizes the practice by treating the relationship as a bidirectional conversation.
Instead of traditional structures, you will find a "conversation" on the page—where colors invoke stories and words dance like melody. Inspired by the innocence of childhood memories and the grace of movement, this book is not meant to be analyzed but to be felt.
We invite you to find a quiet place, sit, and simply dream.
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Length: 71 pages
ISBN: 978-1-7334529-9-1