Three years ago at Broken Frontier, Koyama Press founder Annie Koyama was the first inductee into our Broken Frontier Hall of Fame, a category in our annual BF Awards designed to recognise individuals whose crucially important work in championing new talent and bringing it to a wider audience mirrors our own philosophy at BF. I described Annie’s contributions to comics then as “truly inspirational” and that “Koyama Press were the original game-changing, small press micropublisher that all others since have aspired to, and their influence and importance cannot be overstated.”
We know that our readership feels the same, with Koyama Press winning the Best Publisher category in our 2019 Broken Frontier Awards. That kind of recognition is important to us as a small collective of commentators who believe in the vital importance of comics community. After all, making a positive and proactive difference has always been at the heart of BF’s own mission, through our many off-site activities and ‘Six to Watch’ mentorship programme.
So we’re delighted to give a shout-out to the recently announced Koyama Press Provides initiative, described as “a monthly program of giving” by the publisher. In their last full year of publishing, the generosity and supportive spirit of this monthly endeavour underlines what a benevolent force the Canadian outfit has been within our scene this past decade-plus.
The recent press release explains what Koyama Press Provides is all about: “For the next year, we will endeavour to give something each month. This will take multiple forms, such as a membership, a gift certificate, a micro grant, or even advice. These opportunities will, more often than not, be open to our followers and will be presented across our social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Each month we will use a different platform to give. Our first event is on our fearless leader Annie Koyama’s Facebook page and can be viewed here.”
Those wanting to keep up to date are advised to follow Koyama Press on Instagram here and Annie Koyama on Twitter here.
