Tybee publishing house, Maudlin Pond Press, aims to elevate local writers with published works

Like many during 2020 and its months of uncertainty, author and naturalist Cathy Sakas hunkered down and honed her creative work.

Isolation inspired a new book, and when she emerged from the shutdown and intermittent closures and re-openings, she wasn’t alone. Her friends, a cohort of long-time writers, had done the same, each rounding out the year with new works they wanted to publish.

But landing a book deal in the conventional, big-press way is a time consuming venture that’s anything but easy, riddled with non-responses, punctuated with rejection. And working with on-demand printers and independent presses can be just as daunting, as more often than not, writers end up footing the bill for fees and confusing costs.

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And so, Sakas along with her brother, writer and retired business attorney, Jeff Sakas, and local writers Ben Goggins, Mallory Pearce and William Strong forged a collective to launch Maudlin Pond Press in April 2021. It serves as Tybee Island’s first independent book publisher aimed at local, regional and first-time writers.

“Necessity is always the mother of invention,” intoned Sakas. “We each looked around for publishing opportunities and couldn’t find anything that was truly fair towards authors. Many smaller presses require the writer to put up at least $5,000 ahead of publishing, and that really wasn’t feasible for any of us.”

Maudlin Pond Press kicked into gear like this: after business and marketing plans were in place, the team of writers conferred with Jeff Sakas to square away legal documents, like registration with the Georgia Secretary of State and official business licensure through the City of Tybee Island.

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They brought on Lauren Gilker Clackum to handle web design and manuscript layout. The team then established a partnership with on-demand printer Ingram Spark, through which they have global distribution with Amazon and other online book retailers.

To date, Maudlin Pond represents five authors and has published nine books.

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The first book they took on was a re-launch of an out-of-print field guide, “The Low Country,” written and illustrated by veteran author, Mallory Pearce, with a foreword by acclaimed Georgia nature writer, Janisse Ray. The book and its lush drawings of coastal plants and animals currently is enjoying a resurgence thanks to new online sales and local representation in Tybee gift shops.

Pearce, who moved to Tybee Island with his family as a teen in the late 1940s, is considered creative catalyst for the press. He and his present-day artistic and intellectual friends would spend time together sharing ideas beside the real-life Maudlin Pond at his Tybee home.

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“When my family moved here from upstate New York, I was smitten with the marsh and wildlife,” recalled Pearce. “I would go out and take in the beauty all around us. I want to instill a love of nature and try to preserve it as much as possible, and I hope my writings inspire people to love and protect this fragile land that’s home to so many different ecosystems.”

Pearce and his family have a long history of community involvement on the island. His mother, Sally Pearce, was a well-loved artist and environmentalist; his father was a chemist and director of the CDC when it was located on Oatland Island.

Pearce has so far published two books with Maudlin Pond. A third, his autobiography, is due out later this year.

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Local columnist and essay writer, Ben Goggins, is also part of Maudlin Pond’s founding. Goggins and Cathy Sakas were biology students together. After college, Sakas went on to be a professional naturalist, leading canoe tours through the Okefenokee Swamp; Goggins spent time as a marine biologist, collecting and caring for specimens at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography’s public aquariums.

Several years ago Sakas first reached out to Goggins to edit stories for her book, “Swamp Goddess,” a collection of adventures around taking people boating in the Okefenokee. It was natural that he’d be part of a collective press primarily focused on nature and observational writing.

“It just seems fitting that we’d all finally come together and do this thing,” chuckled Goggins. “Our goal is to be an incubator of talent synonymous with quality books and writers. We want to encourage especially first-time writers to make Maudlin Pond a household name for developing strong relationships with authors and treating them well throughout the publication process.”

Earlier this year, Goggins published a book of essays and photographs, “Another Day in Paradise, Living on Tybee Time.” It’s a collection of highlights from his Savannah Morning News column, “Looking for Pearls,” in which he reveals some of the special moments and hidden gems of living on the island at the end of the road.

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Late last year, the collective took on their first new writer, Gigi Mischele Miller, who’s working on a children’s book about the North Atlantic Right whale. Miller who lives in St. Augustine, Fla., grew up watching these whales roll along their beaches in November during migration.

Now, on the brink of extinction, fewer than 320 North Atlantic Right whales remain. Miller knew she wanted to write about this species for her first book and help get its story to the next generation.

“Cheryl Munday, head of the Right Whale Festival in St. Augustine suggested Maudlin Pond because they print children’s books, and the fact that Cathy is a whale ambassador, it was the perfect connection. When I spoke to her, I knew instantly she was the perfect publisher for my book. Maudlin Pond is small and able to give one-on-one attention. They really care, and I feel respected, not like a dollar sign.”

“Riley the Right Whale and His Friend Kyle,” is a brightly illustrated book about a mother whale that becomes entangled in fishing line and sends her young calf, Riley, to get help. The book explores ethical ways of helping whales in hopes of bringing back the North Atlantic Right Whale from the verge of extinction. It comes out in October just ahead of the Right Whale Festival in St. Augustine.

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Cathy Sakas’s most recent publication with Maudlin Pond is also a children’s book. “The Adventures of Leslie Binnacle the Barnacle,” presents the sea-faring adventures of a barnacle that hitches a ride on a boat in Savannah and sails to San Francisco. The story teaches marine ecology, and through its characters explores empathy and cooperation.

Sakas envisions these early efforts as foundational for launching local talent into larger markets. “We want to see this flourish as a homegrown Tybee press that can springboard new, local or regional authors into fresh opportunities,” emphasized Sakas.

“And really, I’d like to encourage all those people that have a book in them, to let it come out and let it be with us, a friendly local, marsh-roots publisher with a global heart.”

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Maudlin Pond Press aims to highlight Savannah, Tybee Island authors