Lawrence Knorr is the founder and CEO of Sunbury Press, Inc., the Pennsylvania-based traditional trade publisher. Sunbury Press has published more than 1,000 titles by over 500 authors under 15 different imprints. Lawrence is the author or co-author of over 30 nonfiction books, mostly history and biography. Lawrence was kind enough to answer a few questions about his upcoming trip to Lancaster for our annual writing conference:
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Q: Tell us a little about your involvement this year at HippoCamp.
A: I will present the break-out session titled “Everything You’ve Been Told About Book Publishing is Wrong …” Expect some contrarian ideas about the publishing industry gleaned from nearly 20 years at the head of a growing independent press.
Q: Our motto is “memorable creative nonfiction.” Tell us about one of the more recent memoirs, essay collections, or individual essays you’ve read and why it was memorable.
A: We recently published an award-winning baseball biography Baseball’s Greatest What If that I enjoyed very much.
Q: What made you decide to participate in HippoCamp this year as a speaker? If you’re a returning speaker, how did your past experiences encourage to want to come back?
A: I have always enjoyed speaking or participating on various panels at HippoCamp. I take the time to present at several such events each year to give a little back to aspiring authors. The questions are always challenging!
Q: What’s going to keep you busy between now and HippoCamp?
A: Besides working on my Ph.D. in history, I am running Sunbury Press every day. We publish 100 books a year, about 60% of which is nonfiction.
Q: Since you’ll also be attending the conference, when you’re not wearing your “speaker hat,” what are you most looking forward to learning or doing?
A: I am always trying to sense the pulse of the industry, so sessions about publishing trends or techniques are always interesting.
Q: We love introducing Lancaster to attendees. Since you live in the region, what are you looking forward to?
A: I always enjoy the Pennsylvania Dutch culture. A short drive from the conference, especially heading east of town, you will find local markets and shops.
Q: Anything else you want to share?
A: Am I authoring any upcoming books? Yes! Look for Keystone Tombstones Vol. 5 by early 2023. Graves of Our Founders Vol. 3 will likely be out later, by early 2024.
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We can’t wait for Lawrence to join us this year! HippoCamp 2022, a creative nonfiction conference sponsored by Hippocampus Magazine and Books, is Aug. 12-14 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. For more information or to register, visit our official conference website here.
(Learn more about the conference and see details of all previous years at our magazine website’s HippoCamp page.)
