Fading Americana begins here.
ColePress is a hybrid publisher for authors who capture the heart, history,
and contradictions of American life. We help writers turn their authentic stories
into beautifully produced books that stand the test of time.
We Call it Fading Americana
It’s storytelling with grit under its fingernails. It’s the heartbeat of the American experience, told through the people who live at its crossroads. These stories inhabit the space between nostalgia and reckoning. They honor the familiar myths of small towns, open highways, and stubborn hope… but they refuse to look away from the fractures that run beneath.
At its core, Fading Americana explores what it means to endure. It is fiction and nonfiction rooted in work, wear, and weather. The characters may build fences or burn bridges, but they all wrestle with the same questions: Who are we? What binds us? What breaks us?
These narratives dwell in contradictions: the holy and profane, pride and regret, beauty and ruin. They echo the rhythms of parable and folklore, blending realism with a touch of myth. The settings might stretch from rust-belt towns to southern deltas to western plains, but the tone remains constant: slightly varnished, human, and fiercely honest.
Fading Americana doesn’t just celebrate a place. It holds up a mirror to its soul. It finds meaning in the struggle itself, where truth and tenderness meet in the dirt, the dust, and the dream of something better.
Why Go Hybrid?
Hybrid publishing combines the best of traditional publishing and self-publishing. You keep creative control and higher royalties while gaining access to professional editing, design, and distribution. Our goal is partnership, not ownership.
Our Founder
ColePress LLC was founded by author Christopher L. Cole in 2025. As he was exploring traditional and even other hybrid publishers, he couldn’t believe how much it would cost to have his first book published, so he decided to self-publish.
And when he thought about all of the other young authors out there going through the same painful search, he decided to create his own publishing house to offer them respect, transparency, and craft at a price they might actually be able to afford.
Accepting Manuscripts Year-Round
We’re always looking for new voices that speak to the American experience. If your work explores our shared culture, history, or humanity (whether through memoir, fiction, essays, or poetry) we’d love to read it.
ColePress welcomes both emerging and established authors who have something genuine to say. We care less about genre and more about truth, craft, and heart. Our editorial team reads submissions throughout the year, and every manuscript receives personal consideration.
If your story feels like Rugged America in all its beauty, struggle, and contradiction, it just might belong here.