The Broken Turtle Booklist is a promoter of contemporary and historical works by Delaware Valley authors.
We are a group of writer/editor/publishers who have been part of the Delaware literary scene for four decades. Most of us have been associated with Dreamstreets Press, which published Dreamstreets Magazine, produced radio programs on WVUD 91.3 FM (University of Delaware), a television clip on WHYY TV (Wilmington/Philadelphia), and founded the 2nd Saturday Poetry Readings at various venues in Wilmington, Delaware. See Dreamstreets Archive.
For a while we were Broken Turtle Books LLC, intending to publish our own and historical works through a small company that we controlled. However, as most writers and publishers know, alternative vanity presses, small run printers, and publish-on-demand opportunities have proliferated in cyberspace, making our business model obsolete. Yet our mission remains the same: to promote diversity and cutting-edge literature in a state known for its insularity and paucity of opportunities “downwind from chateau country.”
The Turtle is the totem of the Leni Lenapi indigenous culture, native to the Delaware Valley before their virtual extermination. North America is often referred to as Turtle Island by Native Americans generally. In some Asian cultures, the turtle's shell represents heaven and earth bound together. Whether it is Delaware, North America, Earth, or Heaven, our world is broken. Broken Turtle Books aims to reclaim the world that should have been.
Our list is a work in progress. We have a number of authors in our in-box ready to be added. For the most part, we are limited to poetry and fiction by Delaware authors who have their work available as a collection, print or electronic. If you believe you have been overlooked or would like to suggest a book by a Delaware author, drop us an email. Include a link to or small files of a flattering photo, book covers, and blurbs.