The Coffeeshop
A virtual space to sit with indie artists, hear their stories, and discover what drives them to make things.
The Coffeeshop is Novel Concept Books' interview series — unhurried conversations with the kind of people who make things because they can't not. No PR polish. Just real talk over imaginary coffee.
Featured Interview
Poet & Zine-Maker
Mara Solano
"I write to find out what I think."
Mara Solano has been making zines since she was seventeen. Now her hand-stapled, hand-drawn publications have a quiet cult following across the Southwest. We talked about process, self-publishing, and why she'll never use a printer that costs more than $40.
Q
When did you know you were a writer?
Honestly? When I realized I was writing even when no one asked me to. I was filling notebooks in middle school not because a teacher told me to, but because I had things I needed to get out. That's when I knew it wasn't a hobby — it was just how I processed the world.
Q
What draws you to the zine format specifically?
The immediacy of it. I can have an idea on Tuesday and hold it in my hands by Thursday. There's no gatekeeping, no waiting for approval, no editor telling me the poem is too long or too weird. It's just me and a copier and a stapler. That's everything.
Q
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start making things but feels like they're not ready?
You're never going to feel ready. Readiness is a myth we tell ourselves to avoid the vulnerability of putting something out into the world. Make the thing. Make it badly if you have to. The only way to get better is to make more things.
Past Conversations
Illustrator & Printmaker
"Every print is a conversation with the material."
Dayo talks about the physicality of linocut, the politics of representation in illustration, and why he still prefers hand-pulling prints to digital.
Read the interviewFolk Duo
"We write songs we'd want to find on a used record."
A conversation about Appalachian music, self-releasing albums, and the strange intimacy of playing small venues.
Read the interviewBookbinder & Maker
"A book you made yourself is a book you'll never throw away."
Wren on the meditative quality of hand-sewing signatures, her favorite papers, and why she teaches bookbinding workshops for free.
Read the interviewThe Coffeeshop is always open to new voices. If you're an indie artist with a story to tell, reach out — we'd love to have you.
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