It’s a privilege even at its most frustrating.' Gay explained her drive for running the press in an interview with Side B Magazine: 'Finding such beautiful books and knowing I have a small part in putting them out into the world is what makes it all worth it and then some. As of August 2014, the press has published ten books including short story and essay collections. The press published their first title, Normally Special, on March 1st, 2011. Gay founded Hardcore Press, an independent publisher focused on publishing pocket-sized chapbooks, in 2010. During her time as an editor she published more than 50 pieces of original content. On September 17th, 2009, Gay published her first post on The Rumpus, a literary website founded in January 2009, titled 'Funny Women #2 A Play About Post Racial America in Seven Acts.' She went on to act as the site's essay editor, until she stepped down on July 26th, 2014, becoming the Essays Editor Emeritus. Roxane Gay is an American novelist and essayist known online as the founder of Tiny Hardcore Press and a writer for online literary site The Rumpus.
