These books are among some of the offerings from Burrow Press. (NICK GEORGOUDIOU)

In the heart of Orlando’s literary scene, Burrow Press has spent the last 15 years publishing stories across the gamut — from absurdist stories about fatherhood to satirical takes on the prescription drug industry. Burrow has been that admirably offbeat home for writing that doesn’t play by the corporate publishing rulebook. 

Ryan Rivas, publisher and editor of Burrow Press, said the press is dedicated to publishing fiction, poetry and experimental books that value the art of literature over the market considerations. 

Burrow was co-founded in 2010 by Rivas and Jana Waring Helms. A few years in, Helms moved to Los Angeles and Rivas became the primary force behind the project. At the time, he was working at a children’s literacy nonprofit and was able to turn Burrow into a program within that organization. Eventually, it became its own nonprofit, allowing Burrow to fundraise and expand its publishing efforts. 

Burrow began with local projects tailored to community needs, including books, a reading series and online publications. From there, it steadily grew into what it is today.

“I was able to set up some calls with other publishers and marketing people in the small press world, and they were happy to meet with me and share their knowledge,” Rivas said. “… I really credit those conversations with putting Burrow Press in the right direction to expand our operations … That’s something I try to do myself now; when people reach out for questions and advice, I always try to pay it forward.”

Rivas and Helms originally launched Burrow as a way to meet other writers. They were both fiction writers in a city, Rivas said, that is known for its poetry scene.

“We were like, we want to focus on novels and short stories, but mainly we want to meet other writers,” Rivas said. “And for whatever weird reason, rather than starting a writing group or an event series, we decided to just start a publishing house.”

Burrow’s first published book was “Fragmentation,” an anthology of Florida writers who were mostly from Central Florida. 

“That’s when we actually discovered there was an interest in what we were doing, even though we didn’t quite know what we were doing, and our mission wasn’t very solid just yet,” Rivas said. 

He credits local support for helping shape Burrow’s direction and identity. After the release of “Fragmentation,” the community’s enthusiastic response sparked even more plans. 

“A bunch of different ideas were pitched to us at that event from excited people in the community, and we helped facilitate those,” Rivas said. “It ended up working out. And because we did that, we realized what we should be doing and what our mission was — which, at first, was to serve Orlando and Central Florida. Then, once we were established a little bit, to kind of go beyond that and also reach out and start publishing books nationally, having them in bookstores and things like that,” Rivas said. 

Fifteen years later, Rivas said the milestone brings a mix of emotions. 

“On the one hand, it’s very impressive, right? For a company of any kind to really last that long,” he said. “Even though we’re very small scale, and it doesn’t take a whole lot to keep us going and to keep us funded, it’s kind of thrilling. But on the other hand, it’s also like, ‘Wow, I’ve been doing this for 15 years.’ Like, it puts things into perspective in terms of, like, you know, this must be worth it. Is it worth it? Why is it worth it? And so, you know, this year I’ve been like, kind of reassessing, why do we do it? Why is it important?”

Those questions have prompted a new chapter for Burrow. Beginning in 2026, the press will launch a collaborative artist book series, with each edition pairing a writer and a visual artist.

“To sort of to try to fill a niche that not a lot of other publishers are doing, and to just be very specific and intentional about our products in the next 15 years,” Rivas said. “As opposed to the previous 15 years, which if you look at our catalog of books is extremely eclectic and hard to pin down.”

Burrow will also focus on shorter works of fiction, “creating a home for those weird word lengths that fall somewhere between a novelette and a novella,” Rivas explained. 

To celebrate the anniversary, Burrow Press is hosting an event at 5 p.m. on Sept. 6 at The Nook on Robinson, 2432 E. Robinson St. The gathering will be semi-casual with a light quinceañera theme. Books will be for sale, and Rivas teased that there will be some announcements as well as appearances from Burrow Press writers “maybe doing unexpected things.”

While the milestone is worth celebrating, Burrow faces financial hurdles ahead. Due to federal defunding, the press lost its Florida Humanities Community Project Grant, causing a $6,000 budget deficit for 2026. In response, Burrow launched a 2026 subscription campaign with a goal of gaining 200 subscribers or raising $6,000. Subscriptions and donations can be made at BurrowPress.com.  

“All these years later, we still have a very strong support in Orlando, [and] in Central Florida [more] than in Florida, than in the U.S.,” Rivas said. “Even though we’ve grown, we still have a really strong community around us here.”