An independent publisher of middle-grade fiction.
About Lordsburg Press
Lordsburg Press is an independent publisher built around a simple conviction: the ideas that shape good leaders, strong teams, and trustworthy friends belong in the hands of young people — before the world tells them leadership is someone else’s job.
We publish fiction and companion resources for readers ages eight to fourteen — stories where purpose, integrity, connection, and the courage to keep getting better are not lessons delivered from a lectern, but truths discovered through adventure, friendship, and the honest work of growing up. Our characters face real challenges. They stumble, argue, doubt themselves, and figure things out together. What they learn is never handed to them. It is earned.
What our stories explore
Our stories explore what it means to lead when no one asked you to, to speak up when it would be easier to stay quiet, to plan something bigger than yourself and see it through. They ask questions that matter to a twelve-year-old: Who do I trust? How do I fix something I broke? How do I speak up when I disagree with people I don’t want to lose?
These are the same questions that the best research on leadership, teamwork, and organizational excellence has been studying for decades — but our characters don’t read that research. They live it. None of these ideas are named in our pages. They are lived by characters who stumble into them the way real kids do — by making mistakes, asking hard questions, and refusing to quit on each other.
Who we’re for
We publish for the young reader who wants to matter. For the teacher building a classroom where every kid has a voice. For the parent looking for a book that will start conversations instead of ending them. For the librarian who can tell the difference between a story with something to say and a sermon in a dust jacket.
Our mission
Lordsburg Press exists because the ideas that make people better leaders, better teammates, and better neighbors shouldn’t wait until adulthood. We believe that an eight-year-old who learns to listen before speaking, to stand up when something is wrong, and to build something that includes everyone is not just a better student. That child becomes a better teammate, a better neighbor, and eventually a better leader — the kind the world needs more of.
Every title we publish is held to a single editorial standard: the reader should never feel taught. They should feel like they lived it.
Where the name comes from
Lordsburg was a small town in the foothills of Southern California — a place where orange groves stretched across the valley floor and climbed into the hills beneath the San Gabriel Mountains. Founded in 1887, the community became known as the “Heart of the Orange Empire,” a landscape defined by patience, deep roots, and the steady work of cultivation. The groves are mostly gone now, but the spirit of the place endures: something planted with care, in good soil, will bear fruit for generations.
We chose the name Lordsburg Press because it captures what we believe about young people and leadership. The best ideas, like the best orchards, don’t appear overnight. They are planted early, tended faithfully, and given room to grow. Our books are seeds. The readers are what grows.