Limited Run is celebrating ten years at their physical store in Cary, NC. One of the special guests present is Jeremy Parish, media curator for Press Run, which launched in 2022. With a couple of titles under their belt such as the NES Works collections and It’s Not All Fun and Games, I was able to spend time with Jeremy to learn more about their book publishing arm.

Author’s Note: This interview was translated manually with paraphrased responses, intended to be presented in a narrative manner.

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Stephanie: Hi, Jeremy! Thank you for your time. So, tell me about your title and what you do.

Jeremy: My title is media curator. I was brought onto Limited Run to put together the Complete Run books. I’m working on the second one. Also, I help document and write about things which all evolved over time to running a book label. I also help create a lot of the pack-in content for Limited Run’s published games. I even got to be the producer on a few games, but that’s more one and done and not something I would keep on doing.

Stephanie: What? No way! So, how has Press Run been since 2022? What was the reception to a book label since the stereotype tends to be that gamers don’t read.

Jeremy: I think the right book can appeal to gamers. I think the trick is figuring out what that is. I’m happy that we’re a small publisher, allowing us to focus on more niche topics that larger publishers wouldn’t touch. It’s a lot more realistic to try do things like The History of Sunsoft. There’s a value in it beyond a thing you can buy. One time, a professor approached me and wanted to make one of our books a part of their curriculum. That felt satisfying.

Stephanie: What do you look for in future projects?

Jeremy: I have a lot of freedom. I’ve been putting books together before my time at Limited Run, and it was hard to turn down the opportunity to publish my work and more with them. For future projects, there’s a balance between what may be too niche versus an audience’s interest. We need to ask, is this important or is thing something people “want to read”.

Stephanie: What’s a project you have in the pipeline?

Jeremy: We are getting ready to sell Leonard Herman’s Phoenix IV: The History of the Video Game Industry. I believe the first edition was the first book in English about the history of video games. This will be the 5th edition. The author has been working on updating it throughout the years. We hope to get this released early next year as the project is near completion. I still have some proofreading to do. It’s such a large project that it will be released as two big paperback books. It may not be an immediate best-seller; however, it’s the definitive chronicle of video game history.

Stephanie: How do you manage this line of business?

Jeremy: The book line works a little differently than the other product line. For our books, we publish what is out there, and we do not keep re-printing it. Books tend not to sell a lot up front but rather consistently over time. It’s important to me that we don’t make this all about FOMO. I just ask myself, “is it worth doing this?”. Then, we offer books for pre-order and then overprint by a certain percent.

Stephanie: What’s the turn-around-time for book publication?

Jeremy: It depends. Some are quick while others will have pre-orders go up early to get a sense of interest. Some have a “standard edition timeline” (quicker) versus a “special edition like timeline” which takes about a year. I prefer a single printing as measured out by pre-order and still have copies available on the long term. I want authors to be successful and pre-orders help us calibrate.

Stephanie: Tell me more about your involvement with game guides and other pack-ins!

Jeremy: [He walks me down an aisle and shows me games he’s worked on] I’ve hand drawn the maps you’ll find in the Castlevania Advance and Dominus Collector Editions. It was time-consuming, but it was something I did as a kid, like mapping out Metroid. And I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to do officially? Konami said okay, and they even liked it and localized it for their Japanese versions. Tomba has a combination strategy guide and art book. There’s also an essay in there with development art. Having it in print is nice. There is also a full strategy guide, which is a first for Tomba. Currently, I’m working with the same people for Tomba 2. For Contra: Operation Galuga, one of the things I put together is a book that looks like a dossier.

Stephanie: Are you granted a lot of creative freedom when making these pack-ins?

Jeremy: It varies from company to company. Konami is a great partner and appreciate creativity. They had very little feedback on Operation Galuga. I also wrote a strategy guide for Ninja Five-O, and Konami said okay. This also contains an interview. It’s a super niche game but is expensive on the second-hand market. Overall, every company has been supportive and enthusiastic. I never had a project that’s come back where they didn’t “get it”. It’s a great feeling for someone who grew up playing games and working in press. I thankfully developed a good relationship with companies over the years.

Stephanie: Thank you so much for your time talking with me about what you do!

Jeremy: You’re welcome. I have a lot of projects up ahead and freedom to do what I love at Limited Run, and I’m happy to be here. Sometimes I come into the store and can’t keep up with that is getting published. There are so many interesting things coming out from great developers, and thus no end in sight on things I can work on.

Curious about Press Run? Check out the line of books HERE.

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