What does “Bikabow” mean? Bikabow is a joyful exclamation invented by my daughter when she was a toddler. Think of it as “fabulous” or when preceding a person’s name, a “way to go” type of exclamation, or as a state of being.

Bikabow!

A perfect name for a small book publishing company.

For years, I thought about starting a book related business. A literary agency was first on the list.  With my legal and negotiating expertise, it seemed like a natural progression. But it also seemed too close to my legal career. When it became clear that Ziggy’s Potato was outside the molds used by existing publishers, I realized two things. First, that I absolutely believed there was a strong and meaningful audience for Ziggy’s Potato even if it didn’t fit the existing mold. Second, that I would not give up on bringing Ziggy’s Potato to publication. Therefore, I had to create my own company to publish it.  And while I was at it, I should think about publishing other books as well, books that will touch children (and adults) in ways that are not easily addressed by mainstream publishers.

What in my background prepared me to start a publishing company? My life as a writer, which has shown me what writers want, experience, and need; my legal skills, which include analysis, risk management, and project management; my network of friends in the writing and publishing community as well as in the legal community, all of whom have been generous with their time; my confidence in making decisions, despite being wracked with anxiety from time to time, and my desire to have a consuming activity after retiring from the practice of law.

Consuming it has been and it will continue to be a consuming activity. 

It is not the easiest path, but it a joyful path. As I move forward with this venture and with Bikabow Books’ subsequent publications, whether mine or those of other writers, I say Bikabow!

P.S. While submissions to Bikabow Books are not yet open, stay tuned. We hope to be ready to receive submissions sometime in the winter of spring of 2024.