Krug
Newshound
1. Give us an overview of your product line(s).
Urrrgghh. This is a question that is really tough NOT to answer; there is so much I want to tell you (and the community) about, but I simply cannot right now. However, I will bring you up to speed on what has been announced to date, let you peek behind the Enkwell veil, and drop a couple of hints to boot. How’s that sound?
To date, Enkwell has partnered with DireKobold.com (http://www.direkobold.com/) to release our initial adventure (which was originally inspired by and is dedicated to the Hivemind here on EN World), The Love of Art: Drawn to Gehenna (http://www.enkwell.com/page.php?s=3-2). Also, as a result of our recent Interlink with Green Ronin, we can add The Book of Fiends (http://www.greenronin.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prodid=1025) to our list of publications.
Coming down the pipe, we have the first book in our Frequent Faces series, entitled Frequent Faces: Byldgewater, an NPC book which will be supporting both The Love of Art: Drawn to Gehenna and The Book of Fiends. Further in support of these two releases, we have the first in our Legendary Locales line, which we’re calling Legendary Locales: Byldgewater in addition to a graphic novel/D20 sourcebook called Traveler’s Tales. Traveler’s Tales will be released first, and Legendary Locales: Byldgewater will be out sometime before the last installment of The Love of Art is released. Nearing completion, we have a couple of books from well-known industry freelancers, Bret Boyd and Chris “Carnifex” Allen – the titles of these books have not yet been released, but one of them is a near-direct result from our first and widely successful open call.
On the horizon, Enkwell Press will be releasing the first in a potential line of gaming books aimed at children, a series of customized character sheets the likes of which have not yet been seen in the D20 arena, and a deity book that will make everyone think twice about the pantheons within their own games. Of note as well, we’ll be releasing the second installment of the Love of Art adventure, which will be called, The Love of Art: Finishing Touches. This book is being re-worked, in order to more closely tie it in with the new material offered in The Book of Fiends as well as the other Byldgewater-related books.
Lastly, we have a couple of other industry team-up deals that we are working at the moment – look for the juicy details on them soon!
2. Tell us at length about your most recent project (upcoming or just released).
Our most recent release is contained within The Book of Fiends, a project that we really enjoyed working on (the folks at Green Ronin are simply, hands-down, awesome). Sadly, I cannot go into length about it (due to the nature of the deal), but you can check it out for yourself!
3. What is your main target audience and how much of a spread beyond that do you feel is likely, first for your line(s), then for your most recent?
Enkwell is looking to fill some gaps in the D20 industry. Now one might ask, “What gaps?” – but believe me, there are some and we’re working hard to fill them with quality releases. Our primary audience is folks who love quality gaming products: DM’s, players, even publishers. It is our goal with every release to make the product as adaptable, easy-to-use, and portable as possible. Initially, we are looking to enter into the PDF market, but as our team up with Green Ronin shows, we are not afraid of the print market either. However, one thing that I think you will see initially is that any of our print runs will be via team-ups with larger D20 companies. In my opinion there is really no point in trying to “break new ground” in the print arena at this point, so I would rather flow Enkwell’s products along secure, pre-established and popular lines.
4. What is the main thing about your company that makes you most proud?
Three things, actually. The first that Enkwell has no “hard and fast” production schedule. I know that might sound like professional suicide, but I believe that the inverse is true. Nearly everyone in the D20 industry has a “day job” and they publish, freelance, or whatnot on the side. In that sort of environment, a hard and fast production schedule, eventually, will very likely lead to burn-out, degradations in quality, or even the death of a line (or worse yet, an entire company). To me, in this environment, *not* having a production schedule makes more sense, but the challenge therein comes in letting the public know that the company (in this case, Enkwell) is not dead in the water. That is something that I am working hard to ensure does not happen with Enkwell. Second, I am very proud of Enkwell’s development staff – a group of hard-working, creative freelancers who love to do this stuff – I am ecstatic that I can give them a forum in which to do so. Third, our industry team-ups – I love the fact that we are able to remain one of the newest and smallest PDF publishers out there and yet we can still “play ball” with the “big boys” (a fact that also speaks to my second point, i.e. the quality of our people).
5. Where do you see your company one year from now?
Doing exactly what we are doing now – Enkwell is made up of a bunch of freelancers that like doing “their own thing” and really enjoy the freedoms that Enkwell gives them to do just that. It is very likely that you’ll see Enkwell’s name in conjunction with additional large and main stream publishers, but other than that, I am not driving Enkwell above or beyond its own momentum. Personally, I think doing that is a very quick way to drive a small publishing company straight into the ground. You will see more products from us, but not so many that it will compromise the quality of those products. Everybody at Enkwell is not only cognizant of the intelligence of our customers, but also caters to it – we know that folks cannot be fooled by a flood of sub-standard releases.
Thanks so much for the time and the electrons,
Brannon Hollingsworth,
President & CEO
Enkwell Press Website
Previous Friday Five's:
#6: Anubium
#5: 12 to Midnight
#4: EN Publishing
#3: Emerald Press
#2: Malladin's Gate
#1: Cartography Unlimited
Urrrgghh. This is a question that is really tough NOT to answer; there is so much I want to tell you (and the community) about, but I simply cannot right now. However, I will bring you up to speed on what has been announced to date, let you peek behind the Enkwell veil, and drop a couple of hints to boot. How’s that sound?
To date, Enkwell has partnered with DireKobold.com (http://www.direkobold.com/) to release our initial adventure (which was originally inspired by and is dedicated to the Hivemind here on EN World), The Love of Art: Drawn to Gehenna (http://www.enkwell.com/page.php?s=3-2). Also, as a result of our recent Interlink with Green Ronin, we can add The Book of Fiends (http://www.greenronin.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prodid=1025) to our list of publications.
Coming down the pipe, we have the first book in our Frequent Faces series, entitled Frequent Faces: Byldgewater, an NPC book which will be supporting both The Love of Art: Drawn to Gehenna and The Book of Fiends. Further in support of these two releases, we have the first in our Legendary Locales line, which we’re calling Legendary Locales: Byldgewater in addition to a graphic novel/D20 sourcebook called Traveler’s Tales. Traveler’s Tales will be released first, and Legendary Locales: Byldgewater will be out sometime before the last installment of The Love of Art is released. Nearing completion, we have a couple of books from well-known industry freelancers, Bret Boyd and Chris “Carnifex” Allen – the titles of these books have not yet been released, but one of them is a near-direct result from our first and widely successful open call.
On the horizon, Enkwell Press will be releasing the first in a potential line of gaming books aimed at children, a series of customized character sheets the likes of which have not yet been seen in the D20 arena, and a deity book that will make everyone think twice about the pantheons within their own games. Of note as well, we’ll be releasing the second installment of the Love of Art adventure, which will be called, The Love of Art: Finishing Touches. This book is being re-worked, in order to more closely tie it in with the new material offered in The Book of Fiends as well as the other Byldgewater-related books.
Lastly, we have a couple of other industry team-up deals that we are working at the moment – look for the juicy details on them soon!
2. Tell us at length about your most recent project (upcoming or just released).
Our most recent release is contained within The Book of Fiends, a project that we really enjoyed working on (the folks at Green Ronin are simply, hands-down, awesome). Sadly, I cannot go into length about it (due to the nature of the deal), but you can check it out for yourself!
3. What is your main target audience and how much of a spread beyond that do you feel is likely, first for your line(s), then for your most recent?
Enkwell is looking to fill some gaps in the D20 industry. Now one might ask, “What gaps?” – but believe me, there are some and we’re working hard to fill them with quality releases. Our primary audience is folks who love quality gaming products: DM’s, players, even publishers. It is our goal with every release to make the product as adaptable, easy-to-use, and portable as possible. Initially, we are looking to enter into the PDF market, but as our team up with Green Ronin shows, we are not afraid of the print market either. However, one thing that I think you will see initially is that any of our print runs will be via team-ups with larger D20 companies. In my opinion there is really no point in trying to “break new ground” in the print arena at this point, so I would rather flow Enkwell’s products along secure, pre-established and popular lines.
4. What is the main thing about your company that makes you most proud?
Three things, actually. The first that Enkwell has no “hard and fast” production schedule. I know that might sound like professional suicide, but I believe that the inverse is true. Nearly everyone in the D20 industry has a “day job” and they publish, freelance, or whatnot on the side. In that sort of environment, a hard and fast production schedule, eventually, will very likely lead to burn-out, degradations in quality, or even the death of a line (or worse yet, an entire company). To me, in this environment, *not* having a production schedule makes more sense, but the challenge therein comes in letting the public know that the company (in this case, Enkwell) is not dead in the water. That is something that I am working hard to ensure does not happen with Enkwell. Second, I am very proud of Enkwell’s development staff – a group of hard-working, creative freelancers who love to do this stuff – I am ecstatic that I can give them a forum in which to do so. Third, our industry team-ups – I love the fact that we are able to remain one of the newest and smallest PDF publishers out there and yet we can still “play ball” with the “big boys” (a fact that also speaks to my second point, i.e. the quality of our people).
5. Where do you see your company one year from now?
Doing exactly what we are doing now – Enkwell is made up of a bunch of freelancers that like doing “their own thing” and really enjoy the freedoms that Enkwell gives them to do just that. It is very likely that you’ll see Enkwell’s name in conjunction with additional large and main stream publishers, but other than that, I am not driving Enkwell above or beyond its own momentum. Personally, I think doing that is a very quick way to drive a small publishing company straight into the ground. You will see more products from us, but not so many that it will compromise the quality of those products. Everybody at Enkwell is not only cognizant of the intelligence of our customers, but also caters to it – we know that folks cannot be fooled by a flood of sub-standard releases.
Thanks so much for the time and the electrons,
Brannon Hollingsworth,
President & CEO
Enkwell Press Website
Previous Friday Five's:
#6: Anubium
#5: 12 to Midnight
#4: EN Publishing
#3: Emerald Press
#2: Malladin's Gate
#1: Cartography Unlimited
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I cannot believe that I was so stupid to have both of you standing there and NOT get the book signed!!!! Arrgggghhhh!!!! Oh well, next time I'm in Seattle... 
