CC’ing Ellen Towell

October 2, 2025 | jordan bascom | consortium corner

Ellen Towell, who reps Consortium titles through the Karel/Dutton Group, discusses important works in American letters and a memorable Vegas trip with Barry Lopez.

Welcome to Consortium Corner, a Q&A series with staff and reps to celebrate Consortium’s 40 years of independent book distribution.

Tell us a little about yourself and the work you do with Consortium.

I’ve worked in publishing since 1986 in a variety of roles, including Managing Editor, Publicity and Advertising Director, Marketing and Subsidiary Rights Director, Sales Manager, and founding co-publisher with David Peattie of Whereabouts Press. Now I’m a partner with the Karel/Dutton Group that represents publishers to bookstores in the Western United States.

What I like most about representing Consortium is that it keeps my finger on the pulse of current independent culture and thought. What drew me to the publishing world was the desire to be at the intersection of art and commerce—I thought that that was where books were most alive. I still think this is true. That’s why, meeting with a buyer and sifting through those books that best fit their store, can be a vital point of contact in this business of books.

What are 5 Consortium titles you love and why?

The Bear by Andrew Krivak (Bellevue Literary Press)
Years after reading this pastoral dystopian novel that envisions a future in which nature takes over, I can still see and feel the world it created.

My Private Property by Mary Ruefle (Wave Books)
These prose poems will make you laugh with Ruefle’s wry sense of humor and delightful turns of phrases. The book can be enjoyed by anyone—but particularly by women of a certain age.

The Helios Disaster by Linda Bostrom Knausgaard, trans. Rachel Willson-Broyles (World Editions)
Her debut novella is a powerful portrait of mental illness (and modern spin on the myth of Athena). The spare, skillful, and intelligent prose style brings immediacy to Anna’s emotional breakdown and the psych ward.

The Essential W.S. Merwin edited by Michael Wiegers (Copper Canyon Press)
This is an important book in American letters as it encapsulates 7 decades of poems from one of our finest poets into one brilliant book. You can follow his evolution.

Septology by Jon Fosse, trans. Damion Searls (Transit Books)
Tread with patience in the beginning and be rewarded. This is what it feels like to fully enter another’s mind, full of mystical and layered thought.

Outside of Consortium titles, what books have you enjoyed recently?

Art Work by Sally Mann (Abrams).

Can you share any special or formative experiences you’ve had with bookstores and libraries?

I booked a 10-city bookstore tour in 1990 for Barry Lopez for his fable Crow and Weasel illustrated by Tom Pohrt when I worked at North Point Press. He spent an unbelievable amount of time on this tour that went from West to East, and possibly the first book to make it on the bestseller list going in that direction back then. I accompanied Barry in Las Vegas when ABA (pre BEA) was there so I took him to view the tigers at the newly opened Mirage hotel. I found it ironic to be in such an unnatural setting with this natural history author and a National Book Award winner but he was quite joyful, taking everything in. I remember him as indefatigable in the promotion of his book. He was adored by booksellers.

In your time repping Consortium, what memorable or meaningful moments stand out?

One of the most meaningful moments in my time repping for Consortium was attending the party at the Norwegian Consulate in San Francisco at the invitation of Transit Books when Jon Fosse won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

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