After leaving her role last December as executive director of the Inlandia Institute, a literary arts nonprofit, Cati Porter spent the majority of her time enjoying life free of obligation and other commitments.
But the question of how she wanted to transform her career lingered on. That question was answered when she saw a need in the city of Riverside.
"One of the things that I really enjoyed about my past job was the publishing side of the business," she said.
"I knew about this book that one of my colleagues was writing and it really needed to be out in the community."
Porter saw a need and decided to fill it with her publishing expertise through Mile Square Press — an independent publishing house.
The book is called "Riverside California: The City Built from the River Up" by Janine Pourroy. It's about the history of the city, written for children. There are plenty of books about Riverside history for adults, but there aren't many for kids, Porter said.
"Kids grow up here and ask questions and this gives families an opportunity to explore those questions together," she added. "It just seems like a really important book for our young people to understand where they came from and that they too are part of the story."
When creating the publishing house, Porter had two intentions: to amplify the stories that exist within the city limits and keep the press independent from any corporate ties.
Although its debut title focuses on Riverside history, Porter doesn't envision the press as a historical imprint. Its second book, "10th Decade," by UCR history professor emeritus Carlos Cortés, is a poetry collection about embracing life in one's later years.
"He is looking forward to turning 100," she added.
"The main goal is that they be by and for the community in some way."
Porter has more than 15 years of experience in the Riverside literary community. She served as executive director of the Inlandia Institute from 2013 until last December and had been with the organization since 2009. She is also a poet and has run an online poetry journal.
This new stage of her life is driven by her love for the community, which is why she wants to keep the press an independent entity. Rather than relying on outside money, Porter is asking for pre-orders and advance pledges to fund the publication. All the money will be used toward producing the books.
She's also running the press on her own, intentionally, and she plans to keep it that way. Her goal is to hire freelancers for design and layouts.
"I hope others see the value in it and will want to copy and want it enough to pay for their book before it's produced," she added.
Porter will also be supporting the writers of the community through her monthly column with the Raincross Gazette, "Reading Room," where she will also elevate the stories of the city.
"I love supporting the writers in our community, just by letting other people know about their books or supporting the readers by giving them good book recommendations or things to do related to books," she said.
One of her installments will be asking Riverside City Council members to discuss the last book they read for pleasure.
"But I don't want to give spoilers ahead of time," she said, declining to reveal more.
Porter also wants to encourage reading.
"I think we read all the time. I think people are reading more than ever, but what they're reading is different," Porter said.
"All reading counts," she added.
But for Porter, reading and writing are also about community.
"Writing, the active writing itself may be a solitary act. But writers are not solitary creatures," Porter said. "We need to connect with each other. And stay connected."
