ABOUT US

New Material Books is an independent bookstore in Kansas City, MO. We curate small press books, art books, and international books. We also host poetry readings, run free poetry workshops, and facilitate collective book-generation projects.

NMB is run by two poets dedicated to creating a space that nurtures adventurous reading and writing. At our store you can discover hard-to-find books in a variety of genres, including poetry, fiction, theory, and design. We also work directly with publishers of experimental publications like handmade books, poetry readings on vinyl, and books printed on receipt paper.

Our mission is to bring small press books to readers in Kansas City and around the country. Small presses are often volunteer-run operations that don’t have major distributors, making traditional bookstores less likely to stock them. We value small presses because they foreground experimentation and unique voices, often publishing writers outside institutional support. 

NMB sources books from small presses all over the world, while also highlighting the unique work being done by presses based in the Midwest.

Our space is located in the historic Livestock Exchange Building, in the West Bottoms neighborhood of Kansas City. Stop by to shop our ever-changing selection in person, chat with us, and contribute to our latest book-generation installation!