Three Arts Press is an expression of creative independence and interdependence – independence from the world of commercial publishing and interdependence among creative colleagues who have worked together for many years. It aspires to the standards of fine bookmaking and design once practiced by artisan presses. The press is named for the three arts with which its founder Lillian Moats has had extensive involvement: writing, visual art and filmmaking.

Moats was afforded a great deal of artistic control as co-producer/co-director of her films and as author/illustrator of her first book, The Gate of Dreams, a collection of original fairy tales for all ages (Cranbrook Press: 1993, 1996). Cranbrook Press had been established during the Arts and Crafts Movement and, in 1993, was in the process of reinventing itself after a long dormancy. Moats was asked to oversee every aspect of her book’s design and production, which gave her the hands-on experience she would eventually need to establish her own press. While learning this new craft, she relied on long-standing creative relationships with colleagues who contributed their editorial, design and technical assistance.

These creative partnerships have continued under Three Arts Press.  Legacy of Shadows, a fictionalized memoir exploring the impact of unresolved emotion passed down within a family, was published by Three Arts in 1999. Speak, Hands: a Meditation on Memory and the Unconscious, followed in 2006. Three Arts Press became an ideal vehicle to give voice to these experimental, deeply psychological books.

The Letter from Death is a poignant, polemical essay to the whole of humanity.  This work of philosophical and political fiction includes a foreword by Howard Zinn and is illustrated by David Moats.  It was released in August, 2009.

Hope, a Myth Reawakened, is a timeless allegory that will speak to readers who think about the world, about the meaning of life and death, and who seek authentic hope in an age of denial. It was published in 2015.

 Two experimental works followed, printed in limited editions and not commercially distributed except by ordering directly through Three Arts Press on the Order Page of this website. The first, in 2017 was MCMLXXVIII. This is a fascinating surreal work of great depth and counterbalancing humor, written by Lillian’s filmmaking and creative partner JP Somersaulter. The second limited edition book is a slender collection of oil-wash portraits of subjects from many parts of the world titled 9 FACES, Painted by Lillian Moats. This artist’s book, printed in 2020 is dedicated to photojournalists for their inspirational work on behalf of global awareness and their contribution to empathy worldwide.

The pub date for IF YOU EXIST: In Search of a Reader Deep in the Future is August 23, 2021. This is a probing philosophical work, in the form of a heartfelt note written to a hoped for reader many generations in the future.