The New Press
| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder |
André Schiffrin Diane Wachtell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York |
| Publication types | Books |
| Official website |
thenewpress |
The New Press is an independent[1] non-profit public-interest book publisher established in 1992 by André Schiffrin[2][3] (Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur) and Diane Wachtell.[4][5]
Details
In 1990 André Schiffrin resigned as editor-in-chief of Pantheon Books and within two years raised enough money to launch the New Press,[3] with former Pantheon editor Diane Wachtell.[4] Many of Schiffrin's authors from Pantheon, including Studs Terkel, left to join him.[3][6]
The New Press is a nonprofit organization intended to publish books in the public interest, that "promote and enrich public discussion and understanding of the issues vital to our democracy and to a more equitable world."[1] Schiffrin likened it to "public television and radio, a house to supplement university presses in publishing riskier books."[4] The business model was noteworthy for its innovation, it included grant support in addition to publishing revenue; academic partnerships and staff diversity.[2] Its intern programme aimed at attracting candidates from minority ethnic backgrounds into the book business benefited the wider world of publishing.[3] Victor Navasky, writing in The Nation, called it "a bold experiment in nonprofit, relatively radical book publishing".[6]
Schiffrin was editor in chief for more than a decade, and remained 'founding director and editor at large' until his death in 2013.[4][2][5] In 2014 the board of directors includes Barbara Ehrenreich, Gara LaMarche, Michael Ratner and Bob Herbert.
Notable New Press authors include Alice Walker and Bill Moyers.[5] John W. Dower's Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II was published by New Press and won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 2000.[5] Best selling New Press books include The Good War by Studs Terkel; The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander;[7] and Understanding Power by Noam Chomsky.
In 2013 New Press was reported as publishing about fifty books a year, virtually all of them of social consequence.[6]
Awards
New Press books that have won awards:
- 1994: George Wittenborn Memorial Award from the Art Libraries Society of North America for Mining the Museum: an Installation by Fred Wilson, edited by Lisa G. Corrin.
- 1994: Lincoln Prize in Civil War History for Free at Last: A Documentary History of Slavery, Freedom, and the Civil War edited by Ira Berlin, Barbara Fields, Steven Miller, Joseph Reidy and Leslie Rowland.
- 1996: International Center of Photography's Infinity Award for Writing to Picturing Us: African American Identity in Photography by Deborah Willis.[8]
- 2000: Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for John W. Dower's Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II.[5]
- 2015: Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association to Nell Bernstein. Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison.
- 2015: Martin Duberman named an Honor Book for the Stonewall Book Award, Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS
References
- 1 2 Ulin, David (December 2, 2013). "Andre Schiffrin dies at 78; book publisher founded New Press". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- 1 2 3 "New Press Founder André Schiffrin Dead at 78", Publishers Weekly. Accessed August 1, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 Rubinstein, Felicity (December 2, 2013). "André Schiffrin obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 Robert D. McFadden "André Schiffrin, Publishing Force and a Founder of New Press, Is Dead at 78", New York Times, December 1, 2013
- 1 2 3 4 5 Schudel, Matt (December 3, 2013). "André Schiffrin, key figure in N.Y. publishing, dies at 78". Washington Post. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- ↑ Sandhu, Sukhdev (February 17, 2012). "Radical alternatives to conventional publishing". The Guardian. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Infinity Awards 1985–1995", International Center of Photography. August 1, 2014.