publishing

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  5/6/2023
  

  Pushed to Soften Discussion of Racism, Author Pulls out of Scholastic Deal

  Maggie Tokuda-Hall wrote the story of her grandparents meeting in a WWII-era internment camp, but it wasn't a commercial success. When Scholastic offered to license the work for classrooms, they asked for the unacceptable: downplaying the severity of anti-Japanese racism. 

• 
• SOURCE: Substack
  12/3/2022
  

  Consolidated Cultural Elites and the New York Times Book Review

  by David A. Bell

  Historians shouldn't be alarmed by the number of historians on the Times's list of the best nonfiction titles of 2022. They should be alarmed by how big publishing houses seem to have an inside track to the platform. 

• 
• SOURCE: The New Republic
  1/4/2022
  

  The Non-Existent "Cancellation" of Norman Mailer

  "Indeed, the junior staffers I’ve spoken to at Penguin Random House laughed off the insinuation that any of them had the power to kill a book."

• 
• SOURCE: The New Republic
  11/26/2021
  

  Reagan's Go-To Magazine Has Gone Full MAGA – What it Means for Conservatism

  "The renaissance of the magazine provides the perfect capsule summary of the conservative movement’s long downward journey from pages to pixels."

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  8/15/2021
  

  Conservative Publishers See Gold Rush in "CRT" Controversy

  "As the national conversation about racism has become a ferocious battle, conservative publishers see gold in titles catering to the backlash."

• 
• 5/9/2021
  

  Are Campus Bookstores Undermining Student Learning?

  by Elizabeth Stice

  Today’s undergraduates are increasingly being cornered into ongoing financial commitments for everything, while they never take possession of anything. Rejecting digital book programs run by campus bookstores outsourced to third parties could help reverse this trend.

• 
• SOURCE: Substack
  5/1/2021
  

  On Popular History: Rebecca Traister

  by Alexis Coe

  Historian Alexis Coe interviews writer and essayist Rebecca Traister on the historical research informing her work and the links between popular and academic audiences for historical knowledge. 

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  2/10/2021
  

  Larry Flynt, Who Built a Porn Empire With Hustler, Dies at 78

  "Mr. Flynt’s interpretation was simpler. 'If the First Amendment will protect a scumbag like me,' he said, 'then it will protect all of you. Because I’m the worst'."

• 
• SOURCE: Perspectives on History
  2/4/2021
  

  Graduate School is a Foreign Country

  by Susan Ferber

  "Collaboration—that didn’t seem to be a skill much prized in grad school."

• 
• SOURCE: Claire Potter
  1/11/2021
  

  Josh Hawley's Cancelled Book Contract Is Not "Orwellian"

  by Claire Potter

  The author has broadly defended free speech as a value. Josh Hawley's complaints about his cancelled book contract don't fit the bill.

• 
• SOURCE: The New Republic
  12/22/2020
  

  Billion-Dollar Book Companies Are Ripping Off Public Schools

  Although they tout the advantages of learning technology, major publishers exploit copyright law and licensing agreements to force school districts to pay $27 per student per year for temporary access to digital copies of books like "The Diary of Anne Frank." 

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  12/4/2020
  

  50 Years On, the Feminist Press Is Radical and Relevant

  A look back at the ongoing work of the Feminist Press and the legacy of founder Florence Howe, who saved the work of many women authors from obscurity and helped support the emerging study of literature by women. 

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  9/13/2020
  

  Florence Howe, ‘Mother of Women’s Studies,’ Dies at 91

  Florence Howe faced difficulty in teaching in the early days of Women's Studies: a lack of materials. She started a press that changed that. 

• 
• SOURCE: Black Perspectives
  7/1/2020
  

  Celebrating 50 Years of Essence as a Black Women’s Archive

  by Jacinta R. Saffold

  "For the last 50 years, Essence Magazine has consistently found innovative approaches to archiving Black women’s lives by immortalizing our intellect, literature, and culture on glossy pages," writes Jacinta R. Saffold.

• 
• SOURCE: The New York Times
  7/1/2020
  

  ‘A Conflicted Cultural Force’: What It’s Like to Be Black in Publishing

  When historian Kerri K. Greenidge was trying to publish her book on William Trotter, publishers responded with "who was going to read a book about a Black man that nobody had ever heard about?"

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  6/12/2020
  

  For Publishers, Books on Race and Racism Have Been a Surprising Success

  In the last few weeks, books from authors the likes of Ibram X. Kendi, Annette Gordon-Reed, and David W. Blight have seen surges in sales. But in the current moment, how much do sales say about social and political influence?

• 
• SOURCE: Fox Carolina
  5/12/2020
  

  Carolyn Reidy, President and CEO of Simon & Schuster, Dies at 71

  Carolyn Reidy helped bring the writings of historians including David Blight and David McCullough to a wide readership.  

• 
• SOURCE: The New York Times
  9/22/19
  

  Naomi Wolf’s Book “Outrages” Sparks Debate Over Whether Publishers Should Take Responsibility for the Accuracy of Their Books

  by Alexandra Alter

  Naomi Wolf’s book “Outrages” was postponed after questions emerged about her research.

• 
• SOURCE: Standford Daily
  4/29/19
  

  Stanford community outraged at SU Press defunding, over 1,000 sign petitions

  Leaders from Stanford Libraries and the Press are now in discussions about how to “develop a sustainable business model” supported by its revenue, modest philanthropy and general funds allocation.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  3/18/19
  

  In the age of distraction, one small publisher keeps local history alive in sepia tones

  For more than two decades, one small publisher far from New York has been quietly rescuing remnants of history from the flames of oblivion.