The New Press is an independent
non-profit public-interest book publisher established in 1992 by
André Schiffrin[New Press Founder André Schiffrin Dead at 78]
, Publishers Weekly. Accessed August 1, 2014. (
Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
) and Diane Wachtell,
[Robert D. McFadde]
"André Schiffrin, Publishing Force and a Founder of New Press, Is Dead at 78"
'' New York Times'', December 1, 2013 publishing many books with a
left-wing political viewpoint.
Details
In 1990
André Schiffrin resigned as editor-in-chief of
Pantheon Books
Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint with editorial independence. It is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.Random House, Inc. Datamonitor Company Profiles Authority: Retrieved 6/20/2007, from EBSCO Host Business Source ...
and within two years raised enough money to launch the New Press,
with former Pantheon editor Diane Wachtell.
Many of Schiffrin's authors from Pantheon, including
Studs Terkel
Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16, 1912 – October 31, 2008) was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for '' The Good War'' and is best remembered for his oral his ...
, left to join him.
[Remembering André Schiffrin ]
, The Nation. Accessed August 1, 2014.
The New Press is a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to publish books that "promote and enrich public discussion and understanding of the issues vital to our democracy and to a more equitable world."
Schiffrin compared The New Press's role to that of public television, radio, and
university presses, focusing it on books with riskier subjects;
many New Press books have promoted
social activism and
liberal causes, which Calvin Reid of ''
Publishers Weekly'' has characterized as the publisher's main mission.
The New Press's business model combines publishing revenue with philanthropic grants,
and it has long focused on academic partnerships as well as staff and author diversity, running an intern program aimed at attracting candidates from minority ethnic backgrounds to the publishing industry.
Victor Navasky, writing in ''
The Nation'' in 2013, called it "a bold experiment in nonprofit, relatively radical book publishing," whose fifty books published per year were "virtually all
..of social consequence."
Schiffrin was editor in chief for more than a decade, and remained "founding director and editor at large" until his death in 2013.
In 2020 the board of directors included
Gara Lamarche, Theodore M. Shaw, Sarah Burnes, Amy Glickman, and Diane Wachtell.
Notable New Press authors include
Alice Walker and
Bill Moyers.
John W. Dower
John W. Dower (born June 21, 1938 in Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, Rhode Island) is an American author and historian. His 1999 book ''Embracing Defeat, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II'' won the U.S. National Book Awar ...
'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.
Best selling New Press books include ''
The Good War
''"The Good War": An Oral History of World War II'' (1984) is an oral history of World War II compiled by Studs Terkel. The work received the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.
''"The Good War"'' consists of a series of interviews wi ...
'' by Studs Terkel; ''
The New Jim Crow
''The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness'' is a book by Michelle Alexander, a civil rights litigator and legal scholar. The book discusses race-related issues specific to African-American males and mass incarceration in ...
'' by
Michelle Alexander; and ''
Understanding Power
''Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky'', published in 2002, is a collection of previously unpublished transcripts of seminars, talks, and question-and-answer sessions conducted by Noam Chomsky from 1989 to 1999.
The transcripts were co ...
'' by
Noam Chomsky.
Three New Press books were featured in ''
Publishers Weekly''
's Best Books of 2018: Sohaila Abdulali's ''What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape,''
AERA president
Vanessa Siddle Walker’s ''The Lost Education of Horace Tate,'' and
Patrick Chamoiseau’s ''Slave Old Man.''
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.
Infinity Awards 1985–1995
, International Center of Photography. August 1, 2014.
* 2000: Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for John W. Dower
John W. Dower (born June 21, 1938 in Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, Rhode Island) is an American author and historian. His 1999 book ''Embracing Defeat, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II'' won the U.S. National Book Awar ...
's '' Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II''.
References
External links
*
Finding aid to New Press records at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Press
1992 establishments in New York City
Book publishing companies based in New York City
Publishing companies established in 1992