The New Press: a Not-For-Profit in American Publishing
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THE NEW PRESS: A NOT-FOR-PROFIT IN AMERICAN PUBLISHING Julie McCarroll BA, Dalhousie University 1997 PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PIJBLISHmG In the Publishing Program of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences O McCarroll2005 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2005 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author APPROVAL Name: Julie McCarroll Degree: Master of Publishing Title of Project: The New Press: A Not-For-Profit in American Publishing Examining Committee: Rowland Lorimer, Senior Supervisor Director, Master of Publishing Program Professor, School of Communication Simon Fraser University Ralph Hancox Professional Fellow, Master of Publishing Program Simon Fraser University Janey Tannenbaum Director of Sales and Marketing Smithsonian Books New York Date approved: SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. 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Bennett Library Simon Fraser University Bumaby, BC, Canada ABSTRACT In 1992, AndrC Schiffrin founded The New Press as a mid-size not-for-profit publisher in hopes that it would provide a viable alternative to mainstream publishing by bringing books into the market which were not normally published by more commercial houses. The press recently celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2002, and though there are many small not-for-profit houses in the United States today, The New Press stands as one of the few mid-size not-for-profits that competes directly with mainstream houses by using similar distribution methods and seeking similar audiences. This project examines The New Press as a not-for-profit in American publishing, beginning with a short history of Schiffrin's experiences leading up to the founding of The New Press. Through the history of the press, its mission, operations, funding structure, and a case study of operations and funding as they apply to one "foundation" title, the strengths and weaknesses of the press are examined, concluding with an examination of the viability of the press's mission of independence through its interaction with donors and foundations. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to all who have shared their experience and expertise with me during my time at The New Press, especially AndrC Schiffrin. Thank you also to those who have supported and encouraged me in this work including Janey Tannenbaum, and to Rowland Lorimer and Ralph Hancox for their invaluable patience and guidance. TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval ............................................................................................................................ ii ... Abstract ............................................................................................................................ 111 Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................iv Table Of Contents.............................................................................................................. v Introduction........................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter One: The Founding Of The New Press .............................................................3 Chapter Two: The New Press .........................................................................................14 Chapter Three: Funding .................................................................................................23 Chapter Four: Case Study ..............................................................................................35 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................43 Works Cited .....................................................................................................................47 INTRODUCTION When The New Press opened its doors in 1992, it was one of the early large-scale not- for-profit publishers in the United States. The idea of publicly funded cultural enterprise in the States wasn't a new one; public TV and radio, symphonies, ballet and galleries all continue to depend on public funding to supplement revenues. In the publishing world, MS Magazine and Harper S had each served as nonprofits, but aside fiom a few small independent publishing houses, book publishing in the U.S. had come to mirror the mass media in many respects. The New Press's founder, Andrk Schiffrin, hoped that an alternative structure would allow the press to stand free of the industry changes that had marked the eighties and early nineties as a time when many contemporary publishers began to fear for the future of the business, and for the fate of good books. In an increasingly corporate environment where the demands of a highly competitive marketplace seemed a necessary hazard, Schiffrin hoped that a not-for-profit publisher could operate relatively free from this pressure by drawing on public funding. With this in mind, Schiffrin began to build The New Press around a list of serious books for the smaller audiences that he felt were being neglected. For Schiffrin, the transformation of book publishing in America was a very personal one. Schiffrin's father had come from France to lead Pantheon Books, a small independent house that published prestigious titles by authors including Jung and Pasternak. After Jacques Schiffrin's death, Schiffrin watched Pantheon fall into disarray without a clear successor, and observed as it was absorbed by Random House. Later, as head of Pantheon under Random, Schiffrin experienced the gradual shift in publishing sentiment as Random passed through many hands over thirty years, with each successive owner seemingly more focused on the bottom line than the last. The tide of commercialization that had shaped Random House, and, in turn, affected Schiffrin as head of Pantheon, is of interest, especially since events at Random-ne of the largest houses in the Sates- are emblematic of many of the changes in American publishing. On the other hand of commercialization, many of the changes Schiffrin hoped to bring about at The New Press were in direct response to this history, as may be seen in examining the press's founding and its subsequent operations. The New Press celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2002, and its first decade of operation confirmed Schiffrin's early hope that a judicious mix of foundation grants, individual funding, and book sales could make large-scale not-for-protit publishing a viable alternative to midsize commercial competitors. However, as may be seen in consideration of The New Press's experience, not-for-profit publishing presents its own set of challenges. From dealing with foundations to keeping a foothold in today's increasingly commercial publishing environment, the status of nonprofit publishing is sometimes a difficult one, as revealed by a closer examination of the press, its history, and its successes and shortcomings in fulfilling its mission. CHAPTER ONE: THE FOUNDING OF THE NEW PRESS For Andr6 Schiffrin, the founding of The New Press was a response to many of the ills of contemporary publishing in America. For many publishers including Schiffrin, the eighties were a critical period of change during which their ability to publish new ideas seemed to be diminishing steadily. Schiffrin was exposed to this directly during his time at Random House, an experience he details in his publishing memoir The Business of Books. News of corporate mergers and high- profile firings pushed the problems of contemporary publishing into public consciousness, but these problems did not necessarily begin then. Random House, where Schiffrin worked for the first half of his professional life, not only shaped Schiffrin's experience, but also was emblematic of many of the major changes in publishing during the 20" century which he hoped to address at The New Press. Random's operations have spanned nearly eighty years under numerous owners, and spawned at least three different publishing memoirs including Bennett Cerf's At Random, Jason Epstein's The Book Business, and Schiffiin's The Business