Beacon Press
Parent company Unitarian Universalist Association | | |
Founded | 1854 | |
---|---|---|
Country of origin | United States | |
Headquarters location | Boston | |
Distribution | Penguin Random House Publisher Services (worldwide) Publishers Group UK (UK)[1] | |
Key people | Gayatri Patnaik, director | |
Official website | www |
Beacon Press is an American
History
The history of Beacon Press actually begins in 1825, the year the American Unitarian Association (AUA) was formed. This liberal religious movement had the enlightened notion to publish and distribute books and tracts that would spread the word of their beliefs not only about theology but also about society and justice.
The early years: 1854–1900
In the Press of the American Unitarian Association (as Beacon was called then) purchased and published works that were largely religious in nature and "conservative Unitarian" in viewpoint (far more progressive, nonetheless, than many other denominations). The authors were often Unitarian ministers—dead or alive, American or British, mostly Caucasian, and far more male than female. Many of the books were collections of sermons, lectures, and letters, balanced by volumes of devotion, hymns, and morally uplifting tales.
New century, new mission: 1900–1945
In the early 1900s Samuel Eliot broadened the mission of the press by publishing books dealing with ethical, sociological, philanthropic, and similar subjects, as well as those of a more strictly religious character.... Although books of marked theology and religious note continued to have a predominant place in Association publication, the wide interest in all subjects relating to social and moral betterment were included and the evergrowing topics of war and peace and arbitration, or national amity and racial brotherhood were represented
The modern era: 1945–
Under director Gobin Stair (1962–75), new authors included James Baldwin, Kenneth Clark, André Gorz, Herbert Marcuse, Jürgen Habermas, Howard Zinn, Ben Bagdikian, Mary Daly, and Jean Baker Miller. Wendy Strothman became Beacon's director in 1983; she set up the organization's first advisory board, a group of scholars and publishing professionals who advised on book choices and direction. She turned a budget deficit into a surplus. In 1995, her last year at Beacon, Strothman summarized the Press's mission: "We at Beacon publish the books we choose because they share a moral vision and a sense that greater understanding can influence the course of events. They are books we believe in."[4] Strothman was replaced by Helene Atwan in 1995.
In 1971, it published the "
Beacon Press seeks to publish works that "affirm and promote" several principles:
the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equity and compassion in human relations; acceptance of one another; a free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process in society; the goal of the world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; respect for the interdependent web of all existence; and the importance of literature and the arts in democratic life.
Beacon Press is a member of the Association of University Presses.[6][7]
Books and authors
Beacon Press publishes non-fiction, fiction, and poetry titles. Some of Beacon's best-known titles are listed below.
Book series
The following is a list of some of the principal series; it is not comprehensive.
- Beacon Paperbacks[31][32]
- The Beacon Press Schweitzer Series[33][34]
- Beacon Reference Series[35]
- Beacon Series in Liberal Religion[36][37][38]
- Beacon Studies in Freedom and Power[39]
- Beacon Studies in Soviet Tyranny and Power[40]
- Beacon Wit and Wisdom Series[41]
- Black Women Writers Series[42]
- Bluestreak: A Paperback Series of Innovative Literary Writing, Featuring Works by Women of Color[43]
- Celebrating Black Women Writers[44]
- Concord Library[45]
- The New Beacon Series[46]
- A Seventies Press Book[47]
- True American Types[48]
- Why I Am[49][50]
The King Legacy (series)
In 2009, Beacon Press announced a new partnership with the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. for a new book series publishing program, "The King Legacy."[51] As part of the program, Beacon is printing new editions of previously published King titles and compiling Dr. King's writings, sermons, orations, lectures, and prayers into entirely new editions, including new introductions by leading scholars.
Beacon Broadside
Beacon Press launched its blog, Beacon Broadside, in late September 2007.[52]
Awards
In 1992, Beacon won a New England Book Award for publishing.[53] In 1993, Beacon was voted "Trade Publisher of the Year" by the Literary Market Place.[54]
See also
- List of English-language book publishing companies
- List of university presses
- Skinner House Books, another book publisher of the UUA, specializing in books for Unitarian Universalists
References
- ^ Publishers Group UK – Publishers
- ISBN 978-0-313-34766-5.
Among left-wing publishers have been stalwarts like Beacon Press
- ^ "Beacon Press Celebrates 150 Years of Publishing". UU World: The Magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association. September–October 2004. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
- ^ Wilson, (2004), p. 209.
- ^ "UUA: The Pentagon Papers Then and Now: Unitarian Universalists Confronting Government Secrecy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
- ^ "Our Members". Association of University Presses. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
- ^ "Association of American University Presses Membership Directory". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
- ^ Blanshard, Paul (1948). American Freedom and Catholic Power. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Revised 2nd edition 1958.
- ^ Blanshard, Paul. American freedom and Catholic power. Boston: Beacon Press. Second Edition, January 1, 1958
- ISBN 9781608462995.
- ISBN 978-0807015599
- ISBN 978-0-8070-0067-0
- ISBN 9781021287397.
- )
- ISBN 978-0-8070-6431-3.
- ISBN 978-080702909-1.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-1413-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-1417-2.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-0423-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-3113-1.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-0972-7.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-6878-6.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-6897-7.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-0235-3.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-1429-5.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-7273-8.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-7213-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-4424-7.
- ISBN 9780807047422
- ISBN 9780807076910
- ^ Beacon Paperback, librarything.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Quality Paperback Series: Beacon Paperbacks, qpbseries.com. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ The Beacon Press Schweitzer Series, worldcat.org. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Albert Schweitzer, Goethe: Four Studies, Boston: The Beacon Press, 1949 (The Beacon Press Schweitzer Series), archive.org. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ se:Beacon Reference Series, worldcat.org. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ se:Beacon Series in Liberal Religion, worldcat.org. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ New Editions and Reprints", The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 26, No. 3 (Aug., 1960), p. 428. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Quality Paperback Series: Beacon Series in Liberal Religion, qpbseries.com. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Beacon Studies in Freedom and Power (The Beacon Press) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Beacon Studies in Soviet Tyranny and Power (The Beacon Press) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ se:Beacon Press Wit and Wisdom Series, worldcat.org. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ Black women writers series, worldcat.org. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Bluestreak: a paperback series of innovative literary writing, featuring works by women of color, worldcat.org. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ se:Celebrating Black Women Writers, worldcat.org. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ Concord Library + Beacon, worldcat.org. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ The New Beacon Series, worldcat.org. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Seventies Press Book + Beacon, worldcat.org. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ se:True American Types, worldcat.org. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ Why I Am + Beacon, worldcat.org. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ (Back Matter: Beacon Press display advertisement), in: The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 9, No. 3, September 1965. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ "Beacon Press to reissue Martin Luther King Jr.'s books". UU World Blog. June 1, 2009.
- ^ Philocrites: Beacon Press launches 'Beacon Broadside' blog
- ^ "New England Book Awards". Archived from the original on 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
- ^ History and Mission
Further reading
- Wilson, Susan. "Beacon's Modern Era: 1945–2003," Journal of Scholarly Publishing (2004) 35#4 pp. 200–209 online
External links
- Beacon Press's Home Page
- Democracy Now! Special: "How the Pentagon Papers Came to Be Published by the Beacon Press: Mike Gravel, Daniel Ellsberg, and Robert West (audio/video and transcript)