If books didn’t matter, nobody would try to ban them.
In a nation struggling to cope with polarization, disinformation, acrimony, the power of books-to inform, enlighten, and inspire-is more important than ever. To honor Joyce Meskis, the legendary bookseller who founded Denver’s Tattered Cover and became a champion of First Amendment freedoms, a team including some of today’s leading publishers, booksellers, authors, and free speech activists offers reflections on the vital role of books in our nation’s cultural, civic, social, and economic life.
Why Books Still Matter includes:
U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper on bookselling as a mission-driven form of entrepreneurship-a way of nurturing communities and enriching culture while helping city economies flourish
Freedom of speech activist Chris Finan on a century of battles against censorship and the crucial role of books and booksellers in defending liberty
Book marketing guru Carl Lennertz on how a generation of innovative booksellers transformed the magical process by which authors and readers discover one another
Bookseller Clara Villarosa on creating one of the nation’s greatest Black-owned bookstores-and why representation on the printed page is so important for Americans of every background
Librarians Nick Higgins and Amy Mikel on why they decided to make banned books available to young people from communities across the U.S.-and how they did it
Civil liberties attorney Steve Zansberg on a new way to think about the right to free expression and its vital role in a democratic society
Bookseller Carole Horne on how independent bookstores from Cambridge to Austin to Salt Lake City pioneered the ‘buy local’ movement, glorifying what makes every city and town unique
. . . and other noteworthy figures from the worlds of publishing and bookselling providing unique insights into the glorious past, the embattled present, and the essential future of books. All proceeds will be donated to the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Tabla de materias
Preface: A Champion of the Book
PART ONE-The Ideal Bookseller
1. The Tattered Cover: A Lion in Sheep’s Clothing, by David Emblidge
2. The Saga of a Superstore, by Matthew Miller
3. The Bookseller as Entrepreneur: Joyce Meskis and Her Mission, by John Hickenlooper
4. Heart & Soul-And Mind: Leadership Lessons from a Legendary Bookseller, by Richard Howorth
5. ‘A Black Bookstore and More’: Bringing Ideas, Inspiration, and Involvement to an Underserved Community, by Clara Villarosa
6. The Vital Role of the Bookseller in Our Culture and in Our Communities, by Carole Horne
PART TWO-The Business of Books
7. The Mentorship of an Aspiring Publisher, by Jack Jensen
8. Four Decades of Evolution in the Book Business, by Chuck Robinson
9. Catalyzing a Revolution in Book Marketing, by Carl Lennertz
10. Training the Publishers of Tomorrow, by David R. Godine and Jill Smith
PART THREE-Fights Worth Fighting: Defending Our Freedom to Read
11. Judging a Book, by Joyce Meskis
12. Fighting for the Freedom to Read, 1923-2023, by Christopher M. Finan
13. The Library, the Marketplace, and the Endless Buffet: Rethinking the Governing Metaphor for ‘The
Freedom of Speech, ‘ by Steven D. Zansberg
14. The First Amendment: Standing Our Ground with Joyce, by Betsy Burton
15. Freedom of Expression-Messy, Contentious, Painful, and Essential: One Publisher’s Perspective, by Karl Weber
16. Books Unbanned, by Nick Higgins and Amy Mikel
Acknowledgments
Index
About Joyce Meskis
About the Editor
Sobre el autor
Karl Weber, publisher of Rivertowns Books, is a writer, editor, and book developer with over forty years’ experience in the book publishing industry. He is an expert in general-interest nonfiction publishing, specializing in topics from business and personal finance to politics, current affairs, history, autobiography, self-help, and personal development. Weber has advised and assisted authors in a wide range of nonfiction areas, including, for example, former president Jimmy Carter, author of several New York Times bestsellers, including An Hour Before Daylight (2000), which Weber edited; Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, with whom Weber co-authored the New York Times bestseller Creating a World Without Poverty (2008) and its sequels, Building Social Business (2010) and A World of Three Zeros (2017); and the late Ash Carter, secretary of defense under Barack Obama, whose book Inside the Five-Sided Box (2019) Weber edited. Before founding Rivertowns Books, Weber served as managing director of the Times Business imprint at Random House (1994-1997) and as senior editor and publisher in the trade book division of John Wiley & Sons (1986-1994). Weber is director of the Editing Workshop at the Denver Publishing Institute, a summer program for individuals interested in pursuing or advancing careers in the publishing industry. Weber lives in Irvington, New York, with his wife, Mary-Jo Weber.
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