Beacon Press is an American non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
History
Under director Gobin Stair (1962-1975), 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." Strothman was replaced by Helene Atwan in 1995.
In 1971, it published the "Senator Gravel edition" of The Pentagon Papers for the first time in book form, when no other publisher was willing to risk publishing such controversial material. Robert West, then-president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, approved the decision to publish the The Pentagon Papers, which West claims resulted in two-and-a-half years of harassment and intimidation by the Nixon administration. In Gravel v. United States, the Supreme Court decided that the Constitution's "Speech or Debate Clause" protected Gravel and some acts of his aide, but not Beacon Press.
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 American University Presses.
Beacon Press publishes non-fiction, fiction, and poetry titles. Some of Beacon's most recent and well-known titles are listed below.
The King Legacy Series
In 2009, Beacon Press announced a new partnership with the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. for a new publishing program, "The King Legacy." As part of the program, Beacon is printing new editions of previously published King titles and compile 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.
ArrayAwards
In 1992, Beacon won a New England Book Award for publishing. In 1993, Beacon was voted "Trade Publisher of the Year" by the Literary Market Place.
ArraySee also
- Skinner House Books, another book publisher of the UUA, specializing in books for Unitarian Universalists
References
ArrayFurther 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
- Beacon Broadside - a project of Beacon Press
- 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)
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