OR Books
![]() | |
Founded | 2009 |
---|---|
Founder | John Oakes and Colin Robinson |
Country of origin | United States |
Headquarters location | New York City, New York |
Distribution | Consortium Book Sales |
Publication types | Books |
Official website | www |
OR Booksis aNew York City-based independent publishing house founded by John Oakes and Colin Robinson in 2009.[1]The company sells digital andprint-on-demandbooks directly to the customer and focuses on creative promotion through traditional media and the Internet.[2]On its site, OR Books states that it "embraces progressive change in politics, culture and the way we do business."
Not long after its founding in 2009, OR Books became known for publishingGoing Rouge:Sarah Palin,An American Nightmare,a parody of Palin's autobiographyGoing Rogue:An American Life.Going Rougebecame abest-selleras perThe New York Times.Since then, the company has published books byJulian Assange,Moustafa Bayoumi,Medea Benjamin,Patrick Cockburn,Sue Coe,Simon Critchley,Lisa Dierbeck,Ariel Dorfman,Norman Finkelstein,Laura Flanders,Chris Lehmann,Gordon Lish,Bill McKibben,Eileen Myles,Yoko Ono,Barney Rosset,Douglas Rushkoff,Elissa Shevinsky,Burhan Sönmez,Jeanne Thornton,Slavoj Žižek,and others.
Founders
[edit]According to OR's website, John Oakes co-founded the publishing companyFour Walls Eight Windowsand was subsequently publisher ofThunder's Mouth Pressand co-publisher ofNation Books.He is publisher of theEvergreen Review.Colin Robinson, a former senior editor atScribner,was previously managing director ofVerso Booksand publisher ofThe New Press.
Joint ventures
[edit]In September 2010, OR Books announced a partnership with a writers' collective known as Mischief & Mayhem, whose members includeDale Peck,Lisa Dierbeck,Joshua Furst,DW Gibson,andChoire Sicha.[3]
In what the industry newsblogShelf Awarenesstermed a "very significant...move,"St. Mark’s Bookshopand OR Books announced a joint venture to enable the store’s customers to buy select books on OR’s list from the bookstore’s website.[4][5]
In April 2016, OR Books acquired UK publishing companySerif,following the death in 2015 of its founder Stephen Hayward, a former associate of Robinson's.[6][7][8][9]
In May 2016, OR Books andCounterpoint Pressannounced a partnership whereby Counterpoint would put several OR titles into stores.[10]
References
[edit]- ^"Betting on e-books".Crain's New York Businesson the founding of OR Books, July 12, 2009.
- ^"Oakes ’83 connects readers directly to a publisher",Princeton Alumni Weekly,March 2, 2011.
- ^Leon Neyfakh,"Dale Peck, Choire Sicha and Friends Start a Book Publishing Collective; First Title Out Next Month",New York Observer,September 10, 2010.
- ^"St. Mark's/OR Alliance",Shelf Awareness.
- ^Teicher, Craig Morgan (December 7, 2010)."OR Books Partners with St. Mark's Bookshop for E-Book Distribution".Publishers Weekly.RetrievedJuly 14,2014.
- ^"Press Release: New York-Based OR Books Acquires Serif Books",BookBusiness,April 11, 2016.
- ^"Welcome to OR Books".
- ^Calvin Reid,"OR Books Acquires U.K.'s Serif Books",Publishers Weekly,April 14, 2016.
- ^"OR Books Acquires Serif Books",Shelf Awareness,April 15, 2016.
- ^"Counterpoint, OR Books Partner on New Fall List",Publishers Weekly,May 5, 2016.
External links
[edit]- Company site
- OR Bookson Facebook.
- John Oakes,"Disintermediating Amazon",Publishers Weekly,May 18, 2012.
- Colin Robinson,"The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Reader",The New York Times,January 4, 2014.
- Mischief + Mayhem
- Kat Meyer,"TOC Evolvers: OR Books",August 7, 2010. Interview with John Oakes on O'Reilly Media's TOC (Tools of Change for Publishing).
- Publishers Weeklydiscusses OR Books in its 2010 roundup,January 3, 2011.
- Jim Barnes,"Indie Groundbreaking Publisher: OR Books — A Brave New Publishing Model",Independent Publisherarticle about the success ofGoing Rouge.
- Interview with Colin Robinson on NPR's On the Media
- Chad W. Post,"OR Books Preaches Elegant Direct Model",Publishing Perspectives,October 6, 2010.
- "Words & Music Festival 2011 featured fireworks, and a little sadness",Nola, November 15, 2011 (showdown between OR co-publisher John Oakes and Random House editor).
- Dennis Sweeney,"Interview with Colin Robinson, Co-Founder, OR Books",Entropy Magazine,January 2014.