Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company that Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Shoemaker & Hoard, and Soft Skull Press. The company published books under both the Counterpoint Press and Soft Skull Press imprints. Counterpoint also entered into an agreement for the production, marketing, and distribution of approximately eight Sierra Club book titles each year.
| Founded | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Successor | Catapult |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Berkeley, California |
| Distribution | PenguinRandomHouse |
| Key people | Charlie Winton, CEO Jack Shoemaker, Vice President, Editorial director Richard Nash, Executive Editor |
| Imprints | Counterpoint Press, Soft Skull Press, Sierra Club/Counterpoint |
| Official website | counterpointpress |
Both Wendell Berry and poet Gary Snyder were investors in Counterpoint, with both having works published by the imprint. Jack Shoemaker, Vice-president and editorial director of Counterpoint, had worked with both authors in other companies for more than thirty years. Counterpoint notably published works by Albanian author Ismail Kadare, including A Girl in Exile, The Traitor’s Niche, and The Doll: A Portrait of My Mother.[1]
Counterpoint merged into fellow publisher Catapult in 2016.[2]
Soft Skull Press
| Parent company | Catapult, funded and co-founded by Elizabeth Koch |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder | Sander Hicks |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City |
| Distribution | PenguinRandomHouse |
| Key people | Yuka Igarashi, editor |
| Nonfiction topics | Alternative culture, LGBTQ literature |
| Imprints | Red Rattle Books |
| Official website | softskull |
Soft Skull Press is an independent book publisher founded by Sander Hicks in 1992, and run by Yuka Igarashi since 2017.[3]
In 2007, Richard Nash, who had taken Soft Skull over from Hicks in 2001, sold the publisher to Counterpoint, who closed Soft Skull's New York operation in 2010.[4][5]
Counterpoint merged with fellow publisher Catapult in 2016. Subsequently, Soft Skull reopened its New York office with Yuka Igarashi as editor-in-chief,[6] and began to reissue backlist books. These included The Amputee's Guide to Sex by Jillian Weise, Something Bright, Then Holes by Maggie Nelson, and Wayne Koestenbaum's 2004 novel, Moira Orfei in Aigues-Mortes under the new title, Circus..[7] The publisher has since acquired and published new works.
References
Bibliography
- Fost, Dan (2002-12-12). "Jack Shoemaker starts new book venture: Loyal authors follow him to division of Avalon Publishing". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- Italie, Hillel (2007-05-10). "Publisher Perseus Announces Layoffs". Fox News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- Jain, Priya (2007-06-21). "The struggle for independents". Salon.com. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- Kinsella, Bridget (2007-05-10). "Winton, Shoemaker & Co. Buys Counterpoint". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- Kinsella, Bridget (2007-05-16). "Winton Buys Soft Skull Press". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- Kinsella, Bridget (2007-08-16). "Counterpoint, Sierra Club Team Up". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2016-01-22. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- Maher, John (2016-05-16). "Counterpoint, OR Books Partner on New Fall List". Publishers Weekly.