The New Press

Our History

Over twenty-five years ago, André Schiffrin and Diane Wachtell founded the nation’s first major public interest book publisher. Since then, with numerous successes—from Studs Terkel’s national bestseller Race and John Dower’s Pulitzer Prize-winner Embracing Defeat to James Loewen’s American Book Award-winner Lies My Teacher Told Me and Michelle Alexander’s New York Times-bestseller The New Jim Crow—The New Press has emerged as a thriving independent publisher of books for general readers, on subjects ranging from criminal justice, education, labor, and immigration to racial equity, media reform, economic inequality, gender, and democracy.

We Are:

• A book publisher with a social justice mission
• A home for the nation’s leading progressive thinkers, journalists, scholars, political leaders, and activists
• A publishing house where ideas and movements come together
• A small, diverse organization with a big vision: to change the world, book by book

Our Work:

The New Press functions in most ways like a typical, savvy independent book publisher. Our staff of industry professionals works closely with authors and agents to frame effective concepts, to develop compelling manuscripts, to produce award-winning books, and to conduct effective national media and outreach campaigns around our books and the issues they promote.

Behind the scenes, we are driven by a mission to launch books that serve public goals rather than just the bottom line. Integral to this mission is a set of key objectives:

• The Press has also experimented with innovative formats and designs, including book-and-audio sets, art portfolios, postcard books, poster books, and alternative textbooks.
• Adding diverse voices and critical perspectives to the national conversation
• Supporting cutting-edge, fact-based ideas
• Serving as a platform for progressive organizations whose work has national implications
• Helping movement leaders use their books to leverage attention for the ideas behind their movements
• Valuing our books and according them resources based on their contribution to the intellectual rather than commercial bottom line

Our Model:

The New Press sustains itself primarily through the sales of books, the revenue from which is reinvested back into our not-for-profit mission. Our goal is to publish books that promote understanding and discussion of the issues that affect us all, and to provide ideas and inspiration for the activists, teachers, policy makers, and everyday citizens who are working to refresh American democracy. The New Press has evolved into a key player in the progressive infrastructure, collaborating with hundreds of nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, research institutes, think tanks, colleges and universities, and philanthropic foundations as we position our books as catalysts for social change.

In addition to revenue earned from book sales, The New Press also relies on the support of institutional and individual donors. Our ability to take risks on politically challenging topics, and to invest substantially in new authors, is made possible by the support of a broad range of individuals who believe in the importance of books as transmitters of important ideas, as well as foundations including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Arcus Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, the Overbrook Foundation, the Public Welfare Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and many others.