OR Books
Encyclopedia
OR Books is a New York-based independent publishing house founded by two veterans of the publishing industry, John Oakes and Colin Robinson, in 2009. The company, a "digital upstart", claims to offer a revolutionary approach to publishing by printing on demand, selling directly to the customer, and focusing on creative promotion through traditional media and the internet. It generally does not sell its books through stores or wholesalers: it "sells directly to customers who order from the OR Books website, eliminating unsold inventory, doing away with deep discounts to retailers, and sharing more of the profit with authors. Customers may order print copies or digital versions; OR Books prints and delivers copies only when they are ordered."
On its site, OR Books states that it "embraces progressive change in politics, culture and the way we do business." By selling directly to the reader, and avoiding large discount chains, it says substantial resources are made available for marketing and promotion. "...At OR Books, our calculation is that, for the amount of money we would have to give Amazon, we can do a better job finding customers ourselves. We know who our audience is, we share their interests, we visit the same websites and read the same writers," wrote company co-founder Robinson.
OR Books is best known for publishing Going Rouge, a parody of the Sarah Palin
biography, which went on to become a New York Times Best Seller in 2009. Since then they have published books by Norman Finkelstein
, Gordon Lish
, Moustafa Bayoumi
, Bill McKibben
, Eileen Myles
, Douglas Rushkoff
, Laura Flanders
, Chris Lehmann, and Lisa Dierbeck.
. When his company was purchased by the Avalon Publishing Group, he became publisher of Thunder’s Mouth Press, co-publisher of Nation Books, and vice president of Avalon. Colin Robinson, a former senior editor at Scribner
, was previously managing director of Verso Books
and publisher of The New Press
.
, Lisa Dierbeck, Joshua Furst
, DW Gibson, and Choire Sicha.
In what the industry newsblog "Shelf Awareness" termed a "very significant...move," St. Mark’s Bookshop and 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.
On its site, OR Books states that it "embraces progressive change in politics, culture and the way we do business." By selling directly to the reader, and avoiding large discount chains, it says substantial resources are made available for marketing and promotion. "...At OR Books, our calculation is that, for the amount of money we would have to give Amazon, we can do a better job finding customers ourselves. We know who our audience is, we share their interests, we visit the same websites and read the same writers," wrote company co-founder Robinson.
OR Books is best known for publishing Going Rouge, a parody of the Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
biography, which went on to become a New York Times Best Seller in 2009. Since then they have published books by Norman Finkelstein
Norman Finkelstein
Norman Gary Finkelstein is an American political scientist, activist and author. His primary fields of research are the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the politics of the Holocaust. He is a graduate of Binghamton University and received his Ph.D in Political Science from Princeton University...
, Gordon Lish
Gordon Lish
Gordon Jay Lish is an American writer. As a literary editor, he championed many American authors, particularly Raymond Carver, Barry Hannah, Amy Hempel, and Richard Ford.-Early life and family:...
, Moustafa Bayoumi
Moustafa Bayoumi
Moustafa Bayoumi is an award-winning writer, and associate professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. Born in Zürich, Switzerland, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, he currently lives in Brooklyn....
, Bill McKibben
Bill McKibben
William Ernest "Bill" McKibben is an American environmentalist, author, and journalist who has written extensively on the impact of global warming. He is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College...
, Eileen Myles
Eileen Myles
Eileen Myles is an American poet who has also worked in fiction, non-fiction, and theater.She won a 2010 Shelley Memorial Award.-Early life and career:...
, Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture, and his advocacy of open source solutions to social problems.Rushkoff is most frequently regarded as a media...
, Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders is a British-American journalist who presents the current events show GRITtv, broadcast weekdays on Link and Free Speech TV....
, Chris Lehmann, and Lisa Dierbeck.
Founders
According to OR's website, John Oakes co-founded the publishing company Four Walls Eight WindowsFour Walls Eight Windows
Four Walls Eight Windows was an independent book publisher in New York City. Its debut occurred in the fall of 1987, under the direction of two young editors, John G. H. Oakes and Daniel Simon. In 1995, Oakes and Simon parted ways...
. When his company was purchased by the Avalon Publishing Group, he became publisher of Thunder’s Mouth Press, co-publisher of Nation Books, and vice president of Avalon. Colin Robinson, a former senior editor at Scribner
Scribner
-Media:* Charles Scribner's Sons, also known as Scribner, New York City publisher* Scribner's Magazine, pictorial published from 1887–1939 by Charles Scribner's Sons, then merged with the Commentator which continued until 1942...
, was previously managing director of Verso Books
Verso Books
Verso Books is a publishing house based in London and New York City, founded in 1970 by the staff of New Left Review. The company claims "global sales approaching $3 million per year and over 350 titles in print," possibly making it "the largest radical publisher in the English-language...
and publisher of The New Press
The New Press
The New Press is a not-for-profit, United States-based publishing house that operates in the public interest. It was established in 1990 as an alternative to large commercial publishers, and is supported financially by various foundations, groups and corporations including the Ford Foundation, the...
.
Joint ventures
In September 2010, OR Books announced a partnership with a writers' collective known as Mischief & Mayhem, whose members include Dale PeckDale Peck
Dale Peck is an American novelist, critic, and columnist. His 2009 novel, Sprout, won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children's/Young Adult literature, and was a finalist for the Stonewall Book Award in the Children's and Young Adult Literature category.-Biography:Peck was raised in Kansas,...
, Lisa Dierbeck, Joshua Furst
Joshua Furst
Joshua Furst is the writer of the short story collection Short People and the novel Sabotage Cafe. He teaches writing and playwriting at Pratt Institute and Eugene Lang College.-References:...
, DW Gibson, and Choire Sicha.
In what the industry newsblog "Shelf Awareness" termed a "very significant...move," St. Mark’s Bookshop and 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.
External links
- Company site
- Mischief + Mayhem
- Interview with John Oakes on O'Reilly Media's "Tools of Change for Publishing"
- Publishers Weekly discusses OR Books in its 2010 roundup
- "Independent Publisher" article about the success of Going Rouge
- Interview with Colin Robinson on NPR's On the Media
- "Publishing Perspectives": "OR Books Preaches Elegant Direct Model"
- "Words & Music Festival 2011" featured showdown between OR co-publisher John Oakes and Random House editor