Independent publisher O/R Books has partnered with the literary magazine Evergreen Review, in a deal which will see O/R distributing content from the magazine via the press's direct-to-consumer model.
The partnership between O/R and Evergreen stems from existing ties between the indie publisher and counterculture quarterly. Evergreen was founded by the late Barney Rosset, who also started Grove Press. O/R's co-publisher, John Oakes, began his publishing career as an assistant editor, under Rosset, at Grove. O/R will also be publishing, after striking a deal with Rosset's estate, Rosset's autobiography, The Subject is Left Handed, in winter 2016.
Oakes was also named an executive director of Evergreen Review Inc., and a publisher, by the company's board.
Evergreen Review was founded in 1957 and, at its height, had a circulation topping 200,000. Over the years its contributors have included an iconic roster of writers, thinkers, revolutionaries and artists, such as William Burroughs, Malcolm X, Samuel Beckett, Susan Sontag and Richard Avedon.
In an announcement about the partnership, Oakes said that Evergreen is being overhauled and will "re-emerge" in roughly six months. "Barney was in the business of upsetting traditional models," Oakes said, "whether they were political, cultural, or social, and so are we. It's an honor to be associated with the Rosset line."
Astrid Myers, Rosset's widow, added that the partnership marks a potential new beginning for the largely dormant publication. "I like to imagine Barney would welcome Evergreen's evolution, and of course its resurrection."
