With a story in last Sunday’s (Feb. 26) New York Times about an Amish man charged in a Ponzi scheme that ensnared his own Plain Community; as well as last night’s (Feb. 28) PBS American Experience program on the Amish, publishers of books about the Amish are probably hoping for a boost in sales from media attention (whether positive or negative).
At least one publisher has prepared for that hoped-for result. Michigan State University Press, which last year published Why I Left the Amish by Saloma Furlong—who is featured in the documentary--went back to press for a second time, for a total of 5,000 copies in print.
Said Julie Loehr, editor in chief and assistant director at the press, “We have been pleased with the response to Why I Left the Amish since it came out last year. There has always been a great deal of curiosity about this little-known religious group; the fact that the Amish are being featured on American Experience is certainly proof of the fascination.”
The PBS documentary offered what Loehr called “a rich opportunity for a second round of promotion.” MSU Press hired DeChant-Hughes & Associates, a public relations agency that specializes in religion books, which has been pitching print media and scheduling interviews with Furlong, among them an upcoming taping for NPR/Sirius XM’s Bob Edwards Show. Loehr also said that Furlong continues to receive invitations to speak about her book.
