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Fulcrum Sees Stars
Two years after launching its Speakers Corner Books series of little paperback books on big political and cultural issues, Golden, Colo.—based Fulcrum Publishing continues to target more nationally recognized writers. It recently signed singer-songwriter Willie Nelson, environmentalist and television creator/producer Laurie David and Anita Thompson, widow of Hunter S. Thompson, to write books.
The short, small format books are like "extended op-ed pieces," said Sam Scinta, Fulcrum's associate publisher. David's Stop the Heat: Taking Action on Global Warming (with a foreword by husband Larry David and afterword by Robert Kennedy) and Thompson's as yet untitled book about her husband's legacy are both slated for the fall; Nelson's, tentatively titled On the (Clean) Road Again: An Essay on Biodiesel, is set for release next spring. (Nelson strongly advocates a vegetable/petroleum mix as fuel and owns 14 "Bio Willie" gas stations.)
Speakers Corner Books offers authors a chance to explore a subject with some depth but without the time commitment of a full-length book. "We're offering them a product that makes a lot of sense for them in terms of writing," said Scinta. "The people we are working with are doing other things and this book just fits in with their schedules."
—Bridget Kinsella
Lake Portraits Attract Redford
Elizabeth Carmel is a photographer based in California's Sierra Mountains, near Lake Tahoe. Her new book, Brilliant Waters: Portraits of Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and the Sierra Mountains, comprising 44 four-color plates, has a glowing foreword by legendary actor and environmentalist Robert Redford. "It's the six degrees of separation rule—a friend of a friend of a friend printed out a version of the book and Bob liked what he saw," Carmel says of getting a splash of Sundance. Profits from the book will be donated to several environmental groups and to a local land trust organization, according to Carmel. "That's why I self-published it." The book, which sells for $50, is published by Carmel's Hawks Peak company, and is distributed by Graphic Arts Publishing, a Portland, Ore., publisher/distributor. It is due out in July.
