Purple Mountain Press, which has served New York's Catskills Mountain region since 1973, is now under the ownership of four locals seeking to revitalize the indie publisher. Brett Barry, Rebecca Rego Barry, Carolyn Bennett, and Lee Hudson took over the press last month.
“Independent publishers are an absolutely crucial link to our regional and natural histories,” said Brett Barry, "and Purple Mountain Press is such an important example of that. I’m excited to be a part of the next incarnation."
The four owners comprise the entirety of the press's staff. Each will work part-time and has a specialization within the new company structure, with Barry overseeing web and orders and fulfillment, Rego Berry handling publicity and marketing, Bennett leading acquisitions and production, and Hudson spearheading design and contracts.
Each owner has publishing experience. Barry is the owner of the production company Silver Hollow Audio, which specializes in audiobooks and podcasts, while Rego Barry worked at Simon & Schuster before earning her masters in book history from Drew University, and later served as longtime editor of Fine Books & Collections magazine. Bennett previously served as a sales service coordinator at Berlitz Publications and production supervisor for Macmillan Book Clubs, and later founded Gull Books, where she published 25 fiction and poetry titles. And Hudson previously served as a reviewer of college textbooks for major publishing houses.
PMP specializes in local and regional books on the natural and cultural history of upstate New York, and has a backlist of more than 100 titles. Under its new owners, the press plans to continue self-distributing its titles to regional bookstores, museum and gift shops, libraries, and individuals, as it has done for decades.
Moving forward, PMP plans to publish two to four titles per year, comprising a combination of new titles and reissues of backlist titles with new art and introductory material. The press will announce its inaugural titles this spring, and has also unveiled a new logo and colophon.
“Purple Mountain Press has brought so much history to so many people. And, of course, it is itself historical,” Carolyn Bennett. “We all look forward to expanding its offerings and providing new works and revived editions of PMP classics.”
