Many are asking: How will publishing survive this recession? But maybe we should be asking something else: How did publishing survive the Great Depression?
Digital book blogger Mike Cane aggregated a stream of Great Depression research, highlighting some innovative solutions uncovered by publishers during the nation’s worst economic disaster. He quoted one article about The Book League of America: “The famous Board of Editors select[ed] for you 2 books each month: the best new book -AND- one of the greatest classics. The Book League of America supplies[d] these 2 books each month at 1/3 of the usual cost!” Cane wrote: “People were wailing over Dan Brown going for half-off. These were going for 66% off!”
This GalleyCat editor has been obsessed with the topic as well, studying how writers survived the Great Depression and uncovering more about Depression-era publishing.