In a long essay about lack of independent press reviews in the mainstream media, Permanent Press co-publisher Martin Shepard (pictured) broke down the NY Times’ book critics’ favorite books of 2009 lists–exposing how eight major publishers completely dominated the three critics’ favorites.
Here’s the complete breakdown, from the post: “Random House published 10 favorites from among these imprints: four from Knopf, and one each from Ballantine, Crown, Dial, Doubleday, Pantheon, and Vintage. Hachette had five: four from Little Brown and one from their Twelve imprints. Macmillan had five: three from their Farrar Straus & Giroux imprint and one each from St. Martin’s Press and Metropolitan Books imprints. Penguin had five, three from Penguin and two from Viking. Simon & Schuster had two, both from their Scribner imprint Harper Collins had one from their Harper imprint. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt had one under their own imprint Perseus had one, from their Basic Books imprint.”
The essay also offered tips for finding more diverse books coverage, urging readers to write the NY Times about its focus on conglomerate publishers. Recent Permanent Press titles have included “Baby Jesus Pawn Shop” by Lucia Orth and “The Night Battles” by M.F. Bloxam. (Via Ron Charles)