Book (magazine)
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| Frequency | Bi-Monthly |
|---|---|
| First issue | October/November 1998 |
| Final issue | November/December 2003 |
| Company | West Egg Communications, LLC |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Book Magazine was an American bi-monthly literary-oriented entertainment and popular culture magazine that was founded in 1998 by Mark Gleason and Jerome Kramer and published by West Egg Communications. In November 2000, bookseller Barnes & Noble invested slightly more than $4.2 million for a 50 percent share in the company,[1] after which the magazine operated as a partnership. Thirty-one issues were published through the end of 2003, when the magazine ceased operations.[2] During the entire run, Gleason served as Book's publisher and president and Kramer as its editor-in-chief.[3]
Founding and Description
Editorial and production offices were originally in Chicago, with business operations running out of Summit, NJ; in 2000, the magazine relocated to Manhattan, after Book forged a strategic partnership with bookseller Barnes & Noble. This partnership established it as a pioneer in the development of partnership circulation programs, and led Book toward a paid circulation in excess of 1 million at the height of the partnership.[4] However, by March, 2003, Book and Barnes & Noble had restructured the partnership to cut costs and integrate the magazine more closely with the chain, according to The New York Times. At that time, the rate base was reduced to 150,000 from 750,000.[1] By the end of 2003, according to an article by Micheal Miner in The Chicago Reader, Kramer and Gleason met with Barnes & Noble's chairman of the board and the chief financial officer and agreed to end the venture.[2]
During its heyday, Kramer described the magazine to MediaBistro as "the Rolling Stone--not the Billboard--of the book industry," saying that most of the magazine's readers are "well-educated, affluent people over the age of 30 who consider books to be an important part of their lives." [3] Senior editor Adam Langer said, "We don't print features about writers simply because they write....They have to be interesting, dynamic people who are as engaging as their work.".[3] Book offered features (such as "Anita Shreve's Secret Passions" and "Hype! Hype! Hype! Wild Publicity Stunts" [1]) news and reviews about books, authors, literacy and aspects of entertainment, politics and popular culture that connected with those areas. Cover subjects included Tom Wolfe, T.C. Boyle, Frank McCourt, Nicole Kidman, J.K. Rowling, Ethan Hawke,[5] Sebastian Junger and Toni Morrison. Book frequently featured "Best" features, such as "The 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900," which ran in the March/April 2002 issue and named Jay Gatsby, from F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", as the No. 1 character.;[6] and "20 Books That Changed America,”,[7] which ran in July/August 2003.
Cover subjects
- Issue No. 1, October/November 1998: Tom Wolfe
- Issue No. 2: T.C. Boyle
- Issue No. 18: September/October 2001 Sebastian Junger;
- Issue No. 19: November/December 2001 Jimmy Carter;
- Issue No. 20: January/February 2002 Newcomers;
- Issue No. 21: March/April 2002 Nora Roberts;
- Issue No. 22: May/June 2002Jean Auel;
- Issue No. 23: July/August 2002 Ethan Hawke;
- Issue No. 24: September/October 2002 Peter Jennings;
- Issue No. 25: November/December 2002 Donna Tartt;
- Issue No. 26: January/February 2003Alice Sebold
- Issue No. 27: March/April 2003James Patterson;
- Issue No. 28: May/June 2003J.K. Rowling;
- Issue No. 29: July/August 2003Stephen King;
- Issue No. 30: September/October 2003Nicole Kidman;
- Issue No. 31: November/December 2003 Toni Morrison
- Issue numbers unknown: Frank McCourt; "Political Writing"; J.K. Rowling (first instance); Kaye Gibbons; Arundhati Roy; Steve Martin; John Grisham; John Irving; John Updike; "Teen Reads"
Staff and Contributors
Staff of Book Magazine included: Mark Gleason, Publisher, President and CEO; Jerome Kramer, Editor in Chief; Adam Langer, Senior Editor; Eric Wetzel, News Editor; Elaine Szewczyk, Assistant Editor; Marla Abramson, Assistant Editor; Anna Weinberg, Associate Editor; Nathan Misner, Marketing Director; Eric De Picciotto, Marketing Director; Anne Gleason, Marketing; Kristin Kloberdanz, Senior Editor; Jesse Oxfeld, News Editor; Andrew Hearst, Managing Editor; Bill McGarvey, Managing Editor; Joe Carone, Chief Financial Officer; Mark Sorkin, Copy Editor; Timothy W. Jones, Art Director; Lila Garnett, Photo Editor; Keith Pact, Production Manager; Ann B. Stephenson, Assistant Marketing Manager; Ung Lee, Marketing Assistant; Rachel Klingberg, Web Developer; Paul Carlos, Art Director; Steven McClenning, Art Director; Kiki Paris, Sales Director; Kelli Daley, Production Manager; Hugh McCormick, Sales Director; Jennifer Clarson, Assistant Editor; Jen Gruber, Art; Peter Duhamel; Jeremy Wortsman, Associate Art Director; Thomas Keeton, Assistant Art Director; Christina Fallara, Assistant Photo Editor; Donna Reale, Assistant to the Publisher; Rachel Schiller, Intern; Terrell Johnson, Intern (art); Lolita Verny, Intern (marketing); Leland Farnsworth, Business Manager; Daphne Matalene, Account Executive; Bruce Whitten, Account Executive; Bill Elstrom, Copy Editor.
Notable contributors to Book included writers Anthony DeCurtis, D.T. Max, and Stephen King; and the photographer Platon, who shot portraits of Jimmy Carter for the magazine.
References
- ^ a b c Goldstein, Bill (March 17, 2003). "MEDIA; Barnes & Noble and Book Magazine Try a New Tack". The New York Times. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ a b Miner, Michael (November 13, 2003). "Your Opinion or Your Life!/Closed Book/Olympian Task/Kup's Game". Chicago Reader. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ a b c Beland, Nicole (September 19, 2002). "How To Pitch: Book Magazine". Media Bistro. Retrieved May 11, 2001.
- ^ http://www.whatsnext.com/content/who-we-are/
- ^ Kramer, Jerome (July 2002). "Meet The Writer: Ethan Hawke". Retrieved May 11, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Text "Barnes & Noble" ignored (help) - ^ "100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900". NPR. Book Magazine. March 2002. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ “20 Books That Changed America,” Book, July—August, 2003, 58—61.