The Golden Notebook in Woodstock, N.Y., is launching a publishing program called Golden Notebook Press, Hudson Valley 1 reported. The imprint's debut title, Abigail Thomas's memoir Still Life at 80: The Next Interesting Thing, is scheduled for publication in January 2023, with Publishers Group West signed on to distribute.
Co-owner James Conrad explained that although Thomas has worked with Houghton Mifflin and Scribner in the past, she didn't want her memoir to be "one of hundreds" of titles at a big house that could get "lost in the shuffle." With Golden Notebook, he continued, "we know our customers, we know what sells and we can launch a book. It can grow from there."
In addition to Still Life at 80, Golden Notebook Press has four more titles in the works: a memoir by Mary Giuliani called How to Lose Friends and Influence No One; a new mystery series from writer Greg Herron; a book about a chapter in Woodstock's music history; and, planned for late 2023, a gift book focused on Woodstock locals.
Conrad and Golden Notebook co-owner Jackie Kellachan have been thinking about starting their own publisher for the past several years. It started with a local bestseller called Small Town Talk, about Woodstock's music scene in the 1950s and '60s. They worried about it going out of print, and have also been concerned about other local favorites such as guidebooks and books about the town's history.
"There is such great writing talent here," Conrad told Hudson Valley 1. "If a customer asks for a book that doesn't exist, we can ask, 'who in this area could write it?', and then we can develop it. And we can go at our own pace."