International Publishers Marketing (IPM – www.internationalpubmarket.com) out of Sterling, VA has bulked up its distribution offerings for Fall 2008. Dicmar Publishing is from Washington, D.C. and is known locally as the publisher of the lavish book, The Willard Hotel: An Illustrated History, by Richard Wallace Carr and Marie Pinak Carr, a husband and wife team. The Carr’s new project is Prepared Parent’s Operational Manuel: Sending Your Kids to College, where Marie writes this book with her three children, Katherine, Ann and Elizabeth. The book provides comprehensive information for parents getting ready to send their kids off to college. The series is going to expand with college-specific guides in a standardized format: -- guides to Boston University, Texas A&M University, Emory University, and Georgetown University. It’s my understanding that the Carr’s have first-hand experience sending their own kids to these schools.
Garnet Publishing is from England and they specialize in books about the Arab world. They are new to the US market, and they have a surprising depth of offerings. They have two books on Iran: -- Transit Tehran: Young Iran and Its Inspirations, edited by Malu Halasa and Mazier Bahari serves as an introduction to the vibrant artistic and cultural scene in the city: -- the anthology includes fiction, essays, journalism, photography, and rap lyrics. An Eye for Iran is by Kazem Hakimi, a photographer from Shiraz who relocated to London in 1974. This book of photographs is based on a visit he made to the cities of Isfahan, Shiraz, and Mashad in 2004. He documents the immediacy of movements from an Iranian way of life that could be lost forever.
Strokes International is a publisher of language study set that includes DVDs, audio CDs and CD ROMs, all in a high-quality slipcase package. The languages are German, Italian, Spanish, French, Chinese and Arabic. The product were developed by international language experts and are made for self-learners.
Double Storey is a South African publisher that is new to the US market. They have a beautiful book called African Trees: A Photographic Exploration, by Charles Bryant and Brita Lomba. The book is oversize and features gorgeous color photographs that feature trees not as disembodied objects but as living, breathing organisms located in exotic environments and locations throughout Africa. Another book that looks interesting is Spit or Swallow: A Guide for the Wine Virgin, by Jenny Ratciffe-Wright. This is an offbeat look at the mystique of wine and a guide to drinking and appreciating it for fun and pleasure. Wright-Ratcliffe was born into the wine industry, and her mother, Norma Ratcliffe, has the distinction of being South Africa’s first female wine maker.
30 ˚ South Publishers is also from South Africa and they publish a wide variety of books on South African culture, history, memoirs and travel. Manzovo: Place of the Elephants is by Gary Albyn and Craig Bone, a noted wildlife artist. There is a 110 verse poem that is illustrated with Bone’s breathtaking paintings, and it also includes a DVD of the recited poem by John Whiteley, a South African Shakespearean actor. This looks like quite a beautiful package. There are guidebooks to Swaziland, by David Fleminger and The Whale Trial, by Allan Davie, a guide to whale watching in South Africa. Both these books are 4 x 7 with color photographs, and 176 pages, and appear to be solid travel books.
IPM always seems to have intriguing books from its staple of client publishers. There is an early novel by Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfouz, published by the American University Press in Cairo. AUC Press is Mahfouz’s primary publisher, and this book, Khan Al-Khalili, is translated from the Arabic by Tony Allen, It is billed as a modern Arabic novel, and it is set during the Second World War in Cairo’s bustling, historic KhanAl-Khalili neighborhood. A middle-class family, the Akifs, seek refuge from the ravages of war in the crowded alleyways, busy cafes, and ancient mosques of the Khan, feeling sure the German forces will never bomb such a famously religious part of the city. The story is a family saga played out against a deeply textured portrait of sights, sounds, smells and flavors of the city. This is an engaging and sensitive portrayal of a family at the crossroads of the old world and the new, as only Mafhouz could write it. .
Twilight Visions in Egypt’s Nile Delta, by Ann Parker is a collection of haunting duotone photographs of rural village in Egypt, all taken from the same vantage point. This is Parker’s second book on Egypt; the first one was an award-winning book from Smithsonian Institution Press in 1997, Hajj Paintings: Folk Art of the Great Pilgrimage. In the same way that Parker documented paintings from the Hajj that were painted on outside walls that were ultimately temporary and soon to be lost forever, she captures everyday events in a Nile Delta village crossroads where she patiently sits and waits for what photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson has called “the decisive moment” on the road in front of her, framed by two trees and curtained by hanging branches at sunset. Parker has succeeded in documenting the remains of a rich traditional village lifestyle, and the result is an extraordinary collection of one hundred sepia-toned images filled with the comings and goings of a procession of the village’s people, animals and vehicles.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my friend Jean Riescher Westcott’s new book she is publishing with her husband Sean Westcott, called Digitally Daunted: The Consumer’s Guide to Taking Control of the Technology in Your Life. Capitol Books in Washington, D.C. is the publisher here, and Jean is on staff at IPM. The book is a consumer’s guide par excellence, and is filled with practical information to help educate everyday folks about choosing, using, and maintaining a whole host of gadgets and gizmos. For those of us who are “daunted by specs,” this is a stress-free way to get the most out of technology ranging from computers, phone systems, televisions, cameras, and more.
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