Storey Publishing Marks Anniversary with Country Fair
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| Storey Publishing's first title, 'The Joy of Gardening,' has sold nearly a million copies. |
For 25 years, people have been turning to Storey Publishing to learn the joys of country living, crafting and gardening. Long before "do-it-yourself" became fashionable, the "how-to" company was turning out reams of titles by experts in their fields, most from right here in New England.
What started out as a gardening brochure for Rototiller has grown into a line of books and bulletins covering everything from canning to quilting to equine tail dressing. It's also grown beyond its country roots to ecompass better living, environmental concerns and other contemporary issues.
"We speak to the way people live right now," said Amy Greenam, publicity director for Storey. That includes new guides to home study, memoirs and personal care.
At the root of Storey's popular line of how-to books is the concept of independent living — whether that means growing your own vegetables or preparing for disaster. Americans are in the midst of a new wave of doing-it-for-themselves and Storey has grown along with it, seeing double-digit growth over the past decade.
The company will celebrate its silver anniversary of country wisdom on Saturday the same way it's found success over the past 25 years — by showing people how to be self-reliant.
Its Country Fair and Book Sale will be held in the courtyard at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts from 10 to 4 and will include animals, demonstrations, workshops, and talks and signings by authors."It's going to be a really fun day," said Greeman.
Kathy Harrison of Cummington, author of "Just in Case: How to Be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens," will be on hand among others including Williams College professor and Williamstown Conservation Commission member Hank Art, who has written a book on nature.
Harrison decided to it was time to lay in stores after the twin disasters of Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11 attacks. The manual's not so much about how to survive a Mad Max-style apocalypse as it is about being ready for the unexpected, like if the power goes out for days or weeks, or you have to be evacuated.
"The weird weather lately has forced a lot of people to think about this," said Greeman. "But the underlying message is about sustainability."
While the publisher has held workshops from time to time, Greeman said its hoping to hold a more formal seminar on sustainability later this fall.
The Garden Way
The company started out as Garden Way and was purchased by John and Martha Storey in 1983. The couple continued producing gardening books under that imprint and the popular "Country Wisdom Bulletins," gradually adding on topics as the company grew. Storey Communications operated out of several locations in Pownal, Vt., Williamstown and North Adams before consolidating onto the campus of Mass MoCA in 2000. A year later, the Storeys sold it to Workman Publishing with the caveat it stay in North Adams.
Storey, which won a New England Book Award for Publishing, has kept its links to the past — its first title, "The Joy of Gardening," is still in print — as it blazed new paths of self-reliance. It now has more than 400 current titles, nearly 300 authors and has sold more than 35 million books in 25 languages.
The books, which at their most basic are illustrated manuals, can accommodate both the beginner and experienced DIYer. Sometimes the ideas are generated by the company's editors (Brown Alumni Magazine writes about how a father and son became authors on lumberjacking) or submitted by people hoping to transmit their expertise and passion for a particular craft to others.
Greeman said the Storey books also carry return cards to solicit feedback. "We take our customers' feedback seriously."
From concept to printing takes about two years; one if the editors "really push it," she said.
The company has four main categories — gardening, crafts, animals and cooking. The favorites? "People tend to love our craft books," she said.
(For a short time, it's giving away its latest edition of "Grow the Best Tomatoes" free in pdf form.)
The big sellers lately have been anything to do with animal breeds, especially miniature livestock, and "2-at-a-Time Socks," a how-to on knitting two socks at, well, the same time. Composting's a hit, too.
Books by Ricki Carroll, the "Cheese Queen," tripled in sales after she was featured in author Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle!"
And a book on root cellars has consistently been in the top 10 cooking bestseller list on Amazon. Talk about keeping in touch with your roots.
