'Earth Times' Starts Book Division

Diane Patrick -- Publishers Weekly, 8/2/1999

The Earth Times Foundation, publisher of the independent newspaper Earth Times, which focuses on family planning and environmentalism in the developing world, has launched a not-for-profit book-publishing division called Earth Times Books.

Pranay Gupte, editor and publisher of Earth Times Books, expects to publish six to 10 fiction and nonfiction titles annually. Gupte noted that ETB will provide exposure for writers whose voices are not ordinarily heard in Western mainstream publishing.

The first title, due out this fall, is All of Us: Births and a Better Life: Population, Development and Environment in a Globalized World, an anthology of selections from the Earth Times; contributors include President Bill Clinton, New York Times columnist A.M. Rosenthal and a host of former Times journalists, including Flora Lewis, Tom Wicker and Paul Hofmann. The book is edited by Jack Freeman, formerly domestic news writer for NBC News, and Gupte, who was a staff reporter and foreign correspondent for the New York Times.

Bookworld will handle Earth Times Books's distribution to commercial outlets, and Quality Books will distribute to schools and colleges. In addition, Gupte said, there is a built-in audience through the United Nations, which led to the book's first print run being sold out. The book is also available on Amazon.com, bn.com and through the Earth Times Web site, at www.earthtimes.org.