Never Die Books Is Born

by Calvin Reid -- Publishers Weekly, 9/13/2004

Never Die Books has been launched by Adam Marnie, a New York City–based artist who will serve as creative director of NDB, and Lisa London, director of NDB operations and sales, and former associate publisher of the Feminist Press. London said the startup will specialize in books created by contemporary visual artists that focus on personal stories. NDB, which will pay small advances, plans to publish four or five books in 2005 and up to eight books a year. The press is in negotiations for a distributor.

Enlisting advisers from the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses to help develop a business plan, Marnie and London managed to secure a small business loan from Accion New York, a micro-lending firm that specializes in supporting small entrepreneurial ventures. NDB also had a small group of private investors.

"We're interested in books on the visual language of artists," said London. "We want artists who have stories that we can help them tell." London said the titles are aimed at young, college-educated readers.

The first to be released will be Volume One: Strange Place, edited by Marnie, the first of a series of anthologies documenting the work of photographers, installation artists, performance artists and others who explore the theme of place. NDB will also publish Son of a Bitch by Leigh Ledare, an unusual photographic account of Ledare's relationship with his mother, and To Live Is to Live by Marnie, an account in pictures and prose of his travels across the U.S.

"We think our combination of text and visual content will make our books really stand out," said Marnie.